My commute is full of pot holes and badly laid cycle paths and the super slick tyres on my road bike are giving me a battering. Anyone got a suggstion for a slightly thicker more comfortable road tyre. I think cyclocross tyres will probably be too thick for the frame…

could you get a 26inch wheel in with mtb slicks on ?

Depends what you can squeeze through the frame, but schwalbe marathons or durano’s are good.

Slickness is fine – better in fact – tread on anything less than 35c is pointless. Its the thickness, tpi count and puncture protection you want to look at.

Depends what will fit in your frame. 26″ wheel is a weird suggestion – how are the brakes going to work?! Touring tyres at 28mm offer a lot more comfort and protection, and road brakes will still work if they are the long drop kind (and there is enough clearance in the frame). Even 25mm tyres are appreciably more comfy and secure than 23s.

What bike is it?

i used to have a carbon road bike (boardman) with short drop brakes and 28mm tyres fitted in fine.

Yeah, some nice supple 25mm tyres will make a surprisingly big difference if you are on 23mm ones at the moment.

I’ve found michelin pro 3 race 25mm to be pretty comfy.

Cheers guys, it’s a Colnago Arte. Currently got Schwalbe Ultremos on it…did look at the marathons. Can you run those at fairly low pressure?

dunno about putting thicker tyres on, but I haven’t had a single puncture on my road bike (touch wood) since I fitted Specialized Armadillo tyres on it. Used to get at least one puncture a week. I have 28mm tyres on mine.

– how are the brakes going to work?!

😳 (my commuter has discs, your honour)

What pressures are you using?
On my best road bike I put 90fr/95rr psi with 23mm tires, whereas my commuting bike I put 85/90 with 28mm tires. Try experimenting with pressures first before going to the expense of buying new stuff (unless you want to of course).

I have given up on road bikes and cx bikes now. (Big disposal coming up soon if I can persuade eBay I no longer live in Oz)

I’ve built my perfect road bike – a 29er with Big Apple tyres. I’ve just done a nice approx 50mile loop in the Highlands this morning and it’s brilliant being able to hammer down nasty surfaces without having to worry.

The big section tyres feel a bit draggier on really smooth surfaces, but there’s not many of them up here, so overall it feels like it runs freer. (My time over the loop was slightly faster than usual but I never push it hard anyway)

I’ve gone the whole way and recently switched to Schwalbe Marathon Plus on my winter/training road wheels (currently using them on the commute) – 25mm width and as puncture proof as you can get. Heavy and draggy, but I’m not racing on them so don’t mind. Running about 90psi, definitely more comfortable over crap roads than the 23mm Contis they replaced.

Rode tour of Flanders Sportive on 25mm Conti Gatorskins. No problems re punctures over the ride and more comfortable than my usual race tyres. Pretty light and fast rolling too.

Fitted comforably in my frame, clearance can be an issue on a race frame.

On my hybrd commuuter i can squeeze in 54mm 700cc conti slicks. Like the BigApples mentioned above they rollover any broken surface, curb hop/drop with ease, have endless corning grip and is much faster and snything else i own. Tyre and tube come to apprx 1200g each end!

Sorry back on topic then.