Hi all,

I’ve been getting a lot of punctures on a canal section of my commute from shards of glass. The tyres are Continental Cyclocross Race which I run at 50psi and have been great apart from the lack of any protection. The commute is 25km 50/50 road/off road.

So do I:

1) Buy some heavy tyres with kevlar strips (if any suitable CX tyres exist);

2) Slime the tubes (experienced poor results with this on my Brommie – probably due to the high pressure – 80psi);

3) Attempt a DIY tubeless system (Can I use my existing tyre and rim strips or do I need a conversion kit – Any hints/tips/recommendations would be gratefully received).

Thanks in advance.

landcrusers!

Buy some heavy tyres with kevlar strips (if any suitable CX tyres exist);

Loads of 700c “city” or touring tyres from the likes of Conti or Schwalbe that have varying levels of puncture protection.

It’s a balance of weight versus puncture protection though.

Take a pretty big bit of glass to burst a Marathon Plus but then the 700 x 28C version does weigh 740g per tyre!

Go tubeless!!

Existing tyre would be fine, but you need specialist rim strips

ghetto tubless it. buy a 24″ tube and chop it.

If your commute itn’t not too wet and muddy then Marathon Plus tyres would be fine for you, mine haven’t let me down in a few years and handle towpaths and light off road fine

I’d 2nd Marathon plus. They are essentially a lightly treaded tarmac tyre but I have found them fine on canal tow path bits of touring routes. You’d have to try very hard to puncture a marathon plus, which is a good thing as they are the work of the devil to remove to switch tyres /repair a puncture.

You can compromise and use the non-Plus version of the Marathon. It still has significant puncture resistance but is neither as heavy nor as slow-rolling. I manage to go touring on mine at anything up to 100 miles/day and carrying panniers etc. and have only had two punctures in around 10,000km.

Thanks for the input. The canal gets quite muddy in short stretches but as 90% of the ride is road or hard pack Marathons may well do the job.

I am intrigued by going tubeless though!

Landcruisers, cheap fast puncture proof

On my MTB commuter I run Conti City Contacts. (700c versions are available). They are not nearly as heavy as Marathons but still have good puncture protection (1 puncture in 2 years.. touch wood.. from a big shard of glass). They also have the option of reflective sidewalls which are a nice addition on the road sections.

Schwalbe Durano Plus Londons?

almost any tire will provide more protection than the conti tires……

id second the motion of marathons.

bit of time gained by the weight is offset by the lack of punctures you will get !