I doing the Warwickshire 100 next Sunday and I will be using my whyte Suffolk. It can handle any tyre down to 25mm. I’ve got all sorts of tyres in garage but not sure what will suit the ride the best. 28mm marathon plus’s on it at the moment from winter comutting but I think they may be a bit of drag for 100 mile.

What do you reckon?

Sommat fast. No idea what you’ve got.

Just pump them up a bit

Onza Octopus.

most suitable tyres for 100 mile sportive

New ones.

There’s an appreciable difference in weight and rolling resistance between Marathons and, say, GP 4Seasons. If you have a lighter 25 or 28mm tyre already just go with that.

New ones.

Pants! beat me to it.

It’s only 100 miles, something that won’t puncture.

Make sure they’re 700c+, as that’s what all the cool kids are riding these days.

Schwalbe One

Schwalbe Durano in 25 or 28 (I’d go 28 myself). Schwalbe One if you want to spend a bit more and don’t mind the odd puncture.

GP4000S II if you prefer Conti – nothing much to choose between those and the Schwalbe Ones imho, both excellent tyres.

Any of the above will be markedly more pleasant to ride than Marathons.

Schwalbe ones in 25 or 28C. Will knock about a pound off the bike.

I know someone who did Paris-Roubaix (100 miles) on Marathons in five and a half hours, didn’t slow him down!

25MM Gatorskins ?

Fast and comfortable = Veloflex Corsas.

Don’t worry about it and enjoy the ride.

Black and round ones, coloured ones are an acceptable alternative if they match. It’s only 100 miles, the chances of getting a puncture are pretty small unless your tyres are too far gone and the chances of some sort of ride ending tyre tailure even lower. And gog tyres won’t make a difference whether you finish or not (although they feel nicer and possibly a few minutes quicker).

I’ve got Schwalble Ultremo’s on one set of wheels and Blizzards on the other. After the initial “ohh these are nice/light” it’s hard to tell the difference after a coupple of miles.

And take the headphones out.

Second the ‘don’t worry about it’ notion…

It’s not like there’s a yellow Jersey at stake, and you’ll enjoy it more by enjoying it more…

DrP

^

What they said!

Edric 64 – Member

25MM Gatorskins ?

I’d recommend these as well. I used them to ride from London to Llanberis last year, and will be using them for the Ride London 100 in August. You should be able to get them for £20 each if you shop about.
(I might try the 28mm version next time – especially as I now have wider rims)
We’re not exactly chasing world records and I personally think puncture-proofing is more important than saving a few grams.

Third ‘don’t worry about it’.

It’s only a hundred miles. It’s a sportive not a race – it doesn’t matter how fast you go.

Ride anything that doesn’t have big holes in it.

Something faster in 25mm would be my suggestion.

For no other reason than they’re cheap on Ribble and have some good reviews, how about some Vredestein Fortezza Senso All Wather. Or if you want something a bit bigger with some more puncture protection, I run the the Vredestein Fortezza Senso Xtreme on my winter bike and like them a lot.

I wouldn’t recommend gatorskins – they are designed to be a tougher tyre but aren’t that light or grippy… you’d be better off going full-on lightweight tyres or sticking with the marathons

I would stick with the marathons and run them at a firm pressure

bear in mind that changing a puncture will add more time than you would have gained from faintly improved rolling resistance

Schwalbe Marathon Plus 28c are something like 750g a tyre, comparable to a decent 29er mountain bike tyre. Great for reliable commuting though! For comparison Conti GP4000s claim <250g for 28c.

So pretty much anything else will make the bike a lot lighter and help you go a bit quicker if you’re bothered about it. Otherwise just ride and enjoy the day.

Agree with everyone above that you’ll get round whichever tyres you use. It’s not a race etc…

I know someone who did Paris-Roubaix (100 miles) on Marathons in five and a half hours, didn’t slow him down!

It absolutely did slow him down however. There is no doubt whatsoever (barring punctures, and depending on the time taken to fix a hypothetical one) that with the same amount of effort and keeping other factors constant, he’d have finished quicker using lighter tyres. Or, finished in the same time using less energy. Whether it’s a big enough difference to justify spending money on new tyres is something only the individual in question can decide…

They only thing you can be sure of with the Marathon +s is that you won’t be held up fixing punctures. I’m sure if there’s ever a nuclear war the only bits of my commuter which will be salvageable will be those tyres.