The Michelin tyre that came on my bike has had a couple of flats recently despite having the slime brand tubes. I use it for commuting so I’m looking for something trouble free, are scwalbe still the best for puncture resistant tyres?? Something like this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/schwalbe-one-road-tyre-v-guard/rp-prod118250

Also does 23c 25c indicate how wide the tyre is? As its defiantly 700c rim size?

Thanks

My p resisting tips are; pump your tyres up properly, don’t ride on tyres that are worn out and stop riding in the gutter.

You might be doing exactly that…

Tyres where over 100psi, mainly on a cycle path but the small road in between is a bit knackered.

Silly question perhaps, but how can you tell if a slick tyre is worn out as its not gone through to the next layer visibly at least??

You’ll get a couple of flats!

Honestly, when you begin to puncture on a well used tyre it’s time to bin it.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus, slime tubes (tubeless maybe?), high ish pressure. It’ll be horrible to ride but you’ll not puncture much if at all.

I’m not too worried about ride quality it’s a 15 mile flat commute

I run Michelin 28mm GP 4 seasons on my Giant Defy, honestly cant remember the last time I had a puncture and thats on some pretty rough and thorny country lanes 4 times a week.

Schwalbe Marathon should do the job, if you want ultimate bulletproofness then Marathon plus.
Either option is a bit heavy and slow, but for commuting i’ll trade a little rolling speed for puncture resistance any day.

Similar puncture protection to the Marathon Plus, but with built into a much faster tyre is the Durano Plus. I can’t rate them highly enough if you want a bombproof tyre that you can live with day to day.

If trouble free commuting reliability is the priority, Marathon Plus. Bomb proof.

Marathon Plus for ultimate puncture resistance. Durano Plus if you want to arrive five minutes earlier. Both are excellent tyres. In fact the Durano and Durano S are also good, but the Durano Plus share the same technology as the Marathon PLus (without the tread).

That said, I ride tubeless Schwalbe Ones 8)

Another vote for Marathon Plus – used them on my commuter/tourer and never had a puncture yet.

Durano Plus if you want 23C, Marathon Plus 25C if you want extra protection & tread.

Meh.

‘Puncture proof’ tyres are like using condoms, or like running in wellies. They do what they say on the tin, but it’s not the best feeling.

Get some fast race tyres and change them when they get old.

Michelin Lithion 2 are a good cheaper option, served me very well, i’ve had just two punctures in about 18 months, of pretty consistent riding. link

Durano plus for me, just changed my first one after no flats in over 6000 miles, the tread was through to the blue puncture proof layer.

I like them in 25c folding flavour.

The the marathons are too big for a normal road bike, more a touring/hybrid tyre.

Schwalbe Ones the OP was asking about are one extreme. Marathon Plus are the other extreme. In between, for commuting I’d go for something like Durano, Durano Plus or DD if you don’t mind a bit of extra weight and sacrificing ride feel, or Marathon Supreme if you don’t mind spending a bit.

All of those are extremely puncture-resistant but still ride nicely on a road bike. I’d not want Marathon Pluses on anything short of a hybrid or proper tourer.

I’ve gone for the durano in 25c flavour, I had some marathons on my old commuter with 26inch wheels but 15 miles each way needs something a bit smoother. Thanks for the advice.

personally I wouldn’t recommend lithions, I’ve had punctures with them, I am now using Michelin pro4Endurance on the front of my fixed commuter and will put one on the rear when the gatorskin is done – good protection and good grip as well because they are a supple carcass and two compounds of rubber tread

gatorskins are alright on the rear only and run them at the bottom of the stated pressure range, 25mm or more – too firm or too thin they are sketchy because they use a hard tread compound for long life and puncture proofing

I used to run continental gatorskins. They are bomb proof.

I’ve just changed to schwalbe one tubeless with sealant. Seem as bomb proof but they roll so much quicker. Massive difference to my average speed

personally I wouldn’t recommend lithions, I’ve had punctures with them, I am now using Michelin pro4Endurance on the front of my fixed commuter and will put one on the rear when the gatorskin is done – good protection and good grip as well because they are a supple carcass and two compounds of rubber tread

Totally agree that pro4 Endurance are godly (roll almost like a race tyre and I’ve had 2 punctures on them in ~10,000mi) Sadly Michelin have decided they are too popular and are discontinuing them. CRC are due more stock end of September, so if you like them as much as I do, may be worth getting a couple of sets when they come in.

A completely risk-averse friend of mine finally took my advice to go (road) tubeless for his commute in London and he hasn’t looked back. That he had tubeless-ready rims in the first place meant he had little to lose (apart from the outlay of the tyres and gubbins) but he is very glad he’s done it, he was getting loads of “P” events and now (hoping I don’t jinx him!) is far more confident riding on London’s roads it seems.

It’s not for everyone, I’d never go back I don’t think though, and is a bit of a faff but if punctures are becoming an issue then unless you are really unlucky (big tear or whatever) tubeless ought to keep you rolling at least for the duration of your commute.

Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite – 2.5 years of daily commuting and one flat pinch flat (my fault for tyres too soft)

I bit wooden, but fine for commuting and last ages

Depending on road surface (surface dressing, etc) typical road tyres might last from 2000Km to 5000Km before they become too thin and need changing. If you do a lot of distance then it’s worth taking the tyre off every month or 1000Km and checking it – at some point they will just feel like paper and very flimsy => change them. On one ride I got a puncture, fixed it and the tyre looked fine if a little flimsy as stated, then 10Km later there was thread poking through and I had to get a new tyre – fortunately I happened to be near a bike shop at the time otherwise getting home would have been interesting.

The short lifespan is down to us as riders wanting light, responsive tyres. The obvious antidote is to fit heavier tyres. If your bike and rims can take them then get Marathon Plus. Yes they are heavy and make your bike sluggish but you can expect to get at least 10,000Km out of them. Mine haven’t even lost their moulding tabs after that distance.

Don’t know what the Durano Plus are like but I didn’t get on with the standard Durano at all, felt “squishy” at whatever pressure.

how can you tell if a slick tyre is worn out as its not gone through to the next layer visibly at least

Don’t know about other brands, but Conti tyres have two little dimples in the tread, when you can’t see them anymore, buy a new tyre.

http://conti-tyres.co.uk/tread-wear

At the moment, I’m running my trail tyres for a cheeky trail on the way home.

During the winter when cheeky trails are less of an option, I have Conti Hardshells with slime tubes. Nowhere near as nice to ride as GP 4 Seasons, but pretty good on crappy London streets.

personally I wouldn’t recommend lithions, I’ve had punctures with them

I personally would, decent tyres for the money, ~2000 miles on one pair with no issues, the nearest thing to a puncture I got with them was a staple that went in the centre of the tread, hit the puncture belt and got deflected out sideways, pulled out and carried on, no air loss.

While it’s true some tyres are better han others for puncture protection, it’s mostly down to luck*, and making sure you’re tyres aren’t worn out, cos any tyre will puncture at that point.

I’ve also managed ~3000 miles on Compass tyres with no penetration punctures, and they have one of the thinnest treads and carcasses out there, and NO puncture protection at all.

For me, and I stress that, others opinions may differ, the downsides of heavy, stiff, overly armoured tyres outweigh the benefits, I’ll take the inconvenience of a puncture every couple of thousand miles and enjoy the comfort and speed of a decent tyre.

*obviously if you’re regularly riding through glass strewn wastelands then you need something beefier, but on normal routes it’s more about luck and avoiding obvious debris.