I’m planning on a couple of commutes a week, don’t think anymore would be sensible as it’s 32 miles each way.

Anyway, what tyres would you go for? It’s on a mixture of country roads & surfaced bike paths with the odd bit of gravel thrown in.

Tubeless or not, I was thinking along the lines of Vittoria Rubino Pro Endurance G+ as I’ve had good experiences with the faster versions on my road bike (when I had one) and use their tyres on my MTB’s & CX bike

Schwalbe Marathons

Schwalbe Marathons

+1

Second Marathons. They’re heavy slow and don’t ride brilliantly but the guarantee of not having to fix a puncture on the commute into work when it’s dark, cold and raining is wonderful. I run mine throughout the winter then switch to something a bit nicer in spring then back again in Autumn.

As above. I do about 24Km each way, off road and on. I’d rather not have a puncture then save a few seconds by having a ‘faster’ tyre.

I don’t know if I’d fancy 32 miles under time constraints on marathons. Durano Plus come in 28c but only wire bead so are quite heavy.

I normally run a heavier tyre at the back and just a normal weight tyre at the front with no issues, did have a Durano plus on the back and a lugano on the front. New bike will take up to 40c so I’m experimenting at the mo, Hyper Voyagers on at the moment are FAST, will have to wait and see how they hold up over time.

I have been impressed with the Wiggle lifeline tyres

I fitted a set of 28c Panaracer race d evo 3’s a week ago. Feel very comfortable (admittedly going up from 25c Conti’s) and roll along nicely.
Can get them in all black or brown sidewall. Only £27 a pop too.

Not really had them long enough to comment on puncture resistance though.

I have been impressed with the Wiggle lifeline tyres

This. I’ve been using the ‘essential commuter’ in 32 since sometime last winter. Thought I’d try that before stepping up to the armoured version.

Ride is fine, unexceptional in the blandest sense to be honest! Wear rate seems pretty good. The odd nick and scratch but I’ve got a nice stint of unmade road with ever changing potholes and quite a bit of field runout on my commute so that’s pretty standard. And they’re cheap!

Panaracer Gravelkings – good for mixed surfaces and wear well IME. Not a fan of marathons myself, I found that small shards of glass and flint would get wedged in the tread and work their way in over time and if you do puncture they’re a bugger to get off.

The second problem with Schwalbe Marathons is that they last so bloody long! I think I did 8000Km before those little moulding “feathers” wore away.

Probably the only thing after cockroaches, woodlice and scorpions that would survive a nuclear explosion. 😆

Only from what I’ve read about them, I’d be inclined to try a set of Panaracer Gravel Kings (or the SK version if you have clearance), as it sounds like you are looking for a good all-rounder.
No idea if best price http://www.wiggle.co.uk/panaracer-gravel-king-folding-road-tyre/

Either them, or the 30mm version of G-Ones. The smaller sizes are supposed to have larger knobs which should help with traction off-road, but I can say the 29×2.35″ Speed Evo TLE versions are pretty versatile, their only real traction weakness is deep mud (but with care I had no real dramas around a very boggy track by Shear Water back in mid Novemeber). Folding bead TLE versions aren’t cheap though, £50 for my pair was considered a bargain at the time.
https://www.merlincycles.com/schwalbe-g-one-speed-tl-easy-evolution-folding-gravel-tyre-700c-98628.html (again no idea if best price)

On my 25 mile commute which sounds to be a similar mix of roads and bike paths with the occasional ‘gravel diversion’ I tried Marathon Pluses.

In my experience they added about 10-15 mins each waydue to the decreased speed, along with a much harsher ride and a very sluggish, dead feeling. I did like the reflective sidewalls though.

I lasted about 2 months and then tried something different, eventually settling on Continental GP4S.

My thinking was that if I get (at the very worst) 10 punctures a year and each takes only 5mins to fix then it costs me 50 minutes a year. Vs a 20-30min round trip time penalty for each day that I would ride in on the Marathons then I have made the time up in 2 return trips on the GP4S.

I have been impressed with the Wiggle lifeline tyres

Prime armour user here. I’d been using GP 4 seasons and Duranos before. I won’t be going back to them. Mega value.

My commute is about 12 miles on country and town roads and I’d always opt for better grip than durability. Currently running Conti GP4000S 28s on the winter bike; not too expensive at Merlin. If you’ve got a significant amount of gravel then something non-slick might be a better choice.

Which is why I suggested the ordinary/non-plus version of the Marathon.

What about the Marathon Supremes? Heard good stuff about them, might be a good middle ground between cooking marathons and GP4S

Marathon Supremes are meant to be really good, it was a toss up for me between them and the Vittoria Hypers, but the hypers were £10 less each, so decision made.

Supremes are definitely on the list though.

Had the hypers before, probably got 2,000 miles out of them relatively trouble free before I started puncturing regularly.

@scotroutes

Which is why I suggested the ordinary/non-plus version of the Marathon

Ah, sorry. I had assumed Plus.

I also tried the G-One Speed linked above. I loved them as a summer commuter tyre as they were faster on the road than the Marathon Plus, and allowed me to choose some of the light offroad commute options that are dry enough to ride in the summer to vary the journey a bit, which would not have been possible on GP4S/slicks.
They didn’t seem to last long though, the central bit was bald and more prone to punctures after only around 750-1000 miles which was disappointing given the expensive purchase cost.

Only from what I’ve read about them, I’d be inclined to try a set of Panaracer Gravel Kings (or the SK version if you have clearance)

SK has the little block tread instead of the file tread of the non-SK versions. I’ve found the SK a decent compromise of on road speed (though they ‘whine’ when its really smooth) and gravel / mud grip. Also surprisingly good in snow, as I found out recently.

I’ve used:

Bontrager AW3 28 – good, fast, probably not suitable for offroad though as no tread

Vittoria Hyper 37s – super quick, light for the size, punctured a bit & wore out after 2k as above – very smooth ride

Gatorskins – super slippery in the wet, not great, consigned to my spare tyre set

Specialized Armadillo 25s – a bit better than Gatorskins but still not brilliant

Panaracer RIBMO 32 – current tyre, quite heavy feeling but reasonably fast and can do offroad a bit

I’d love to go tubeless but my rims wouldn’t support it (mavic aksium)

was disappointing given the expensive purchase cost.

I picked up a pair of the 2.35s from O-O for £32 posted. Not come to expect mega miles from the reviews, but should be OK for the price.

And if I’m honest, I’m mainly hoping they’ll be nice choice for a few laps of a beach! 😀

Panaracer Gravelkings – good for mixed surfaces and wear well IME. Not a fan of marathons myself, I found that small shards of glass and flint would get wedged in the tread

I liked the 28mm Gravel kings for feel, but my experience was that they cut up very quickly, punctured quite often and wore rapidly.

I’ve gone to 32mm Marathon Greenguards which are as heavy as a small planet, but roll incredibly well. Very puncture-proof so far, and work quite well off road.

Bullet-proof for commuting with minimal time penalty 🙂

(Rolling resistance test)

Vredestein Senso Xtreme, quite fast, very grippy, reasonably puncture resistance and wear is OK too.

Conti 4Seasons for year round or wired GPs for cheapness and performance. Run both around Sheffield for years on varied tarmac, pavement, grass, mud, gravel in all conditions with assorted glass and metal turnings blowing around the place. Punctures were rare but did happen ( not a monthly occurrence) on a daily commute of about 10 miles each way at normal pressures for 28ish. Black Chili is fantastic stuff.

I liked the 28mm Gravel kings for feel, but my experience was that they cut up very quickly, punctured quite often and wore rapidly.

interesting, cheers. Was this the SK version? I’ve not had that experience yet but we’ll see how they fare through the winter.

For the record, I used to use gatorskins and though there are commendably long lasting, they are wooden and greasy in the wet.

Was this the SK version?

No, the standard(?) file tread ones. The front did 2800 miles in the end, the rear a bit over half that.

I have the Voyager from PX, which is out of stock, but they’ve got the wired version for £10 an end, and these bad boys:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVIADVT2/vittoria-adventure-trail-ii-tnt-tubeless-ready-700c-tyre

Hutchinson Sector 32 – I’ve got thousands of commuting miles on country roads, gravel paths (cough) footpaths and haven’t had a single puncture.

Big fan of the Hyper Voyagers at the moment, running them in 35 and 38 sizes (couldn’t fit a 38 under my rear guard).

One puncture in 6 months which I can live with, especially since burnt out motorbikes and smashed bottles aren’t exactly uncommon on my commute…

Did 125km today in snow, ice and plenty of farm ditches flowing onto the road, they didn’t feel like they were slowing me down at all and I felt pretty confident going round corners (although I was cornering like a wimp anyway after hitting a few patches of black ice early on).

Worth it at PX prices

Aquaprofile – Member
I have been impressed with the Wiggle lifeline tyres

Yes – another one impressed here too.
Good grip and not had a puncture with them yet (3mths)

Marathon Supremes are good. Roll nicely, resisted all road debris (except a great big metal staple), easy to get on and off. Not amazing in the wet though.

For tarmac and towpath touring purposes I use Marathon Plus on the rear and standard Marathon greenguard on the front

For mixed-surface bang-for buck I’ve always been happy with Schwalbe Land Cruiser either 35c or 40c even better if you have the room (better rolling-resistance and comfort going bigger)

Marathon vs Land Cruiser discussion elsewhere

Usually get a pair for less than £30. They have more basic puncture protection than the Marathons yet they are more versatile and I’ve never had one puncture.

Wiggle lifelines have been as reliable as any other branded puncture resistant tyre costing 2x or 3x more

Schwalbe G One Speed tubeless. And I’m comparing these to GP4S, Vittoria Paves in 27 and 25, and schwalbe Ones, all of which I commute on regularly – plus the duranos on the trike.

They really are very good indeed. And the width gives huge confidence when it’s dark.

Marathon Plus here on 32c flavour on my Arkose. Probably done over 7,000 miles on them, still going strong

Heavy and dull, but still enjoy my commute. Let me do basic offroad stuff when it’s not too wet. Very very reliable, which is what really matters for a commute

I have standard marathons on my Brompton and I got a puncture in the central band of the tyre from a thumb tack, just saying

I would just get cheapest / lightest tyre with the required grip and fit these panaracer kevlar strips: (they very rarely get punctured, 10% at most of what i would expect when not fitted) http://www.wiggle.co.uk/panaracer-flataway-tyre-linerwhite26/?lang=en&curr=GBP&dest=1&sku=5300024244&kpid=5300024244&utm_source=google&utm_term&utm_campaign=UK_PLA_Accessories&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mckv%7csffl1oUuh_dc%7cmcrid%7c67090840382%7cmkw%7c%7cmmt%7c%7cmrd%7c5300024244uk%7cmslid%7c%7c&mkwid=sffl1oUuh_dc&pcrid=67090840382&prd=5300024244uk&pgrid=17507340182&ptaid=aud-94098342302:pla-121254571502

I’ve done >10,000 miles on my marathon plus tyres without a puncture. I’ve bought a new set for when they erode away but they’re not showing any signs of that yet..

GP4Season 28mm are great – Not Black Chilli though, but grippy. Dont feel heavy like a touring tyre but dont last quite as long. If i’m completely honest, I cant feel they are any slower than the 26mm road race tyres I use on the race/summer/non mudgaurd bike

My mudguard/winter bike runs them – I’ll probably get 2 winters out of a set before they’re shagged and thats about 5000miles all in. Even did a winter 10 with the guards and didn’t come last!