20-406 Trice Q tyre recommendations

[revrob]

Need to replace the fronts on the Trice.

35s on at the moment (they came with it).

Should one go for skinniness and speed, or width, comfort and better puncture protection?

Standard road riding and possible audaxing in mind.

Any favourites?

[Kim]

Should one go for skinniness and speed, or width, comfort and better puncture protection?

I think that comes down to how much you  a)  need the comfort   or   b) don't need the punctures.

If you're touring or leisure riding in good weather, an occasional puncture isn't a big deal (especially on the side wheels of a trike, where you don't even have to faff about taking the wheel off to change a tube).  But when it's cold and miserable, or you're on a time limit, it's worth having something a bit sturdier.

Note that it's never a simple case of thinner tyres going faster, but especially not when they're lightly loaded as they are on a Trice - a wider tyre may have less rolling resistance, and you probably want to keep that to a minimum.

Oh, and a nice grippy compound on a tadpole trike makes for awesome fun on the descents.   

[Tigerbiten]

How many flints are around where you cycle
I think that determines if you want to try Marathon Trykes (40-406) or not.
I found the compound on them is slightly softer than normal, so excellent grip but they do pick up any flint shards around.

I now tend to run Marathon Supremes (42-406) as I think they are slightly better than Marathon Racers (40-406).
Both, I  think, have the same amount of grip/puncture protection but the slightly bigger size gives a slightly smoother ride.

[Quint]

Another vote for Marathon Supremes, quite fast rolling, she who must not be named visits but rarely and very grippy, 

[cycleman]

I have the trikers on the new adventure fs and they are fast but seem to be ok in the dry. I think in the wet punctures would come thick and fast. Big apples seem to roll OK and seem to be reasonably resistant to puncturing.

[Mr Larrington]

My Trice XXL came with Stelvios - 28-406.  I replaced them with something sturdier as soon as they wore out.  This did not take long - less than 1,000 miles for the fronts and about 1,500 for the rear.  Stelvios have now been superseded by $TYRE but skinny fast ones still don't last well on trikes.

[Auntie Helen]

Not a fan of Trykers (got three punctures in one day on my Velomobile) but the Kojaks currently on my Sprint are OK but a bit rough over bumpy ground and they're getting quite cut up now. My usual choice is Marathons, 40-406s, and they seem excellent.

[LMT]

M+ 1.35 IME

Pumped up to the maximum PSI you don't notice the weight and the puncture protection that they offer is second to none.

I've got M+ 32mm on the bike at the moment and having just done a 600 audax the thought of having a lighter tyre on the bike but having it puncture 400k into the ride is not something to be taken lightly. Having said that I'm looking at Durano + 28mm but with it coming upto Winter I think I'll leave the M+'s on the bike until next Spring.

[Kim]

M+ 1.35 IME

Pumped up to the maximum PSI you don't notice the weight and the puncture protection that they offer is second to none.

You do, however, notice every tiny undulation in the road surface, and their high rolling resistance.

A good choice for winter, when you don't want to be mucking about with punctures.

That said, I left the M+s on barakta's trike this summer, as the electrickery more than makes up for the rolling resistance, and they're pretty much bombproof (taking the motor wheel out to replace the tube is a faff).  The ride is much better with something more forgiving on the front wheels, though.

[LMT]

'tis the price you pay, for piece of mind.

[Auntie Helen]

I've had Kojaks on for several months now and I like them (fast, no punctures yet) but boy were they bumpy going over cobbles the other day. Nearly shook my teeth out! I'll swap them for normal Marathons shortly as they are dependable. Marathon Pluses are too much like hard work for me.

[Kim]

It's probably a different matter on a trike with front suspension, of course.  I was impressed with just how well cycleman's new Adventure FS handles thrashing around on railway ballast size gravel.

[Auntie Helen]

I nearly lost all my teeth going over cobbles on Sunday for a kilometre. On the way back I swapped with Klaus and tried his Steintrikes Wild One which has mega suspension on the front. It was an almost completely smooth ride, a real revelation.

[Tigerbiten]

One thing I do is run different tyres front to back.
On the front I now like to run Marathon Supremes at ~70 psi. This is around 15 psi off max pressure as it smooths the ride out.
The back is more variable as I tend to wear it out faster due to wheel slip in the wet.
I've tried Marathon Plus's but they are a pita to fit.
A plain Marathon isn't bad.
Supremes tend to wear out to fast on tour but are ok normally.
At the moment I'm running a Big Apple at ~70 psi as it was the only good 406 tyre I could find in Riga while on tour.
My trailer is running Trykers at ~50 psi until I wear them out and then I'll switch to Supremes.
One advantage of Supremes is its a folding tyre so it's easy to carry a spare on tour.