Double duty tires.

[morbihan]

Hi,
I'm touring in a few weeks time. I'm using a disc wheel set with Hed Belgium + rims, and will be carrying about 25lb of gear on the bike.
I just swapped out the tires that were  on the bike (40mm clements for gravel) to some 30mm all condition armadillos.
They are fine for trucking along, and great for the touring aspect of the trip, but I may be periodically ditching the touring gear and tackling the odd afternoon col, before trucking on the next day.
The tires seem a little clunky/heavy going uphill and I wondered if anyone had recommendations of a tire that would be a little spunkier for climbs but could still lug my gear along the valley floor without puncture dramas.
Maybe thats asking too much and I should suck it up and climb on the armadillos, or borrow Pater Sagans legs for a couple of weeks.
I do want to stick with the one set and not be doing change outs in the p.m.
Any tips welcomed.

[Brucey]

armadillos? 

Gah....

If touring with a light load on good roads, I'd suggest some nicer tyres than that.  I quite like Vittoria Voyager Hypers; not for urban commuting, but nice for touring on.

cheers

[citoyen]

Marathon Supreme.

http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/schwalbe-marathon-supreme-2016

[morbihan]

Thanks for those.
Glad it wasn't just me who doesn't like the armadillos. I hope they come off easier than went on, I almost had a hernia.

Would you go with the marathon 28's or narrower?
I'm a bit leery of vittoria, I used  the open paves for racing and whilst a creamy feel, the experience was fraught with side wall gashes, blow outs and punctures.

[citoyen]

Would you go with the marathon 28's or narrower?

I've used them at 32C and found them excellent, so that's the size I would go for in your situation. I can't really comment beyond that.

[Ningishzidda]

Make a list of bike shops on your tour route.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Paselas, as wide as you can fit.

[MalRees]

+1 for Marathon Supreme. I've used them in 35c. They roll really well and aren't a pain to get on and off a rim in my experience.

[Brucey]

FWIW Voyager Hypers are faster than Marathon supremes or paselas.

cheers

[Canardly]

SPA have folding Supremes for £28 atm rather than the £40 odd elsewhere.

[morbihan]

SPA have folding Supremes for £28 atm rather than the £40 odd elsewhere.

Excellent thanks.
I live in Bermuda but have a mate coming over from the UK next week so this is perfect. Nice exchange rate from $ right now too

[citoyen]

FWIW Voyager Hypers are faster than Marathon supremes or paselas.

I've heard lots of good things about them. I must try them some day!

I did try Paselas once but didn't get on with them so never tried them again. Can't remember what the problem was though.

[Jakob W]

Last I checked planet x had voyager hypers for about £20 a piece - I really should stock up...

[Pickled Onion]

Now £15 ea. for the 35 mm ones

[JBB]

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVIVOHY/vittoria-voyager-hyper-folding-tyre

also on offer, an even bigger reduction and available in 32(£20) as well as 35(£15). It rolls extremely well.

Julia

[Brucey]

if you are buying tyres you need to be careful;

1) Marathon supremes are not all the same; it is only the 2016 model that has the nice low CRR; the 2015 model of this tyre is much draggier.

2) Vittoria Voyager Hypers are not all the same; basically you want the folding ones, which have a 120tpi carcass.

[NB; P-X also sell some (brown coloured) Voyager hypers with wire beads. This tyre spec has never been offered for sale by vittoria or listed on their website, so maybe P-X have a prototype batch or something. Anyway, the brown wired tyres are nice enough for the money (esp when they were selling them for £7 a go earlier this year... ) but they are built on a much coarser carcass and are both heavier and slower than the folding Voyager Hyper]

hth

cheers

[morbihan]

if you are buying tyres you need to be careful;

1) Marathon supremes are not all the same; it is only the 2016 model that has the nice low CRR; the 2015 model of this tyre is much draggier.

2) Vittoria Voyager Hypers are not all the same; basically you want the folding ones, which have a 120tpi carcass.

[NB; P-X also sell some (brown coloured) Voyager hypers with wire beads. This tyre spec has never been offered for sale by vittoria or listed on their website, so maybe P-X have a prototype batch or something. Anyway, the brown wired tyres are nice enough for the money (esp when they were selling them for £7 a go earlier this year... ) but they are built on a much coarser carcass and are both heavier and slower than the folding Voyager Hyper]

hth

cheers

Thanks I've ordered 3 sets of the marathons and will check that they are the 2016's.

[Brucey]

2016 Marathon supreme;


Marathon supreme as illustrated on Spa Cycles website;



from which I'd assume that the image at least is of last year's model, and that the tyres might also be last year's model too. It isn't unusual for some retailers to have the old model even when there are newer versions that have been out for a year or two; the price may reflect this too.

cheers

[Canardly]

Re  SPA,  the text underneath the picture describes the new compound. A phone call/email should clarify.

[morbihan]

dropped em a mail and they have the new tread in stock.

[morbihan]

Dang, Spa have run out of 32's and 35's.

I have a mate flying out from UK ( Ilive abroad) and was hoping he could bring some over.
Any other places in UK that do a quick turn around to get them  to his place before he leaves?

[vorsprung]

Dang, Spa have run out of 32's and 35's.

I have a mate flying out from UK ( Ilive abroad) and was hoping he could bring some over.
Any other places in UK that do a quick turn around to get them  to his place before he leaves?

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres/700-x-32-32622-schwalbe-marathon-supreme-hd-hs469-folding-tyre-700-622/

[morbihan]

Dang, Spa have run out of 32's and 35's.

I have a mate flying out from UK ( Ilive abroad) and was hoping he could bring some over.
Any other places in UK that do a quick turn around to get them  to his place before he leaves?

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres/700-x-32-32622-schwalbe-marathon-supreme-hd-hs469-folding-tyre-700-622/

Thank you kindly sir.

[rr]

https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/schwalbe-marathon-supreme-hd-speed-guard-onestar-tyre-hs-469/aid:860433

Gone up £2 since Brexit vote

[morbihan]

Hi all,
We are just back from our Munich to Venice cycle path ride and I wanted to say cheers for the advice on the tires.
We went with 35mm marathon supremes for me on my all-road Firefly that was weighed down to 65 pounds with all the gear and 32's for Mrs Morbihan who was riding a Van Nicholas Yukon (they "just" fit)
Its a fantastic path, taking you through incredibly beautiful scenery and I highly recommend it but there was way more gravel/off road than we expected.
I rapidly began to regret packing only one spare tube each as we bumped over sharp edged gravel and rock, but this turned out to be unfounded as we had zero punctures
I was frankly gobsmacked and big ups for the tires. They were super comfortable on the paved sections and while obviously not ideal for track, they got us round with no dramas.

Somebody asked about a report on the trail.  Firefly have asked me to knock up a blog about the trip, so once done and online I'll stick a link up on the forum. happy to answer any individual q's on the trip too.
cheers.