Best tyres for touring

[pjclinch]

I toured extensively from 2012-19 in the UK, Ireland and Europe. I used both the Kevlar guard Marathons and the Greenguard that superceded them, and changed them regularly.

Fairy nuff. I think if I'd had that much bad luck I'd change brand TBH!

Pete.

[Steve]

[/quote]
I like continental gator skins on my road bikes . No plans for tubeless .
[/quote]

I wonder what qualities you're looking for that Gatorskins don't offer?
I use them for my kind of touring (short trips mostly), in fact I just have them on all my bikes for simplicity's sake.

[Mtb tourer]

On 26 wheels its been Marathon XR tyres 26×1.95 . Still have a few left, were for the tandem and MTB. Moved over to Vittoria Mezcal 29×2.25 roll well and have had 6000 +Kms out of a back tyre. Run tubeless and no issues, all types of surfaces , loose sand on tracks is the only negative.

[simonhill]

Is weight a concern. Some of the more chunky touring tyres are very heavy. Some over 1000 gms.

Although a recent thread said weight on wheels no more important than weight elsewhere.

Those Gatorskins look good, but only in (in current parlance) narrow sizes - 32 max.

[roubaixtuesday]

Although a recent thread said weight on wheels no more important than weight elsewhere.

Depends on the context.

It takes twice the effort to accelerate weight at the rim.

It makes no difference when going at steady speed on flat or uphill.

So pulling away at a junction, 1kg on a tyre feels like 2kg on the frame. However, crawling up the Galibier, it makes no difference.

[Mtb tourer]

Its still 1kg x 2 you are trying to pull up a col ,extra weight against gravity can be felt.

[roubaixtuesday]

Its still 1kg x 2 you are trying to pull up a col ,extra weight against gravity can be felt.

Yes, absolutely, sorry if that was not clear.

[ANTONISH]

I like continental gator skins on my road bikes . No plans for tubeless .
[/quote]

I wonder what qualities you're looking for that Gatorskins don't offer?
I use them for my kind of touring (short trips mostly), in fact I just have them on all my bikes for simplicity's sake.
[/quote]

I think gatorskins are a very good all round tyre. I've used them for touring in the past - IME they are as puncture resistant as the heavy Marathon + but don't have the weight or the harsh ride.
I will concede that they are not as good at road holding in slippery conditions and I use 4 seasons in winter and for touring - better road holding but the tread seems softer and more susceptible to minor cuts.

[531colin]

..,,
It takes twice the effort to accelerate weight at the rim.

You can feel the difference between a heavy wheel and a light wheel when you are spinning the wheel on its own with your fingers.
However when you are riding the bike, in order to accelerate the wheel you have to accelerate the rider, bike, and luggage, so tiny differences in wheel or tyre are insignificant.

[roubaixtuesday]

..,,
It takes twice the effort to accelerate weight at the rim.

You can feel the difference between a heavy wheel and a light wheel when you are spinning the wheel on its own with your fingers.
However when you are riding the bike, in order to accelerate the wheel you have to accelerate the rider, bike, and luggage, so tiny differences in wheel or tyre are insignificant.

Sure, you can debate the significance, particularly for a touring setup. My own view of the significance for touring can be judged by the marathon plus tyres I tour with.

But, as a matter of fact, when accelerating, tyre mass has twice the effect of frame mass.

When climbing at constant speed, it makes no difference where the mass is.

These are the facts.

[Chris Jeggo]

.....
Although a recent thread said weight on wheels no more important than weight elsewhere
......

Well, that sent this thread off on a tangent.

[simonhill]

Ooooops!

[bohrsatom]

I've used 32c Marathon Greenguards for a while now. They're basically bombproof - I can only think of one puncture ever. Unladen they're good on most unmade surfaces; with heavy panniers I find they tend to slide around a bit if the surface is too soft.

The big downside is the tyres have a very high rolling resistance. I go a good 1.5mph faster on my Continental GP 4 Seasons. I've seen some evidence to suggest that 32c tyres are even worse than the other sides, so when my tyres are due for replacement I'll probably opt for a 35c or 37c instead.