Need tire advice ASAP

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Hi All,

I received good info on this site in planning my year long trip and now find myself in need of advice "on the road."

I left San Diego, CA six days ago and have been following the southern tier route across the US -- I'm currently staying a few days in Phoenix before heading out again. My question is about tires....

My girlfriend and I are riding Continental Top Touring 2000 tires (700x32) on our fully loaded Surly Long Haul Truckers. Either we have really bad luck with flats or these tires are junk. With 415 miles we've had two flats each (I road cross country 10 years ago and had two flats over 4200 miles!). So before I leave Phoenix I'm considering buying new tires for our bikes and need some solid recommendations. The tires I used for my last trip were Avocet Criss Cross but I can't seem to find those out here.

Any help would be much appreciated.

2WheelWill

The question is difficult to answer without knowing how you are flatting. If it is just a matter of punctures from road trinkets, there's two things to do: teach yourselves how to keep an eye on the road ahead and run a tire liner.

If however you are pinch-flatting and your sidewalls are tearing, you are overloaded for the tires you run. Either lighten your load or buy Schwalbe Marathon XRs. They are the ONLY tire, IMHO, strong enough for loaded touring on 700 wheels.

BTW, there is not correct flat-to-milage ratio.

I've ridden hundreds and hundreds of kilometers without one, only then to get three with 20kms.

The only approach to keep you from hating your bike and the world is to think of a flat as a chance to get out of the saddle and spend some time in your surroundings.

Good advice above!

The Conti book recommends 70psi, max 80psi. Yes, check the loading. Are you using Conti "Tour 700 All" Tubes?

Precision tandems (http://www.precisiontandems.com/homepage.htm) stock Avocet Cross tyres. We are using Soma tyres but I only have 1000kms on them yet so I don't know how long they last. They seem pretty good so far though. Another tyre to concider is the Panaracer TourforceK which has a good reputation.

Tailwinds

Geoff