Need recommendation for bicycle tires

dan krause

I have been using generic brand tires for a few years.About $20.00 per tire. For some time now i get a flat about every 3 weeks (average 6-8 hours riding a week) and hate it. Used generics for along time and it was ok. Not lately. I use an older Schwinn 12 speed road bike with 27-1 1/4 tire/tube size. Can someone recommend some brands of this type that are more durable and more puncture resistant and what price range i should expect? Thanks

gclark8

Continental Ultra Gator Skins come in 27x1 1/4.

They are the best for glass resistance we have found in Aus.

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Cheers,
George.

531Aussie

If you're riding a cheap bike, chances are it has cheap/crap rim tape on the wheels, which may be contributing to your flats. Cheaper tyres are usually a little more puncture resistant than "good race" tyres because they have thicker/harder rubber

threaded

I commute 60km+ every day, all weathers, mostly along glass strewn cyclepaths.

Dutch Perfect are the only one that work. Every so often I'll try some other puncture proof, a few days later I buy another Dutch Perfect.

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gclark8

Good Point!

I recently bought several rolls of Tar Impregnated Cotton Tape for (27x1 1/4) steel rims. Should prevent the rust around the spoke nipples as well.

Conti Ultra Gator Skins have Kevlar!!

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Cheers,
George.

TheDarkLord

Be sure to do some research and read reviews before you buy any skins though. There are some that fall apart after a few weeks/months, and thus cause flats instead of avoiding them.

garage sale GT

Bell Streetsters from Wal-Mart are good, but thick, large, and heavy for a 27.

I never had a puncture with my Panaracer Pasela TGs but destroyed a few due to sidewall damage. It's a skinwall.

With thin road tires, you really have to inspect the tire after every ride to pick out the glass bits. They will eventually eat their way through even a kevlar belt if you leave them embedded in the tread.

Try a longer stem for the bike. Most of the old 10-12 speeds were built tall enough but too short lengthwise.

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gclark8

I must agree, most single speed conversions I do on the old steel frames have 40-60mm stems coming off and 85-125mm stems going on (depending on bike size).

I have one frame here with 27" wheels. We measure it in "hands" and not cm.

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Cheers,
George.

garage sale GT

The rule of thumb is: the point where the handlebar is clamped to the stem should obscure the front hub when you are riding with your hands on the lower part of the tenspeed handlebars.

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bannerrefugee

I used to use tire liners. I commuted in an big city with lots of road debris. It seemed to help a lot with glass, and once they prevented a flat from a staple. I commuted with them for close to 15 years, and they helped. I never used expensive tires to commute and I would run them down to the threads sometimes.


The draw back was once or twice the liners cut my tubes and they sort of get in the way when mounting the tire/changing the tube. They were worth these disadvantages.



Since I have moved (to a somewhat rural desert area) I get a lot of flats from tiny thorns and the liners were no help (nothing is), so I took them out. Some locals suggested Slime. I don't think it's worth the trouble.

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celia123

I just got this Cheng Shin C637 Road Tire 27 x 1-1/4" for my bike, it works fine for me, it's on sale at a deal site for only $6, maybe you can give it a look.

artemidorus

Hey Celia, that's a nice bike store you work for, there!

Good try.

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Bigbananabike

You want PUNCTURE PROOF?! Do this;
Get a tyre the same size as your current tyre. Cut the beading off the second (not the fitted tyre) tyre. Take out the tube, fit the tyre with no beading inside the current tyre, refit the tube, inflat as needed.
Presto - you will have ZERO FLATS!

The down side is that the wheel will be a bit slower to ride. I've done this for winter here on my training bike and my average is a bit down and the bike feels slower but its a training ride bike so it doesn't matter and I know that no matter what glass is around its not going to flat

I've only done it to my rear wheel as I've found over the years its almost always the rear that flats and its harder to get out etc.

Here is an excellent example of how well it works;
My friend commutes 19kms each way to work and back almost every weekday. He was averaging 3 punctures through glass every week.
In the past 9 - 10 months he's done this he's only had one puncture - it was a builders large/sharp staple that went through both tyres and into the tube.
He still picks glass out of his tyres but he's had not flats.