What mustachian bike tires do you recommend?

[Nancy]

I'm looking for new tires to pop on my commuter bike. I'm wondering if anyone has brand/model recommendations that don't cost too much, but will also last (mustachian tires!). Also, do you prefer 700x(28 or 32 or 35s)? Do you even notice a difference. I live in pothole city.

[Jimbo]

Curious where you live. I live in pothole city...

I recommend Schwalbe Marathon. They are kevlar lined. Durable. Nice grip. A bit pricier than cheap tires, but the payback is there.

The thing I recommend the most though is keeping your tires as full of air as they can tolerate (read the rating on the side of the tire) with a bicycle pump and pumping air in once or twice a week.

That'll take care of most flat opportunities...

[Spudd]

I second the Schwalbe Marathon recommendation. Or, my commuter bike came with Continental City Ride tires, and in 4 years of use I have only gotten one flat (I ran over a screw - can't blame the tire for that!). They have reflective sidewalls which is nice for riding after dark.

Width-wise I like 32's I think. I haven't actually tried 28's, but have tried both 32 & 35, and I don't feel like 35 gives me much of a benefit over the 32's.

[sol]

I run Panaracer Ribmo PT tires on my commuter.  They're also kevlar lined "puncture-proof" and designed for super long life on bad roads.  I used to run 32s but recently replaced them both and went with the 28s.  So far I like the quicker feel of the narrower size, but I haven't had them long enough to see if they last as long as the 32s, which were pretty bombproof.  I think it will largely depend on how good I am at keeping them inflated properly, as narrower tires lose air a lot faster.  If you're bad about remembering to pump regularly, I'd stick with the 32s.

They're don't have reflective sidewalls but my ride is so covered in reflectors and reflective tape ($3 at walmart in the auto section) and blinky lights that I don't miss it.

Another popular choice around here for urban commuters are the Continental Gatorskins.  They're definitely lighter but they cost about twice as much as the Ribmos and I'm not so weight conscious that I'll pay an extra $30 to cut 100 grams off my ride.

Of the tires mentioned thus far in this thread, the Ribmos are the cheapest at $30/tire and I've never had a puncture flat on them so I personally recommend them.

[FunkyStickman]

I'm using Panaracer Pasela Tourguard tires, also with a kevlar belt... and I also use tire liners. Haven't had a puncture with them yet.

[FunkyStickman]

Schwalbe Marathons, hands down.

I've run over broken glass bottles with them and not punctured them, yet they roll fast and have reflective side walls.

Amazing tire.

You run Marathons, or the Marathon Plus?

[Russ]

Just to offer a different perspective, I've run both Marathons and a Marathon Plus and didn't like them one bit. They're incredibly flat resistant and long-wearing but as a result super stiff and not very grippy (not that you'll be railing corneers, but it matters when wet). I had to air mine down to 40 psi to get any semblance of IMO acceptable ride quality, otherwise they were like rolling on solid rubber.

I'm a big fan of Conti Gatorskins and Specialized Armadillos. Flat resistant enough for me (and I do plenty of city riding), and very supple. You do give up a bit of longevity though, since there's not an inch of tread like on the Marathons. I'm about to pull on a pair of Bontrager Hard Case road tires and I expect them to be similar to the Gatorskins across a wider range of price points, but it's too early to give them a recommendation.

[sol]

Since this is sort of a frugality forum, can anyone recommend a kevlar tire that's less than $30?  I see a lot of recommendations above for tires that cost $50-$90, but no alternatives (other than the RiBMo) that are $30 or less.

edit:  Five minutes of web searching later turns up these for $22 shipped:  http://www.amazon.com/CST-Ciudad-Kevlar-Tire-700/dp/B003QAADBC/

Kevlar and reflective sidewalls and only $17 +shipping.  The reviews look good, now I feel a little silly for having just spent $60 on two new RiBMos.

[Nancy]

This community rocks. Thank you all very much! I'm off to do some targeted research.

[Russ]

Since this is sort of a frugality forum, can anyone recommend a kevlar tire that's less than $30?  I see a lot of recommendations above for tires that cost $50-$90, but no alternatives (other than the RiBMo) that are $30 or less.

edit:  Five minutes of web searching later turns up these for $22 shipped:  http://www.amazon.com/CST-Ciudad-Kevlar-Tire-700/dp/B003QAADBC/

Kevlar and reflective sidewalls and only $17 +shipping.  The reviews look good, now I feel a little silly for having just spent $60 on two new RiBMos.

We had some QC issues with the CST's we stocked at the shop I worked at. IMO tires are one of thefew things where a couple extra dollars will get you significant increases in quality at all but the absolute highest level ($100+ ea.). I also noticed that they'd be $24 each if not on sale (which they are at only one of the 14 Amazon sellers), so there's that.

Not saying I wouldn't be willing to try them though, especially at the sale price.

[sol]

We had some QC issues with the CST's we stocked at the shop I worked at.

Looks like Kenda and Avenir both offer a variety of kevlar-lined tires for less than $25 each.  Any experience with those from your shop?

At less than half the price of the Schwalbes, I'd be tempted to give them a go.

[Russ]

We had some QC issues with the CST's we stocked at the shop I worked at.

Looks like Kenda and Avenir both offer a variety of kevlar-lined tires for less than $25 each.  Any experience with those from your shop?

At less than half the price of the Schwalbes, I'd be tempted to give them a go.

We did stock Avenir and never had any problems. They're the house accessory brand of Raleigh, which is pretty well-respected. Kendas I've gone back and forth on... neither my dad nor I liked the rubber in their road tires (but no QC issues like tread alignment or sizing), but I have a cheapie ($10 ea. I think on sale from $15) pair of 30mm CX tires that I would definitely recommend for the price (great for pea gravel rail-trail type things). From what I can tell their mountain tires are much more popular than their road stuff. No shop experience there.

[Spudd]

My husband's bike came with Kendas and he wore through them in less than a year. I don't think they were the kevlar-lined type, but still. I found that fully unacceptable.

[GuitarStv]

I used some Kenda Kwest tires on an old mountain bike for several thousand kilometres of fall/spring riding with no flats or problems.  The minimal tread pattern is a bit slippy on snow though.

[chicagomeg]

Since this is sort of a frugality forum, can anyone recommend a kevlar tire that's less than $30?  I see a lot of recommendations above for tires that cost $50-$90, but no alternatives (other than the RiBMo) that are $30 or less.

edit:  Five minutes of web searching later turns up these for $22 shipped:  http://www.amazon.com/CST-Ciudad-Kevlar-Tire-700/dp/B003QAADBC/

Kevlar and reflective sidewalls and only $17 +shipping.  The reviews look good, now I feel a little silly for having just spent $60 on two new RiBMos.

I got Kevlar lined ones at Nashbar based on the recommendations in this thread: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/help-me-pick-new-tires-for-my-bike/msg97730/#msg97730 for about $30. They have a little less tread than I was expecting though. I can't comment on the ride because I messed up my rear brake and haven't figured out how to fix it yet.