UKC

So, the conundrum:
Bike - Boardman CX comp
Original tyres - some light but grippy Ritchey knobbly CX tyres. Back showing clear wear after about 700 kms on and off road and have punctured.
Current tyres - Schwalbe Marathon plus taken off my old commuting hybrid. These amazing things have done at a guess between 8 and 10 thousand kms, and still have plenty of tread. They have never punctured, but the sidewalls are starting to crack with age.

The Marathon+ also don't grip well on mud or snow, and I ride that bike quite a lot on unsurfaced roads and sometimes on paths and such. I want to use it bikepacking and touring this summer so want something a bit more grippy. Immediate thought was the Marathon Plus Tours: http://www.schwalbe.com/gbl/en/produkte/tour_city/produkt/index.php5?flash=... The downside is 900 grams per tyre!

So has anyone used the Marathon Mondials? http://www.schwalbe.com/gbl/en/produkte/tour_city/produkt/index.php5?flash=... They way nearly half the plus versions and seem well loved by tourers. Or other suggestions for a tough puncture resistant tyres for on and off road but that don't weigh as much as the tour plus?

How much puncture resistance do we really need?

In reply to TobyA: You could do a Ghetto Tubeless conversion.
I recently did this on a Whyte 901 and rode the bike down a canal toepath last Sunday, renowned for Hawthorn.
I found 8 punctures, ie thorns well and truly through my tyres, not one flat.
just pull thorn out and it self seals.

So my point is, buy almost any lighter tires save a bit of weight and dont worry about punctures,
It may seem a bit of a faff but it works on almost any mtb rim and tyre combo.

Cons. you still have to carry spare tubes, to be sensible, you should not run your tires over 40 psi(recommended) unless an actual tubeless rated tire.
you will need to top sealant up occaisionally.

Pro's eliminates the puncture resistance(how long is a piece of string question,,,,sorry ), saves hours of stopping to fix punctures, allowing you to ride more,
Sealant can be purchased £20 for large bottle £2.99 each 20" BMX tube needed for conversion,

In reply to All the Gear, No Idea: But it's not a mountain bike and the tyre pressures are much higher than that. I don't get any punctures with the Marathon plus tyres, and I can't imagine once you've filled your tubes with sealant, it's much lighter than a puncture proof tyre?

I think I'm more interested in what touring tyres people use, especially if they ride off tarmac sometime with them, and how puncture resistant they find them.

In reply to TobyA:

I did some touring on the classic marathons (green guard), last summer, and found them excellent, fine on gravel roads ad fast on tarmac. Puncture count was zero. I think they are lighter than the marathon pluses, certainly cheaper!

In reply to Green Porridge: Thank you Epic, I had looked at them too but I think the tread is a bit more aggressive on the Mondials. I've cycled thousands of kms on gravel bike tracks on the Marathon Pluses and I don't think ever crashed, so came to trust them lots for gravel - I guess I need to decide if I do tour how much will be on surfaces softer than packed gravel cycle paths.

Good to hear the green guard ones work well though too!

In reply to TobyA:

Are they 700c or 26"?

In reply to Beat me to it!: 700c x35. Do you get CXers with 26" wheels?

In reply to TobyA:

Ya, there are a few with 26"

In reply to TobyA:

Something like vittoria croos xm pro should suit your needs ?

In reply to TobyA:

Have you looked at schwalbe land cruisers? I was thinking about them when I got my green guards, but figured I rarely went more off road than gravel, and would rather reduce the rolling resistance on the road, than have good off road tyres. They do look like a good choice for fast on road, but still being able to cope with a bit of mud.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24624

I think, for tyres, going from best on clean, dry roads, to miserable mud, I'd go like this (other tyres available to substitute!)

Conti GP4000 > marathon + > marathon greenguard > landcruiser > smart sam > something mega nobbly

In reply to Green Porridge:

I think if you're wanting something that goes quickly on the road as well, then look for a continuous tread along the middle like on the landcruisers (or to a lesser extent, the smart sams).

In reply to Green Porridge:

the Schwalbe landcruisers are my compromise tyre.

I have a Scott Addict CXwhich came with Rocket Rons fitted as standard.

Rocket Rons have not stood up to my varied cycling and have puncture prone.
So they got the heave.

Concensus was that the Rocket Rons ,due to their light weight ,would still be the tyre to use in a race ,but not an everydaytyre.

Landcruisers are heavier ,but a bit more road friendly.

In reply to TobyA: I've got two sets for mine, Michilin mud pro 2 for when its gloppy and bonatrager jones for mixed on and off road. The jones are awesome tyres, reasonably easy rolling, but with good treads either side of the centre to give grip off road, and very puncture resistant. You know me, I'm a fatty and they seem to do the trick... Plus you can get them in 38 so nice and comfy...

In reply to TobyA:

Toby, I mtb with a club weekly, I use Smart Sams 26". I consider these light good puncture resistance good on road rolling and sufficient grip to keep up with the hardcore lads in gloop. Ive recently had one thorn give me a slow puncture this is the first issue in over a year so consider this good news.

In September I fitted out my Dolam Multicross 700c bike with Smart Sams. more road orientated. I ride road, rail lines, offroad. I run different pressures depending on if im after offroad comfort/grip or extra on road speed. No punctures thus far.

I use tubes throughout.
https://plus.google.com/photos/117542672402472670569/albums/584604110759104...

In reply to TobyA: ANother vote here for land cruisers i've just ridden 200km on them on a 29" hardtail. no punctures (my mate had 5 punctures on the same ride), grippy enough in the dry, coped really well with mud and roll really well, ideal for unsurfaced roads me thinks. only £15 each as well.

http://www.schwalbe.com/gbl/en/produkte/tour_city/produkt/index.php5?flash=...

In reply to all: Thanks for all the feed back. I'm interested in the Landcruisers as besides anything else, they're really cheap! How are people finding theirs in terms of wear? I know the Marathon Pluses are a bit crazy good in that respect; but they cost three times the cost of the Landcruisers. I wonder if you can get 3000 kms out of a set of the the Landcruisers?

In reply to TobyA: Have you looked at these: http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a31997/grand-prix-4-season-28-mm.html?lg=e...

At 260g's you could carry a spare tyre as well as the ones on your wheels for less weight than 1 of the tyre's you were looking at. The Vectran breakers are very good against punctures in my experience. Drop the pressure a bit and they would be ok on some trails, just not so good on mud.

BW

In reply to Baron Weasel: Yeah, I want a bit more grip on loose stuff I think. How do they wear though? I guess lighter has to mean less hard wearing?

I went through to the canvas on one road tire in 1400 kms last year, huge difference to the Schwalbes on my commuter.

In reply to TobyA: I have not tried the 4 seasons - but have done 1500-2000 miles on 4000s's and they show little signs of wear (as per wear indicator). I have also fished a few shards of glass out that the breaker has stopped in its tracks. regarding grip - I have a mate that uses slicks on his mountain bike (schwalbe big apples) and he reckons they are great for everything except serious mud, although they do have a lot more surface area. I think you will detract from the joy of riding if you put 900g tyres on. I have tried some conti's at 600g and they just feel so slow (cyclocross too like yours), especially on hilly terrain as we have here round the Lakes.

Just some food for thought anyway

BW

In reply to TobyA:

Certainly, the comparatively priced marathon green guards (comparative, that is, to the land cruisers) that I've got seem to be wearing well - I would expect 3000km out of them with no worries. Obviously if you're riding soft stuff off road, you can expect more, but even then, with the tread pattern, you get a lot of life out of them because you're always running on the really thick part.

In reply to TobyA:

I've used 2 sets of cyclocross tyres on my bike and the Continental ones did probably 3 times more distance before wearing out compared to the Maxxis ones. Very similar weight and tread pattern, which makes me think rubber compound has a large part to play as well.

Have you seen the Schwalbe Sammy Slick folding tyres? They weigh in at 360g (700x35) and have varying tread so you can adjust the pressure for different terrain.

BW