Best road/gravel commuter tire?

[Scott Brady]

I am going to convert my old Schwinn Moab to a commuter bike, as I only live 1.2 miles from the shop. I was feeling silly firing up an expensive expedition truck for the short commute, the engine never warming up.

I need some new tires anyways, so I am looking for a good commuter tire, but one that can also take a little smooth gravel, as we have a bike trail that connects the local coffee shop and some basic shopping areas.

A bias towards smooth rolling and lightweight comes to mind...

Something like this: Schwalbe Marathon Extreme

Any thoughts?

 

[Christophe Noel]

Just about anything will do the trick. Personally, I'd use old mountain bike tires that have lost enough tread to be really good for trail use. Do a little re-cycling. As I remember, the tires on your Epic might be smaller tires? Maybe slip those over to the commuter and buy some bigger meat for the Epic. This time of year it's nice to have slightly bigger freshies on the mountain bike as the trails get loosey goosey in summer.

But...those Schwalbs look pretty sweet.

 

[Scott Brady]

The ones on the Schwinn and Epic are both super old and hard (and cracking). Time for some replacements. Great idea on the using old/worn treads. I just need to ride more, so that I have worn dirt tires to "cycle" in to the commuter

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

When I started using my MTB more for commuting than trail riding, I switched over to some Bontrager semi-slicks...I can't remember the name and I don't think they make them anymore but they were very similar to these:

I wanted something that was a lot smoother on the pavement and sidewalks but if I wanted to cut across a park or vacant lot I didn't need to worry about grip or avid tire punctures. I would definitely look at the cyclocross tires, but if you want to add a little funk to your bike the Sweetskins are pretty.....sweet.

 

[Cackalak Han]

Bought my wife's Stumpjumper HT some semi-slick tires for ~$18 each. They are 26x1.9 They work well on the street and a little bit of dirt, too. I believe they're made by Kenda.

 

[Scott Brady]

I think this one might be perfect:

Low resistance, yet with a CAD traction design and high-tech siping. Serious tire!

 

[cnynrat]

We've used the Avocet Cross tire for many years on our road tandem. It's proven to be a durable tire with reasonable performance, and it can handle gravel trails like those you describe. It's available in both 700C and 26" sizes.

Here's kind of a crummy picture of the tread pattern:

 

[Navman]

Hello Kitty all the way.

There are quite a few good commuter tires. I like to use Kenda small block 8s if there is any possibility of taking a detour off the bike path and onto some dirt. Much less rolling resistance than real knobbies but still have great traction on the dirt.

 

[FreeManDan]

Micro Knobby

Kenda Tomac Small Block Eight

WTB Wolverine Race (good front tire)

Panaracer Rampage, ridiculously low rolling resistance, ridiculously good traction....in 29er anyway

Hutchinson Python

Were I you, I would just use whatever tire I had not being used, and I have a lot of used tires just sitting around...some people even dumpster dive bike shop dumpsters:snorkel:

 

[TCM]

I second the Kenda Small Block Eight. It is a great tire for use on pavement and the occasional spin on hard pack or dirt roads.

 

[Scott Brady]

That one looks good. :bike_rider:

I am going to get something from a local shop tomorrow.

 

[FreeManDan]

Occasional? I know a guy who will ride nothing else on every trail conditions Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado has to offer. He only tries new tired on the front. IMO it only has short comings in mud and trails with lots of roots.

 

[Christophe Noel]

I think the best commuter tire is a cheap one. No reason to go nutty on the purchase of a commuter tire as it's going to wear quickly if it's of the knobbie variety.

 

[Scott Brady]

Serfas Vermin Front and Rear. About $20 a tire - pretty cheap.

Front: 26x1.95" 590 grams

Rear: 615 grams

 

[Skylinerider]

Serfas Vermin Front and Rear. About $20 a tire - pretty cheap.

Front: 26x1.95" 590 grams

Rear: 615 grams

I had these on a bike for a couple years, they were great on the road, and on hard pack trails.