Tire recommendations

[johnsondasw]

I don't replace tires to take a trip unless I know one is in poor shape.  Often, I replace tires in just daily riding some time before they are completely done.  I keep those tires and often take one on a tour (all mine are the foldable type) to use as a spare if I have a catastrophic blowout or tear in one of my tires. That is peace of mind because I can then get to the the next town/bike shop with it.

[haakon]

I know there's a lot of tire debates, but I'll throw in my two cents-- Schwalbe Marathon Racers. 2000-plus mile tour also on a Surly LHT, 26" tires, and had zero flats (even through the debris-ridden roads of oil boom North Dakota). Still riding them around Seattle without ever a flat. They're lighter than other Marathons and have good puncture resistance. Lots of tires will work well, and I like these.

[jfitch]

+1 for the Marathon Racers.

According to Schwalbe, the Racers are the fastest rolling tire in the Marathon line. I have one on my LHT with over 6,000 miles on it, about half of that loaded, and it still has plenty of wear left. I'll probably take it on this summer's tour, at which point it will have over 7,000 miles on it. It started on the front, then got swapped to the rear at about 4,700 miles. It still looked almost new at that point. The original rear Racer had about 4,700 miles on it when I replaced it with a new Racer. I did that only because I was about to start a tour and it looked a little worn, although it still had life left. I still carry it as a spare. In all that time, I've had had two flats -- one on each tire -- 1 from a Michelin wire, and one from glass in wet weather.

Jim