Spare Tire recommendations

[MTK]

I'll be going on my first extended tour starting in two weeks.  I went to my LBS looking for a spare tire.  I'm currently riding on the stock Bontrager Hardcase 32's that came with the Trek 520.  The LBS, however, said that that tire doesn't come in a folding version, which I wanted.  Any advice on a good spare tire?  Oh yeah, one or two?

Thanks.

[RussellSeaton]

http://www.adventurecycling.org/forums/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=6&Topic=1409&keywords=spare%20tire

Search this forum using "spare tire" and everything in the last 120 days and all forums.  You will turn up the above thread: "Do I really need to carry a spare tire?"  Last post 2-8-07.

[valygrl]

I use this avocet, the folding version: http://www.avocet.com/tirepages/cross_2_specs.html.

One is (more than) enough.  what I do is use the spare when needed, then next time i get to a town with a bike shop, buy a non-folding touring tire and take the folder off.

[litespeed]

I use Continental Top Touring 37x700 tires on the wide custom rims on my touring bike. For a spare I just double one over, tape it together with vinyl tape and stuff it in my rear pannier. It forms a circle about 10-12" in diameter. Other stuff gets packed inside and around it. Over the years I have cut (destroyed) one tire while touring and another on a paved trail near my home here.

[staehpj1]

I don't know why folks seem to insist on a folding tire.  As World Traveler says a regular tire folded into three loops fits fine in a pannier or can easily be strapped to the rear rack or elsewhere.

If the tire you prefer comes in a folder fine, but otherwise just fold your wirebead tire like shown at: http://www.rideyourbike.com/tirefold.html

[ptaylor]

I think the reason folks seem to insist on a folder, is that they are much easier to pack.

Paul

[bbaker]

I recommend the Pasela TG from Panaracer.  I've used them for 3 years.  Excellent touring tire.  

[John Nettles]

Does anyone still use a boot or just a short (3 inches) section of an old tire to act as a temporary?  I have only had a tire blow once in tens of thousands of miles of loaded touring and the boot worked fine for the next several hundred miles.  However, I do tend to keep the tires in pretty good shape and don't let them get bare, i.e. change every 2500-3000 miles of touring, keep them properly inflated, etc.

Some day I need to quit being so old school !

Happy trails and may the wind be at your back!

TulsaJohn

[ptaylor]

TulsaJohn.

Before I started carrying a folder spare, I carried strapping tape. That's the super strong stuff with little nylon threads for reinforcement. I taped a couple of inch long pieces inside the tire to cover a sidewall break, and it worked well for couple of hundred miles til I could replace the tire.

I now carry a small roll of electrical tape, but I doubt it would work to well in patching a tire.

Paul

[boonebikeguy]

Yeah. Ingnore going online first of all and support a local shop is my first suggestion. I am sure everyone here told you to shop online. Bad choice when it comes to things like tires..and I will explain. Possibally tires can be damged in shipping a mere scratch on the sidewall and you will be sending it back IF you catch it.  Secondly never buy JUST ONE tire. always buy a set, rotate them onto your bike at ther same time, then after some time of riding ROTATE the tires on the bike back to front.

Third. Shopping online is dandy wonderful. However supporting local shops has its advantages. The small amount of mark up in prices are usually the same you pay in that wonderful shipping cost for ONE TIRE. You also find great deals on 26's most of the time and can look at the set and see what you are getting without mix up mistakes and delays. Remember BUY A SET not one tire. If you can I mean I can certainly understand being frugal but when it comes to tires..the most important aspect of your bike, never buy them online if you can simply buy them locally. Find a bike shop near you and go there.I mean I luve me some Bike Nashbar and junk, but like I am buying my Giant locally and got a sweet deal and on lay-away without spending a lot of dough on shipping. The wheel set was THROWN IN...a bontranger racing wheel set that was RODE for thirty minutes by some snooty bike snob and switched out from a custom made frame, but BECAUSE I came to them they threw them in for no increase..pretty bad ass.
my good fellow you will never find deals like that online I can assure you.So online bike purchases are the cats pajamas....SOMETIMES. But local shops need your support or you'll end up not being able to even get a repair locally because you chose to shop online first.

Just my two-bits.

Oh yeah stay away from wire beads, they may be cheaper but to me theyr are not worth it. My best clinchers have never had them . Never buy really cheap tires, they are horrible. Always be willing to spend the good amount for good tires Bottom line everything on your bike depends on what you are riding on, Crappy cheap tires leave you with a crappy cheap ride, even spares should never be cheap crappy tires.

Paul.

PS
Even SPARES I buy in pairs..because if i have to replace one tire I just rotate the other in and use the older tire as my new spare. Make sense?

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

This message was edited by boonebikeguy on 5-18-07 @ 9:26 AM

[staehpj1]

I agree that it is good to support the LBS.  I also agree that it is a good idea to buy good tires, but some of Paul's comments don't ring true to me.

First I didn't notice anyone in this thread saying to buy online, so those comments were strange.

Next, the comment about tires being damaged in shipping.  I have never heard of that happening and besides, tires are shipped to the LBS too and then in many shops hung out where everybody who comes in the store can handle them.  I am not worried that tires are likely to be damaged from either source, but if I were I doubt that it is more likely to be the case with online orders.

Regarding shipping, yes you have to consider shipping, but online prices are often still cheaper even with the shipping costs, especially since you are likely to not pay sales tax.

Paul you don't say why you think wire beads aren't worth it.  Care to explain?

Note that I am not particularly advocating for buying online, I just thought some of the reasons listed were pretty lame.

Buy from the LBS because you want to support them, or buy from them because it is convenient, or buy from them because they offer a better deal.

Personally I sometimes buy online and sometimes buy locally.  I decide which way to go on a purchase by purchase basis and go with the one that seems like the best deal.  If it is close I lean toward the LBS.