No ordinary tyre guarantees to be absolute puncture free, but improvements in technology have gone a long way to reducing your chances of puncturing. For the average rider and commuter, buying a puncture resistant tyre is probably one of best upgrades to make. Highly puncture resistant tyres usually have a trade off of greater weight and higher rolling resistance (i.e. slower) but the slight decline in speed is well worth the greater peace of mind that comes from having less punctures.
Armadillo – Specialized All condition. The tyre feels pretty tough and resistant to small scratches. It claims to be designed for low rolling resistance; but, in practices feels a little heavy. I am quite happy using it on my commuting bike and also added to rear wheel of my training bike. I have been using them for over three years (5 days a week) During that period I have had three punctures and one was a 6 inch nail. Roughly speaking its a puncture rate of 3 / 7,000 miles or 1 per 2,000 miles. It’s also pretty hard wearing, I get maybe 3,000 miles on rear and 5,000 miles on front, which is a long time for a commuting bike. Overall this is a very good value tyre which offers excellent puncture resistance. It really is a good investment and one of my favourite. Armadillo Tyres
Schwalbe Marathon Plus
This has one of the strongest puncture resistance and is almost impregnable. Pictures show you can put a drawing tack in middle and it doesn’t penetrate to the inner tube. It comes with an extra layer of rubber which resists even a drawing pin. It is quite heavy at over 900grams, but, this is because of the thickness of the rubber. If you really want a very strong puncture proof tyre, this has one of thickest layers of protection. It has a heavier rolling resistance (but doesn’t feel totally dead), but you won’t be buying it so you can be light and fast. At £30 for a tyre, it may seem a lot, but it will reward the investment in time saved and cost of new inner tubes. Schwalbe Marathon Plus at Wiggle 700c*25 – 200c *38
Schwalbe Durano Plus Performance Tyre
The road bike version of the Schwalbe Smart Guard puncture protection. Again heavier than your average tyre, but offers unrivalled puncture protection with only slight decline in rolling resistance. Despite the marketers claim, you definitely wouldn’t race on this as the extra weight would be a handicap, but if you are sick of getting punctures this is one of best protection you can get. Good for training bike, very low ratio of punctures. It is available in 700c*23 to 700c *25
Durano Plus at Wiggle
Racing Puncture Resistant Tyres
Continental Dura Skin. The other tyre I like to use on my winter training bike is the Continental Dura Skin (all season). As as added bonus it has good handling properties in the wet (essential for winter riding). It also feels a lighter ride than the Armadillo. You can also get the Continental Gator Skin Hardshell (which has added layer to prevent tyres splitting)
I have also found the Continental Grand Prix 3000 series to be pretty good in resisting punctures.
Other ways to minimise punctures include
- Avoid riding in wet grit and dirt
- Mend an inner tube without pinching it whilst putting it back on – Tips for mending a puncture
Puncture Free Tyres
The only absolutely puncture free tyres are those that are completely solid. I wanted to try one, but, was told they were too wide to fit a racing bike. If anyone has good experiences with puncture free tyres and knows where you can get one for 700*25, I would be interested in hearing, you can leave a comment below.
Road Tyres at Wiggle
Armadillo Tyres at Evans Cycles
Related
Re: lynsey on 11.07.10 at 10:03 pm
‘…..my partner has a kraken carrera mountain bike and has over five punctures in last three weeks…. and had puncture day after it was fixed…. its flat as anything any help please please’
It’s hard to be certain, but this sounds like a systematic problem. The probability of so many individual punctures in such a short time, seems very small. What that means is that with so many punctures it’s likely that there was a connection. That connection might have been a thorn; piece of glass; nail etc. stuck in the tyre, leading to subsequent punctures, but the tyre & tube have been replaced. A series of punctures also might be caused by a spoke-end projecting from the rim or result from a misplaced rim-tape (but rim-tape punctures normally take some time to cut through a properly inflated inner-tube.) If your partner has a habit of riding under-inflated tyres over obstacles, these punctures could be what the Americans call snake-bite punctures, where the tube is pinched between an obstacle like a kerb, tree-root or similar and the wheel rim. These punctures often occur in pairs, hence the name.
I hope this helps.
I use Mr Tuffys (some may have another name now – they’re usually orange/brown and thin – don’t get the thick heavy ones) tyre liners. They’re wonderful. I only use them in the back of my Singlespeed roadie and my training bike (race bike I don’t have them). I don’t have them in the front as I, like most of you, hardly get front punctures. Since I’ve had them = no punctures in the back wheels.
isnt there a knobbly marathon plus? or maraton winter?
just put these on with spikes!
solids for racing:
http://www.greentyre.co.uk/28inch.html
I have used Armadillos and Marathon Plus, both are very good, I commute 20 miles a day into Central London using these, and was averaging 2 punctures a year. Went onto knobblies for the snow, and was getting one a month ! My tip for changing them is: do it while the tyre is warm, if you can leave it next to a radiator for an hour, even better ! My question is: what’s the most puncture-resistant knobbly tyre, I want something with tread for the snow, when it comes, but haven’t found anything decent yet…
hi there my partner has a kraken carrera mountain bike and has over five punctures in last three weeks and is ready to throw it out, hes went to two different bike shops in south lanarkshire scotland uk and they fitted new tubing, new tire etc and still no joy and had puncture day after it was fixed! i have tried taking the tire off but have no tools and the tire seems very very tight even tho its flat as anything any help please please
I have used Continental gator skins on one of my bikes and have not had a puncture in years.
It depends where you ride too. Keep of cycle paths, cycle a metre from the cerb out of all the grit and glass.
Put the bike up on a rack when you get home and clean the tyres and rims.
I have no experience with airless tyres, but I know Sheldon Brown thought the pneumatic tyre was the best thing to happen to cycling, and anyone who said otherwise was a charlatan.
Anyone want to disagree with Sheldon?
Try greentyre.co.uk. Quite likely the rim size may not fix but if you get a good stanley knife you can cut it to the size you want quite easily. I did it for my 16 inch wheel which had a rim size of 21 . They greentyre size was 23-25 mm. Otherwise it will be imposible to fit them in.
Good luck!
i have found a site that do solid tyres for 700×25 half inch gap between rims of wheel i have not got it yet as they have none in stock and are making it so 10-14 days for £19.99 each
the company are called green tyres cant fink there exact web address at min.
I used gator skins last winter. They had good puncture resistance and better grip in the wet.
I think some of the problems with getting tyres on and off is cold hands and cold tyres, especially in the winter.
Two things I’ve found to make getting tyres on and off easier are:
Wider tyres (25mm)
Start by putting the tyre on nearest the valve
I bought Marathon Plus tyres and soon regretted it when it came to fitting them. I punctured my front inner tube in the struggle and immediately went and bought a new, ordinary tyre to replace it. I had to cut the marathon plus off with a knife. I haven’t tackled the rear one yet but the thought of ever getting a puncture in the middle of nowhere scares me and I will get rid of it as soon as possible. I do not recommend them and would never buy another one.
dont drive a bike
Hi Helen
You are not alone. I have exactly the same problem. I puntured today the freezing cold and couldnt get the tire back on at first. You are right, it makes you scared to take the bike out on long rides.. Basically take 3 inner tubes with you. And DO use tyre levers to get the tyre back on, but just be incredibly careful about not pinching the tube when you lever the tyre back on. IF you bring 3 tubes then you have 3 chances!!
good luck!
Jonathan
I have armadillo tyres on my bicycle and I am finding that I can no longer remove and replace them myself as I am not strong enough. This is a major problem as I no longer feel confident in doing long distance rides. I mentioned this to the people in my local Evans store and they confirmed that they are increasingly having to use metal tyre levers because the plastic ones are snapping.
What solutions are there to this problem? I need the tough tyres as I do 60 miles a week in central London.
Apart from anything else, instead of repairing my own punctures at minimal cost and at any time of day or night, I now have to find a bike shop that is open and pay for a new inner tube and the labour to fit it?
Do we need a new invention?
take a look at our 700×25 road racing tyres from Amerityre
Please take a look at our Amerityre range of tyres as we do offer a 700×25 road tyre.
I once fitted solid greentyres to a mountain bike. they were difficult to fit but the big disadvantage was the increased drag compared to normal tyres. it was hard work and they were never off road.
try greentyres for a 700/22/23 sprint or racer puncture
proof tyres i have not tried them yet
cheers
Sky
Hi, I Recently moved from inner tube tyres to puncture Proof tyres as i got Extremely fed up with Punctures & Pumps Breaking over the years & all i can say about them is That i will never go back to a inner tube tyre again, They are light & just as good as a inner tube tyre if not BETTER in my opinion!