Schwalbe
Marathon Plus, Continental Touring, and Vittoria Randonneur Bicycle Tour
Tires for sale: The best long distance 700c and 26 inch tires for bike
tours.
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Cindie inspecting her tire for more razor sharp thorns in northern
Argentina. |
I receive a lot of email concerning tires because this is a
hot topic in the bike touring world. Many readers of DownTheRoad.org
want to know where to buy the perfect high quality tire that will never go flat
on their upcoming bicycle vacation. Others want to tell me about their
favorite bike tour tire they believe is "bullet proof" and will never puncture.
What I have learned from years of traveling on a bicycle is that nothing is
"bullet proof" and even new high quality touring specific tires can get
flats. If something on the road or trail is sharp enough it will cut
through anything. Because there is no perfect touring tire you should
expect to fix a flat during your travels. My advice is to always carry
the necessary repair equipment and have some practice patching punctures
before you leave home. Bicycle repair is best learned at home not on
the road.
It is best to start out with the highest quality tires.
I had to learn this the hard way. Before our year long bike tour in
South America I ordered our tires at the last minute. The store only
had three of my preferred cycling tires in stock (these tires sell fast)
instead of the four I wanted for both of our bikes. I could not wait
for their back order system to send me the fourth tire so I had to
substitute a cheaper city or urban tire. I used this lower quality
tire on the front of my bike knowing it would receive less wear but it still
performed miserably. I had numerous flats and punctures with my front
tire which turned into a continuous problem. This tire finally
shredded completely, only a few months into our trip, and at the worst
possible time. We were riding across the worlds largest salt lake, the
Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It took us four days to cross this barren
expanse and there was absolutely no possibility for help when my tire gave
out completely. Fortunately, I had a small 26 X 1.1 spare folding
tire in the bottom of my pannier just for such emergencies. I rode on this spare for several
weeks through the remainder of Bolivia and northern Argentina until I found
a suitable replacement. I learned from this experience to never leave
home with substandard equipment.
My cheap city urban tire is rendered useless when the
sidewall ripped apart in Bolivia. |
The worlds largest salt lake and worst place to lose a
tire. This is why we carry a spare. |
We have had excellent experiences with two brands of bike
tires on tour. The Schwalbe Marathon Plus and
Continental Touring tires have
lasted the longest (most kilometers or miles) with the least flats, slices,
and blowouts.
These bike touring specific tires have tread patterns that can meet most
cycle touring needs. They can be purchased two sizes: 26 inch (MT
mountain bike) and 700c (road).
The only problem with the Schwalbe Marathon Plus and
Continental Touring is they are hard to find in bike shops, especially when
you need them, while traveling on the road. Often the best traveling
tires we can find, without shopping online, are Vittoria Randonneur Touring.
These tires, in my opinion, are not as good as the ones mentioned above but
are usually better than other tires on the shelf in a retail store and provide pretty good
value for the money.
 The
lightweight Kevlar folding spare tire will always occupy the bottom of one of my
bags. Bad luck usually strikes when you are the furthest from
civilization. My advice is to start out with the best long distance
touring tires and travel equipment and always be prepared for the worst
scenarios.
Our Favorite and Recommended Bicycle Travel and Touring Tires.
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Punctures become obsolete with the MARATHON PLUS!
The SmartGuard layer made from a flexible, special rubber offers particular
resistance to shards of glass and flints. Even a thumbtack cannot penetrate
this protective layer. The SmartGuard belt does not increase rolling
resistance. The MARATHON PLUS rolls as easily as a tire without protection.
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A compact, highly elastic rubber breaker makes the Touring
Plus extremely resistant. Stones, glass splitters and thorns have no chance.
The layer strength of the Breaker is adapted to the rolling movement of the
tire. Features and Information Touring Plus
* Security breaker makes tire extremely resistant to punctures
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Folding Emergency Spare Tire
Schwalbe Durano is the right choice for high mileage
purposes, because no other racing tire lasts longer. At the same time the
Dual Compound offers great grip for training on wet winter roads. Features
and Information Durano
* High mileage tires featuring Dual Compound Technology for
durability and cornering adhesion * Dual Compound Technology with RaceGuard
puncture protection (India rubber and nylon fabric) * RaceGuard puncture
protection developed particularly for racing tires
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