650b Alternatives to Pari Motos.

[RJM]

I am looking for some alternatives to Pari Motos for my Sam.  I have been having a problem with flats with these tires, and they seem like they are wearing out quicker than I would like. Looking for something that will still have some performance and won't be sluggish on the road but will still be able to take some road abuse.  I have a spare wheelset with Fatty Rumpkins for dirt and touring so I have that kind of stuff covered.  Any ideas, recommendations or opinions?

 

Thanks.

[Earl Grey]

The obvious choice are Grand Bois Hetres (42mm). Super low rolling
resistance and pretty low weight, fat enough for serious off-roading,
seem to last 3-5000 miles (if memory of other people's posts serves).
Best tire ever made, IMHO. If you really want to go skinny, go Grand
Bois Cypres (32mm).

Gernot
Thailand

[William]

The Grand Bois Lierre also seems to get a lot of love.  I've been very impressed with the Soma 650x38 tires.  I have lots of miles on the New Express which is their flat resistant version.  I guess it should ride badly since it has a reinforced casing, but I've found it to be a very nice riding tire.  I bought a set of their non-reinforce B-Line, but I've not ridden them.  I recommend the Soma tires without reservation.  

Like you I get a flat on my Pari-Motos practically every long ride I go on.  So I'll put them on, do a short ride and love them, then do a brevet and flat (or two) and take them back off.  That cycle has gone several times now.  They are back on now, with Foss tubes.  I'm in a similar situation trying to love Hetres.  I'm one of the people who has a hard time getting them to run true on Velocity rims.  Also, my Hilsen barely takes Hetres with fenders.  I've finally decided that I'm just not going to run 42s on the Hilsen at all.  I believe your Sam might have the same clearances.  I'm now running the Hetres on my Bombadil for commuting.  

[Esteban]

Lierres, hands down.  Nearly the same ride quality of the Hetres, with a little less volume for dirt (that's where I think the Hetres are especially good), but good enough.  And they'll fit under fenders no problem.  I've really enjoyed them on the Protovelo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25671211@N02/6813204791/in/photostream

I love, love the Pari-motos - but they're not an everyday tire.  Light as a feather, and built that way too.  

Esteban

San Diego, Calif.

On Tuesday, March 27, 2012 8:11:42 AM UTC-7, RJM wrote:

[Ryan Watson]

I can't say enough good things about the Grand Bois Hetres. I also found the Pari-motos to be too flat prone for regular use. The Hetres roll almost as smooth but been much better for flat resistance and longevity for me. Best I've ever ridden, actually.

Ryan in Albuquerque 

On Mar 27, 2012, at 9:11, RJM <crccp...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am looking for some alternatives to Pari Motos for my Sam.  I have been having a problem with flats with these tires, and they seem like they are wearing out quicker than I would like. Looking for something that will still have some performance and won't be sluggish on the road but will still be able to take some road abuse.  I have a spare wheelset with Fatty Rumpkins for dirt and touring so I have that kind of stuff covered.  Any ideas, recommendations or opinions?

 

Thanks.

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[Steve Palincsar]

If the Hetres fit, they're your best bet; however, they may not fit a
Hillborne. A good second at a true 38mm is the Lierre. I don't know
what their service life will be, but I'm sure it will be significantly
longer than the Pari Motos, as the PMs have a very thin tread, and the
Lierres aren't sluggish at all.

[rcnute]

I've heard of tire liners but never used them. Anyone tried these? I
wonder if they would help with Pari-Motos.

Ryan

[Steve Palincsar]

On Tue, 2012-03-27 at 13:26 -0700, rcnute wrote:
> I've heard of tire liners but never used them. Anyone tried these? I
> wonder if they would help with Pari-Motos.

I've never used them either, but I've always heard how badly they affect
ride. As for any flat protection qualities, I myself never found Pari
Motos to be flat prone. However, there is no way whatever they could
extend the service life of the tire, which is limited by the tread
thickness. In all, I'd consider this to be a really, really bad idea.

[newenglandbike]

My girlfriend's first-gen Hillborne has Hetre's on it and there is plenty of room for fenders (though she doesn't use fenders).

[RonaTD]

On Mar 27, 11:49 am, Esteban <Proto...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I love, love the Pari-motos - but they're not an everyday tire.  Light as a
> feather, and built that way too.
>

I'm only one data point, but I've done a solo 600k, a 400k brevet, and
a whole lot of daily commuting on a pair of Pari Motos and I've had
only one flat and still have lots of tread left.

I'm building a new bike with Hetres and am having a dickens of a
itinerary getting them to mount straight on Velocity rims. I've had
some problem with that with the Pacentis, but not nearly as bad.

Ted Durant
Milwaukee WI USA

[RonaTD]

On Mar 27, 8:00 pm, RonaTD <teddur...@gmail.com> wrote:
> am having a dickens of a
> itinerary getting them to mount straight on Velocity rims.

Argh. iOS spell correction and aging eyesight. Sorry about that. I
meant a dickens of a time, not itinerary.

[Burton]

I've got Hetres on my Sam with fenders and they are fantastic. I get
about 5,000 miles out of them, with very few flats, maybe one every
2,000 miles on the pair. I ride on the shoulder with the road debris,
on single track, whatever, and they're just about perfect in
everything but deep mud.

I used them for the d2r2 last year and my butt didnt get sore after 75
miles of dirt roads, and going down hills next to guys on skinny
tires, I rolled significantly faster. Though maybe that's because
gravity likes me a lot.

[RJM]

Thanks everybody for the comments.

 

I really like the Pari Motos, they are fast tires and feel great, I can't really say I have had any issues with the handling or performance. I have a brand new set of Pari Motos sitting in the bike room, but may keep them for "events" like some longer organized century rides I am planning later on this year.  The current tires got less than 1500 miles on them and the back one is down too much to be useable.  I could probably get some life out of the front.  I had two flats last night riding on the road, rear and front flatted in different areas on the route, both tubes were punctured right in the center, so it isn't a spoke poking through or anything like that, just some sharp road debris I would bet.  Maybe I am just riding them too hard and don't realize it, I probably have skidded the bike to a stop a few times.  I am strongly considering the Hetres or one of the other Grand Bois tires.  How about the Maxi Fasty tires Riv sells, anybody used them?

[Ablejack]

'nother vote for the Grand Bois Lierre. My brother rides and loves them on his randonneuse- he used to ride Pari-motos too. But if you can fit Rumpkins (a fat 40), you probably can fit Hetres (a slim 42) as well. 

/I ride clunky old (40mm) Schwalbe Marathon- not sexy, not fast, not fixing flats. They feel like rocks (thick sidewalls and kevlar belted) so if I want speed, I have to pedal faster!

[Bruce Herbitter]

I have 1,592 flat free miles on my 1st set of P-Ms so far. They won't be a high mileage tire, but they are fun to ride.
I didn't see a mention yet, but Maxy Fasty (33.4 mm or so) tires are a plausible alternative.

[Matthew J]

Soma Xpress - Riv sells them - are not sluggish and are very durable.  Not as plush as the Grand Bois, mind you, but decent tires nonetheless.

On Tuesday, March 27, 2012 10:11:42 AM UTC-5, RJM wrote: