Tire recommendation?

[Dave B]

Just purchased my second bike from SJS cycles , a used Thorn Raven - it's in mint condition and I am very happy customer.  Looking to replace the tyres. It’s a well worn question, but I would welcome any recommendations in terms of new new tyres. :Daily use on and off road, use canal towpaths  daily, fairly high mileage and puncture protection is important as don’t wish to arrive to work with a flat. Not carrying a heavy load. Would be grateful for any suggestions

[PH]

Congratulations on the new bike!
If you are going to absolutely prioritise puncture avoidance. get Marathon Plus.  I'm not a fan, but in this one regard I don't think there's anything better.
A good all round compromise, still very puncture resistant, is the bog standard Marathon, the Greenguard. 
If you want to get the most from your bike and accept the occasional puncture as a reasonable price to pay for it, then there's plenty of choice.  It's over ten years since I had a 26" wheel bike, back then I liked Panaracer Paselas on my Raven. 

[martinf]

You will probably have 26" (559) tyres on a Raven. There is less choice in that size nowadays.

I have 50x559  Schwalbe Marathon Supremes for road use on my "touring" Raven Tour, this is a lightweight tyre that rolls well and lasts a long time. I don't get many punctures where I live, but it certainly has less protection than Marathon Plus. But it is no longer in production.

For a mix of road/off-road use on my "utility" Raven Tour I currently have 55x559 Marathon Mondial. This is a heavier and slower tyre, still in production in the slightly smaller 50x559 size. I chose the more expensive folding version, as, according to Schwalbe, the puncture protection and durability is better at 6 out of 7 on Schwalbe's scale for protection and 6 out of 6 for durability. The wired version is rated at 4 out of 7 for protection and 5 out of 6 for durability, but costs less. 

I put "standard" Marathon Plus on the rear wheels of our two visitor bikes, as I don't want visitors messing up the hub gear adjustments when trying to mend punctures. Marathon Plus are heavy, slower than Marathon Mondial, and they don't work quite as well on off-road use (although there is an off road version that I haven't tried that might be better). These limitations don't matter too much, as the bikes are on a small island, so are never ridden for long distances. Marathon Plus are rated 7 out of 7 on Schwalbe's scale for protection and 6 out of 6 for durability. 

[energyman]

In a word "Marathon Plus"
(Oh, that's two)

[Dave B]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am schwalbe fan, but I may go with the Panracer tyres just to try something different. Thanks again.

[mickeg]

I was going to say Marathon (with greenguard), but Ph beat me to it.

Either 40 or 50mm wide, your choice.  I think that frame will handle 50mm but you should verify that first.

I use the 40mm wide Marathons for mostly pavement touring on my Sherpa.  I use a different tire that is 50mm wide when on gravel or tow paths.

Yes I see you already decided, but just pitching this anyway.

[Dave B]

To be honest I have been tempted by the  marathon green guard : well priced , good puncture protection, and it seems good in terms of less rolling resistance. The only downside is weight . Thanks for your advice

[Andre Jute]

For an urban commuter, Marathon Plus is the nearest thing to a guarantee of arriving at work on time, short of solid wood "tyres". I hated their harsh ride and thirteen years ago moved on to Big Apples, on which I've had two punctures in that time, about the same as I had on the Marathon Plus in about the same period of time. For practical purposes that's a puncture-free cycling life. Both the punctures on the Big Apples were due to my errors, riding too fast through potholes or not making a jump onto a concrete step cleanly, in short, avoidable with more care. But I ride on pretty privileged small-town streets and clean if roughly surfaced tarmac lanes, so the comparison is unfair. The Marathon Plus punctures were the result of nails, which would have penetrated any tyre known to me. On the other hand, if there's no broken glass visible on any part of your commute to threaten soft sidewalls, you might consider the Big Apples for their comfort. There is no appreciable difference in longevity between the Marathon Plus and the Big Apple.

The Bontrager Hard Case Elite is a workalike, maybe even brand engineering, because they appear to me to be made in the same mold as the Marathon Plus.

Apologies if you know this already. Something not all Schwalbe fans are aware of: Schwalbe tyres are intended to be ridden until the protective underlay becomes visible.

I'd be very interested in your long-term report on the Greenguard.

[martinf]

To be honest I have been tempted by the  marathon green guard : well priced , good puncture protection, and it seems good in terms of less rolling resistance. The only downside is weight . Thanks for your advice

I had Marathon green guard in 650B x 44 on my old utility bike. They were a big improvement on the old Michelin tyres I had before, but not so free-rolling as the 650B x 50 Marathon Supremes that replaced them. 

Another possibilty would be the Continental Contact Urban. I have these on one of my Brompton folders, they have quite low rolling resistance and seem reasonably puncture resistant so far. They exist in lots of different sizes, including 26 inch. Also fairly inexpensive and quite light, though they may be difficult to find in the UK. This site gives them a good review :

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/continental-contact-urban

[PH]

I had Marathon green guard in 650B x 44 on my old utility bike.

I'm a bit wary of tyre comparisons between sizes, manufacturers sometimes change compounds and carcass between them (With good reason, though I'm hazy on detail), sometimes there's even differences between widths in the same wheel size.  Then different sizes require different pressures, so the RR tests on one size might not apply to another.   I don't have a huge experience of the same tyres in different sizes, three from memory, the Paselas are a nicer tyre in 26" x 1.75" than in 700c x 32, pre greenguard Marathons feel more compliant in 24" than 26" and Almotions seem to offer the same feel in the three sizes I've tried - All subjective of course!

[martinf]

I'm a bit wary of tyre comparisons between sizes, manufacturers sometimes change compounds and carcass between them (With good reason, though I'm hazy on detail), sometimes there's even differences between widths in the same wheel size.  Then different sizes require different pressures, so the RR tests on one size might not apply to another.

And they (at least Schwalbe) often change the characteristics of a given model in a given size between model years. The 50x559 Supremes I bought recently aren't exactly the same as the ones I bought a few years ago.

Classic one recently was Schwalbe Almotion in 40x622 (700C) There were two versions available, different weights, different rolling resistance and puncture protection characteristics according to Schwalbe.

[mickeg]

I'm a bit wary of tyre comparisons between sizes, manufacturers sometimes change compounds and carcass between them (With good reason, though I'm hazy on detail), sometimes there's even differences between widths in the same wheel size.  Then different sizes require different pressures, so the RR tests on one size might not apply to another.

And they (at least Schwalbe) often change the characteristics of a given model in a given size between model years. The 50x559 Supremes I bought recently aren't exactly the same as the ones I bought a few years ago.

Classic one recently was Schwalbe Almotion in 40x622 (700C) There were two versions available, different weights, different rolling resistance and puncture protection characteristics according to Schwalbe.

And to expand on this topic, even same size within one model, sometimes Schwalbe offered two tires, one with Kevlar bead to make it foldable.  The ones with Kevlar bead also had different fabric and rubber compounds so the wire bead version and Kevlar version could be quite different from each other.

And I even found by buying a Dureme that I saw on sale that Schwalbe had made some heavier duty versions for tandems, so I had a very different folding Dureme than my previous folding Dureme that was not labeled "Tandem Ready".

[Dave B]

Decided to go for the green guard 26 x 1.75.

[PH]

Decided to go for the green guard 26 x 1.75.

I don't think you'll go wrong with them, they'd have probably been on my short list for general use.  They do seem to get overlooked sometimes, or maybe it's that people prioritise one attribute over the others, that's probably what I do.   
Please let us know what you think, of the tyres and bike, when you've done a few miles.
Can't speak for anyone else, but I'm always interested in others perceptions, particularly when it's stuff I've used and their impressions are different.

[Dave B]

Well the tyres and tubes arrived Friday. I fitted them on Saturday. The look great, much better than tyres thar came with bike - they had brown sidewalls which showed signs of been deflated for some time. My initial impressions are good, them seem faster . The profile of the tyre is narrower than I expected, perhaps I should have gone for 2 inch. They seem very robust, which is a must due to the nature of my daily route to work. Overall pleased with tyres and very pleased with my “pre loved Raven”  I have recently purchased from Thorn. All the best