Tyre reviews

Halo Twin Rail Courier Berlin 700x24

Grip 2/10, then 8/10 after wearing in period

Handling 1/10, then 8/10 after wearing in period

Wear 9/10

Puncture Protection 10/10

Comfort 10/10

Weight (or perceived rolling weight) 6/10

Speed (rolling resistance) 8/10, then 7/10 after wearing in period

Appearance (black with white and red lettering) 8/10

Price 8/10 (£22.99)

Skidability ?/10 (I don't skid, but I think it would have a very high skidability factor)

Overall rating / opinion 8.5/10

A really surprising tyre, that has a Jekyll and Hyde character. At first, the high-ridged twin-rail design, makes the tyre very fast for its weight, as you are riding only an EXTREMELY narrow section of hard rubber. This is what gives it its initially very low rolling resistance, and its treachery when meeting a raised manhole cover. Especially in the wet, it will just skip off it, and change your direction so fast, that you will need good handling skills to avoid a minor calamity. But after some miles have been put in, the twin-rails are worn down to closer to the rest of the tyre. Then the handling is predictable, and in fact, the tyre enjoys fast changes of direction.....that you have wished for, not that it has decided for you. Comfort is uncanny. It actually feels like riding with suspension hubs. It soaks up minor bumps, and absorbs sudden deep potholes with ease. This part of its behaviour, is unlike any tyre I've ever tried. Puncture protection must be on par with Marathon Pluses. I've ridden through the shittiest roads and gravel and flinty surfaces on purpose, to properly test this tyre, and nothing. Not a scratch. Buy it, wear it in, ride it till you drop. Excellent tyre. AND the tread design is perfect for dispersing water, and for slush.

i won a pair of these in an alleycat (green ones) and used them on the back. didn't last very long with skidding and quickly squared off (talking three weeks) inside seems to be some weird foamy rubber, not very durable. didn't really have much time to assess the other points. I think it has alot to do with the colour ie non carbon rubber

definitely wouldn't recommend the green ones although your review of the black seems to be positive.

edit.
just seen my error, it was the twin rail i had, they are awful

Halo twinrail courier berlin - excellent
Conti gatorskins - f*in shite!

Schwalbe Blizzard- made of tissue, fucking shit.
Hutchinsons Nitro - even more fucking shit, no puncture protection at all and skidded through it pretty much instantly.

I've got a Schwalbe Marathon Plus. It isn't wearing down. I are confused.

Yeah theyre good. If only the 25 one fit my front forks... My only complaint about them is they feel a bit spongy so it's hard to know if they need pumping up or not.

So, I'm quite a fan of Rubino Pros (they do appear to cut up a bit but I've never had a puncture on one until the tyre was nearly worn through) but the 2010 model (after a string of 2009s) I've recently put on has punctured twice this week, including a pretty large slash in the sidewall last night that has ended its life prematurely. Just bad luck, or has anyone else had problems with them?

(BTW if anyone's a Conti GP4000 user you should try the GP4000S - the juddering under hard cornering is replaced by a ton of grip. Pricey though, and I wouldn't want to skid on 'em.)

Halo twinrail courier berlin - excellent

Since I've been using these tyres on both my bikes exclusively, for a while now, I'll give a bit of an update.

I've taken recently to pumping the tyres sometimes to 140psi, but more commonly to 130psi, or just above. The stated max is 120psi, but I wondered about that, as the sidewalls may be the very strongest on any 700c tyre I can think of, so in theory, it could take higher pressures. It rolls beautifully at 140psi. Keep in mind that I am a heavy guy, so it would be a relative experience to someone much lighter.

Of course, there have been no punctures at all. And, I do quite regularly ride through glass. What does happen, is when a foreign body has somehow managed to break through the exterior rubber, it gets no further, and within a day or two, pops back out again. I have not had to do one repair, or glue up any cuts.

Another feature, is that the tyre changes shape over time. Its starts off as tall and quite thin, but once the miles get put in, it slowly changes to a rounder, wider profile. This also affects the handling characteristics for the better. It becomes a more gradual tyre in bahaviour, when turning sharply and quickly.

Lastly, Max above mentions that the Schwalbe Marathon Plus he's using, hasn't been wearing. Well I'd happily give Max my spare tyre (I bought 5 at one go) to make a comparison. I feel that the Halo Courier Berlin gives so little wear...that I'd be astonished if even the Marathon Plus could better it.

Max, when you're ready....

I've worn out a Marathon Plus 28 (I rarely skid).. they take fucking ages to kill off. Just fitted a 25 of the same make to the Kinesis after cutting up an old Rubino Pro. It was meant for the Condor but since that's busted.. I have two of these Twin Rail jobbies (prizes from the London CLassic) sitting around I will try one day.

Twin Rail are shit.......as many people have said. Its the Halo Courier Berlin tyres that can make you leave pumps, and patches at home....

Different model? How far do you reckon I will get before I puncture them? Sounds like a challenge.

Apparently sunshine or gentle breezes do those tyres an injury.

Good luck Mr.SupaSmoovPedalStylie.

Lastly, Max above mentions that the Schwalbe Marathon Plus he's using, hasn't been wearing. Well I'd happily give Max my spare tyre (I bought 5 at one go) to make a comparison. I feel that the Halo Courier Berlin gives so little wear...that I'd be astonished if even the Marathon Plus could better it.

Max, when you're ready....

Sounds good to me. Always wanted to try one of these after hearing you yap about them so much. If I ride my track bike every day for work I'll be chuffed if it lasts 2 months.

The Conti Touring Plus is pretty hard to wear too, the fact it's not that grippy helped.

Different model? How far do you reckon I will get before I puncture them? Sounds like a challenge.

A friend won a pair,

i think this was after roughly a week to a week and a half, which involved not a lot of riding, brakeless...

The original Courier were shit, shit to the point you might as well just wrap the tyres in duct tape just so it'll last a bit longer and grip better.

No idea about the Berlin though, but wouldn't be surprise if a brakeless fixie skidder wear them out in a short space of time.

Sounds good to me. Always wanted to try one of these after hearing you yap about them so much. If I ride my track bike every day for work I'll be chuffed if it lasts 2 months.

I'll meet up with you and let you have it. I'll PM you when I'm going to be free.

A friend won a pair,

i think this was after roughly a week to a week and a half, which involved not a lot of riding, brakeless...

I was talking about the ones GA2G was using, not these ones. The Berlins or whatever they are. I want to compare them with the Marathon Plus which I don't like the feel of but they do last fucking aaaaaages.

I was talking about the ones GA2G was using, not these ones. The Berlins or whatever they are. I want to compare them with the Marathon Plus which I don't like the feel of but they do last fucking aaaaaages.

I see, i assumed you meant standard TwinRail Courier's... They're fucking obscenely awful...

If these Berlins remain comfortable at 140psi (admittedly when being squished by a clydesdale), they must have a lot of rubber on the tread, ergo more puncture resistant, more skid life (if you do that kind of thing), bouncy bouncy, heavy.

Being designed with bumpy urban streets in mind, why are they called Berlins? The roads get fixed quick sharp over there [/efficiency cliché].

The Berlins have the same sort of thing as the Marathon plus with the 'foamy' rubber bit under the tread rather than just having more rubber. So once the rubber is worn and the 'foamy' bit exposed I would assume they have had it.

A simple thick rubber approach can be seen on the Conti Travel contacts that I am using. The rubber must be 5mm thick which seems to be doing a very good job in making it difficult for any object to penetrate. They should also last for ages I would think.

Marathon Plus have loads of rubber too. The 28s are 500g or something stupid.

The weight is not helped by being non foldable and having very thick sidewalls (neither of which are good points for me but probably good to have sturdy sidewalls when cycling around the world of something)

All Of The Above.........is my answer.

Correct, the Courier Berlin has the same type of hard thermoplastic-rubber strip beneath the rubber carcass.

It's this combination of two different flexible materials, that work at different deflection/rebound ratios, that causes an extremely cushioned ride. Really, its amazing. I've gone absentmindedly into deep potholes at a canter (that's for you Bumfluff) and came out the other side thinking, how did I not just at least not pinchflat, or at worst, buckle the wheel. I know what to expect from experience, and yet, the Courier Berlin has confounded me.

Halo worked with couriers in Berlin, listening to their moans and requests, and came up with a tyre they thought would've met the criteria.

The 700x24 Courier Berlin tyres weigh just a smidgen less than the 700x23 Armadillo All-Condition tyres. I've used Armies for ages, and they are like paper compared to metal when comparing these tyres.

Please note, its not all sweetness and light. The handling is treacherous when still new, and facing hard and wet surfaces......as described in the review.

I've gone absentmindedly into deep potholes at a canter (that's for you Bumfluff) and came out the other side thinking, how did I not just at least not pinchflat, or at worst, buckle the wheel.

So all the shock of the impact went to the seat cluster instead :p

Since I've been using these tyres on both my bikes exclusively, for a while now, I'll give a bit of an update.

I've taken recently to pumping the tyres sometimes to 140psi, but more commonly to 130psi, or just above. The stated max is 120psi, but I wondered about that, as the sidewalls may be the very strongest on any 700c tyre I can think of, so in theory, it could take higher pressures. It rolls beautifully at 140psi. Keep in mind that I am a heavy guy, so it would be a relative experience to someone much lighter.

Of course, there have been no punctures at all. And, I do quite regularly ride through glass. What does happen, is when a foreign body has somehow managed to break through the exterior rubber, it gets no further, and within a day or two, pops back out again. I have not had to do one repair, or glue up any cuts.

Another feature, is that the tyre changes shape over time. Its starts off as tall and quite thin, but once the miles get put in, it slowly changes to a rounder, wider profile. This also affects the handling characteristics for the better. It becomes a more gradual tyre in bahaviour, when turning sharply and quickly.

Max, when you're ready....

The Courier Berlins are just amazing. I pump em up to to 130psi, and the sidewalls are like ROCK! I am testing out 26 Soma everwear tyre on the back, not bad tyre so far (no punctures, a few cuts from riding and skidding around east london one night, but i guess the 5mm tire threading is doing its job. The only thing is I have to ride harder than as the tyre is really slow. I pump these up to 120 psi even if they recommend 90psi. People have mentioned that they blow out quite often but I havent had any problems "yet" otherwise I ride a 29 courier berlin on the back and 24 on the front.

I am riding puncture-less for 4 weeks and two days. =)