Avoinding punctures - All your opinions

Hard agree on the 90/10. And was very true for my last set of GP 4 seasons.
I’m an absolute bellend for running them for so long tbf.

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GravelKingss are perfectly decent, bad reviews always mask user error

GP 4 Seasons were fantastic but £££

After almost dying too many times riding gatorskins in winter, putting the GP 4 seasons on blew my mind. The increase in grip in wet conditions was ridiculous.

I've found that the best way to avoid punctures is to ride very, very slowly and observe the road in front of you. You won't see every possible hazard and, admittedly, my 15 minutes commute now takes a shade under 2 hours, but your chances of getting a puncture will be greatly reduced. If that doesn't work then I've also found that popping out the night before with a good quality stiff-bristled brush and giving your route a sweep really helps too.
In the end though there's a limit to what you can do.

The fact that you haven't just strapped the brush to the front of your bike sadly just shows your lack of imagination.

I once made the error of getting the non-PT version of Paselas for my fixiebiek, and those were dire. I once got flats in both tyres twice in one commute.

Have been pretty happy after switching from GP 4 Seasons to Michelin Pro4 Endurance for cost reasons.

Marathon Supreme users ... what's it like to change a flat at the side of the road? Don't you need a crowbar to get them on and off?

I wouldn't bother with tubeless for a commuter/ hack bike. Wouldn't want to have to remember to top up sealant etc. I just want to grab the bike and go. Just use tubes and clinchers with decent puncture protection. My sense is tyres of all kinds have improved over the past few years anyway.

Don't know as never happened (touch wood), but I'd imagine it would be far from fun. Especially in winter with cold fingers.

The best strategy would be fresh tyres every week, only ever had 1 puncture on the first ride.

I meant the current Gator Hardshell, not the older Gatorskins... I find them fine in the wet; obvs not as good as GP5000 et al, but a damn sight more confidence inspiring than Marathons.

and while I will accept the inevitable suggestions to HTFU, a tyre seating tool is a great, great addition to your kit...

I have a secret tyre recommendation. They are genuinely fast, very puncture resistant but do wear out a bit faster than normal. However they are so so so cheap. And so they are the undisputed king of road tyres.

Avoiding punctures is futile, but having a well trusted kit for multiple punctures on a ride and a good routine when you get one helps I reckon.

This is the best I've managed.

Avoiding fragile tyres or tyres with a sticky tread which picks up debris is a good start (especially the latter). But the flipside to this is the roads around here are in dreadful condition, there's always sharp flinty stuff as a result and there's always broken glass. You can't avoid it all, so you might as well go out prepared.

^^ share your secret.

I am happy with my contact Urbans as a good balance between ride feel and puncture protection for every day commuter / city rides / road touring (and cargo). installed on 3 bikes, haven't had a puncture in the 3 years since

I like Schwalbe Durano Plus. nice mix of fast and marathon-bulletproofness ifyouknowwhamean

I really rate the Rubino Pro g+ and g2.0, feel just as quick as a conti gp4/5k, very grippy and hard to puncture on. Slighly heavier but also cheaper

It wouldn't be a secret then.

At the tour this year, Jumbo were running a 23 inside a 30. No punctures.

23 inside a 30

Half the rolling resistance too

Works best if you cut the bead off the 23mm tyre.

#TireDoping

Just @RonAsheton your bike.

Same experience, Marathon plus should ideally be reserved when you have no other choice. Though I have 35mm tyres, and on wider tyres, it might not be as bad. But would have no problem going back to it if I had a puncture every two month.