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https://greenspeed-trikes.com/product/scorcher-tire-16-120tpi/ You asked for the fastest tyres, not the easiest to purchase.
Go Contact Urban if you are wanting big miles with reasonable speed. Kojaks are not fast in any way except looks.
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Greenspeed Scorcher 349 are the fastest rolling but are difficult to get in the UK and 40mm wide. TruBlu 349 are slightly slower.
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Even big roads can have huge potholes or really crappy asphalt patches or wheel-eating speedbumps. Roads can be in the middle of reconstruction without warning. Small roads are even worse and can disappear into sand. It is easier to make quick, reliable progress on big roads.
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It was head on a swivel stuff and I found it stressful, particularly when it got dark and as we approached Mumbai on very busy major road flyovers without any shoulders. The junctions felt particularly worrying to me.
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That deserves a longer answer than I can give here. I have only ridden a couple of Indian brevets, an overnight 200 in 2017 and the recent 300. My impressions are snapshots of a couple of locations and times, rather than anything comprehensive. India is a big country with a regional differences.
Given that caveat - traffic is mostly slow moving but focussed on gaining a few centimetres regardless of the consequences, pollution is ever-present and can be the worst you’ve ever experienced, the routes are mostly on major roads but tend towards flat (in UK terms), riders are friendly, helpful and welcoming and on a range of machines from cheap to flashy. Riding speeds are generally a little slower than I expected, particularly climbing speed. That might be different in a hillier part of the country. I am usually mid-pack or 1/3 from the front in the UK but finished in the front group at both brevets. There is quite a bit of conspicuous consumption in the society and the medical and IT sectors are somewhat over-represented in cycling. As cyclists, your social status is somewhere below cows but above pedestrians. The controls are fairly intensively monitored and may require ATM receipts, a brevet card stamp, a specific selfie or all of the above at the same time.
The expectation is that riders will have locally-compatible ATM cards and mobile/ WhatsApp access. You are required to join Audax India Randonneurs to enter a brevet, which is more difficult to do from outside the country. The phone number you provide is expected to be your WhatsApp contact. Email addresses may be given by the organiser but are not frequently monitored, in favour of a ride-specific WhatsApp group. At least for the Mumbai-based group I rode with.
I have ridden brevets in quite a few countries including Australia, Thailand, Israel, Greece, Germany, Portugal and Ireland. There is a small group of globetrotters that frequently ride brevets in unusual countries, mostly Americans and mostly riding 1200s. They could give a better overview.
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I rode a 300 in India a few weeks ago and at each control, had to send WhatApp photos to a group created for the brevet. Brevet card, specific location, face, all timestamped in real time. This was on top of brevet card stamps and requiring ATM receipts at a couple of control locations. Pretty intensive monitoring of proof of passage.
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Entered but the NHS has been having problems deciding whether DVT or infection or nothing. Why?
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I happily used Galibier Grand Tour knicks for most of my long brevets (300-1200km) for the past year or so. I need flatlock stitching securing the chamois, which is surprisingly rare amongst the usual suspects. I prefer my Galibier knicks to the various Le Col knicks that I mostly used previously. Not a fan of Assos and can’t compare with Rapha. Not checked out Albion yet.
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I sometimes cut the drops by 20-25mm when I fit bar end levers. If I don’t, occasionally the bar end lever gets knocked by my knee when trackstanding at lights, depending on bar shape/ positioning. The main reason for cutting is that I barely need to move my hand to shift when riding on the drops.
PM incoming for tyres