Hi all,
I’m riding a 2014 Koga Roadrunner for daily commuting (~40 km round trip, fully paved roads). I’m looking to replace my tires and I’m mainly prioritizing low rolling resistance and good ride feel, while still having decent puncture protection.
Right now I’m considering:
Continental Contact Urban or Schwalbe Marathon Racer
From what I’ve read, the Marathon Racer seems faster and more responsive, while the Contact Urban is a bit heavier but more durable and puncture-resistant.
My commute is fully asphalt and relatively clean, so speed/efficiency matters more to me than maximum flat protection.
Would you recommend one over the other for this use case?
Or are there better alternatives I should consider for fast commuting (e.g. something even lower rolling resistance but still practical for daily use)?
(Photo is same bike model, not my actual bike.)
Thanks!
by speedings
8 Comments
I have ridden contact Urbans and they are quite good; no experience with the racer though unfortunately. What size tire? Might be something like a centurato velo or one of the larger gran prix would be more suitable.
There is a website : bicycle rolling resistance. you can compare tires
I got the contact urbans because they come in brown sidewall and they look so cool. They do roll pretty well though. They measure narrower on my rims. I got 35mms and on my rims the measure ~33mm
I recently switched to [Continental GP Urbans](https://www.continental-tires.com/products/bicycle/tires/gp-urban/) and I love them. They feel fast and comfy, they also seem to be holding up very well to the gross spring road conditions (lots of gravel and debris from the snow melting).
The urbans
I‘m team marathon efficiency! I can really recommend them.
One important remark:
If you are looking for the ebst performance get tpu tubes! This should also be taken into account when looking at rolling resistance data: non-tubeless tires are often testes with butyl tubes resulting in much higher rolling resistance.
I went from Schwalbe Marathon Plus to Conti Contact Urban and I much prefer the Contis. Less puncture resistant but much nicer ride.
I love Conti’s, though my main concern is puncture – they do roll nicely though