The search for that perfect tire is as noble a cause as it
is an adventure, albeit, a laborious one.
It is a lot like British mountain climber George Mallory’s famous quote regarding
Mount Everest.
When asked why it should be climbed, he famously replied, “Because it’s there.” The same wisdom applies to finding a tire
that works for a rider on all occasions, however, it can be phrased a little
differently: Because, it’s out there.
So began my quest for a light, durable, good traction
bicycle tire, because I knew it was out there – Somewhere. Being I was fed up with road tires that could
barely handle being ridden on actual roads, I began to seek out things I may
have never tried, otherwise. See, we are
told lighter, and faster are better to unleash that racer locked inside of all
of us which is just dying to get out.
Wrong. Race tires do indeed have
their place, however, for day-in-day-out riding the bulk of us cyclists do, no,
they are not the tool for the job. So began
my quest.
I began where all inquires begin these days – The
internet. After pouring over website
after website, article after article, and cycling forum after cycling forum,
while no solid “Eureka”
moment was uncovered, certain patterns did begin to become clear. First, racing tires on the street were a
recipe for low mileage and guaranteed flats.
Second, high mileage tires were great for plonking along, but they were
heavy and provided sketchy traction.
There had to be a middle ground, and I believe I have found a very good
solution to my list of requirements, namely light weight, high traction, and
high mileage. And, I have traded in my
affections from a French cutie to a German one - The Schwalbe Durano.
While the long-term data is not yet available, the
short-term returns are very, very favorable with the Schwalbe Durano’s (technically, the HS399's). To date, I had been using 23mm tires on SRAM
S40 wheels. However, being I am as
curious as the proverbial cat, I decided to explore the notion 25mm tires
provided a better ride, and a bit more performance in the puncture resistance
and durability departments. I decided to
use my trusty, reliable Mavic Ksyrium SL’s for this experiment, as there is no
tire size restriction on them up to 28mm rubber. They mounted up really easy with no tools
necessary, and they look good with their all black sidewalls, large, white
“Schwalbe” logo, and minimalist tread siping.
The packaging.
The tire.
The test mule.
The rear tread - Better than anything else I have used.
The front tread - All good here, too.
The details.
I have been very pleased with their performance after 200
miles of mixed-surface testing. While
this may not seem like a lot, here in Southern California,
even one ride on our extremely poorly maintained streets can reveal a tires’
weakness. I have ridden these tires over some of the meanest streets of the
Greater Los Angeles area, streets which would have scared the rubber off my
previous favorite Michelin Pro 3 Race’s, and the Schwalbe’s have not even a
nick on them, let alone any tears or marks.
Wow! And, they ride extremely
smooth, and provide excellent traction in the turns, though they have not been
put to the rain test, yet. I have been
running them at 100 PSI front, 105 PSI at the rear, and the ride has been
excellent and completely smooth, almost, dare I say, almost like plush
suspension.
Stay tuned for the long-term report, something not every
review bothers to conduct.
The Stats:
- Type: Clincher, folding bead
- Use: Training/Everyday tire
- Size: 25mm
- Weight: 255 grams
- TPI: 67
- PSI: 85-115
- Tread: Dual-Compound, slick center, edge siping
- Puncture protection: Race Guard protection belt
- Color: Black
- Retail: $66.95 USD
- Rated Mileage: 6500 Miles (manufacturer’s claim)
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