Best Recumbent Tire

I bought some 349 contact urbans for the front of my cattrike, for when my kojaks are ready to be replaced. (How do you know when a tire with no tread is ready to be replaced????) And last night I put a 700x35 Panasonic Gravel King tire on the back of my P-38...I forget specifically which flavor, as they offer several. In the short time I have owned my P-38 I have discovered that it really gives you a feel for the road, for better or worse. I've always had great success with Panaracer, and I'm hopeful this will improve my ride experience on the local rural roads.

 

Interestingly, the Primo Comets that came on my Rocket were, like, a million years old! They were held together with a ten pound iron liner The interesting thing related to your comment was that the tires were so old that they literally were “flattened” on the top from the many miles. It was clear that they were begging to be retired…

 

p.s. The Conti Contact Urban has better rolling resistance and power transfer at 65psi than the Primo Comets had at 90psi. So I wound up running the rear Conti at 65-70psi (pending on the condition is the pavement for my ride) and the front Tioga Fastr-X at 60-65psi. Fast, comfortable , and I still feel they are respectively the best at their positions...

 

I use Schwalbe tires – they're durable, provide great grip....

 

To add to this discussion, I must reveal some history. The very first 20 inch recumbent tires I upgraded to were Specialized Spankys, with the FlakJacket liner. They were BMX/ dirt tires, 20x1.75, with a center rib. These were terrific all rounder's, which I used until they fell apart. Since then, I have been searching for their spiritual successor, a great dual purpose street/ dirt/ gravel tire, fast on pavement, comfortable on hardback, with bite and compliance.

Enter my new Specialized Pathfinders for recumbents! I found a pristine pair of 20x2.0 Pathfinders on FBMP for $10. Their full size siblings are famous for gravel race victories, but I've never seen a set of 20s before. These are a rather odd specific size of 51-406. I've been racking up the miles for a few days and have some interesting observations for you:

- These are fast on the street. The solid center slick really enhances the speed on pavement. Not as fast as road tires, but are perhaps faster than any treaded tires I've used.
- Super comfortable all arounders. Good combination of compliant yet strong sidewalls.
- the Pathfinders are superb on fire roads and trails, a terrific combination of comfort, control and bite;
- Strange, they have a noticeable "squirrel" on pavement road leans, switching between the center stripe and the off center knobs. It does take some getting used to. Does not occur on the dirt.
- The Pathfinders are really good looking tires! Smooth sidewalls, discrete labelling, cool tread, big and fat.

These things EAT gravel and hardpack, ride great on any surface, and look super cool...