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by loeg 1017 days ago
Puncture-resistant tires have awful ride quality; this is not a general solution to the problem of debris.
2 comments

Whilst I agree with it not being the way to deal with debris, tubeless tyres have great ride quality and can shrug off most punctures. Their only downsides are excessive cost, expertise needed to install/change them and occasionally getting squirted with sealant if a hole doesn't seal immediately.
Tubeless tires and the kind of stiff, slippery, puncture resistant tires GP is talking about (Gatorskins or Marathons) are somewhat orthogonal. Tubeless certainly helps! I ride tubeless Conti GP5000s (which have fantastic ride quality) personally, but they would not work well if I was constantly riding in glass. (I also regularly go thousands of miles without flatting, but that is in large part because I don’t have to ride through broken glass.)
GP5000s for the win!

I doubt any pneumatic tyre would be suitable for constantly riding over broken glass. Solid tyres, however would last a while until they got completely shredded, but the ride quality of solid tyres is dismal. The problem is that the shock of a bump isn't distributed around the tyre as it would be with air, but instead stays in one place. That then requires a stiffer material to be used so that you don't put too many dings in your rim which makes the ride quality (and speed) worse. Riding on solid tyres really sucks the fun out of cycling.

I will let you enjoy the hand-sewn joy and keep commuting on my kevlar-belted Contis, I think. Having to replace a tube (I don't even both to patch any more) in near-freezing rain is very low on my list of favorite activities.
No one wants flats in freezing rain. That’s why we’re advocating for sweeping lanes of broken glass and other debris.
Which I am also all in favor of, but I think I will stay on kevlar even if that day comes, sort of the cycling equivalent of 'trust, but verify'.