Interesting. If that's the case, I'd say run tubeless then with sealant. That's the type of flat (and about the only type) that road tubeless handles very well.

I'd say find some IRC RoadLite tubeless tires, set them up with Orange Seal, and ride on...

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

I live in Texas and those thorns are everywhere. People used get a lot of flat during Austin 70.3 riding in country side. Not to mention terrible chip seals. Again, Mr. Tuffy works great for those thorns.

Except, the premise to this thread is in the title, i.e. "...don't roll like $hit". I'm afraid that eliminates Mr. Tuffy from the outset :-(

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Yeah. I ended up setting up tubeless training wheels for my wife to use on her tri bike when training there. Then she just switches these out completely for race wheels/tires.

We run tubeless 28c for the trips we make there with our gravel bikes and so far this seems to have worked out for the kiawe issue.

Yeah I use GP4Seasons as my training tire - my take is they're like a compromise between the 4000SII and Gatorskins, in a good way in that their Crr is much closer to the 4000SII than it is to the Gatorskin, so you don't give up much speed, and the flat protection is much closer to the Gatorskin than it is to the 4000SII, so you don't give up much in that department either. I've never actually ridden Gatorskins so I can't compare feel, but the 4Seasons do feel a little less supple than the 4000SII. If I rode decent roads all the time I'd probably train on GP4000s (or 5000s), but I don't. As it is, I've ridden all kinds of gnarly roads and gravel on the 4Seasons and have never had a flat.

When I started riding (2011), it was with a set of Gatorskin Hardshells. They seemed fine since I had no point of reference. I got very few punctures, 2 or 3 in about a year IIRC, (at least one was a pinch puncture). I then switched to GP4Seasons and much preferred them. There was no increase in punctures. I think I rode those for about 18-24 months and had only 2. Then I switched to Michelin Pro4 SC which felt better again. I'm not sure I ever punctured with those, maybe I had one. Then I started using GP4000S which was likely faster but I don't remember any perceptible difference in ride or speed. No significant difference in punctures. I believe I had a single puncture in the life of that pair of tyres. Since then I've been using GP4000SII on both my road and tri bikes all year round. I've only had 3 or 4 punctures total in the last 5 years. So less than one per year, and I ride mostly on pretty poor roads with lots of bumps, drains, potholes and a fair amount of debris. I also ride regularly in the wet. None of those kiawe thorns I've heard of though!

Having said all that, my level of punctures is pretty low, and it's thus impossible to argue that my results are statistically relevant in determining which tyre is more puncture resistant. It does however indicate that GP4000SII are certainly not fragile tyres, prone to frequent punctures even in somewhat challenging conditions.

I wouldn't go back to 4 Seasons, and certainly not to Gatorskins. I'll probably go to GP5000 next on both bikes.

My wallet voted for Michelin Krylion or Lithion in the $20 range in similar conditions.

I ride the relatively flat bike lanes of coastal FL. All of the road debris ends up in the bike lanes. So while the roads are clean the bike lanes are not. I can see the big junk; yet, still run over the little stuff. Swinging out of the bike lane and into traffic isn't the wisest idea either.

The rear tire will be your main concern. My rear tire looks like scar face on my road bike where most of my weight is and I really don't see what that tire runs over. You might be able to get away with just a rear heavy duty tire.

On flat terrain, the higher watts from tires wasn't killing me on group rides. Now if it's a group where we would have a hard time keeping up with regardless, then every bit helps. However if you are in the mid to upper half in terms of fitness, don't worry.

When I come back to N GA hills/mountains, I definitely notice the weight and watts of the tires and switched back to GP4000s. The roads with no bike lanes are much cleaner here.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.