Not MTB, not road racing ... merely me on a Specialized Crosstrail which has standard 700c x 45 sized tyres.
The standard tyres are really good for what I do - road commute, tow path and compacted dirt paths in the south. I do nothing more, nothing less .... but these tyres are not in any way puncture resistant ... and after only 4 miles on my nice new shiny Crosstrail I got a puncture :(
I have another older Crosstrail which I changed the standard tyres to Continental Travel Contacts 700x42 - but don't really like them ....even though they do offer puncture resistance.
Trying to get 700 x 45 with puncture resistance is a complete pain. Tyres are either too road orientated (Schwalbe Marathon Plus which go to 38 wide) or too rugged and slow (Specialized Crossroads at 38 wide) .... oh, and almost all are narrow compared to the standard ones (which you can't get in a puncture resistant version).
I have a pair of Continental Touring plus 700 x 47 on order but they are not in stock anywhere ....
Anyone any other ideas - I think I may have to go down to 38 wide .... maybe the new pattern Specialized Hemisphere Armadillo ??
Ideas welcome .... I need something puncture resistant, 700c as wide as possible ... smooth 'ish in the centre and some tread on the outside for the tow paths/dirt
Oh, and sorry for the long post !