The knobby tires also vibrate a lot... especially with the smaller roller size.
I can personally recommend Continental Town & Country Tires [
REI,
AEBike] for a friction drive. They're long lasting, (in a desert climate, no less!) have good thorn resistance, and have the slick center portion with inverted tread towards the sides.
Others have recommended
Serfas Drifters, which are
very similar in appearance to the Continental T&C.
Armadillo tires are also commonly recommended. The
Armadillo Hemisphere is a good looking, minimal tread tire, which I believe includes Armadillo's built-in sub-tread kevlar thorn barrier. The
Armadillo Crossroads also looks as if it would ride well, with minimal vibration.
Schwalbe Big Apples should be a comfortable ride, and they have a built-in kevlar belt, but, I don't know how well they would hold up in the desert climate. Maybe others would have some experience they could share regarding this.
REI ships internationally, BTW, as does
University Bicycle Center and
Alfred E. Bike. I've ordered from both REI
and A.E. Bike before, and can recommend them both. (At least, as far as domestic shipments go...)
