Please help me choose a fast rolling grippy MTB tyre

[dudleygb]

Doing a daily commute on my modified 29er. Currently I got Schwalbe Rapid Rob's, which are ok I guess. I'm hoping to get something a little better on the road and can also handle some off-road, nothing hectic, mainly singletrack on weekends.

I was thinking maybe racing ralphs?

http://www.this link is broken/au/e ... t=pricelow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mitzikatzi]

I like Big Apples on the road.
If you want a knobbly that rolls well on the road. A Maxxis Crossmark or Larsen. Both roll on the road well but would wear quickly.

[dudleygb]

awesome thx mitz, once again very helpful

and when going off-road I noticed most riders recommend a more aggressive front tyre and a faster rolling back tyre?

[open roader]

Maxxis Hookworm.

Fast and uber grippy on neat packed gravel and bitumen surfaces.

[trailgumby]

Larsens aren't available as a 29er, sadly

Crossmarks are popular and roll well, but I would really suggest Rubena's Kratos (F) and Scylla (R) sized as 29 x 2.25 as good value and more functional for your intended range of use, especially in the single-compound black version. I've been trying to wear mine out on the 26er hardtail with little success

They're quite good, although not stellar off-road. Schwalbe Ra Ra and Nobby Nic are better in the dirt, but that is to be expected from a softer rubber triple compound construction, and accordingly they wear out lots faster with a lot of road work. The Greyline version of the Scylla and Kratos with the softer shoulder compound will be much better on the dirt, but I am yet to try those out and the shoulder lugs will not be treated as kindly by the tarmac compared to the Black version.

The Rubenas are less vague on the front than Crossmarks offroad. Crossmarks really need to be cranked over onto the shoulder lugs to steer well.

I've found the Rubenas are not *that* quick on road, but they're good enough. Above all they're predictable - no sudden folding over of the shoulder knobs and letting go on the front when you're cornering hard on tarmac that happens with taller knobbed tyres like the NN and Crossmark. That tends not to end well. Yet they're still good enough for confident riding off road on my local terrain (Sydney and mid-north coast)

The Rubenas will be a good all-round combination for your intended use.

[silentbutdeadly]

Geax AKA have been good to me...and the Saguaro are very fine too.

Going to try Rubens tyres soon but do like the look of the new Schwalbe Thunder Bart

[dudleygb]

awesome thanx guys, I will go check these out, appreciate the ideas and suggestions....fantastic

[dudleygb]

Larsens aren't available as a 29er, sadly

Crossmarks are popular and roll well, but I would really suggest Rubena's Kratos (F) and Scylla (R) sized as 29 x 2.25 as good value and more functional for your intended range of use, especially in the single-compound black version. I've been trying to wear mine out on the 26er hardtail with little success

They're quite good, although not stellar off-road. Schwalbe Ra Ra and Nobby Nic are better in the dirt, but that is to be expected from a softer rubber triple compound construction, and accordingly they wear out lots faster with a lot of road work. The Greyline version of the Scylla and Kratos with the softer shoulder compound will be much better on the dirt, but I am yet to try those out and the shoulder lugs will not be treated as kindly by the tarmac compared to the Black version.

The Rubenas are less vague on the front than Crossmarks offroad. Crossmarks really need to be cranked over onto the shoulder lugs to steer well.

I've found the Rubenas are not *that* quick on road, but they're good enough. Above all they're predictable - no sudden folding over of the shoulder knobs and letting go on the front when you're cornering hard on tarmac that happens with taller knobbed tyres like the NN and Crossmark. That tends not to end well. Yet they're still good enough for confident riding off road on my local terrain (Sydney and mid-north coast)

The Rubenas will be a good all-round combination for your intended use.

These look awesome! Where in Oz do you buy or do you order from the USA?

[petie]

Larsens aren't available as a 29er, sadly

Crossmarks are popular and roll well, but I would really suggest Rubena's Kratos (F) and Scylla (R) sized as 29 x 2.25 as good value and more functional for your intended range of use, especially in the single-compound black version. I've been trying to wear mine out on the 26er hardtail with little success

They're quite good, although not stellar off-road. Schwalbe Ra Ra and Nobby Nic are better in the dirt, but that is to be expected from a softer rubber triple compound construction, and accordingly they wear out lots faster with a lot of road work. The Greyline version of the Scylla and Kratos with the softer shoulder compound will be much better on the dirt, but I am yet to try those out and the shoulder lugs will not be treated as kindly by the tarmac compared to the Black version.

The Rubenas are less vague on the front than Crossmarks offroad. Crossmarks really need to be cranked over onto the shoulder lugs to steer well.

I've found the Rubenas are not *that* quick on road, but they're good enough. Above all they're predictable - no sudden folding over of the shoulder knobs and letting go on the front when you're cornering hard on tarmac that happens with taller knobbed tyres like the NN and Crossmark. That tends not to end well. Yet they're still good enough for confident riding off road on my local terrain (Sydney and mid-north coast)

The Rubenas will be a good all-round combination for your intended use.

These look awesome! Where in Oz do you buy or do you order from the USA?

They have a local distributor so you should be able to sort some at a local bike shop or I think you can order online.
http://pciaustralia.com.au
I used them and they are a decent tyre, but I wouldn't commute on them. They did wear well, but nothing amazing for my riding style. Bit of a waste and you'd get almost comparable performance off road from some of the other suggestions. The way I read your post is that you want a more road biased compromise, IMHO the rubenas are a more off road biased compromise? (I'm often wrong though)

[il padrone]

Knobby tyres would make a poor choice for tarmac commuting, even the duboius 'semi-slicks'. The knobs add a lot of drag, wear quick, and if they are tall will squirm and cause understeer in the corners. Really a good slick is what is best for tarmac, but if you are combining with some off-road and gravel I would suggest a tyre with a rugged road tread. Years ago the Continental Town & Country was a good one with its thick centre tread, but it had no side knobs so was poor in slippery mud.

I would recommend the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial as a tyre that will wear exceptionally well, has good large centre knobs for easier road riding and still performs well in moderate dirt roads and tracks.

[dudleygb]

yeah, most of the riding happens on the road, only really weekends I go a bit on single track for now.
I will get a road bike someday, but for now the 29er will have to do.

and correct, my nobblies are almost completely worn down after just a few months on the road.

what u guys think of this? And going for a song.

http://www.pushys.com.au/schwalbe-hurri ... -tyre.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dudleygb]

Knobby tyres would make a poor choice for tarmac commuting, even the duboius 'semi-slicks'. The knobs add a lot of drag, wear quick, and if they are tall will squirm and cause understeer in the corners. Really a good slick is what is best for tarmac, but if you are combining with some off-road and gravel I would suggest a tyre with a rugged road tread. Years ago the Continental Town & Country was a good one with its thick centre tread, but it had no side knobs so was poor in slippery mud.

I would recommend the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial as a tyre that will wear exceptionally well, has good large centre knobs for easier road riding and still performs well in moderate dirt roads and tracks.

these look really great! Just....how much I will have to go check for a special...i go a feeling they might be pricey. What you guys think of the hurricane as a good compromise?

[rjk]

i put these compass tyres 38mm on my 29rims on my cx bike, these roll sowell and handle hard pack dirt trails like you wouldn't believe

http://www.compasscycle.com/tires_comp_700_38.html

[il padrone]

these look really great! Just....how much I will have to go check for a special...i go a feeling they might be pricey. What you guys think of the hurricane as a good compromise?

From that link, $35 from c r c in the UK. Overseas prices will be a lot cheaper than local I would expect..... like half the price, including shipping (if it's applied). Those Hurricanes would probably be very good too, just may not have quite as good a lifespan as the Mondial which are designed for world expedition tours.

My son uses the older version that these replaced, the XR, for his commuting and for all sorts of touring, including plenty of dirt road stuff.

[dudleygb]

Awesome, I'm sold, but they only come in 700c, woah, wait a second, is 700c = 29"....whaaaat? I seriously never knew that....so I can fit 700c to my 29er?

[dudleygb]

is this right? http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... =5&t=48208" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; 29er=700c, damn! #(AT)%#

[il padrone]

You have that correct. In 700C I'm not sure that they come so wide - I have 26x2.15". c r c have them in 35mm but I think you may find them in 700C x 38 or maybe 40.

Yes, here in Australia at 42mm, but much more expensive $94.95

[ozdavo]

... Or better still get a second set of wheels and run 23/25 or 28 road slicks for commuting & whatever best suits your local trails for the fun stuff.


Sent from my iThingy using Tapatalk

[dudleygb]

... Or better still get a second set of wheels and run 23/25 or 28 road slicks for commuting & whatever best suits your local trails for the fun stuff.


Sent from my iThingy using Tapatalk

thats the best solution, but then I will need another cassette for the rear tyre?

[il padrone]

Mixing chains and cassettes will lead you into mileage/wear problems eventually. I usd to do the swap-over game when I just had the one bike, but the best way for me then was to swap the tyres on one set of wheels.

[trainedmonkey]

I would recommend the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial as a tyre that will wear exceptionally well, has good large centre knobs for easier road riding and still performs well in moderate dirt roads and tracks.

In a similar vein, there's the Maxxis Overdrives:


$29 a tyre at Cell.

I ran the 26x1.5 on an old MTB hardtail for a while. They're a nice tyre.

[trailgumby]

yeah, most of the riding happens on the road, only really weekends I go a bit on single track for now.
I will get a road bike someday, but for now the 29er will have to do.

and correct, my nobblies are almost completely worn down after just a few months on the road.

what u guys think of this? And going for a song.

http://www.pushys.com.au/schwalbe-hurri ... -tyre.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Suffers the same complaint as the Crossmark, IMO: tall knobs on the shoulder that are prone to folding over when pushed hard in the corners on tarmac.

You could go with some of the more road-biased options proposed here, but personally I would tend to focus more on something that will help me keep the rubber side down both on- and off-road than going fast on either. The Kratos and Scylla fits that compromise neatly in my experience. The road-biased treads will not work so well on loose-over-hardpack. You might be going slower off road, but low-siding still hurts. A lot.

The gold standard - that I soon went to on my first bike - is to buy a second wheelset and have one set with slicks and another with off-road optimised knobblies. That way if I need to get a wheel attended to by the LBS (eg, trued & tensioned) I'm not off the bike all week.

Now, of course, some 8 years down the track, I have separate bikes.

[trailgumby]

As to mixing chains and cassettes, there is a super easy and cheap solution that will dramatically extend the life of your whole drivetrain.

<drum roll.... BOOM TISH!">

I run 3 chains per bike, in rotation. When a chain needs a clean, it comes off, goes into the kero bath, and the pre-cleaned one I had stored in the ziplock bag goes on and gets lubed. This way, rather than a chain getting half worn out before it is changed, with the consequent half-way worn rings and cassette, the chains are swapped out with smaller increments of wear and I get three times the life from the rings and cassettes. Instead of two chains' worth of wear from the drivetrain, I get 6.

Chains are cheap. Cassettes and rings are not. It's wear in the chain that drives the wear in the other two. This strategy spreads the wear out evenly over a much longer time period, and I have no problems with chain skipping or noise when swapping wheels.

I just make sure I have the same number of teeth on the drivetrain at each end.

[dudleygb]

thanx guys, this is great! Gives me a couple of good options. Really appreciate the info and responses.

ultimately , yes, doing this much mileage I am planning on getting a dedicated carbon roadbike someday. But thats for another thread.

[dudleygb]

some more possibilities?

http://www.pushys.com.au/maxxis-grifter ... -tyre.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.pushys.com.au/maxxis-torch-29x2-10-tyre.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;