itaa

Hello everyone, I'm in need of new tyres for my mtb ( the old knobby ones are worn to bits and the rubber is cracking, about 9years old I think based on when I bought the bike).

My main goal is to get speed improvement and ease of driving,I can deal with a bit less grip- I think the lowest rolling resistance would be the keyword? my use would be like 50% forest paths (hardly ever muddy or slippery),50% tarmac, but still need something a bit more tough to drive up a kerb and not fall over if I ever encounter some crazy mud?

I'm totally new to all this bike stuff ( well I ride the bike but that's all I do with it ) so really have no idea what's good /what's the best/ and whats not so good.

I want to spend as little as possible( who doesn't... ) , and I have found that at a lot of places the schwalbe city jets are pretty popular , can get them for 18pounds on fleabay, but If there's something much better I don't mind paying a bit more. However I got no idea what's good and what's not.

my wheel size is 26 and I think I want probably 1.5 wide tyres ( my current are 1.95) if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance!

magpie87

I used my 26" mtb last year for commuting and switched out the knobby tires for a set of schwalbe marathons.
They're available through amazon for a pretty good price, at least compared to what the bike shop sells them for..

Here they were $75 a tire so $150 a set, but I managed to get them on amazon for about half that.

Not sure what that amounts to in your currency, but I know schwalbe marathons are a solid commuting tire, check out the videos on youtube for their puncture resistance!

And also, I found I shaved 5 mins off my 14 km commute because the rolling resistance was much smoother.
The sidewalls also have a reflective strip on them for visibility.

Even if they're more expensive than your budget allows I'd try to find the extra cash for them because they are AMAZING.

itaa

Thanks, I thought the marathons were really expensive, but I found the marathons (GREENGUARD) are still attainable at 32pounds ( $39) for a set of 2. + supposedly has lower rolling resistance than the more expensive regular or plus marathons? heard anything about those?

itaa

I just found this list where they have rolling resistance data of the 3 tyres I was looking at ( the city jets/ Hurricanes/ Marathon tyre- although I'm not sure which marathons as there are like 5 of them and some aren't that good with rolling resistance)
helsinki.fi/~tlinden/rolling.html

So seems like the Hurricanes has almost the same rolling resistance as the City jets but with the added more grip bonus?
the Marathons seem to have a really huge proportional rolling resistance based on that table compared to city jets for example- but than again I'm not sure which marathons are they talking about?

If the Marathon Greenguards (those who have one of the lowest rolling resistance) would have the same rolling resistance as the Hurricanes than its a clear choice because the greenguards are better protected and doesn't costs that much more?

jimmie65

Spend the money on tires. It makes a huge difference, especially on a 26" mountain bike. I commuted on an Iron Horse for a while and put on some Schwalbe Marathons 1.5"; made the ride faster without losing much grip. I think they might have been the Mondials, but it's been a while (I run Mondials on my Escape now).

chas58

Check out this link to answer your rolling resistance questions...

Mountain Bike Tires Rolling Resistance Reviews


(It will also tell you which version of the marathon's they are talking about, LOL.

Abe_Froman

Also...it doesn't really seem like mountain bike tires are what you want. If you're looking for speed, you're on pavement 50% of the time, and when not on pavement you're on smooth trails...I would get a nice fat cushy tire with zero tread. Look at the touring tires on the rolling resistance site.

1989Pre 

Bontrager SR1

IRC Smoothie

Hutchinson Top Slick

dabac

Hutcinson top slick is nice, but sensitive to flats.
Used some Geax Street Runner that were absolute beasts to mount but not too bad otherwise.
Now I'm on my 3rd pair of Conti Sport contact, and reasonably happy with those.

chas58

Pretty much anything by conti or schwalbe will be high quality and fast. I was surprised to read my sport contacts were just about as fast as some race tires. Never felt slow on them, that is for sure.

those are all kind of skinny 26" tires. Although something around 42mm (or 1.5") does make for a fairly fast commuter tire

blart

Always been a big fan of Panaracer Pasela's

Abe_Froman

I've never had a set. Thinking of getting a set of the fattest 26"s they make for my trek 850.

chas58

Conti speed ride sounds good.

If you want fat, you could always try Schwalbe big apples. 55mm is probably the biggest you can fit.

Mr Pink57

I'd say big apples, get them in 2.0 size for 26. I have a set of the 29x2.35 on my Ogre with fenders. They are a fast tire, great puncture resistance, not very expensive and come with a reflective sidewall option. Jan Heine speaks quite a bit about the benefits of wider tires and I am inclined to agree, Jeff Jones speaks about this quite a bit also.

RubeRad

There are many many models of Schwalbe Marathon. I started this thread a few years ago, and since then they've introduced more (and perhaps retired some). There is a wide range of prices. The cheapest ones are actually the most flat-resistant, but I've heard people say they ride like rocks. I splurged on Supremes, I've got over 7000 miles on them, and I'm sure I'll get to 10k before I need to think about replacing.

kuroba

When I used my MTB for commuting I had the Kenda Kwick Trax, 1.5" semi-slick tyres. I only had one flat with them (a 1" nail yay bikepath). They also had a reflective wall, I really liked that for commuting and were cheap too. Much less rolling resistance than the 2" knobby tyres the bike came with though they're not the lightest tyres, but then again, nothing on my bike was light lol.

fietsbob

"Best" opinions are many.. Compass Cycles makes some expensive ones , if that is your measure?
But you are not putting that much money on the table..


Generally, Not Knobby, without adding puncture barrier features , basic casing...

is what that kind of money gets you, in 2017... maybe Kevlar belt at the top of the range £30,

(Depending on the currency falling rate)..




...

rumrunn6

similar to your schwalbe city jets (which look fine, go for it)

dunno if you can get these where you are but I was happy with these until I ditched the mountain bike for commuting. these were a giant step up in performance on the road from the knobbies

Kenda K838 Slick Wire Bead Bicycle Tire, Blackwall, 26-Inch x 1.95-Inch

https://www.amazon.com/Kenda-Bicycle.../dp/B002DX1DWG