hairnet

Hey all, I just bought a pair of the Mondials after destroying yet another pair of Panaracer Paselas, which popped on my commute. Who here rolls on these tires for dirt and gravel? I primarily use my Straggler for commuting but I head out to the fire road trails when I can to get some rough high speed fun. I always did well on Paselas even though they are road tires, I just dropped the pressure to about 30psi. I hope these Mondials kick butt and let me corner better with those big side knobs! I plan to get some riding in soon-ish so I can post a small review in here. In the meantime let's see who else has experience with these.

on the bike

dnett_tex

Sub'd and also awaiting replies. I just bought a CX this week, a nice used Kona Jake. Been looking around for tires to replace the worn out original Maxxis tires which look like they would be too knobby for my expected type of riding. I had also identified the same Schwalbe tire as a front runner, although it may be more tire than I really need. The Jake is my first serious bike, and I am expecting to do casual neighborhood streets and light trail rides with my wife, plus some exercise rides on mostly pavement.

Does this tire perform well on paved streets, or do you think it is too aggressive for the type of riding I described? I found it in a 700x40 at ebikestop.com for $66 delivered. (for a pair) I also am considering the Pasela or a cheaper option - the Michelin Protek which I can get at Bike Tires Direct for about $45 delivered.

Stupid noob question - when I change from a 35 to a 40 width tire, do I need to change tubes?

Barrettscv 

I have three sets of Schwalbe tires. A set of 700x38 Marathon CX is what I use most. This has a similar tread pattern as the Mondial, but is a lighter tire with more moderate Raceguard flat protection.

Marathon tires are very high quality and very durable. The Mondial should last as long as any tire made, you might get 10,000 miles from yours. Certainly these last twice as long as most other tires.

However , these will be hard to install and stiff riding compared to lighter tires. Flat protection will be superb. Traction will be very good on both streets and off-road.

I'm willing to trade some durability for a lighter tire with a smooth ride and low rolling resistance. I like the Vittoria Voyager Hyper. It's a touring slick, but provides good traction on dry gravel. It rolls and handles like a wide racing tire. Traction on pavement is superb. I've never had a flat with mine.

hairnet

It is a road touring tire and it does feel nice but a bit slow. The Pasela is a good tire, I uses many pairs, but I have a tendency to destroy them.

Huh, I had no trouble at all installing mine. I normally would go for a lighter tire but I needed to get rolling after my blown out Pasela and we had these at the shop.

LeeG

$.02 I only have two Mondials to go by, the old XR in 35mm and new 42mm Mondials. The newer tread feels like more of a dirt tread than the old XRs. Either one is a lot of rubber compared to a Pasela.

jeffpoulin

I, too, have a set of Mondials as well as a set of the older XRs. These are great tires for most surfaces: road, gravel, hardpack, etc... I have over 10,000 miles on the XRs and 2000 miles on the Mondials. Never had any flats on either set. The tires are heavy compared to Paselas, but they're tough, long-lasting, and give good traction on mixed surfaces wet or dry. They're about half the weight of the Marathon Plus, so while beefy, they're not that heavy.