Originally Posted by
FastJake
Don't let anyone talk you out of fat slicks. Sure, you can run 35mm tires on your bike. But the 42-50mm tires you were looking at will also be a good choice and be super comfortable. Remember guys, this is for a hardtail 29er MTB. It's not going to be fast no matter what. Skinny tires would be a silly choice in my opinion. I don't often like riding a MTB on the road but when I do I like to have a wide slick tire to take advantage of the offroad/jumping capabilities of the bike.
+1
Slick(er) tires make sense to reduce noise, and increase efficiency slightly, but narrower is not always the best answer. You do tend to lose some comfort by going narrower,which I assume is part of why you selected the 29er.
Comfort and efficiency can both be increased with nice tires in wider widths.
I rode 40 mm Kenda Happy Medium tires (purchased from biketiresdirect.com) on my Trek 7.3 FX for a while, and I liked them, but I didn't have much clearance with my frame. I now use 35 mm Clement X'plor USH in 35 mm. If on a 29er my ideal tire would be like the USH (nice center rib) but wider.
My preference is for some tread because I spend a lot of my riding time on gravel and crushed stone, but I like a smooth rolling tire when I do hit pavement. I have done rides of up to 45 miles on the USH tires, and don't feel I was less efficient than if I was running slicks of about the same width.