Hi all,
I currently have Maxxis Ardent Race Exo tr 29x2.20 tyres on my (hardtail) mt bike. I mostly cycle on tarmac, gravel or on the road, with only occasional easy trail riding. I can't afford two bikes so was wondering if anyone can recommend the best mtb tyres for someone with my riding profile ie mostly on hard/gravel surfaces with occasional light trail riding?
I don't go tubeless so the tyres don't have to be tubeless ready.
Many thanks

Maxxis Rambler or some other similar 2" wide gravel tyre

Continental Terra Trail and Terra Speed are two options - prob among the faster (if not fastest) options for tires with knobs

Panaracer Gravel King tires are popular - Gravel King SK or SS might be good options for your riding

Tos of choices here: BikeTiresDirect.com. 700c/29" 1.9"-2.1"

I've found that unless you're getting into soft, loose surfaces, like loam or mud, you can get by with pretty minimal tread, especially at more "recreational" pace.
"Gravel" tires are generally lighter, higher performance tires, while Touring/City tires favor durability and long wear, at the expense of a little more weight

Another option I like for hard-surface MTBs is "big wheel" BMX tires; if you're still riding your 26" or 29er MTB like an MTB, but just on the street The Maxxis DTH is a favorite here.
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These are Haro Group 1s on my old Klein MTB in 26x2.1

Thanks for the recommendations, and I'm definetly more "recreational" pace!... it's just I seem to have to pedal harder to keep up with others on gravel/hybrid bikes when cycling on cycle paths with harder surfaces like compact gravel or tarmac. So I thought maybe changing the tyres to less knobbly ones might help... or else I go build bigger leg muscles!!

I'm in my early 60's by the way so no spring chicken!!

I ride the same set of surfaces, but more time on easy trails and gravel than roads. Still, up until recently I would have recommended what I’m running, which is Conti Race King Protection in front and Speed King in rear.

However, the Speed King is discontinued. I’m riding a 26er and will keep running the Race King up front… the question is what replaces the Speed King and it will probably just be another Race King.

Otto

I've use the Maxxis Rambler, Donnelly MSO and Continental Terra Speed. They all get fairly good rolling resistance scores and work very well. for general mixed surface riding. They have a little tread and a bit less in the middle, which will work in mixed surfaces, but won't work very well in actual muddy trails.

I always buy folding tires.

FWIW, the Terra Speed and Terra Trail are quite different, with the Trail having much more aggressive tread. The Speed is the one you'd choose for general, non MTB riding.

But I didn't see any major difference between the three I've used. I generally focus on 3 or 4 varieties and pick one based on availability and price.

I'm running Serfus Drifters on my converted MTN bike

What pressures are you running? Lots of good recommendations here but I would run the maximum pressure on pavement and lower it when riding in the dirt.
My mtb feels like a slug on the road but raising the pressure helps.

Buy mtb tires of every type available, cut them all into a number of pieces that corresponds to the number of types you have, then stitch a new tire together out of alternating lengths of each type with Kevlar string, presto, a tire for every known surface will be the result. If it works well you can send it to the tire corporation as a prototype and if you order a minimum of 10,000 they will put them into production for you, problem solved..................

Vittoria Mezcal is a decent all around tire. I use it on my gravel bike for bikepacking. Comes in a 2.1 and has a fairly continuous center tread for road and packed dirt roads but good tread for elsewhere. Its also a popular Great Divide race tire for its all around characteristics.

I just mounted the Continental RaceKings. Good rolling resistance and worked great on gravel.
And reasonably priced

I have Conti Mountain King tyres on most of my MTBs, they dwarf in performance the Hutchinson Toro I still have on my Merida

I forgot how well these tires roll. If you take the Black Chili (Protection) version of the Race King and put it in the gravel tire group of 77 tested tires on bicyclerollingresistance.com, it would rank a close third if you compare the average of low and extra low pressures, which is about what I run (28 psi or so).

If you compare the Race King at 25 psi to all 77 gravel tires run at “extra low” pressure appropriate for those slightly narrower tires, the Race King would rank first. And that is on the drum, before you get to put a 2.2” tire on gravel.

Otto

I like Maxxis Crossmark II 2.1". Not super fast on road but quiet enough on road and work great for gravel and decent MTB trail riding. Heavier than the Conti Race Kings (which I also love), but they last longer than Race Kings in my experience.

For a hardtail bike a very good all around tire is the Rekon Race tire in the front and in the rear. Not as aggressive at tread and provides higher rolling speed that most other mountain bike tires. For a gravel bike with rims that can take a 700x42 tire the Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss is a good all around tire and not terribly expensive at $45-$55.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...pathfinder-pro

My choice would be a "gravel" tire like the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H 700x45 (you could go 700x50, if you want more cushion). For something that's still considered a MTB tire, the Schwalbe Thunder Burt 29x2.1 would also be a good choice.

Calsun's recommendation for the Specialized Pathfinder Pro is also a good solution.

Kenda Kranium by another name? 🤔

Yeah, they say Kenda 1052 on the sidewall.
I have no quarrel with Kenda tires; I was looking for a not-black tire for this build; these fit the bill, and the price was right

I second Panaracer Gravel Kings. Great bang for the buck.

Or if you're flush, there are these:

https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop...elope-hill-tc/

https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop...fleecer-ridge/

Sorry been away so just now catching up with all the responses to my original post.

I think someone asked what pressures I'm runnning at. On the sides of my exisiting Maxxis Ardent Race Exo tr 29x2.20 tyres it says between 35-60psi and I normally run them at between 50-55psi on all surface types. I have tried at max 60psi and there is a slight improvement on tarmac and road surfaces but bike still feels sluggish. So I still want to change the tyres to ones less knobbly... especially as I hardly ever do any sort of trail and only ride on tarmac, gravel and road.

I've had a look at some of the tyres that have been recommended but noticed that none went up to the same width as my existing ones i.e. 2.2" or 56-622. I do like how my 2.2" tyres look on my bike and ideally would like to replace with 2.2"semi slicks.
A few of the tyre recommended went up to 2.1" but most seem to be max 42-622 or 47-622 ie below 2" in width... but 2.1" being only a few mill smaller than my existing 2.2" I guess would look about the same on the bike?

Check the Maxxis website for tire information in chart form. If you do not need the downhill braking then there are many tires that will meet your needs. I use the Rekon Race tires but the Pace tires might be worth a try. I would start by replacing the rear tire first.

Schwalbe Thunder Burt 29 x 2.25, maybe?

Schwalbe Big Ben's in a 50mm width. I really didn't know much about Schwalbe tires before I tried a set of these on my Bombadil a number of years ago, yet they were love at first ride. They have a wonderful round balloon effect to them that I never felt with any other tire of it's likeness. They're just plain fun, being they are the same carcass as Big Apples with additional tread. The added bonus is their incredibly long wear rate and puncture resistance. I ride them at around 30psi even on the road. Forget the psi suggestions on the label, pumping them up high just defeats the fun feel to them. Off road I've ridden them @25psi and I could go a little lower.