Tan Wall Tyres

We were down at Madison yesterday, to see the latest bikes from Saracen, Genesis, Ridley and more. There was one bike – the 2016 Saracen Kili Flyer Elite – that was causing a bit of a rift between visitors to the show (and the staff too, by the sound of things…) and that was due to the fitting of some very rare Maxxis tan-wall Ardent tyres.

With Saracen’s ’90s colour scheme, we reckon it might just work – but what about on other bikes?

State of the art? Or relic from the ’90s?

Saracen’s product manager seemed to like them and reckoned that general approval had been good, so we thought we’d open it up to you lot. Get voting!

[poll id=”544″]

Now, we don’t want to sway the voting, but here’s what Luigi, from Pixar’s ‘Cars’ says…

Chipps Chippendale

Singletrackworld's Editor At Large

With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)

Comments (9)

Rollo de SausmarezRollo de Sausmarez July 9, 2015 at 12:55 pm

You’ve got the old survey up, not the one about tanwalls
* Fixed – ta! *

NorthwindNorthwind July 9, 2015 at 12:58 pm

I love tanwalls. But there’s not enough out there so they’re not really viable

(PS, super rare? Pretty sure you can buy those over the counter)

AlexSimonAlexSimon July 9, 2015 at 1:01 pm

Works for me on classy hardtails and the occasional FS, but not this one because of the white.

bigjimbigjim July 9, 2015 at 1:07 pm

I remember when black sidewalls were exotic.

rhayterrhayter July 9, 2015 at 2:49 pm

I’m increasingly loving the chunky wheel look: deep or wide rims with a big carcass back tyre… It looks kind of monster truck. And monster trucks are fun. Skinwalls remind me of 1989.

Andy BAndy B July 9, 2015 at 4:53 pm

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/l/t1.0-9/10523562_10154498496415623_1422462277443644223_n.jpg?oh=c893e788773178ae713da3432d3ea0e4&oe=56571B62

Andy BAndy B July 9, 2015 at 4:54 pm

Very much so, yes!

dufusdipdufusdip July 10, 2015 at 10:26 am

No!!!!!! Tan belongs in the 1960s or on Noddy’s car.

BlueadvocateBlueadvocate July 10, 2015 at 12:50 pm

Forget tan, I want some gangsta whitewalls or should I be just thankful for what I got