29" tyre recommendations « Singletrack Forum

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29" tyre recommendations

24 posts & 19 voices | Started 10 months ago by Luminous | Latest reply from hugor

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Luminous - Member

Hi.

As some here may know. I'm slowly building up an XC-centric bike which will have 700c Open Pro CD rims.

The wheels are being built at the moment, and I'm now wondering which tyres to consider.

I was looking at the Kenda 29" SB8s but some reviews I've read don't seem rate them in the wet.

I'm looking at having a fairly large volume tyre, set on the Open Pros, for road and light off road duties.

I've seen Nedrapier's bike with the continental rubber on, but I don't like conti's.
So I'm wondering what else I ought to consider.

So, suggestions, please.

Cheers.

Posted 10 months ago #
takisawa2 - Member

Maxis Ardents are reckoned to be pretty good.
I run SB8's & find them ok if you realise that such a tyre has its limitations. For me they work well. If its loose I stick a Nev on the front but there is the obvious weight dissadvantage.
Bonty Jones ACX...they were pretty good all rounders I thought.
2.2 Mountain Kings...I thought they were dangerous.

Posted 10 months ago #
Luminous - Member

takisawa2.

Yeah, I went down hard while on a pair of Contis and never did feel right on them. Bike use to squirm around most unsual like.

So Not having Conti again.

I'll go check out the other tyres, cheers

Posted 10 months ago #
rootes1 - Member

for road and light off road duties.

schwalbe marathon of some type?

Posted 10 months ago #
simonm - Member

I quite like Ardents I'm running but, despite the smallish looking profile they dont roll that well on road... fast rolling on road - likes wet - has grip off road - I think thats tyre nervana... a compromise has to be made somewhere.
Ardent upfront with SB8 on the rear ?

Posted 10 months ago #
geordiemick00 - Member

Ardents of front and Crossmark on rear, had them on my 29ers and on my 26ers too. Change the rear for a high roller nearer winter.

Avoid the bonty offerings, very delicate sidewalls on them. I had Racing Ralphs which were very fast tyre but pig to seal tubeless

Posted 10 months ago #
bullheart - Member

Avoid the bonty offerings, very delicate sidewalls on them.
[quote]

Agreed....

Posted 10 months ago #
Rorschach - Member

These http://www.swinnertoncycles.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=414160

Posted 10 months ago #
rootes1 - Member

perhaps

marathon extreme

but perhaps bit small volume..

depends what you mean my light offroad - perhaps a 2" ordinary marathon

Posted 10 months ago #
Luminous - Member

Avoid the bonty offerings, very delicate sidewalls on them

Yeah, I've just been reading that.

Gonna nip over to look at these Ardents then

EDIT:

Yeah, I do like Schwable stuff, but would like to know what else is our out there.

Posted 10 months ago #
stevemtb - Member

geordiemick00
Ardents of front and Crossmark on rear, had them on my 29ers and on my 26ers too. Change the rear for a high roller nearer winter.

Avoid the bonty offerings

And I'm looking forward to trying them out!!!

Might just whip that Bonty off it now

Posted 10 months ago #
Clobber - Member

Crossmark rear is good in the dry
2.4 Ralph on the front is great but as said previously a pig to seal tubeless although the new ones are tubeless ready I think.

However, I really like 2.25 ardents (good volume for a 2.25), and just bought a 2.4" for the front to try out.

Posted 10 months ago #
tazzymtb - Member

rocket rons, racing ralph or nobby nic, tried pretty much every 29er rubber on the market currently and these are the ones I keep commingback to

Posted 10 months ago #
chainslapp - Member

2.2 Mountain Kings...I thought they were dangerous.

Yes I find mine are really dangerous as well, just ask Tazzy

Posted 10 months ago #
Aidan - Member

Maxxis Crossmark rear and Ikon front work well for me. Fast rolling, grippy, the Ikon is surprisingly good in the wet (I'm still using it now).

I've had really bad experiences with Kenda SB8s!

Posted 10 months ago #
hugor - Member

Avoid the bonty offerings, very delicate sidewalls on them

That hasn't been my experience at all.
I'm a reasonably heavy rider at 105kgs and ride in South Wales which is pretty hard on tires.
I'm running 29-4 and 29-3 TLR and think they're fantastic.

By contrast to above I trashed my Maxxis Ignitors and Crossmarks in no time on the same trails

Posted 10 months ago #
bigdugsbaws - Member

I hated Ardents, they felt terribly unpredictable in damp conditions and not much better in the dry. Schwalbe seem to have the best 29er offerings of tyres I have tried, I swear by Nobby Nic front & Racing Ralph rear, the 2.25" come up pretty large too.

Interested to hear how you get on with the Open Pros, I was thinking about building a set for XC use also.

Posted 10 months ago #
simonm - Member

However, I really like 2.25 ardents (good volume for a 2.25), and just bought a 2.4" for the front to try out.

I'm running a pair of 2.4s on my 29er.. great..its funny though, on my 26" bike I wouldn't run them in anything remotely damp but on the 29er.. I've found them OK in the wet... strange..

Posted 10 months ago #
robdeanhove - Member

Maxxis Crossmark are a good option. 2.1" width a decent side knob for slidy dampness and a good, stiff centre tread for hardpack/road or just going fast! They're pretty light too.

Enjoy!

Rob
bigrobracing.co.uk

Posted 10 months ago #
uplink - Member

I'm running 29-3 Bontys and haven't had any issues at all with them

I reckon 2 rears would be ideal for what you require

Posted 10 months ago #
Dan1502 - Member

I also run Nobby Nic up front and Racing Ralph rear. I did have Racing Ralph front and rear which were ok but I much prefer this combination.

Posted 10 months ago #
matthewlhome - Member

i have run some bonty jones 1.8s on shimano wheels that were a couple of mm wider than my open pros in my cross bike. I dont think i would want to go for anything with a much larger volume than that on those rims though - something like an ardent would maybe go too rounded and out of shape (and need a high pressure to stay on). The open pro is quite narrow (recommended max tyre 28m) The suggestion of the schwalbe marathon extreme sounds good. i would like a set of those but they are a bit pricy.

If you havent got the rims yet, consider 317 or 319s. they are wider and would work better with a larger volume tyre.

I am currently running land cruisers. They are a good compromise of off road ability and smooth rolling on the road.

Posted 10 months ago #
birdage - Member

Have open pros on my cross bike and have worked exccellently on the road and taken some fairly big hits off. Put alot of this down to a good wheel build though. Finally settled on Maxxis Mud 35 upfront and continental twister 30 on the back which just keeps running, don't even know if you can get them anymore? Quite quick tread wear upfront but it has been the most confidence inspiring set-up yet. If it is light offroad though would back the Marathons suggestion or even the folding Racing Marathons which I found good for towpath type rides. Just gone to 29er with Racing Ralphs 2.25 on Stans Crest. Can roll over anything now but huge speed drop so would be interested in knowing about a better set-up. Crossmark on the rear sounds like it has potential?

Posted 10 months ago #
hugor - Member

Back to the OP. For the uses you need them for - road and light off road I would go for these new tires.
I use the 26er versions on my hardtail and think they are a great tire.
I quite enjoy trail riding with them too.
Halo Twin Rail

Posted 10 months ago #