Looking to repurpose the hardtail into more of a xc mile muncher and was thinking of the above as a tyre combo to replace the Spec hill billy/purgatory combo currently on there, both in grid casing. I’ll probably also use it for a 15 mile each way, largely road commute, which i’ll probably do once a week. As far as I can tell that should give me a reasonably fast rolling combo with the ardent having enough edge bite for the messing around on. Or am I way off the mark? A Maxxis Minion is more my usual so lost in a world of tiny tread patterns.

Have used virtually the same combo on 29 & 27.5 wheels,(‘cept the Ikon was 2.2) The Ikon is great for the back,but Ardents are not a tyre I’d buy again TBH,it’s not very good at steering in mud. I prefer a fit & forget tyre like a Nic on the front..

Ikon is great on the back though I am currently running a Maxxis Pace which is a bit quicker but a bit less bite. Was perfectly adequate on muddy bridleways and canal towpath stuff yesterday and flies on the blacktop. I have it paired with a Conti Race king for that type of riding or a mountain king for when things get a bit more rowdy

I use Ardent/Crossmark as a 29er pair. That’s mainly for bikepacking when I’ll likely be on and off-road quite a bit. 2.4/2.35 is wider than I’d use in that scenario though.

If you want fast rolling, you could try a Racing Ralph SS 2.4 on the front, otherwise I recommend an X-King ProTection of the same size.

Thanks guys. Had enough of conti with the constantly seeping sidewalks on my der baron projekt. Throws up a few maxxis options though and the Ralph is a good call.