Hi Folks,
Giving myself a sore head with this choice : 0

Do a lot of road miles getting too and from the trails!

Can’t handle awful drag and stick toffee treacle riding!

I know I can’t have everything but I was a good rolling tyre that still has some ability on the trails!

Any thoughts appreciated!

Jas

What sort of trails? Hard packed trail centres?

Smart Sam is a reasonable compromise.

I’d expect the Schwalbe Land Cruiser would probably be a bit better on the road but much worse on the trails.

Needed to swap over my 2.35 Hans damf tyres for my 22 mile round trip commute. Got lots of good suggestions on here and decided to go for a 2.1 crossmark on the rear and a 2.1 advantage on the front. The crossmark runs really quick on pavement/road/fire track and the advantage rolls fast enough with good grip at front.

Did a blast round swinley this morning (it’s muddy) and the combo was fine (ok slipped a bit on wet roots and not quite as much traction in the mud as the Hans damfs but that’s expected)

Probably the best combo I have run (my commute is mixture of off road, pavement, road and canal path). Strava says I am roughly 10-15 minutes quicker on this combo than on the treacle tyres.

Oh and running tubeless too which helps – run 40+ psi for commutes and 20-25 for forest blasts.

I’m selling some Crossmarks (here)– posh brand new, or less posh used.
They’re surprisinly grippy off road and fast rolling.

not really trail centres. Local hills and really a mix of this and that! Thats the whole prob, v hard to generalise.

I know its about compromise.

Love fast rolling though, just cant abide slow rollers although amazing workout on crete!

need to move to Cali!
Sick of Scotland and **** wet trails! lol

1 hr ride. 30 mins cleaning bike and myself! Endless washing. Dull.

California. dry trails. maximum fun. clean bike twice a month. Huge grin!

Had to hose myself down this morning as well as the bike. It’s horrible out there at the moment – try to stick to the higher areas of swinley (and less used) but it’s pretty torn up at the mo.

Pretty sure a crossmark advantage combo will work well for you. Would not run a crossmark at the front though –
You need something a little gripper to dig in on the turns. One of my riding buddies runs the small blocks and they seem pretty good too.

Oh and running tubeless too which helps – run 40+ psi for commutes and 20-25 for forest blasts.

Does the valve not get gummed up with sealant?

Continental X King run very well on Tarmac and decent enough off road, I’m riding with them at the moment even in the gloopy stuff

some good tips here!

Continental X King looks pretty good all round

Also, thanks doncorleoni. Crossmark rear with somethin else front may be the just ticket!

small blocks look like they would clog up pretty quick on front no?

I swear by Bontrager jones, been riding and racing on these for years, grippy yet fast rolling,great puncture resistance too but sadly discontinued. Continental mountain kings arent bad but not as good in gloop

maybe Bontrager ACX?

I’ve used Bontrager ACX and they ain’t quick on the road

Crossmark rear and schwalbe Rocket Ron up front.

Crossmarks and Rocket Rons are still useless on the road compared to the Smart Sam though. X-king seemed just a draggy as a 2.3 high roller on the road to me.

So I suppose you need to decide how much of a compromise you’re willing to make in each direction.

useless on the road

He’s riding the road to reach the trails, therefore I’m assuming he needs a competent trail tyre.

That looks like a canal tow path tyre.

I use 700×35 Smart Sam’s on my cross bike. Happy to ride 60+ miles on tarmac and they are excellent in mud and loose stuff. They feel a bit unsure on wet rock and are horrible on wet chalk, but that maybe because I run them at 70psi. The wider profiles might not be as good though.

Still using a Crossmark on the back – changed in March and not bothered changing back.
Excellent once you get used to it and great on the road

boxelder – Member

He’s riding the road to reach the trails, therefore I’m assuming he needs a competent trail tyre.

That looks like a canal tow path tyre.

Meh, I’ve taken them up and down Snowdon, round a flooded Penmachno, the Marin trail etc and they did all right (forgot to put my Minions back on before a road trip)

30 PSI, 2.2 on the front, 2.1 on the back FWIW.

I use Bontrager XT1 all the time for everything and not had issues.
fast rolling and oK in mud at the right pressures.

I use a monorail on the back, fast on tarmac, decent on the trails, totally useless in gloop.

2.1 smart sams.
25-30 psi on the trail. Tubed
40-50 psi on road.

2.1 smart sams.
25-30 psi on the trail. Tubed
40-50 psi on road.

i am using on one smorgasbord 29r tyres, for a 6 mile commute 50/50 road/offroad
they roll nicely on the road and are obviously good offroad.