Older friend has retired from proper off-road riding, so mainly bimbles along the country lanes & the extensive canal network.. Now it’s getting sloppier his slicks aren’t cutting it. So what worth recommending in a 26 flavour, are the semi-knobbles that have caught his eye any use?

Something like a cross mark??

Hard in the middle but knobbles at the side – not a semi slick thingy though

smallblock would be my call. Very rapid, deals well with everything but sinky mud. Lots of mtb knobblies end up gripping fairly poorly on tarmac.

A true semislick or similiar with knobs on the side isn’t really the right tool imo- you want a bit more grip, all the time, those are designed to give grip when leaning over.

Schwalbe land cruisers are good in 700c size, fairly sure they do a 26″ version

Schwalbe racing Ralph or thunder burt.

I’ve no idea if semi-slick’s actually work well or are just rubbish, so suggest away. the crossmark looks a more likely contended to me, but I hoping some commuterist’s might have useful idea’s

My cross marks are brilliant on rock but a bit rubbish on mud, so they wouldn’t be my first choice for muddy canal towpaths.

fair point about mud but it is hard packed tow path round here rather than muddy

Land cruisers in 26 flavour work very well on our brum canals 🙂
Or i have a brand new pair of marathons in 26″ for sale if interested ?

Mainly lots of slippy mud & deep puddles on our canal unfortunately. The land cruisers have caught my eye & seem well liked, but keep going by all means

Edit: looking like a winner then 😀

I’d have said small block 8s too.

I run rocket ron front and racing ralph rear as 80% of my rides are tow path which vary quite wildly from tarmac and nice hard gravel to stoney and muddy. They also seem to cope well with rougher stuff, although with muddier climbs the ralph squirmes and spins a bit.

+1 for Kenda Small Block 8s. Also good wear rate and less prone to puncturing than Racing Ralphs (in my experience).

Def something tubeless, from experience as I ride the canal most days to work and always loads of glass,nails and whatever other junk the boaties throw out..personally I use purgatory’s f+r but then a few bits are off road and get bad in the slightest bit of rain..

If he has disks, then a pair of CX wheels and tyres?

Something like a Small Block 8 would do the job I reckon. I use an On-One Gravel Road for similar uses (not available in 26″) and the tread is similar to a SB8.

I’d go for the small block 8 if it was for myself, but I’m thinking he’ll like the Land Cruisers, him and his m8’s only do all steady pace stuff, so doubtful he’ll need more grip than that.. will give him the options.
Cheers all

PS: Stumpy, cheers for the offer & will mention it..