Our tandem came with Kenda Kiniption tyres. Ideal for Family Cycle Route type trails.

I wanted something with more grip and had a pair of Maxxis Minion Super Tacky 26×2.35 tyres left over from an abandoned DH bike project.
The grip’s good, but don’t they drag. 😕
We did our first trailquest and longest ride to date today. We’d stop pedalling 100m from a junction expecting to roll up to the white line, only to have to start pedalling again.

So, what’s a good compromise ?
I’m thinking Kenda SB8 26×2.35 at £30 each
I use 29×2.1s on my XC bike and like them. They’re about the right mix of grip and roll.
1100g though against 825g for what we’ve got now.
The non DH version are only 680g. Would they be up to tandem use, or do we need the DH version for a combined rider weight of 170kg ?

Any recommendations ? What are other people using ?

There used to be a bloke round here who would know what to do….

What compound were the minions?

We use 2.25 Cinders on our tandem. Obviously they’re very old fashioned.

Minion DHF super tacky on the front* and minion DHF 60a on the rear.
Both dual ply tubeless.

Anything other than dual plys seems to get destroyed really quickly on ours.

Go for whatever tread pattern suits you but the sidewalls on the SB8’s are very thin for tandem use…

*Super tacky swampthing if it’s muddy.

The minions are Super Tacky, which might be the problem. Even at 45psi they seem to want to stick where they are instead of rolling forward. 😕

What do you mean by destroyed, Stu ?
Wearing out at low mileage or actual damage to the casing ? The DH version has got “blah, blah, extra layer from bead to bead, blah, blah” which should do the trick, but at 1100g, it might be overkill.

I’ve used Specialized Fast Trak and Ritchey Z Max Shield on a 29er solo and prefer a faster, but less grippy, tyre like that.
The SB8 seems to be the only tyre of that type available as a DH version that I can find.
Is there anything similar under 1kg ?

By destroyed I mean put big holes into the casing.
In the tread part and the sidewalls.
Being unable to loft the front wheel or avoid rocks and roots takes it’s toll on them.

We’re using 2.4 Bontrager XR4s on ours – I had a pair on the solo bike, swapped them out for something that would run tubeless, then put them on the tandem to replace the 1.5″ slicks that it had when I bought it. Not had any issues with them myself but then I’m not tyre fetishist