I’m doing my second 12 hour solo at 24/12 this year and after the Torchbearer last year I’m being optimistic and planning for good weather. I use Kenda Nevegals at the moment but I want something that rolls a bit faster – any suggestions greatfully received.

Almost any commuter tyre with thin tread and a central ridge.

Small Block 8s

Kenda Small Block 8s fit your spec. They roll quite well in the dry

Edit – beaten to it by Daffy

Conti RaceKing, proper fast, the supersonic/Race Sport version is a bit fragile but really fast, they’re the only Conti tyres I’ve ever used that I liked.

I wouldn’t go too treadless or fragile – at the end of 12hrs you’ll need something to get you out of trouble if necessary, and you want something that you don’t have to change if it does rain. Last year Mrs Yak ran a Ground Control 2.3 F and Saguaro 2.2 R for the torchbearer, and was fine. But that combo is also pretty fast in the dry too.

Thanks all. Yak, you’re right, I should probably go with something that won’t be too dodgy in the wet considering last year.

Bonty XR2 / Spesh Fast Trak / Vittoria Peyote

Small block 8s clear well in wet muddy conditions where you can get some speed up, but can become clogged in claggy stuff.

Race Kings are fantastic, they grip surprisingly well in a lot of circumstances I’d wouldn’t have expected them too.

Might have a winner with the XR2s Steve but those Fast Traks look lethal.

Another vote for race kings, protection versions are a wee bit heavy but tough and easy tubeless set up.
I like bontranger tyres but for xc speed conti race kings are so much better and surprising grippy. Not that the bonty ones are a bad choice.
Racing ralphs are a reasonable choice too.

And another Race King user. I use them all year round although they are not ideal in mud (but I don’t get much mud where I am)

Nice volume and good compound helps with grip, good tread pattern for speed.

Thunder Burts. So much more useful than the previous slicks Schwalbe made and the snakeskin versions are good and durable.

Thunder Burts. A little skittish under braking, but vastly more capable than they look/deserve to be. Snakeskin if you’re prone to trashing sidewalls!

Edit: too slow!

Another big fan of race kings here. They roll quick and have much more grip than you’d expect.

Jumbo Jims, light and fast and they come in 26 x 4.8….

Another ThuBu fan here. Lighter than Race Kings and SB8s too, which you might appreciate at hour 11.

Thanks all, although after today’s ride I think walking will prove quicker and tyres will be irrelevant.

Burts ftw.

Vote for xr2s here, I ran them all year round, and did surprisingly well in slop.

Have a look at this . Sadly doesn’t include Spesh tyres, but I can tell you that Fast Traks are good, but not as fast as Race Kings.

Another big fan of race kings here. They roll quick and have much more grip than you’d expect

Still doesn’t equal much higher grip…
I had one of those on the back and an ikon on the front. Swapped out for ardent races, nice balance and the exo is tough.

Saguaro 2.2

Yes. Better than a v1 Race King in the wet / loose and feels faster in the dry or on hardpack. Really good tyres, used them for the TDR after trying a few options and the rear was thin but workable still at the end. Loses a bit of volume to the 2.2 R.K. but not enough to worry about. Std version works TLR easily.

Ikons and SB8s, that file tread isn’t as quick-rolling as it looks compared to something like a Nano or Saguaro with a central raised strip and they’re at a disadvantage on softer ground.

But if I wanted pure speed on dry hardpack, new-pattern Race Kings, no doubt.

edit to add,
that rolling resstance test website – looks like a steel drum test. A good constant to use for all tyres but not as representative of riding off-road as on smooth tarmac. I expect the poor figures for the Ikon + SB8 on that test wouldn’t be so bad on something like a dirt road roll-down test, or maybe they just use a tougher casing (Jan Heine’s blog says that casing is a huge part of RR but off-road that’s a compromise point).

Hutchinson Python II

Honey Badger roll well and have good grip

Another ThuBu fan here. Lighter than Race Kings and SB8s too, which you might appreciate at hour 11.

Another view might be that at the 11th hour, tired, in the dark, you might appreciate an ability to use your brakes!

Anyhow for me its an x king front,race king rear – both protection as punctures in the dark and tired suck.

XR2 front with XR1 rear

ardent race for me.

Ground Control/Fast Track for me, newnham can get a little blown out in my experience so I like a front tyre with a little more tread.

I’d also be interested to see whether you could run an ‘enduro’ semi slick front and rear, eg rock razers in the lightest casing. They’re brilliant on the rear of bigger bike as you still get the cornering grip that you loose with an xc semi slick.