So i bought a rigid MTB....

i`ve a rigid singlespeed bike with plus tyres (2.8 butchers - not sure you can get these anymore?) and its great - i like the bit of squish the bigger tyres give - takes the edge off but its still very fun.  Makes the tamer trails really fun and the challenging ones even more fun. 

Banana Industries have Schwalbe Super Moto slicks in 29x2.4 Here

My old Genesis Tarn with 2.8s was one of the most ridiculously good fun bikes I've ever had (too small for me though so had to go). 

Not sure there are all that many plus tyres out there any more, but plenty of 2.6s around

  Also dabbling. Rebuilt my bootzipper, which i rapidly decided was rubbish, cause as soon as a trail got interesting, it got really abusive and lost all flow. Ive put it back together as a single speed. Quite enojoying the directness, indeed it can scamper up stuff my proper geared bike fails at, i guess because you can stall and then just hop it going again, like a big trials bike.

Ive also recently realised that riding the front end like its a hard tail is totally wrong. Dig the heels in a bit more and let the front end float, as well?

Ill keep at it for a bit, keep the big bike clean on the muddieer rides.

A good friend of mine rides rigid everywhere, and is faster than every one else on 150mm big boy bikes or e bikes. Even on the jankyest chunky rooty trails we ride. Not sure how he manages it.

I have a fully ridgid that was my commuter. Until I put something a bit more forgiving on the wheels, it has the thinnest, fastest tyres I could get on the rims and a 35mm stem for the bars. I drew the line at making it a single speed, but changed it to a 1x9. It was a commuting weapon.

I run WTB Rangers on my Unit X, mainly because that's what it came with.  They work pretty well most of the time, or at least aren't the limiting factor.  I like the old skool nature just heading out the door and seeing where I end up independent of the terrain.

#notatyreswapper

Bike24 has minions upto 3inch and rekons upto 2.8 if you want something more XC. WTB rangers are available in a selection of widths too and get good reviews.

Fat tyre ATBs for life, they're the best kind of bike. 

(apart from a nice road bike on a spring day, or a FS on a day when you're on it and the trails are great, etc .. but rigid 29ers MTB-ATBs are a permanent for me)

I'm thinking big, fat low tread tyres

2.6 Mezcals? 2.4 Peyotes look fast? 2.25 Terreno Drys are fun too. Vittoria do have a good range of gravel plus / XC tyres these days (disclaimer I do work for the Vittoria UK distributor, also I was riding these tyres before that). 

i think you can still get 2.8 Maxxis recons? i had some but they were too light a casing for me/where i ride. 

My bike is less XC weapon and more big BMX. Its ridiculously fun. it jumps well, corners well, etc. but braking bumps are savage haha! 'makes the trails come alive' 

oury grips and soft pressures/fat tyres for a more forgiving ride. 

ha Vittoria have become my favorite, just not many?any? options in Plus size.. 

Iv'e got a few 2.6's, but they are more enduroey

And a set of 2.3? xc tyres that would work

Yer, i saw there were rekon's and ardents kicking around

27.5 x 2.6 Mezcals on my rigid Flash is great fun*

* In the dry

I use Maxxis Rekon Race (basically a pre-worn Rekon!) in 29x2.4 and it's super comfy and fast on a rigid MTB(ATB?) and you can often get them very cheap. Also Vittoria Mezcals in a 2.35 or 2.6 are very quick and not heavy, they can normally be found cheap in the tubeless TNT versions but they also do a really heavy wire bead non-tubeless version too so check what you're ordering if it seems too cheap!

I thought about SS, but went for 1x10 Deore instead for very little dosh and my legs are pleased.

Terravail Oxbow in 29 x 2.8 are great tyres, nice and supple and puncture resistant and roll very well on gravel for their size. Spendy though. As others have said, a fully rigid 29er, ideally in singlespeed variety is a wonderful thing, you shouldn’t be disappointed. 

Posted by: alan1977

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Can you get big squishy tyres, (as big as possible) that also aren't soul destroying? im thinking like an XC feel

I've gone (sort of) the other way. I've put a rigid fork on my Vandal, a worn Wolfpack 2.4 trail tyre on the front, and a Michelin Wild Race'R on the back (I've another of the same to pop on the front when the trails dry up a bit). I was looking for a gravel+ feel for the bike ... A bit more volume and control than the gravel bike for slightly chunkier terrain, but still fast on easy trails and road, able to cover long distances at speed. It's very light and nippy in this format, if not overly plush.

I figured that if I was dragging a 2.6/2.8/3.0 tyre around for the 'comfort', I might as well just put a suspension fork and trail tyres back on.

Stooge bikes are designed to be ridden rigid. Have a look at their website and owners Facebook page for lots of useful information .  Real fun bikes, yes I am biased I have 2.

Posted by: tuboflard

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Terravail Oxbow in 29 x 2.8 are great tyres, nice and supple and puncture resistant and roll very well on gravel for their size. Spendy though. As others have said, a fully rigid 29er, ideally in singlespeed variety is a wonderful thing, you shouldn’t be disappointed. 

Agreed.  I really like them. I am on my third set. 

My suggestion would be wider tyre up front, keep the rear a smidge narrower (and lighter). 

I am running 2.1x29 rear, 2.4x29” front on my rigid MTB. Would happily go wider out front TBH. Another Vitoria fan, but also schwalbe are a safe bet these days, why not mix brands just to trigger a few people 😉 

I've got a rigid Whippet which is great fun with 27.5 3.0/2.8 tyres and comfortable enough to do the SDW in a day with 29 2.6/2.4 tyres. I'm thinking I might try it next with a mullet set up and 2.8 front and rear.

Love a rigid bike. I wouldn’t get obsessed about tyre widths and the like - you have to ride the bike differently and it’s not going to handle the trail like your suspension bike. But that’s the appeal!

2.0 tyres and lots of fun.

Ugh, image fail. Trying again…

Long time rigid 29er user here too, easily the bike I'd choose if I had to have just one. I tend to max out at 2.6 out front and 2.4ish on the back. I'm less a fan of bigger (>2.6) tyres as I don't like the trade offs of rolling resistance and bounce/squirm.

Have a frontier as my utility bike (rigid) and it's a decent ride, good vfm for sure. Mezcals are fast and surprisingly versatile, definitely try and keep the tyres swift and fairly light, if you can. 

My winter bike is an old Voodoo 26" SS, with a rigid carbon fork, and on 2.0 XC tyres.

I'd rather the tyres slide than squirming around so I can't imagine I'd go much wider than 2.25, but that'll only be when I've worn these out.

Hmm, ok, so i have some spare 29 tyres

tacky chans 2.4's 

SE5 and 4 in 2.6

Some Kenda  dissector like tyres in 2.6, enduro style casing

and an xr2 and 3 set in 2.3's i think

so I'm thinking an Xr2 or 3 up back and maybe one of the kenda's up front aired down a bit

Another rigid here.

As a nod to comfort and avoiding golfers elbow, it has a 2.6 Nobby Nic on the front. OneUp carbon bars and Revgrips.

Love it, it’s the most fun and rewarding bike to ride 🙂

I have a rigid Sonder Frontier that I use as a commuter, shopping, canal ride, gravel, runaround bike. I have also used it for a couple of overnight bike packing trips and it is great.

Currently rolling on 2.35" tyres but have had 2.6" on it. This was a budget build - 2nd hand frame and forks and parts from my spares bin. The only new items on it were the chainset and grips. For me, the geometry is just right and I regularly ride it in preference to any of my other bikes. There is just something 'right' about a rigid bike.

Posted by: monkeyfiend

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My winter bike is an old Voodoo 26" SS, with a rigid carbon fork, and on 2.0 XC tyres.

Me too! Tyres a bit wider though.  

Sonder broken road and frontier here. Broken road on Travers prong and 2.2 XR1 both ends. On special at Evans at 12 quid each. 

This is my road bike. Scandal , have replaced forks for aluminium as I’m carbon phobic.

Another Frontier based on the cheap outlet frame I bought last summer. I actually prefer the slightly old skool geometry to the Scandal it replaced. 2.4" Michelin Wild on the front, 2.4" Teravail Kessel on the back. Does everything I need.

Zippykona, what are those mudguards? I want to shove something decent on my commuting MTB and those have the best coverage I have seen and would probably take a longer front mudflap. Cheers

Crikey, those XR1's are a bargain, but i do have an xr2/3 set i think i might go with, as a lot of people on here are running slimmer tyres, i can always try something else later on if needs be. planning on starting today.. ive got a fair bit of tyre swaps to do

i have to swap my xr4's from my top fuel to a set of dt wheels for my gf's bike (taking off an se5 and 4 in the process) ,freeing up the xr2/3 one of which is on a wheel already, these will then go to the frontier build. and i have to find something to put on the top fuel in the interim, so i guess im buying tyres for that instead 😀

I bought a lightweight rigid MTB in 2020 thats been great fun. 2.6 Maxis Ikon on the front with a 2.3 on the rear and it was fast. Now its got drop bars and used as a winter bike. 

Zippykona, what are those mudguards? I want to shove something decent on my commuting MTB and those have the best coverage I have seen and would probably take a longer front mudflap. Cheers

+ 1 ...I was just about to ask this too!

They are sks veloflex 65 or 75 with a rear mount on the front fork. No rattles at all

The XR1 have really low tread but had to try them at 12 quid. Seem OK. I'm off to Holland on it in a few months and will use these maybe for the ride.

Just can't bring myself to buying tyres at current charges and I'm 38 years in the tyre trade!

  I've currently got Scwalbe G One all round on my Frontier which are fine in the dry and we're more than enough for Traws Eryi past June. I need to swap them for back to the slightly knobblier WTB Rangers or Cross King Race King combo when I get round to it to come with the spring mud. All 2.25 width. Mainly been riding cycles paths and to from work through the winter so grip less of an issue.

I've got the bolt on version of the Veloflex 65 mudguard fitted and find they work well.

WTB Ranger 2.4" is another good shout for tyres. I have them on my Broken Road and they have been good for everything from 100km road rides to The South Downs Way.

well. ive chucked the xr2/3 on the frame.. its super light so far.. im not used to it...

the top fuel has a syerra/mazza combo 

on the way..

need to find myself a bar and crank and finish it off

Deore chainset for £30 on here. Got them on a few of my bikes including a singlespeed and they’re fit and forget.

https://sportandleisure.com/products/shimano-deore-fc-mt510-1-x-12-speed-boost-chainset

great, thanks for that, knew id seen a crank somewhere

they also have slx chainrings super cheap so was able to pick up the 34T , and a set of bars and grips 😀