I ride a 2012 spesh hardrock 29er, and have had a pair of smorgasbords on them for a bit, I noticed that the back was rubbing ever so slightly on the paint work, so decided that this wasn’t a good idea and swapped it back out for the fast track the bike came with – which has been fine over the summer, fast, good in the dust etc. but as autumn approaches, I’m thinking of a tyre for the bad weather – so…

Is the Smorgasbord “big” for a 2.25″ tyre, and would I be able to get away with putting in a 2.25″ tyre from a different manufacturer (who?)

Is there a good alternative (in terms of style and price) to the smorgasbord – e.g. I paid £25 or so for the pair, which is ever so slightly smaller and won’t rub the frame.

smorgasbord is big

Huge

I agree…..mahoosive….but an excellent tyre…..

Good tyre for the cheap price you pay, been using mine on rear for past few weeks and so far pretty impressed. It’s not huge for a 2.25 no different to the nobby nic or ardent I have used in the past.

It looks smaller than my 2.3 purgatory and much much smaller than my 2.35hans dampf the only tyre it looks bigger than is the ardent, but it is a good tyre

My missus has a hardrock 29er and she runs smorgasbords front and back without a problem.

Is it rubbing both sides on the rear?

Bit worried I should’ve checked more closely last time I fitted them now!

It’s rubbing very slightly on the seat stays on the rear – however, I think it only rubs when I sit my fat arse on the seat – it runs perfectly when there it is on the stand.

Oddly enough, just measured my Smorgsbord 2.25 29er tyre as you do and the width between the widest knobbly bits was 58mm which was only 4mm less than the Minion 2.5 29er I was putting on the front

the 2.4 chunky monkey is big…smorg looks small next to it!

It might run fine when on a stand but when someone rides it and the wheel and frame flexes it will touch. Personally I wouldn’t risk it.

It’s not overly wide for a 2.25″ tyre (though wider than a lot, Schwalbe for instance), but it is quite tall which can cause problems. Lower profile tyres can get away with being wider cos generally the chainstays are shaped to fit in that way, where a taller profile comes closer as the chainstays bend in.