Currently repurposing my old 26 Soul as a weird swept-bar, mulleted, relaxed bikepacking thing. It could do with a fatter tyre – maybe a 2.4 – at the back, but I can’t find a lot of options for tubeless XC which are a reasonable price.

Any suggestions?

Not quite 2.4 and maybe not fast rolling enough but I got some Maxxis High Roller 2 EXO TR tyres from Amazon a few months ago, as well as some thinner Ardents. Have to take a bit of a punt as the listings aren’t very descriptive but looks like they still have stuff.

Have you looked for dirt jump tyres? They seem to max out at 2.2/2.3, but might give you some more options to consider.

Only a 2.2 but Maxxis Ardent Race MTB Tyre (EXO – TR – 3C) £50 from Wiggle is a decent tyre. Not so much on price.

Or perhaps a 2.3 Agressor

https://www.polaris-bikewear.com/maxxis-aggressor-folding-dual-compound-exo-tr-tyre.html

Griffin 2.3

https://www.polaris-bikewear.com/maxxis-griffin-120-tpi-folding-3c-maxx-terra-tr-dd-tyre-various-widths-and-sizes.html

2.35″ Nobby Nic for £24 from Merlin:

https://www.merlincycles.com/schwalbe-addix-nobby-nic-performance-tlr-folding-tyre-26-106040.html

TLR are their tubeless ready versions.

you can still get some Rock Razors in 26″

I have a brand new 2.3 HR2 TR EXO here if you want. Not sturdy enough for what I want so happy to sell it for whatever I paid for it. Or swap for a DHR.

I bought a set of Crossmark II last summer – plenty plump enough on 2007 vintage Stans Flows, and very fast rolling. Also tubeless and reinforced carcass. They were great on dusty Sherwood Forest Trails.

https://shop.maxxis.co.uk/products/2630354-26×2-25-60-tpi-folding-dual-compound-exotr-crossmark-ii

https://www.bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/cst-caballero-26-x-2-40-65-psi-eps-casing-folding-tyre-kevlar-bead-sale-50-off-t3103?search=cst

Ooh, some good suggestions here. Thanks.

I can’t find a cheap Rockrazor but imo it’s worth paying a bit more for a tyre that good- on the rear they’re pretty amazing.

stumpy01
Full Member

2.35″ Nobby Nic for £24 from Merlin:

https://www.merlincycles.com/schwalbe-addix-nobby-nic-performance-tlr-folding-tyre-26-106040.html

TLR are their tubeless ready versions.

Yah, but Performance is their shitty OEM rubber, it rolls slower and isn’t anything like as grippy. Not that the Nic’s all that great at best. I wouldn’t, personally

I’ve got a pair of 2.25 Ardents, or a pair of 2.4 mountain kings for sale here –
Tyre clearout

Northwind

Yah, but Performance is their shitty OEM rubber, it rolls slower and isn’t anything like as grippy. Not that the Nic’s all that great at best. I wouldn’t, personally

Apart from the fast-rolling aspect, does any of that matter for this?:

…repurposing my old 26 Soul as a weird swept-bar, mulleted, relaxed bikepacking thing

I recently bought a Nobby Nic for my Inbred. I needed 26″ and wanted it tubeless ready.
To be honest, I know very little about the various tyre compounds etc. and it wasn’t really a consideration when choosing this tyre. The bike gets used for pub bike duties, riding with the family, bridleway/gravel stuff etc. It doesn’t roll amazingly well, but then it’s quite knobbly so perhaps not to be expected. A racing Ralph for me probably would have been fine.

2.35″ Nobby Nic for £24 from Merlin:

I used those for the King Alfred’s Way, and they were surprisingly ok rolling on the road sections. That was the higher grade compound though – Pacestar I think.

Apart from the fast-rolling aspect, does any of that matter for this?:

It’s mainly the fast-rolling aspect. I could probably get away with a semi-slick for the kind of riding I’m considering – fairly easy bridleways and tarmac.

I wonder if I could squeeze a 27.5 and a narrow (2.0) xr0/1 in there?

Would just be nice to get the soul running again rather than just hanging on the garage wall.

If you want a semi slick them how about Schwalbe Billy Bonkers?
They’re not fat, but very light. I got some for my retro DBR Axis TT.

You can still find folding Conti Race King on ebay or similar. They’re large volume for 2.2’s, more like a 2.3/4” ime (I use the 29ers) and are fast.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/components/tyres/mountain-bike-tyres/continental-race-king-protection-mountain-bike-tyre-review/

I see the PureGrip versions with sidewall protection for sale, can’t comment on that compound though, as I use Race King Protection, which are 👍🏼👍🏼

Talking of Continental, are Cross King (2.3?) worth a look also?

I really like Conti tyres, we’ve got Trail Kings on our bikes which seem to do the impossible combination of being grippy and fast-ish rolling. Would a Minion SS work for what you want to do (asking cos I’ve got one spare here 😉 )?

Billy Bonkers. I’ve got one on my Dialled PA (With a table top on the front. done 15 mile trails loops taking in jump spots. it’s no Wild Enduro obviously, but it’s absolutely fine for JRA. and dirt jumps. It’s what I was thinking of when I suggested DJ tires in general earlier.

I’ve got less hung up on knobblies since riding my old raleigh tourer on 32c slicks on all sorts of trails on “long way home” commute extensions. there are some disadvantages to not having knobs, sure, but if you just want to ride your bike and see stuff, you’d be amazed what you can do on slicks.

Think I’ve posted this before. Makes a lot of sense.
https://www.renehersecycles.com/why-we-dont-make-gravel-tires/

Hmm, yeh, those might be shit, and small. There used to be some decent versions the Dutch used for beach racing. please excuse the multi posting to this thread, its relevant to my interests, and I’m tootling about while I’m on my lunch break!

It’s mainly the fast-rolling aspect. I could probably get away with a semi-slick for the kind of riding I’m considering – fairly easy bridleways and tarmac.

Gotcha. Nobby Nics are a good choice, then. I was really happy with them on the KAW. No punctures, either.

Those Billy bonkers look reasonable, but I have a firm no tanwall mixing policy!

Might have to spend more or just pedal a bit harder.

I’m running 26″ 2.4″ tyres, with a few queued up in the box. I was pleasantly surprised just now when I went into the CRC tyre page and used the filters for MTB/26″/in stock – loads of options, with quite a few in the 2.3-2.4 range.

Equally, I’m happily running 27.5″ X 2.1″ tyres (G-One Bite) in a 26″ frame monstercross. Quite happy doing 100km days on this set-up.

Yeah, didn’t see the Ardent 2.4s when I looked before. Might do the job.