What’s the current favourite for something fast rolling, durable, good for lots of road but with a bit of grip for the occasional trail? These used to be called semi-slicks back in my day.

29er, 2.0 or so.

Really like the crossmark on the back of my 29er. Only 2.0 tho, 2.2 in 26″ was a great tyre.

Ardent Race, mine are 27.5 2.3s, are good but now swapped out as my local trails are starting to get consistantly damp! HTH

Specialized Fastrak / Renegade, not quite a semi slick, but fast rolling

Wouldn’t have said Ardent Race or CrossMark fit the “lots of road” requirement – I use them as full on offroad tyres!

I’d have thought things would be starting to get marginal for a true semi slick offroad, but WTB Nanoraptor maybe? Far better than you would expect in slippery conditions and not bad on road.

Or a continental speedking – old school semi slick style, though I’ve not actually used one.

You’ve got Spesh Slaughter and Schwalbe Rock Razor there as options. Maybe not in your desired size though.

Smart Sam, it’s not a semi-slick but has a central row of knobbles which work well on the road.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/schwalbe/smart-sam-performance-wired-29er-mountain-bike-tyre-ec057749

Smallblock might fit the bill? It’s not actually a semislick, it’s a micro-knobbly but it rolls pretty damn well.

I’ve been using a Thunder Burt (tubeless) on the back all summer on one of my bikes. Rolls fast, I’ve not particularly noticed the lack of grip, and no punctures (that haven’t been sealed immediately).

Schwalbe Thunder Burt

How about WTB Nanos? Narrower (40c) but big on races like the TD

@gary True but if you want any real grip offroad then in my experience you have to trade the on road speed.

I’m currently running a Minion up front and a standard Ardent at the back which, given dampish trails, is fine for grip off road and not too draggy on road. Most of my riding is ~ 20 -30 miles with 80% off road.

The Ardent Race was much better on road but fairly sliding off now the trails aren’t bone dry.

As always what suits one person tyres wise is another persons ‘no way’ 🙂 Tyres used to be cheap enough to swap out if you didn’t like them but now at £40 – £50 a tyre it’s harder to ‘test ride’ them, although tyre compounds are so much better than 20 years ago IMHO!

Wouldn’t have said Ardent Race or CrossMark fit the “lots of road” requirement – I use them as full on offroad tyres!

I’d have thought things would be starting to get marginal for a true semi slick offroad, but WTB Nanoraptor maybe? Far better than you would expect in slippery conditions and not bad on road.

The crossmark has larger central tread/blocks than the Nanoraptor and wears quite well with road use. Dont think the OP is looking for low profile offroad tyres, i.e. with offroad tread that will wear down in the middle. That thunderburt will be useless after a few hundred miles of tarmac!

For more on-road performance with offroad capability the smart sam is good pattern, but i had loads of punctures when i ran a pair for my commute (they were the cheapest model mind).

Beyond that your into touring tyres with offroad potential. Such as the Schwalbe hurricane.

Or conti speed king.

Not had experience with either tho.

A cheap but excellent option is a Schwalbe Land Cruiser they roll with hardly any buzz at all but have decent grip off road. They are heavy though.

Im running a Spesh slaughter and love it even had it on at aston hill mash up last weekend !

lots of road but with a bit of grip for the occasional trail?

Assuming it’s mainly dry trails, the Speed King would get my vote. If it was including more trails, looser or wet trails also, Geax Saguaros or WTB Nanos both roll really well and have suprising amount of grip in the wet ime.

Smallblock might fit the bill? It’s not actually a semislick, it’s a micro-knobbly but it rolls pretty damn well.

+1 for Kenda Small Block 8. Running these at the moment. Roll really well on tarmac and more than good enough for the occasional trail as the OP requires. Come in 29″ 2.1 size:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenda-Small-Mountain-Folding-29×2-1/dp/B0026LJXH2

Smallblock 8s or Larsens (if you can still get them)