Wide 29" tyre - what do you reckon?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Looking for a wide 29" tyre for a Dually rim. There's a 2.4" X-King on there at present but it has a nasty habit of losing air whenever the mood takes it. Don't really want the weight of a full plus tyre but would like something with a large volume to make the most of the rim, so 2.4" to 2.8" really ... non-porous would also be a real bonus

Had wondered about a Fat B Nimble - although 3", it's not really any heavier than the 2.4" X-King ... any thoughts?

[BigdummySteve]

Going on the poor performance of my chronicles in the post freeze mud I'd try some surly dirt wizards









(mainly so you can tell me if they are any good thus avoiding wasting my own money)

[rufus748]

I had a FBN on duallys, 2 in fact. The originals had a case defect which caused them to appear to wobble as they rotated. I returned the first hence the second which had the same issue.
They measure up narrow, so a 3 is a 2.8 and the 3.5's I've just bought for my 27.5 are 3"....
I like them. lightweight which is a bonus with large amounts of rubber. Always thought they rolled well. Good news is they appear to have resolved the issues with the casing.
Slam 69 had a good offer on the 27.5's not sure about the 29's

[rufus748]

Going on the poor performance of my chronicles in the post freeze mud I'd try some surly dirt wizards

Second that with the chronicles. Thought I was going to die on the Tuscany Trail ! They don't like mud, although with the 'float across' rather than 'cut through' I'm not sure any wide tyre would. Never got to use the FBN's in any serious mud.








(mainly so you can tell me if they are any good thus avoiding wasting my own money)

[Justchris]

Got some 2.4 xkings as recommended by you in a previous post. And I love them. But use a griper advanced 2.25 on my commute bike. At 2.25 they are better in the mud, by my eye a bigger volume for whatever reason and you can usually pick them up cheap. Worth a look.

Cheers.

[BigdummySteve]

Maxxis minions? 29x2.5 might work well in muddy conditions

[Bearbonesnorm]

Maxxis minions?

Really don't want anything that 'hardcore' ... I prefer to use cunning and skill to find grip rather than big chunks of rubber

Got some 2.4 xkings as recommended by you in a previous post. And I love them.

They are indeed great but I just can't get them to stay up

[BigdummySteve]

3" chronicles in last nights mud made me look like something beginning with C, it wasn't cunning

[Bearbonesnorm]

3" chronicles in last nights mud made me look like something beginning with C, it wasn't cunning

In the gloop, I much prefer something narrow that can cut through rather than slither about on top.

[BigdummySteve]

Aye back in the day I used to ran a 1.8" panracer dart in the rear for that reason.

[Alpinum]

Funny you mention loosing air.

My Conti on 30 mm internal rims always have let me down after about 800 km with sidewalls rubbed through just at the bead- tread and sidewalls still looked just fine. At the beginning more milk would help, but only for another fortnight or so.
This was with X-Kings and Mountain Kings 2.4 " in the Protection version, happened multiple times until I accepted it wouldn't work for me.

Whilst I quite like the balance of rolling resistance and grip, the allround capabilities of the BCC rubber and how they in general hold up, those specific sidewall break downs have really put me off.

No more Conti for me, but I'll keep an eye open hoping they'll reinforce the crucial sections like Maxxis, Schwalbe an many others do. Conti has tyres with apex, but they're too meaty for anything but riding with a strong focus on downhill. A Mountain King in 29 x 2.4 or 2.6 with a stronger sidewall would be brilliant.

For spring (where I live it means lots of mud due to snow melt) I've now chosen Schwalbe Nobby Nic in 29 x 2.6, Pacestar out back and Trailstar up front.
Just fitted them yesterday - sealed really well on Easton Arc 30's, no signs of milk on the sidewalls. I had them at about 2.5 bar over night and they measured true 2.6". Now at 1.5/1.65 bar and they're still at 2.55" width. Tread seems perfect on 30 mm internal rims. I just went for two very short spins (stupid headache) and from what I could tell they roll slower than MT-Kings (which I mostly rode at about 1.6/1.8 bar), much more grip on anything except wet roots on the rear. From experience with Schwalbe tyres I expect the tread to fail first, but I will see if it's before or after 800 km.
In sections where I could provoke the rear to spin with the MT-Kings, I'd just propel more with the Nobbies. Trailstar and Pacestar are miles apart and Black Chili Compound is comparable to TS in the dry and a bit better in the wet considering grip. When it comes to durability of the tread, Conti wins.
The Nobbies weighed in at roughly 850 g. I think the MT-Kings used to be around 750 g.

For more gravity fed biking I use 29 x 2.35" Magic Mary (snake skin) front and rear in trailstar. The tread won't last long in the rocks, but the grip and overall performance is simply amazing, unfortunately they don't make the 29" with vertstar - Magic Mary in vertstar is simply the best tyre for DH oriented riding in my point of view.
Very good for mud too, much better than Minions. And at 850 - 900 g a tyre not too bad weight wise. Seal really easy too and whilst the casing seems like a true 2.35", it comes in a big bigger, due to the chunky tread. Rolling resistance is much higher than MT-Kings, but if your riding consists of welsh bogs, you be better off with Magic Mary.

Once the mud dries off a bit, I'll give 2.4" Ardents a try, it's been ages since I last used them and having a set at home I quite like the seemingly good balance of protected bead-sidewall area, beefyness, volume and weight. No idea where I'm going to find a replacement for a fast rolling tyre similar to X-King, but at the moment I think I'll just have to pedal harder. Simple.

After all, I really liked the X-King and MT-King for distance oriented biking. Shame I had such bad experience with them on my Arc rims. I was very happy to run MT-Kings in winter and X-Kings in summer on my rigid SSP which I would use for most of the mileage.

[jameso]

Until the 29 x 2.6s that a few brands have as early OE spec now are available, the Ardent 2.4 TR or EXO is the best bet in this area imo - it's not great in mud but it's great everywhere else and if you're happy riding on something that slides a bit here and there they're fun. Predictable. You could try the Conti Trail King 2.4 also, that's a big casing. Not sure if it's much bigger than the X-king or if they go up tubeless well unless you get the pricey UST version. It's black chilli compound though, really good tyre.

[Matt]

So this is a "What tyre?" thread then?

Had to happen I 'spose

[Al]

Used to run 2.4 x-kings. It never had much luck tubeless. I've now got a 2.35 maxis ikon that comes up wider than them - certainly generous width for its size, rolls nicely, doesn't weigh too much and plays nicely tubeless - pretty chuffed with it.

[In Reverse]

2.6" Nobby Nic might be a decent shout for the right balance between cutting through and big volume Stu.

I've run the 2.35" on a Dually on the front for about 18 months and can't fault it. Maybe the 2.4" Ardent for something less nobbly.

[ianfitz]

2.35 ikons are noticeably bigger than 2.4 X kings.

Fun in mud too

[jam bo]

2.35 ikons are noticeably bigger than 2.4 X kings.

Fun in mud too

2.35 forekasters are about the same size as ikons and pretty good in mud.

[ScotRoutes]

I had FatBnimbles on the Pact B+ when I first built it. Supposedly 3.5" they in fact measured the same as the 3" Nobby Nics.

Steering was woeful in anything approaching wet ground. Comedic in fact. Light though, and fast rolling on dry/gravelly stuff.

I changed the front to a 3" NN which transformed the bike into something I could actually ride around the local trails. The rear end still skipped along behind in its own fashion but I can mostly put up with that.

I subsequently bought a very lightly used NN 3.0 for the rear wheel too and that's what I'm still running.

I might swap out to the FBNs if I knew I was going somewhere with drier trails/road/gravel. Other than that, they'll likely sit in the garage unloved.

Of course, the 29+ version might be completely different.

[Matt]

Got a 2.4 Hans Damf sat collecting dust if you want to have a go?

Give us it back a WRT or summat

Holds air

[Kumquat]

2.6 NN?

https://www.bike24.com/p2100379.html

[Alpinum]

So, was out riding today in very mixed conditions with the 29 x 2.6" Nobby Nics.

So far so good. Nothing special or unexpected for a tyre with such a tread and width. Only strange thing is leaning in and getting onto the shoulder knobs - on hard surfaces it feels unusually squishy. Like a used tyre with torn knobs. Something I need to get used to for the grip was surely there. Grip wise quite a difference to MT-Kings or 2.35" Nobby Nics or Hans Dampf, which I find quite overrated.

Happy I gave it a try - it'll stay at least until things dry off a bit. Some pics on twitter
https://twitter.com/g_m_liesch?s=09

I must say it would have been a perfect front tyre for my double traverse of Icelands Highland.

[DrMekon]

I've got a pair of Dirt Wizards with 2 rides on them. They are horrible unless you are riding in deep mud. Anything remotely firm beneath them and the wobble and squirm. I hate them. On the other hand, I love my chupacabras, and so long as you can cope with them being terrifying when the mud gets deep enough that they just float across the top, they are ace. I should force myself to ride on them when it's muddy, but they make me too sad.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Thanks for the input everyone, much appreciated.

The 2.8 NN looks good, although a swift change of plan / heart has lead me to re-fit a Chronicle for the moment and switch wheels between bikes

[Mariner]

How about the Surly Extra Terrestrial Tyre?
29 x 2.5 just becoming available and supposedly work tubeless.