After the suggestions of Ventures for the Camino I back after sore more ideas.

The Ventures are amazing, I ran them in the NYM300 and they felt great on all surfaces.

I am now thinking ahead for the BB200 and I am after some suggestions for 29er tyres. They will be going on my Vir Fortis in 29x35 do Swiss rims. They will mainly be used for long distance multi terrain events, so again the holy grail of not being draggy in long road sections, but being able to handle at speed thought rocky terrain in the wet.

What’s the clever money on? I like the look of terevail spar woods but they are difficult and expensive to get in the uk. Other options might be Schwalbe G One series.

Tia

D

I'm a big fan of bonty XR2's obviously in 3" flavour but they do a range of sizes... https://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/componen ... yre-p26128
Pretty good value. Grip wise they do OK even if its a bit wet, only loosing out in real glop. They have reinforced sidewalls, don't weigh much and roll well on hard surfaces.

Vittoria mezecals seem to be the go to but I've never tried them and they are pricy...

I've run 29x2.6 Mezcals right through the winter in the Peak District. Great speed/rolling resistance, plenty of grip on hardpack/rocky stuff. Not the ones for mud, but where I ride tends to drain well.

now thinking ahead for the BB200

I didn't die last year on Mezcals, found them a very good compromise

I'm with Phil on the Bonty's, their whole range is good, just go chunkier (i.e. bigger number) as things get muddier/rougher. I run XR3 up front, XR2 on the back and that's fine pretty much year round for the Dales.

I've a Mezcal 2.6 and it's fine in dry conditions but it's a pretty hard compound (this is a 6yr old model so might be different now) so things like wet roots and slop make things, err, "interesting".

As others above, I use a mezcal 2.6 front and 2.35 rear most of the year round, more than capable and decently fast. Also have an XR2 which as said, is fast, strong, surprisingly grippy, and well priced.

I use 2.6 Mezcals F&R. No issues on BB200/300, Jennride, NYM300 etc. For me they're quick enough, grippy enough and I've never paid a lot for them. Not much else to add

So Mezcals sound popular.

For those that run them, any issues getting them set up tubeless? Is there much difference in drag between the 2.25, 2.36 and 2.6?

dlovett wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 3:04 pm So Mezcals sound popular.

For those that run them, any issues getting them set up tubeless? Is there much difference in drag between the 2.25, 2.36 and 2.6?

From memory, no. But then it was six years ago so it's possible the memories have faded. Not used any size other than the 2.6 so can't comment on drag.

Both my mezcal sizes went up very easily. There is a difference in drag between the 2.6 and 2.35 (especially as i've found the 2.35 a bit undersized on a 29mm rim, 2.6 is true to size) but it's not huge, and the 2.6 has enough cush to cope with fairly chunky stuff.

I took a pair of Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge off my Mason ISO and replaced them with TLR 2.1 Mezcals. The change to the bike was amazing, particularly in speed.
Also, they have been the easiest tyres I have ever fitted tubeless (Hunt Boost wide rims) They went up first time with a track pump only.
Just finished Badger Divide on a Vielo (Hunt MasonX rims) with TNT compound Mezcals 2.1 tubeless and they were faultless. I'm a real convert.

Got some xr2 I really should sell in 29x3.0 if of interest?

YGM ( though I defer to the topic starter )

Rats, you beat me too it Lazarus

What kind of mileage atr people getting out of Mezcals? 2.6 variety specificly

Normally I use the Camino with 650x47's (WTB Ventures currently) or the Vir Fortis on 26.4 (JJ's).

I have a really nice set of DT Swiss XR race 29' wheels for the Vir and currently have a set of 29x2.1 Racing Ralphs on them. I have only used them for a couple of rides, but one burped off the rim and so I just don't have the confidence on them and want to replace them.

These wheels/tyres are purely to be used for long distance racing and ITT's so they will still need to be fast on long road sections, but capable in all weathers on the off road stuff. I'm not after the ability to smash DH's on them, just to carefully get down/across any terrain I come across. The Camino does this brilliantly on the Ventures, but I just want a bit more suspension to take the edge off, as it can get a bit jaring sometimes. The Vir being full carbon with more air volume should give me that at the cost of a hub dynamo, which I can live with. Or do I just go with 26x4 and run them at high pressure (20psi) and get comfort and reasonable speed along with the hub dynamo?

So if I went with Mezcal's do I want 2.35 or 2.6? I appreciate neither will be the comfort of a 26x4, but I want to find the perfect compromise. Also what compound if I am going to be running run flat inserts?

Again are there any better options than Mezcals as reviews say great in dry, but not much in horrid winter Welsh Rain/bogs. Also I seem to have missed the boat as they now seem to be about £50 each!!!

Ideally I want to end up with just two bikes, 3 wheel sets, that can overlap somewhere in the middle of road, long distance racing, XC, DH.

Mezcals in 2.35 are a tad undersized (mine were on 29mm rims), so i wouldn't go for them. I've got a 4C compound mezcal 2.6, and it's decent. Good profile on 30mm rim, has been strong, including a recent Snowdonia trip in the p1ssing rain. Sorry, I got mine for £25 just before Covid XR2 is a great option too.

Ardent race (exo) a good fast rolling tyre with reasonable cornering grip.
I'd also second xr3 bontys if it gets a bit rougher.

Anybody got an opinion on WTB Nano's as they look suitable and are available at a semi sensible price.

https://www.wtb.com/products/nano

Were my goto on the Fargo - very good rolling and surprising amounts of grip on grass (dry) and gravel.
Weedy as though - they would puncture as soon as look at them and usually needed a plug rather than sealing.

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Fri Aug 25, 2023 6:29 pm Were my goto on the Fargo - very good rolling and surprising amounts of grip on grass (dry) and gravel.
Weedy as though - they would puncture as soon as look at them and usually needed a plug rather than sealing.

did you have the ultra light ones or the heavy duty ones?

fitted some schwalbe johnny watts tyres recently. 29 x 2.35. very fast rolling. quite hefty, but so am i.

dlovett wrote: ↑Fri Aug 25, 2023 6:54 pm

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Fri Aug 25, 2023 6:29 pm Were my goto on the Fargo - very good rolling and surprising amounts of grip on grass (dry) and gravel.
Weedy as though - they would puncture as soon as look at them and usually needed a plug rather than sealing.

did you have the ultra light ones or the heavy duty ones?

This was a few years ago and they just did the non tubeless comps and the tubeless pros (or something), both very light....

I’ve also had good experiences with Bonty XR2 grippy enough & decently priced. Quick question, does anyone know if a 2.6 x 29 on a 35mm rim will fit in the rear of a MK2 Stooge? 2.4 is fine but they only seem to do XR2 in 2.35 and 2.6 now.

Big, fast, light, cheap - https://www.wiggle.com/p/maxxis-ardent- ... lding-tyre