[edicviz]

Dear 29" comrades,

I currently ride and race a 26" rigid steel singlespeed and I'm seriously considering to give 29" a try. I'm thinking of a Niner frame, discs, rigid fork etc, sub 21 lbs. I'm 6' 143 lbs.

After reading a lot on this forum (yes, I have read a lot of threads about tyres!) I feel that tyres, or rather the lack of them, may keep me from taking the leap of faith. I have never tried a 29" MTB (just my CX and roadbike).

I live in Sweden, norther Europe, where the trails are full of smooth rocks and slippery roots, maybe something like conditions in Canada? It's often wet, but not really that muddy. Not like farmland in other parts of Europe anyway, I think.

I'm definitely a 26" tyre junkie, trying new sets for each season. From what I see here the choice of tyres is very limited and none seem all that good for my type o friding. On 26" I use Nokian NBX Lite 2,2" and also like the Racing Ralph 2,4" and Conti Vertical 2,3". Does any of the available 29" tyres resemble these performance wise? I normaly run like 27 psi front 29 psi rear, tubeless.

I need a tyre that rolls easily, with at least (true) 2,1" volume. It should preferably work with Stans. It must work in wet, soft conditions and not be to slippery on rocks and roots. I doesn't need to be stellar in mud but shouldn't pack up too badly (NanoRaptors are OUT).

Quite a wishlist, ehh?

There seem to be a few that might fit the bill. What would you guys say about the popular tyres in respect to my requirements?

Kenda Klaw
MotoRaptors
ExiWolf
Little Albert
Jones ACX
Jones XR

Help! This is driving me nuts!

Thanks!

/D

 

[ncj01]

I need a tyre that rolls easily, with at least (true) 2,1" volume. It should preferably work with Stans. It must work in wet, soft conditions and not be to slippery on rocks and roots. I doesn't need to be stellar in mud but shouldn't pack up too badly (NanoRaptors are OUT).

Help! This is driving me nuts!

/D

It drives me nuts to have someone who's never tried/ridden it summarily dismiss the best 29er tire available without a second thought, despite it meeting all your criteria for a good tire.

It's a myth that there are not several good tires to choose from.

The Bonty XR would probably be your 2nd best option....not sure about the tubeless thing on it though.

Shigg?

 

[2melow]

Kenda Klaws sound like they would work for your area, plus Chris @ Niner had them loaded w/ Stans at Sea Otter so they should work OK tubeless.

 

[edicviz]

Sorry about that...

...just like me... My first post and I already annoy people . I read a very vivid report on this forum about Nanos in mud and if it's something that I really hate its tyres that pack in wet conditions, thats all. E.g. Richey Z-Max do in 26", not good.

I was just trying to make the list a bit shorter.

You say Nanos would be my first choice?

/D

 

[el-cid]

Nokian NBX 29er tires?

I could swear I read somewhere recently that Nokain will be making a 2.2 29er version of the NBX or NBX light? If that's what you've been using on the 26er you'd probably love a version with some true volume.

 

[ncj01]

...just like me... My first post and I already annoy people . I read a very vivid report on this forum about Nanos in mud and if it's something that I really hate its tyres that pack in wet conditions, thats all. E.g. Richey Z-Max do in 26", not good.

I was just trying to make the list a bit shorter.

You say Nanos would be my first choice?

/D

it's all in good fun...

Cloxx wrote that i think, and I new it would throw someone off...i think later in the post he backed off his position, or at least qualified it a bit...

The nano is great all around tire...i've raced it in total sloppy mud from hell with no ill effects...better traction than anyone around me...ps, I won that race, fall 2003...

There are other better mud specific tires out there...

at your weigth though, you could run it (or any tire) at lower pressure and get better rock/root compliance.

 

[Cloxxki]

The thing with the Nano is, tire junkies like you and me need the Greenline version, which now appears on bikes everywhere. hat is a tire that seems to do it all, but in the past 2 years I've only spotted a few of them.
Some people I know even liked the Nano when it only existed in 26", even as a front tire. I have two of those in my small bike club, imagine that.

 

[BruceBrown]

I'm 6' 143 lbs.

You need to eat. At that height and weight, I'm afraid a good gust of wind would render any quest you have for the "perfect" tyre pretty much moot.

After reading a lot on this forum (yes, I have read a lot of threads about tyres!) I feel that tyres, or rather the lack of them, may keep me from taking the leap of faith. I have never tried a 29" MTB (just my CX and roadbike).

Well, since you have never tried a 29" MTB "tyre" - give a bunch of 'em a try and then get back to us....

I need a tyre that rolls easily, with at least (true) 2,1" volume. It should preferably work with Stans. It must work in wet, soft conditions and not be to slippery on rocks and roots. I doesn't need to be stellar in mud but shouldn't pack up too badly (NanoRaptors are OUT). Quite a wishlist, ehh?

Good luck getting married with that list!!!

Let's see now...

....she's got to be exactly 5'10", blonde, an IQ over 133, rich, fluent in 5 languages, attractive, servicable, make a great mother, fast at cooking my meals, a great conversationalist and of course - tubeless...

There are currently no tires made for the 29"er experience that are designed to be run tubeless. That may change in 2006, but running tubeless is at your own expense and risk. Demanding a product to work in a setup it was not designed to perform comes with its own set of caveats. Plenty have tried and many have been successful, but as long as you know there is no tubeless tyre product on the market at the current time before you search for something to satisfy your wishlist - your quest can be made with full knowledge.

Mud? I ride in pretty much nothing but mud from February to May (just finished hosing off the bike, the dogs and myself after an hour ride in goop) and face roots, logs and rocks. The Bontrager ACX's keep on chuggin' right through it all. I run them at about 30 - 32 psi (I weigh about 190). I've got a set of Kenda Klaws and IRC Nanos as well, but I've never taken them out in the mud so cannot answer how they perform. I've been happy with the ACX's and adjust the psi for the conditions.

There seem to be a few that might fit the bill. What would you guys say about the popular tyres in respect to my requirements?

Kenda Klaw
MotoRaptors
ExiWolf
Little Albert
Jones ACX
Jones XR

Help! This is driving me nuts!

Thanks!

/D

Buy 'em all, try 'em all and then get back to us.

In the meantime, the rest of us will just keep chuggin' along and running up the miles in all sorts of conditions on our 29"er bikes ignorant to the fact that we have no tires to run out there on the trails.

BB

 

[edicviz]

Ok, I get the point. I realize I shouldn´t have asked.

I have plenty of tyres that fit my wish list in 26", so why not in 29", eh? I DO realize that they must be a bit heavier in 29". I have used 630 g 26" Contis for racing and liked them a lot.

Anyway, the range of nice and not so nice replies has made me feel a bit more confident about that there ARE reasonably good tires. Next step will be to find somewhere I can actually GET them, in Europe preferably. But maybe the bike first...

/D

 

[Pepperagge]

Tjena!

Hi/Hej!
The short answer to your question must be a no.
From your favorite trail, Ränneslätt, I can tell that it is around Eksjö that you'll be riding your bike. Although I am from Falkenberg Halland, my relatives are from Småland so I have been riding there a lot. In my experience you should ad the Maxxis tire to your list. It is a good rear tire for those conditions, but up front it throws things at you My all time favorite is Kenda klaw front tire both in the front and in the rear a'la Miksee. That combination has been working in all conditions even as a commuter. The Bontrager Jones XCS and Maxxis are also good tires but they have much higher rolling resistance on asphalt and gravel roads. The Nano might work out just fine but since it can be really soft in the deep forests of Småland I would in your case pick the Kenda over the Nano (sorry Nate). I'll be moving home to Sweden from USA in the end of may and with me bring at least two 29"er bikes. To start with I'll be living in Lund in Skåne but later move up to Göteborg. Anyway what I want you to know is that you should feel free to contact me if you want to take any of my bikes out for a test ride.
Btw the best place to buy 29" tires from in Sweden would be www.cyclecomponents.com or your local Gary Fisher dealer.
I hope this helped you
Med vänliga hälsningar
Per

 

[BruceBrown]

Next step will be to find somewhere I can actually GET them, in Europe preferably. But maybe the bike first...

/D

Speedgoat.com will ship them right out to Sweden for you.

They carry...

Bontrager ACX
Bontrager XR
Continental Vapor Protection 29 Tire
IRC Mythos XC II 29er Tire
Kenda Klaw XT 29er Tire
Maxxis Ignitor
Schwalbe Big Apple Tire
Schwalbe Little Albert 29er Tire
WTB ExiWolf 29er Tire
WTB Moto Raptor Comp 29er Tire
WTB Mutano Raptor Comp 29er Tire
WTB Nano Raptor 29er Tire

and the requisite tubes...

 

[ncj01]

Speedgoat.com will ship them right out to Sweden for you.

They carry...
......

and the requisite tubes...

Bruce, you just ROCK man...

 

[mward]

How do people feel about the IRC Mythos? I don't ride in mud very often, mostly technical rocky stuff with hardpack dirt.

 

[mwills]

its sort of refreshing

in that there aren't a ton of choices for tires.

here's my thought process: run nanos all the time. unless its really muddy. then run ACXs unless you consider the knobs to knobby then run XRs.

i need to try a few more of the tires out there but these 3 do it for me...

its the wrong way to approach the 29er issue tho. lack of tire choice. i haven't been on a 9er very long (about 1.5yrs) but i know i cant go back. to me it simply is the correct wheel size. enough people come around and there will be more products. but i'm cool for now.

 

[ncj01]

in that there aren't a ton of choices for tires.

here's my thought process: run nanos all the time.

fock'ya man, right on...

 

[mwills]

bonti XRs

i'm never sure how many people are actually paying attention on these forums but i have been trying to express my love for the XRs when i see someone asking about tires. just trying to help i guess. but everyone on a 9er should try some. they rock when you feel like the nanos might not have enough air volume or enough tread.

seems like people have trouble getting bonti parts? is it a local shop non-trek thing?

 

[BruceBrown]

Bruce, you just ROCK man...

No, you ROCK because of that "I collected the most Twinkies Trophy".

12 different kinds of two niner tires waiting to be boxed up and shipped off to an international customer if he places an order. Not bad to be able to choose between a dozen "tyres". I wonder if people will still be complaining about the options if we hit 2 dozen choices?

Me? Once my ACX's wear out completely (and they are getting close on the Monkey now that I've run them on there since September of 2003) - I'll be trying the XR's to see how those do. What the heck, at my rate of tire wear - there might just be another dozen to chose from once the XR's that I have yet to order wear out in 2007.

BB

 

[mwills]

i think you'll find that the XRs wear faster. mostly because they have less knob to wear out. i think you'll also find that the casings feel a bit better and overall the tire rolls a bit faster.

 

[BruceBrown]

i think you'll find that the XRs wear faster. mostly because they have less knob to wear out. i think you'll also find that the casings feel a bit better and overall the tire rolls a bit faster.

I assume you have tried both the ACX's and the XR's based on your posts and glowing comments of the XR's. What about the XR casings "feel better"? To be honest, I still have a lot of tread left in the knobbies on my ACX's and don't anticipate them wearing out anytime soon. I keep them off of any pavement and perhaps this has extended their tread life. However, replacement will be coming and I would like to try out the XR's.

BB

 

[mwills]

bonti tires

What about the XR casings "feel better"?

BB

maybe its just that the casings are a bit bigger. 55mil casing on the XR and 54 on the ACX. but the XR casings actually feel more liquid and compliant then the ACXs. the ACX gets a bad wrap about being a slow tire because of the big knobs, but i've always been a big fan of tires like that (lots of traction). the XRs seem to have the same or better traction and roll much faster...