I’ve got a 29er which came with ridiculous off road tyres. Great for the muddy scrub and wet grass of the parks and commons in London, but entirely inappropriate for road riding - I’ve already lost the front end three times on this bike, which is more than I ever have.
I need a tyre that supports an 80/20 split of road/trail.
This is my criteria:
- Must fit my rims 622mm (aka 700c).
- At least 42mm (1.65”) wide, because more width == more rubber on road == more grip. I currently have a 2.35” front tyre, so for me this is still a large reduction in width!
- Suitable for road mainly but also trail. This means no knobblies and no slicks.
- Ideally don’t want them to be heavier than 650 grams, which is the average of my current tyres (ideally I’d like them to be lighter as I feel the larger wheels of a 29er are too heavy), so I’ve ordered them by weight.
- Cost is not a factor.
- No airless tyres, because they’re not meant to be any good.
- No race tyres, because they’re too fragile.
Note that if I had a normal 26” MTB or a normal 700c road bike, I would take a look at the Specialized Crossroads Armadillo Elites, despite the cost, because I’ve used Crossroads tyres in the past and loved them. The Armadillo Elites version is tough and light. Unfortunately they’re only 37mm width for 622mm rims, which is less that I’d like for my 29er. Saying that, I’ve recently heard that they’ve got worse over time, so it’d do some research before committing to them.
MTBR.com reviews
First, I’m surveying as many tyres as I can, using the mtbr tyre reviews as a starting point (see the list at the bottom of their page). The table below shows the tyres that meet my criteria above and have a 4 or 5 star rating on mtbr.com, ordered by weight.
In all tables on this page I’ve converted the measurements given by manufacturers to use the same European standard (ETRTO) sizing and weight is in grams. When a tyre has different types available, e.g. wire bead or folding, I’ve given the weight for whichever is lightest, which is normally the folding one.
A surprisingly short list! While mtbr.com has lots of tyres rated between 4 and 5, unfortunately many of them aren’t available for 29ers.
Manufacturers’ sites
Second, I’m surveying potential tyres I found on manufacturers’ web sites, ordered by weight. Note that I’ve included a couple of street style tyres, namely the Grifter and Twin Rail, because they were relatively light for their size in comparison to other street tyre that I found - not listed because they’re way too heavy.
| Tyre | Manufacturer page | Size | Weight | First thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental Town RIDE | http://www.conti-online.com/www/bicycle_de_en/themes/city/citytyres/Town_RIDE_en.html | 42-622 | 550 | Tread too flat for wet grass? |
| Maxxis Overdrive M2003 | http://www.maxxis.co.uk/catalog/tyre-264-48-overdrive-m2003 | 42-622 | 590 | Tread too flat for wet grass? |
| Schwalbe Hurricane | http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/cross/hurricane/ | 42-622 | 590 | Don’t have wider size. Knobs at edge may slip cornering in wet |
| Schwalbe Silento | http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/active-line/silento/ | 42-622 | 620 | |
| Bontrager H5 Lite | http://www.bontrager.com/model/09390 | 42-622 | 622 | Tread too flat for wet grass? |
| Bontrager LT1 Lite | http://www.bontrager.com/model/09324 | 42-622 | 633 | Don’t have wider size. Tread too flat for wet grass? |
| Schwalbe Marathon Mondial | http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/tour/marathon-mondial/ | 42-622 | 650 | |
| Maxxis Grifter | http://www.maxxis.co.uk/catalog/tyre-474-17-grifter | 50-622 | 655 | Light for their size. Tread too flat for wet grass? |
| Schwalbe Land Cruiser | http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/active-line/land-cruiser/ | 42-622 | 695 | Knobs at edge may slip cornering in wet in wet grass |
| Schwalbe Road Cruiser | http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/active-line/road-cruiser/ | 42-622 | 705 | Tread too flat for wet grass? |
| Schwalbe Tyrago | http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/active-line/tyrago/ | 42-622 | 710 | Don’t have wider size |
| Michelin StarGrip | http://bike.michelin.co.uk/tyres/MICHELIN-StarGrip | 42-622 | 745 | Interesting tread. Will it cope on wet grass? |
| Continental Tour RIDE | http://www.conti-online.com/www/bicycle_de_en/themes/city/Allround/tourride_en.html | 42-622 | 770 | Nice looking tread. Bit heavy |
| Specialized Hemisphere Armadillo | http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb/cityurban-tires/multi-terrain-use-tires/hemisphere-armadillo | 42-622 | 810 | Bit heavy |
| Geax Evolution | http://www.geax.com/en/products/?cat=6&prod=25 | 46-622 | 840 | Tread too flat for wet grass? |
| Michelin Protek Cross | http://bike.michelin.co.uk/tyres/michelin-protek-cross | 42-622 | 840 | Bit heavy. Tread too flat for wet grass? |
| Continental Country Plus | http://www.conti-online.com/www/bicycle_de_en/themes/plusseries/country_plus_en.html | 42-622 | 870 | Tread too flat for wet grass?. Puncture proof. Bit heavy |
| Halo Twin Rail 2 SLR | http://www.halowheels.com/products/part/TYHATS92 | 55-622 | <890 | Weight is of Twin Rail 2 Multi. Tread too flat for wet grass? |
Playoff for final decision
I can immediately ignore those tyres with a weight greater than 700 grams, as these will be adding weight to my bike (which is heavy enough!). I’ll play the remaining ones off against one another…
Schwalbe Thunder Burt vs Kenda Kozmik Lite II: Both large tyres. Both very light. Kenda Kozmik Lite II wins because it looks more suitable for the road and I don’t like the thin central tread nor knobs at the edge of the Schwalbe Thunder Burt as I’ll have reduced durability and less traction when cornering on a wet road.
Kenda Kozmik Lite II vs Schwalbe Hurricane: Both tyres have knobs at the edge, but the Schwalbe looks more suited to road use due to its semi slick centre tread. Schwalbe Hurricane wins.
Schwalbe Hurricane vs Continental Travel Contact: Similar tyres in that they both have a semi slick centre tread with knobs at the edge. It’s a draw!
Schwalbe Hurricane vs Continental Travel Contact vs Continental Double Fighter II: We now have three tyres that are very similar. It’s a draw!
The three tyres above vs Continental Town Ride: Prefer the Town Ride’s more progressive transition from central slick to outer knobs and their closer spacing, as I’ve wiped out in the past when cornering on wet road on knobbly MTB tyres. Knobs around the edge are great for traction off road but means less on the road and I’d rather lose grip and fall off in mud than in the middle of traffic. Continental Town Ride wins.
Continental Town Ride vs Maxiss Overdrive M2003: Very similar looking tyres. Neither will provide much traction cornering off road, but will be fine on the road. It’s a draw!
Continental Town Ride vs Maxiss Overdrive M2003 vs Bontrager H5 Lite: I doubt the H5 has enough tread to handle wet grass, let alone mud, so we’re back to the other two.
Continental Town Ride vs Maxiss Overdrive M2003 vs Bontrager LT1 Lite: As with the H5, I don’t think the LT1 has enough tread.
Continental Town Ride vs Maxiss Overdrive M2003 vs Schwalbe Marathon Mondial: The mondial has a deeper tread but it is still fairly joined up along the centre. It won’t be as nice in a straight line on the road as the other two, but it’ll be better over wet and muddy parks/commons. I’ll take the extra weight for the extra tread. Schwalbe Marathon Mondial wins.
Schwalbe Marathon Mondial vs Maxxis Grifter: The Grifter doesn’t have enough tread for wet muddy grass, so the Mondial wins.
Schwalbe Marathon Mondial vs Schwalbe Road Cruiser: Don’t like the sudden large knobs around the edge of the Road Cruiser as it could suddenly lose grip cornering in the wet. Schwalbe Marathon Mondial wins.
It’s a pity the Continental Tour RIDE is too heavy, as the tread on that looks good too - close enough for the road and deep enough for some grip off road across parks and commons.
Overall winner
So, by tread pattern and weight, I like the look of the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial. Turns out that it’s Schwalbe’s replacement for their old XR tyre, which was a very popular and highly rated tyre. Reviews for the Mondial look good too…
