Tire recommendations: Slick/minimal knobs, 2.25-2.8 wide?

[Harald Kliems]

I got a Crust Evasion Lite frame set and am working on building it up, with 650B wheels. The initial plan was to use the Schwalbe 27.5x2.8 G-One Allround that Crust mentions/recommends. But of course, in typical Schwalbe fashion, they first eliminated the light version and replaced it with a stiffer/heavier one (https://bikepacking.com/gear/schwalbe-g-one-allround/) and now seem to have eliminated the tire in this size from the line-up completely.

So I'm looking into alternatives. I don't think I really need 2.8" and would be willing to go down to 2.2". Light and supple is a must. Some tread is okay, as is a slick or semi-slick tire (this will be primarily a pavement bike, with some gravel). Tubeless compatible.

Some options I have found:

Rene Herse Umtanum Ridge 27.5x2.2. 580g (standard), 515g (extralight),

Schwalbe G-One Allround Evolution ADDIX Super Ground 27.5x2.25. ~860g

Panaracer GravelKing SK 27.5x2.1. 620g

WTB Ranger 27.5x2.8. 888g

Teravail Ehline 27.5x2.5 (Light & Supple). 700g

Teravail Ehline 27.5x2.3 (Light & Supple). 685g

Teravail Honcho 27.5x2.4 (Light & Supple). ??? g

Teravail Honcho 27.5x2.6 (Light & Supple). ??? g

Any good options I'm missing?

 Harald in Madison (WI)

[fordb...@gmail.com]

What about Graveling file tread ? That's an excellent all round tire: light, and not too expensive.

Ford

Ghent, NY

[Andy G]

I find that unless I'm basically mountain biking, smooth tires do just fine especially in the wide options because there's so much tire on the ground. 

For the bigger tires that I mostly use for heavy offroad or winter commuting, I've been rolling on Thurderburts in 2.1 or 2.25" and Rocket Rons in 2.4"

A couple other options I haven't tried:

Sim Works Homage 55mm light tread

Sim Works Super Yummy 2.2" 

Ultra Dynamico - looks like Mars has some 2.2" options

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[Eric Garvock]

I'm using UD MARS JFF tires on my evasion and they're fantastic. They measure right around 2.3" and the right balance of supple for road use but durable enough for mtb'ing 

[David Cummings]

I have a set of Conti Race Kings in 26” that I love. I think they are only available in 27.5 or 29 anymore, so you should be able to find them. Not annoyingly loud, and just enough tread for some gravel. I prefer them over the Schwalbe G-Ones. I didn’t like the little nubs - louder than slicks but the knobs were ineffective on gravel. The larger knobs of the Contis are my preference and they clear mud nicely. 

David in MT

[Harald Kliems]

I was just about to post about the RaceKing. Conti doesn't seem to list weights on their website (which seems nuts!), but apparently the Race King Race Sport 27,5 x 2,20 has a claimed weight of 500g! Which would be lighter than the RH Umtanum Extralight in the same width.

 Harald.

[Greg Walton]

Great tires. Still available in 26”!

 https://www.jensonusa.com/Continental-Race-King-Performance-Tire

Greg

Seattle 

Sent from mobile

On Apr 7, 2022, at 5:00 PM, David Cummings <flath...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a set of Conti Race Kings in 26” that I love. I think they are only available in 27.5 or 29 anymore, so you should be able to find them. Not annoyingly loud, and just enough tread for some gravel. I prefer them over the Schwalbe G-Ones. I didn’t like the little nubs - louder than slicks but the knobs were ineffective on gravel. The larger knobs of the Contis are my preference and they clear mud nicely. 

David in MT

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[David Cummings]

Cool. Currently they have 26x2.0” tires in stock, the 26x2.2” are out.

Sent from Dave's rockin' iPhone

On Apr 7, 2022, at 6:13 PM, Greg Walton <gwa...@gmail.com> wrote:



[Mark in Beacon]

I have the Teravail Honcho 2.6  in 700c on my Rivendell Hillibike. Nice tires but I would not rate the road performance as "light and supple."  If I were using this bike primarily on the road but still wanted it to have knobby tires, I would invest in the Rene Herse. Again experience here is with a 700c version, but I find the RH knobby tires to be almost indistinguishable from the file tread versions in terms of rolling resistance on the road. I'm planning to get the 650b x 48 Juniper Ridge for my new Lighting Bolt. Once I get the wheels built, of course.

I've heard reports of people who found the supposedly same tire in one size did not perform as well in another size, such as the Gravel Kings. I really like those in 700c, but have read others who say they are not as great in the 650b version. Highly unscientific but just by way of saying YMMV.

On Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 9:46:53 AM UTC-4 kli...@gmail.com wrote:

[Mark in Beacon]

I like my Thunder Burts in 26" but not in the 650b version as much. They seem to have the same writing on the sidewall explaining the compounds etc. but maybe I missed something. I have 650B x 48 Gravel Kings on my tandem. They are okay but not as nice as the same tire size from RH.

[Harald Kliems]

On Friday, April 8, 2022 at 5:09:31 AM UTC-5 Mark in Beacon wrote:

I like my Thunder Burts in 26" but not in the 650b version as much. They seem to have the same writing on the sidewall explaining the compounds etc. but maybe I missed something. I have 650B x 48 Gravel Kings on my tandem. They are okay but not as nice as the same tire size from RH.

Good to know about the difference in Thunderburts. I guess with the amount of variants for Schwalbe tires, it's always possible that even a tire that looks the same is a different model...

I have the same recollection about the difference sizes of the GravelKings being different tires basically. I only have the 700-38 GravelKing Slick, which to me are indistinguishable in ride quality from RH, except for the amount of rubber on the tread).

 Harald.

[satanas]

There have now been four different casings in Thunder Burts:

First generation

1. LiteSkin - the thinner/suppler/less durable. Intended for tubes, needs extra sealant for tubeless

2. SnakeSkin - tubeless compatible, more durable sidewalls, slightly heavier

Current generation

3. Super Race - lighter, 29" only

4. Super Ground - tougher, only 2.1" in 650b

Depending on your preferences, some of these might suit better than others, but available sizes and casings have varied over time. The 2.25" TBs are out of production, and unavailable where I've looked. Schwalbe have cut back quite a bit on 650b tyres in their 2022 catalog ; most of the new stuff is 700c/29" only.

Bear in mind the Conti RaceSport casings aren't very tubeless compatible; there have been many reports of leaking sidewalls with these. If you want tubeless, the (tougher) Protection casings have had much better reviews, and are what I will be buying.

Later,

Stephen

[David Cummings]

Good points about the lighter, more supple casings. My Conti Race Kings did take a bit extra sealant, but I was able to successfully set them up tubeless. 

[DB]

I really liked the Conti Speed Kings and Vittoria Mezcals too.  Both set up easily tubeless and were as fast and supple as you can get at that width.  

[jemima]

A few different combo's would work here, depending on how much grip/tread you need.  

- Speedking 2.2. Probably my fav all-round for road up to milder gravel in the dry. About 430gm.  

- Conti RaceKing Racesport 2.2. Has quite a more supple ride feel [sidewall] than the E-rated Protection.   

I used a Protection on the front for a bit, but wasn't a fan of the firm sidewall feel. 

i.e. you could drop the pressure down somewhat, but the sidewall would kind of negate that.  

Racesport weighed 500gm.  

- Kenda Sabre Pro. TR version is the supple one. 2.4 weighed 515gm.   

I'd compare its rolling speed to an old Pacestar compound liteskin ThunderBurt.  

Has a smidge more tread height in the center. Makes for a nice front tyre. 

[jemima]

Forgot to mention the Sabre Pro TR comes in a fairly light 2.6 also. 

[Harald Kliems]

So thanks to a fellow lister I ended up with a used G-One Speed and a Big One. 573 g and 493 g in 2.35" is a pretty respectable weight.

I'll have to try the SpeedKing/RaceKing at some point!

 Harald.