Tires for Bombadil...

[Rene Sterental]

As the different components for my new Bombadil are finally falling in place, the question still remains about which tires should go with it. I've narrowed down the wheelset, the brakes, and will make a final decision regarding the bars I'll try...

Which tires should I get? I'll be riding in the San Francisco Bay Area.

- A 29er real mountain bike tire? On my Titus FTM I am currently running a Specialized Eskar 2.3 Control front and a Captain 2.0 Control rear and like them a lot. Should I go for the same versions in 29" or are there any better recommendations?

- A multi purpose tire that will allow me to be comfortable on the road and feel safe on the trails as well? I've no idea where to even start...

My Bombadil will be size 60, so according to the Rivendell specs, I can go as big as 2.3 tires.

Thank you all!

René

Orth...@yahoo.com

[Surf]

Rene'

Go for the 2 inch Schwalbe Big Apples or the NEW 2 inch Fat
Franks.........I PROMISE you, you will love em! Fast and cushy! You
will feel like a kid again!

Surf

[Bill M.]

I have Fatty Rumpkins on one bike. I've not ridden them off-road, but
have several hundred road miles on them. They don't roll too badly,
and have enough tread for at least light off-road exploring. I'm sure
pure knobbies would be better for serious off-roading, but worse on
the road. They're narrower than the Big Apples but run about half the
price, and are much lighter, so I think they'd make a good starter
tire while you ponder your options.

Bill

> Orthie...@yahoo.com

[Rene Sterental]

Keven suggested going with the new Marathon Extreme tires as a great compromise between good on/off road capabilities. Has anyone tried them?

René

[rperks]

I was going to post a link to the extremes, but the Schwalbe web page
is not working for me a tthe moment. I am running one on the rear
with a Marathon XR on the front, both 42mm wide. If I did not already
have the XR they both would be the extremes. The extreme replaced a
37mm XR that I had on the back, but was not providing the rim
protection I needed. These are on my Rawland:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36302507@N08/4086811962/
I ride to the trails when I can, usualy 10 miles or so, then a mix of
fire roads and rocky SoCal singletrack. I need to take the trails
with a little more caution than with fatter nobbies, but the lack of
rolling resistance on the roads and fire roads more than makes up for
it. I also have a set of the Panaracer firecross 45mm, they are
wonderful on the trails, more traction but, but they are dogs on the
roads, feels like pedaling in sand at times. I have also run some of
the various large volume WTB 29'er options on different bikes, but
they are all sold now. I did not like the feel of the rotational
mass, I did not feel the trade off was worth it.

If and when I am ever able to wear out the XR I will be buiying
another Extreme to replace it. This bike has exceeded my expectations
of a bike in every way. I drew my inspiration fo rthe build from the
riv concepts combined with the guys running monstercross setups over
on the MTBR forums (Google it, and join the forum so you can see the
pics). They have had great discussions on these in between 29'er type
setups.

Rob

On Nov 11, 8:55 pm, Rene Sterental <orthie...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Keven suggested going with the new Marathon Extreme tires (snip)

[Rene Sterental]

Thanks for the feedback. Your bikes look great, and I believe my goals for the Bombadil match yours. Ride to the trails and enjoy the trails!

 

I'll be ordering a pair, most likely. Too bad they don't come in a wider version... I'll also check out that group.

 

René