prime winner

Can you gals and guys suggest some smooth tires for a 29 x 2.20 rim? I'm looking to switch out my knobby MTB tires for something with less riding resistance since I do a lot of road riding now. I'd like to keep the price under $50 or so each.

I've seen the Maxxis Hookworm but I'm not skilled at tire changing and don't want to deal with the pain that they are known for.

fietsbob

Continental, Schwalbe .. premium, Rene Herse.

BobbyG

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

I have these on my 26" MTB and they are wonderful!

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...ack-shoes.html

HTupolev

G-One Speed 29x2
Rene Herse Antelope Hill

AnthonyG

I have nothing against Maxxis tires but I wouldn't pick the Hookworm designs specifically, because even though its smooth, its also a very thick sidewall / heavy design to take abuse and its really not fast at all.

I had never ridden knobby tires at all until recently when a new bike I bought had micro knobby tires. I was about to get rid of them on principle until after a few rides I realised that these micro knobby tires were actually quite fast.
Other Maxxis tires to consider are,

https://www.bicyclestore.com.au/ikon...exo-3c-tr.html
https://www.bicyclestore.com.au/maxx...uper-sale.html

These are Australian links as I could get the US site to work when I went for a look.

Flip Flop Rider

Schwalbe Marathon plus

prime winner

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I see that not all tires are available in my current size of 29 x 2.20. I did see a chart that indicated that I could go as low as 29 x 2.00 (cant find the chart again), but some of the suggestions above come in sizes other than 29 x X.XX. Could you guys tells me which sizes will definitely fit? I found something that was 29 x 2.35 but didnt know if it would be too wide, and I see others that are 700 x 55 which I think might work but not sure and would hate to order something thats wont work.

Thanks again for helping a newb!

AnthonyG

There will be a range of sizes that are an acceptable fit. If your current size is 29 x 2.20, just confirm what the metric/ETRTO size is on the sidewall. It should say something like 55-622. There's no problem in going down to 50-622 (29 x 2.0).
29 x 2.35" is the same as 59-622. Just visually check for tire clearance but it should be OK. 700c x 55 is also 55-622 which will fit but just double check for the ETRTO size to be certain.

prime winner

That is very helpful, thank you Anthony!

I have 57-622 , and I think I'm going to go with Continental Contact Cruiser 700 x 55 (55-622) from Amazon ...

https://www.amazon.com/Continental-C...8-1&th=1&psc=1

fietsbob

Mag Ped are flats with a magnet, then the cleat is just a piece of steel..

wear regular shoes its just a pedal..

crankholio

What's the actual inner diameter of the rim? This will determine how narrow you can go. You can use a chart like this for a guideline:



For instance, if you have rims with a 21mm ID and you're currently running 2.2's (roughly 700x56), then according to this chart you could go all the way down to a 700x35. In practice, you could push it a little and go to a 700x32 without issue.

So before selecting a specific tire with smooth tread, you'll want to figure out how narrow you want to go. A 700x32 can generally run 90ish PSI and will roll a lot faster than a smooth 2.2. However, you really wouldn't want to take this kind of tire over anything rough or jump off curbs with it.

Once you have a tire width in mind, then you can narrow down by other qualities for what you want.

c_m_shooter

I have been using Hookworms on the rear of my Fargo for years. I like them and have never heard of them being more difficult than any other tire to mount.

BillyJohnLee

Another vote for hookworms. That's what I'll be changing to on my mtb when required.

prime winner

thanks for all the help everyone.

I got in my Continental Contact Cruiser tires today. These things are a good bit heavier than my stock knobby MTB tires (Maxxis Ikon 29x2.2). Old tires spec weight is 640 grams, new tires 1025 grams. I did go for a quick mile through the neighborhood but won't be able to really test them until my regular ride Wednesday morning ride.

mack_turtle

Weight is not everything, but you will almost certainly FEEL the weight of a heavier tire. A lightweight knobby tire with micro knobs will probably ride better than a super thick, heavy slick tire. Heavier tires will accelerate more slowly and lack the supple ride of a tire that is lighter and conforms to the road better. Some of the tires listed in this thread will feel that way, so keep that in mind.
If you have a 29x2 tire right now, a lot of smaller tires will fit, including a lot of "gravel" tires labeled 700C. (A 29" rim and a 700c rim have the same diameter. The difference is mostly nominal.)

prime winner

Thanks. Hopefully these tires dont slow me down. If they do I'll go back to the knobby MTB tires until I upgrade my bike in several months.The reviews I read over at biketiresdirect.com did not mention slower performance, mostly faster speeds were noted.

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...c-29-inch-tire