Weetbix

Hi all,

New to the MTB forum specifically, normally spend my time over in the touring forum but felt this is more appropriate here.

So next year I'm doing the Tour d'Afrique (https://www.tourdafrique.com) and for the trip I am taking my Merida big nine TFS-XT 29'er. For the on-road sections I plan on taking some schwalbe marathon plus touring tyres because I have used in them in the past with 100% success rate at avoiding punctures.

However I have zero experience when it comes to MTB tyres. Schwalbe only make the marathon plus up to 26' MTB and I'm looking for some real nobbly tires for the really rough stuff that I know awaits me.

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend some good 29er tyres that have great puncture reistance. Rolling reistance, weight, speed etc is not of concern to me, however the fewer punctures I have to deal with the better as far as I can see.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. When it comes to tubeless tyres I would prefer not to go down that route if there are good non-tubless tyres out there that have great puncture reistance.

Thanks!

ColinL

Hmm. I would run tubeless with a UST tire (which are ridiculously tough) and carry all the normal spares. But you probably won't need any of the spares when running tubeless with sealant, whereas you are nearly assured of at least one flat if you have a tube. A big risk is a pinch flat, which can't happen on tubeless. To counter that risk you can run higher pressures, which will decrease your traction and bump compliance.

Anyway. They make several Plus series MTB tires: Smart Sam Plus and Marathon MTB Plus. I've used the regular Smart Sam with mr tuffy liners and standard tubes, and never had a puncture. These types of tires are adequate for all-around use but they won't compare to the traction of something like a Hans Dampf when it really gets rough.

Weetbix

thanks for the reply Colin, appreciate it. I don't know much at all about tubless tyres either, can you point me in the direction of any helpful sites that explain what they are? Can you run a tubeless tyre on a rim and then swap it out for a regular tyre & tube? I'm needing to carry a couple of sets of tyres to swap over depending on the terrain, but will going tubeless mean I have to run all tyres as tubeless? Will things like the stem hole & spokes cause issue if going from tubeless to a tube? Pardon my ignorance on the subject but I'm new to all of this

Cheers

ColinL

I'm not sure of your budget, but let's just talk tech.

The best tubeless system is UST, invented by Mavic and licensed to many. UST was originally designed to run without sealant, and it features a very tough tire carcass and sidewall.

Many tire manufacturers have now copied the bead shape, which is a great idea, resulting in tubeless tires that are compatible with UST rims but lack all the robustness and weight. Specialized's 2Bliss, Bontrager's TLR, and Geax's TNT are all examples.

Back to the wheels, even out of wheels that are UST compatible, Mavic and a very few others (like 2 models of Easton) have a typical dual-walled rim but the spokes do not extend into the inner wall. This means you don't need rim strips or tape to be airtight, which can be an advantage overall and can help to quickly switch between tubeless and tubes.

The toughest tire bar none is UST. You can, and should, use latex sealant in a UST tire. If you have a major issue from a nail or piece of glass, you can boot the tire and install a tube. If you are switching tires, sealant does make a little bit of a mess, but it's really no issue. You can in fact carefully deflate the tire and pour out the sealant to re-use it.

If you don't use UST rims and UST or "tubeless ready" tires, tubeless CAN be a real pain in the arse. However, with these wheels and tires, it's extremely easy: install tire, bead fits airtight in the deep center channel, pump up with normal bicycle pump and seat the beads. Then deflate and inject sealant. (Stans makes a great injector.) I have Mavic Crossmax ST wheels and Specialized 2Bliss tires, but if I were in Africa I would disregard the weight and install UST tires. Pardon me if I've watched too much of Ewan McGregor on a BMW adventure bike, but that seems pretty rough.