noglider 

Our tandem has 26 (MTB) size wheels. The tires are 1.9" wide, and it's tricky to get the rear wheel in just right so it doesn't scrape the chain stays. The tires are heavy and have a bit too much tread, so I'm going to try some lighter, smoother, and narrower tires. With these tires so wide, I figured we wouldn't need more than 40 or 50 psi, but I was wrong. We need about 80 psi to feel stable. The bike is very whippy so having tires so hard doesn't make the ride harsh. We have gotten used to the whippiness, and it doesn't bother us.

I just bought some Michelin Wild Run'R 26x1.4 tires which purport to turn a MTB into a road bike. This might be a big change for us, and we will see how we like it. I'll experiment with pressures below and above 80 psi.

Bornco

I'll be interested to see how your experimenting goes. I would like to learn more about 26" tires as I currently know nothing about them.

Thanks

LesterOfPuppets

We're running Pasela 26x1.5" on ours. 70 psi rear, 65 front. approx 320 lbs. GVW.

FrenchFit 

My go to tire has been Schwalbe Marathon Supremes 2.0 for 26" tourer, but beside the ridiculous cost I thought I could find something a little more nimble and less plushy for a heavy weight tourer.

So I stumbled on the Vittoria Randonneur Pro, 26 x 1.5, and have been very, very happy with the performance of those tires. https://www.vittoria.com/us/randonneur-pro-11771.html Very strong puncture resistant tires and I like the firmer ride, corner like cat paws. On a light bike I would say they might be overbuilt, but I love the way they feel loaded.

scycheng

We use Schwalbe Kojak 26x2 inflated to about 80 PSI for touring and riding around town. I don't want anything narrower. Riding on rocky "roads" taught me volume is much more important than anything else. Pinch flats really sucks and one can never carry enough patches (and those instant Park patches really really sucks!).

From speed and weight perspective, I don't find them any slower than the 700x35 (Top Touring?) which we used on our previous tandem.

noglider 

@FrenchFit, Vittoria changed the name from Randonneur Pro to Voyager Hyper, and now they've changed it back? I had the Voyager Hyper in 700x37 on another bike of mine, and they are an amazing breakthrough of toughness, suppleness, and speed. I didn't know it's available in 26". Or maybe it's not the same tire any more. I'll consider this next, in any case.

noglider 

@Bornco, we just took a 6 mile ride on the tandem with the new tires. They are Michelin Wild Run'R tires 26x1.4". They measure 37mm wide. I pumped them to 80 psi. They seem nice and don't feel harsher than the previous wider tires. The slick treads probably help, as the previous tires had a noisy tread, and we don't ride off road.

I think our GVW is 330 lbs or so. We are light, and the bike is heavy (50 lbs).

Bornco

Thanks They sound like tires, I'll check the spec sheet on them on the Michelin site.

Bornco

I meant good tires

noglider 

@Bornco, they certainly are tires. I can attest to that.

JanMM

I used the Wild Run'R 1.4 tires on a long wheelbase recumbent last year as my commuting bike. (suburban/urban/suburban route) They worked pretty well. No flats but there were more cuts and nicks in the surface than what I have experienced on Schwalbe Marathon Racer (1.5) and Forte Metro K (1.25) tires that I have used. Forte tires were great bang for buck but no longer available.