Touring Tires For MTB
 

I am setting up my hardtail 29er for light touring and as I am changing and adding some gear I see it is also time for new tires as my original MTB tires are about worn out. I believe I need slicks at this point.

I will be riding pavement primarily, a little on the roads and most on bike paths and trails that are either paved or concrete. I will also ride on rails to trails paths that are mostly paved but can have some stretches of gravel or hard pack dirt. I will not be using the bike for any true off road riding.

It has been a bit confusing searching for tires that are slicks, 29" and will fit on my 20mm rims but I have found three:
Continental Contact Cruiser 700C X 50mm
Vittoria Evolution 29 X 1.9
Maxxis Torch Tire 29 X 2.1 Folding

I would appreciate any comments on any of these tires for my intended use, as well as any other tires anyone may know that would fit.

Not to confuse you any further but with touring tire debates people usually side with:

Supple, lighter, lower rolling resistance (faster) but with an increased risk of puncture. The popular industry leader at the moment seems to be Compass (now Rene Herse): https://www.renehersecycles.com/prod...ts/tires/700c/

or

Heavier, puncture resistant tires that are somewhat slower. The classic go to brand/model is Schwalbe Marathon: https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_t...hon_Plus_HS440

Your 29r mtb will fit a wider 700c tire, typically at least 35 or 40mm depending on how wide your rim is.

Vittoria Evolutions came stock on my touring bike and I loved them. I got a lot of miles out of them. I can't say they are the most puncture resistant, but they are smooth rolling and durable. I have since switched to Schwalbe Marathon Supremes in 700x50 and while I don't have many miles on them yet these are incredible tires so far. Smoother and faster rolling than the Evos and should have better flat protection. They are expensive though.

The Marathon Almotion also comes in several wide sizes at the 622 size you're looking for. Both the Almotion and the Supreme are nice rolling tires as confirmed by this guy: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/

There is also a really wide range from heavy/never get a flat/boat anchors to fast and supple just within the Marathon lineup.

One tire I'd suggest you consider is the Schwalbe Hurricane. It's available in 50-622, and I have a set in this size. They're available pretty inexpensively and are pretty supple for their cost (if smooth and comfortable is high on your list). Because they have a completely smooth/solid center line, they're pretty quiet on the road. They're also acceptably grippy off the road, due to their relatively low side lugs. If you run these with higher air pressure, these lugs won't really come into play and the tire will pretty much act like a large slick. If you run them lower on air, you get the benefit and the drawback of the lugs. The benefit is increased traction and stability on looser surfaces from these minimal "paddles" on the side. The drawback is a little bit of self-steer when leaned over on pavement, due to the lugs being pushed into the road.

I don't think they're all that resistant to puncture. They're fairly light for their size and they don't have any Kevlar or thick rubber underlayments. So take that into consideration.

On one of my touring bikes for routes that are mostly pavement I have been very happy with Schwalbe Marathon (with Greenguard) in a 40mm width, that bike is 26 inch, not 700c.
https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_t...s/marathon_420

On that bike for routes that are more gravel and less pavement, I was running a 50mm wide Dureme tire, but that tire model is now discontinued.

I have not ridden the Schwalbe Mondial, but from the description of the type of riding you plan to do, that might be an option too. I suspect that the higher cost version rolls a bit better, I have usually found that the folding Schwalbe tires rolled a bit better than the wire bead versions.
https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_t...rathon_mondial

Given where you think you'll be riding and not heavily loaded, I'd recommend 1.5 vs 2in tires.
As mentioned, the regular greenguard marathon is a great tire for the price and if you don't over inflate it it feels and rolls fine.

Schwalbe Marathon Supreme

Alan S: I know the OP is inquiring about 29er tires, but can you advise of the wheel/tire combo and your experience on your World Troller?

Thank you.

Thank you all who posted. This gives me more options to research and consider. I never knew it could be so complicated to find a tire that actually fits your bike and rim while also being the best tire for your intended use.

sounds like a fun plan! if I were doing that, I would use tires I already own: Michelin Protek 700 x 40 mm. they measure 43 mm (1.69") at 90 psi. the max pressure is 87 psi. they had good reviews & weren't expensive. I squeezed them on a hybrid but I always thought they would be fun to ride on my MTB. the place I bought them also has them in these sizes: 28 mm, 32, 35, 38 & 40 mm at Biketiresdirect

that website also has a specific city/touring section

not slicks but they roll well

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...69f6def457.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...140c62b3e2.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8e362e6e25.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3ef2e3fce3.jpg

if I were starting from scratch I would use a common tire in case I had to replace it on the road. what is the most common tire that we're most likely to find at a bike shop in the areas we travel? I don't know, maybe call shops in the areas I planned to ride?

I'm running 40mm Schwalbe Marathons on my Haro 29er. I've been up to 85 miles a day on them. They roll reasonably well but are still robust enough to resist the pothole rich roads I sometimes find myself on. As an off topic aside, I assume you're wearing MTB shoes with cleats, if so, check out the Shimano PD-280 "Saint" pedals. They have a much larger platform surface area and I find them to be very comfortable on longer rides.

Rum runner, don't know what total weight is on your bike, you and load, but 90psi for 40mm? I regularly use my 35mm at 40,45f and 50,55r but I weigh 140 and commute usually with maybe 20 30lbs of stuff, ie groceries.
My 38 or 40mm tires generally have a bit less, as do even less with my 45 to 50mm tires.

Often just a bit less makes for a much more comfortable ride, and no less fast\rolling speed.

I have several wheelsets for the World Troller and Troll (yes, I have two Trolls). The Rohloff is paired with a Velocity Cliffhanger rim, which is about as bulletproof as you can go. Picked up several super cheap wheels from Performance before they went out of business, for maybe $20 each. Rhynolite with Deore hubs. While not the lightest wheels out there, they are strong and no complaints. Also have Mavic M719 rims with XT hubs, which are fairly light and strong, but pricier. I also run 700c wheels on the Troll. I use Marathon Supremes and Big Apples in 26” and Marathon Supremes in 700c.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...90ed893b4.jpeg
This is the Marathon Supreme on the Rhynolite wheel from a trip a couple weeks ago.

Alan S: thanks for the insight. I, too, have a Troll (recently acquired) and several wheelsets (26 and 700c) available, but I have yet to use 700c wheels on the Troll - hence, my interest in your experience.

What width of 700c Marathon Supremes are you running on the Troll?

True. Schwalbe does an excellent as confusing the hell out of everyone with all the models and submodels.

Compass/RH confuses everyone with a different name for every tire size of the same damn tire.
And everyone else offers half a dozen or more variations of the same tire model, each with slightly different submodel abbreviations or with technology that changes in name every year or two.

No tire model should have 15 variations that span everything from fast touring to MTB to ebike. Thats absurd.

oh I totally agree. Never rode them at that pressure cuz they didn’t fit the chainstay - had to reduce them to 50 for riding on a trek fx alpha 7.0. Wud be interesting to mess w them on my got timberline. these tires have a strong sidewall, so even running them at approx 1/2 max pressure they weren't bulging & I weight 220 plus bike, trunk & clothing is prob close to 250 lbs on the tires

Commuting on these:https://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Impac-By-Schwalbe-Streetpac-26-X-1-75-Slick-Mountain-Bike-Cycle-Tires-1-Pair/

Very happy with them!

this made me chuckle, as it is soooooo true.
I'm an admitted bike nerd, so I kinda know all the various Marathon's now, but I agree, it was confusing as heck at first looking at and reading about marathon this and marathon that.....and yes, so many diff types of tires , all with Marathon xxxxx names.....

I still say that the original Marathon, the greenguard one (not the Plus) is a great balance of cost/ride/longevity.
I always bring this up, but my old pair of 26x1.5 regular ones must have about 10,000kms on them and are still in reasonable shape. And the rubber is still in good shape too after all these years. Dont ride them now, they are off a bike, but especially for the price one can find them, they are a great tire for what you get.

To the person asking the question from the start--the reason I recommend 1.5 vs 2 is that on pavement, 1.5's are great. Wide enough at 38 or 40mm to handle dirt and whatnot, rough pavement, but roll a bit easier on pavement compared to 2in and that size of tire (although of course specific tire models roll diff than others)

I've seen a lot of talk about Schwalbe in this thread. I ride 26" Schwalbe Big Apples and really love them for casual touring, commuting, and bikeway riding. They are part of a category commonly known as "balloon" tires and are fat and spongy for a nice cushiony ride. I see they are available in 29" now, but if you consider them at all, be sure the width doesn't exceed the capacity of your rear drop-out (the part of the frame that holds your rear wheel).

I guess I will have better credibility when you see how much you love the Topeak bag and rack, though (!)

No problem there Papa Tom. I will not get the rack until next week but I already received the bag and you were understated in your praise of it. The design and construction are impeccable and I am astonished at how much capacity it actually has.

Things are progressing as I have a Brooks England Flyer saddle arriving some time this week and two Schwalbe Marathon Supremes coming next week.

I am going to be looking at better pedals and grips next. The big thing now is to up my mileage. I am doing a little over 100 a week now but the weather and the holidays have held me back. I hope to begin soon with substantially more. Thanks again for your help.

I think Schwalbe put the word Marathon on any tire that they felt would be a good long distance touring tire.

My only complaint about the multiple Marathon named tires is that the plain Marathon one does not have another name to differentiate it. That is why I always refer to it as (with Greenguard) so you know I am not talking about the Marathon XR (which I still have one of), the Marathon Dureme (which I think I still use two of), the Marathon Extreme (that I use for heavy duty touring) or the Marathon Mondial (bought some but have not put on a rim yet). But if I refer to a Dureme, everybody that is familiar with that tire knows that there is not a non-Marathon Dureme.

Oops, have one more complaint, the Dureme and the Tandem Ready Dureme are very different tires, I learned that when I accidentally ordered one and received the Tandem version.

A side note: The original Marathon pre-dates the Greenguard version, I still have a pair of those older Marathons on my folding bike, that tells you how few miles I put on that bike to have tires that are that old on it.

hey tmsn, you know, my old regular marathons might also be pre greenguard. Ive lost track of how long ago I got them, but its very possible it was right before they added the greenguard to them. I suspect I bought them 7, 8 years ago, maybe more.

what width 700 supremes did you get?
also , will this be your first leather seat? Be very sparing in how much proofide you put on it, dont put too much, its better for the life of the seat not to over do it. Also if you arent heavy, you may find like me that it takes quite a while for the springs to loosen up a bit. Im a light guy and found it to be rather stiff for a long time until I was riding it regularly and bashing over Montreal potholes more often.

here are two reviews I wrote of my Supreme's experiences. I like them a lot and have nothing but good things to say about them
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...pressions.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...ly6000kms.html

Thanks for the tire reviews djb. I got the 29 X 2.0 Kevlar Folding.