29er Tire Combos/Recommendations

unfortunately its personal preference so our opinions mean crap...i think the small block tire for example is the worst POS ever made, but thats me, and of course some people love it.... as for a front tire on a SS, especially rigid SS, I love the Schwalbe 2.4 Racing Ralph as its huge and light. Doesnt bite as well as some other tires perhaps but the volume is huge and weight is light so for a rigid its great...no matter what i try, i still come back to the Nano out back but again, personal preference. Rampge is good front tire too but sux AZZ out back as its slow as a mofo
 
Specy captain 2.2 all year long. Seems to handle most conditions well enough for me to leave it on. Just my 2 yens though.
 
FoShizzle said:
unfortunately its personal preference so our opinions mean crap...i think the small block tire for example is the worst POS ever made, but thats me, and of course some people love it.... as for a front tire on a SS, especially rigid SS, I love the Schwalbe 2.4 Racing Ralph as its huge and light. Doesnt bite as well as some other tires perhaps but the volume is huge and weight is light so for a rigid its great...no matter what i try, i still come back to the Nano out back but again, personal preference. Rampge is good front tire too but sux AZZ out back as its slow as a mofo
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I agree as a front tire the small block 8 is near certain death, absolutely useless, but as a back tire is seems to grip pretty well and rolls super fast, I have looked at the NanoRaptor I will have to try one in the back, what do you use 2.1?
 
Ok I read through all that and now I am confused. I need at least a new rear tire, it will not hold up to my riding style. Its the Jones XR 1.8 (I know#-o) Even thought its SS 29er I and not riding it like one. I pinch flatted after a baby huck. I dont really want big heavy tires as that seem counter productive but something thats going to hold up to a reasonable beating. I have the Jone X2 2.25 in front and it seemed ok even though I did have a couple 2 wheel slides on the loop yesterday.
 
mfoga said:
Ok I read through all that and now I am confused. I need at least a new rear tire, it will not hold up to my riding style. Its the Jones XR 1.8 (I know#-o) Even thought its SS 29er I and not riding it like one. I pinch flatted after a baby huck. I dont really want big heavy tires as that seem counter productive but something thats going to hold up to a reasonable beating. I have the Jone X2 2.25 in front and it seemed ok even though I did have a couple 2 wheel slides on the loop yesterday.
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I am running the Jones XR 2.25 front tire in the rear and have ben really happy with it. Worn out now and the traction has gone away but up intill recently had plenty of traction.
 
Jones XRs are wicked light. 1.8s are asking to fix flats like crazy unless your a 130lber or racing cyclocross. 2.25 is still light at like 580gm but it has super thin sidewalls as all lightwt tires do.

Try the Captains. 2.0s or 2.2s. The Sworks 2.0s are pretty light at around ~600gms. But again thin sidewalls. I run them all the time but I'm pretty gentle out there. I'd be like Freek and try the 2.2 armadillos or control Captains. Everyone who tries it likes the Captain in the rear.
 
Pho'dUp said:
Jones XRs are wicked light. 1.8s are asking to fix flats like crazy unless your a 130lber or racing cyclocross. 2.25 is still light at like 580gm but it has super thin sidewalls as all lightwt tires do.

Try the Captains. 2.0s or 2.2s. The Sworks 2.0s are pretty light at around ~600gms. But again thin sidewalls. I run them all the time but I'm pretty gentle out there. I'd be like Freek and try the 2.2 armadillos or control Captains. Everyone who tries it likes the Captain in the rear.
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Rode the counting coup on the 2.0 captain armadillo elite's front and rear (weight savings......yeah right!) and were very happy with the performance on dry and wet surfaces. Bullet proof sidewall to boot! Until then I was 4 for 4 comming down the motorway ( 4 slashed sidewall(2 xdx's, 1- captain control 2.2, 1- weir 2.55's) beyond repair, other than to boot it..) The armadillo elites are not light by any means, but are light enough for me to use(215 rider weight), and not worry about picking the nicest lines coming down the hills. I really liked the reliability of these tires so far! Hooks up great too!

Mark, if you want to try the tires on my Voodoo, let me know.
 
Are tubeless tires typically thicker or tougher sidewalls? Maybe i shold just run tubeless tires with tubes.
 
mfoga said:
Are tubeless tires typically thicker or tougher sidewalls? Maybe i shold just run tubeless tires with tubes.
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Last time I checked, I don't think anybody makes a true UST tire for the 29'ers. The reason I ran the armadillo elite's were because of that fact (thicker sidewall). and It has the UST bead on it to seal up to my Bonty w/the rimstrip. I don't think that you would gain any sidewall strength by going to the tubeless ready tires and running tubes in them. Just my 2 cents. Others could hold a totally different look on this.
 
SIK SD said:
So now that the ground is drying out again and back comes SoCal loose over hard pack that we all love so much I find myself in the same situation I was in last year.

Help please...

I really like the SmallBlock8 on my 29er SS's as a rear tire, fast, light, but i have not found a front tire that i like as much, I want good rolling, descent weight, but aggressive enough enough to bite and not float...

What are you guys using that you really like? Thanks
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I have been using a rampage 2.35 in the front and have no complaints.

I have had a small block 8 on the rear and liked until I recently discovered a flat-tire-like sliding feeling when braking on off camber descents. I really thought I had a flat!
 
Continental Mountain Kings, 2.4 front, 2.2 back. Great all year round and work great tubeless with Stan's. I can't see myself needing any other tire. On top of it all, they are cheap compared to other 29er tires.
 
I like the 2.1 crossmark on the back of my 26", so I think I'll try it on my new Niner. If I run 35psi in the 26" how much do you think I should run in the 29er? I'm 225 lbs + gear.
 
I still like the Small Block 8 in the rear on a bike made for climbing, but I don't see myself going back those after riding 2.4/2.2 Racing Ralph's. It's hard to get the rear tire to slip and they're quite fast which was to be expected, but they actually have some traction coming down fireroads. Running both front and rear tubeless around 30psi

Wouldn't be the greatest trail tire though, but the Rampage still gets my vote in that department, wish I had one laying around still
 
I ran 2.1 Ignitors in the front @ 32 PSI and 2.1 Crossmarks in the back @ 38 PSI in the 29er SS. Fast rolling and great for all-around traction in mild to dry conditions in OC.

UPDATE: For the 29er FS build, I'm running Rampage29 up front (nice volume and great cornering) with Captain Control 2.2 at rear (faster than all Rampage setup and seems to have better fore/aft traction). Also, these were effortless to mount tubeless on Stan's Arch29er rims on top of yellow tape.
 
I was thinking about going with the Kenda Small Block 8 for my SS 29er. Is the tread aggressive/sticky enough for the trails we have here in southern California?
 
jploski said:
I was thinking about going with the Kenda Small Block 8 for my SS 29er. Is the tread aggressive/sticky enough for the trails we have here in southern California?
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Sure as long as you don't use your back brake.

I have them on the back of 3 bikes and this is what i think:

They roll super fast
They have good grip on hard pack
The side knobs do grab well

The thing is as soon as the center knobs get worn down to about 50% they become useless, especially when pointed down and using the back brakes.

So i don't really use my back brakes anymore when i am going down, except for maybe a tap here and there.

Would not use them on the front
 
BrewMaster said:
Continental Mountain Kings, 2.4 front, 2.2 back. Great all year round and work great tubeless with Stan's. I can't see myself needing any other tire. On top of it all, they are cheap compared to other 29er tires.
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How does $13 a tire grab you for a CST 29 x 2.25 Caballero at Bike Stop or Speedgoat when on special? I run this on the rear of my RIP 9, weigh 240 pounds wet, and I run it tubed on a Sun Rhyno Lite. I burn through rear tires at my weight, this tire is not the greatest at anything, but it does many things between fair to excellent. Not good when you do 2 wheel drifts on a fireroad, it kind of does not warn you when things are going to let go. Very durable, I have 350 mile on the rear on my bike right now, and the compound is wearing well and lasting, maybe an 8 or 900 mile rear tire for me, which is good, coming off of Schwalbe Fat Alberts on my 26 going 550 to 600 miles, tops. Good braking capabilities. Tire does not roll racing fast, but less resistance than a Rampage, and considerably less than a Nevegal, then again, it doesn't quite stick like a Nevegal either.

Throw a tube in it, ride it, use it for training, for $13, you get what you pay for, but it's been an uber miler for me so far. It wears well if you ride pavement for any distance before you get on dirt, something the Kenda and Panaracer Rampage really suck at, both in rolling resistance and fast tire wear.
 

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