I need some new tyre advice

clydefrog

I might be looking at having to buy another tyre to replace my current rear one (Continental Mountain King 2), which although is not old has had part of the edge damaged (where it goes into the rim) probably from tyre levers since it's so hard to get the thing off. I think this may be causing punctures as I have had 2 in the tube right by the damaged part of the tyre with no evidence of anything puncturing the tyre. Apart from that this tyre has had plenty of other punctures too so I want something different this time.

What are considered the best, good value for money tyres that don't puncture too easily and cost up to around £30 at the most? Also are things like these tyre liners (http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_273923) effective and would it be worth fitting one for the extra protection? I will be riding mostly on towpaths by canals, along rivers and on roads so it needs decent grip but the lower the rolling resistance the better. Thanks.

lostboysaint

If that's your riding then you actually need a semi-slick, pumped up pretty hard. It'll be quicker, avoid pinch punctures, grip fine and be faster than a "grippy" tyre. Schwalbe Racing Ralph/Rapid Rob if you're desperate to have knobblies - but fast ones - or Smart Sam/Sammy Slick if you want low rolling resistance.

clydefrog

Cheers for the reply. The Rapid Robs look good and they're very cheap too, only £15. As you said they are knobbly tyres but look like they would be quite quick too, although they are not great when it's wet from what I'm reading. At that price though I could afford to get 2 and replace my front tyre too.

It sounds like the Racing Ralphs are better but they cost quite a bit more, and there are about 5 different types.

The Smart Sams still look quite knobbly to me but they are also a good price. Any idea which is better out of the Smart Sam and Rapid Rob? Again there are multiple versions that just confuse me (normal, sport cross, greenguard, evo, evo ddefense, raceguard).

I think it will be between those 2 as I can get a pair, whichever is the superior tyre when it's wet but susceptibility to punctures is an important factor too.

abarth_1200

Heads up if your interested I have two very new smart sams in 26 x 2.25 in the classifieds section

bailsofhay

I have been using a mix of Maxxis monorail up front and a crossmark in the back for the same riding conditions as you for the past year and have found them really good. They both have a very low rolling resistance with fairly good grip when needed although the crossmark has a tendency to pick up mud quite easily.

I have also used the Continental travel contact treking tyre when I was doing a mix of road and green lanes I think I had a total of 1 flat in nearly 2 years on them.

The Rookie

The Smart Sam has a near continuous centre bead that makes them pretty fast rolling, alternatively go for a hybrid type semi slick as that will work perfectly well, where the centre just has bobbles and then there are some knobs on the side of the tread.

clydefrog

abarth_1200 wrote:

Heads up if your interested I have two very new smart sams in 26 x 2.25 in the classifieds section

abarth, what are those tyres like to get on and off, do they require a lot of force or is it pretty easy?

bailsofhay wrote:

I have been using a mix of Maxxis monorail up front and a crossmark in the back for the same riding conditions as you for the past year and have found them really good. They both have a very low rolling resistance with fairly good grip when needed although the crossmark has a tendency to pick up mud quite easily.

I have also used the Continental travel contact treking tyre when I was doing a mix of road and green lanes I think I had a total of 1 flat in nearly 2 years on them.

Thanks for the information, I've been looking up stuff on the crossmark and it seems a lot of people recommend it for a rear tyre. I'm looking for a good cheap front tyre I could pair with it if I decided to go for that, I wouldn't want to spend more than £40 on a pair really and it's about £20 for the crossmark.

stubs

clydefrog wrote:

abarth_1200 wrote:

Heads up if your interested I have two very new smart sams in 26 x 2.25 in the classifieds section

abarth, what are those tyres like to get on and off, do they require a lot of force or is it pretty easy?

Depends on the rims I have struggled with a tyre on a certain rim that almost fell onto another manufacturers rim.

clydefrog

stubs wrote:

clydefrog wrote:

abarth_1200 wrote:

Heads up if your interested I have two very new smart sams in 26 x 2.25 in the classifieds section

abarth, what are those tyres like to get on and off, do they require a lot of force or is it pretty easy?

Depends on the rims I have struggled with a tyre on a certain rim that almost fell onto another manufacturers rim.

Hmmm. I just hate how hard it is to get my current rear tyre (continental mountain king 2) on and off, what should be around a 10 minute job takes closer to half an hour or more in some cases, and as said I've ended up damaging a part of the edge of it as well due to the ridiculous amount of force needed to get the thing out of the rim (and that's using those plastic park tools levers, not even metal ones). My Mountain King 1 on the front on the other hand is no problem, so I'm just hoping whatever tyres I get next are much easier to remove/attach.

clydefrog

Ok I'm thinking of getting a crossmark for my rear replacement. I'm just wondering if a 2.1 will be wide enough, my Mountain Kings are 2.2 although everybody says they are more like a 2.0 or 2.1 of other makes. Is the 2.1 crossmark also smaller than an average 2.1 and should I go for the 2.25 version instead? Is there much difference in grip etc. bnetween a 2.25 and 2.1 crossmark?

rockmonkeysc

Go for the skinniest. You're never going to notice the difference in grip with any tyre on towpaths.
I can't notice a difference in grip between my 2.2" super soft Conti Rubber Queens and my 23mm slick, cheap and nasty road tyre on the local canal.
Nobbles on tyres won't do anything if they can't dig in to the surface.

clydefrog

Ok thanks for the advice Rockmonkey, and one final question. Folding or wire? They are the exact same price so which is likely to be the best buy? I've heard wire ones can be stronger and folding ones can come off the wheel if they blow. Although it's unlikely I will straight blow one in the type of riding I do, if I did end up with a complete flat I wouldn't want the tyre working its way off the rim if I had to walk home with the bike. Which would you recommend (I will be using inner tubes by the way)?

cooldad

Folding. Always. Lighter and often the better compounds. The don't come off.

The Northern Monkey

clydefrog wrote:

stubs wrote:

clydefrog wrote:

abarth_1200 wrote:

Heads up if your interested I have two very new smart sams in 26 x 2.25 in the classifieds section

abarth, what are those tyres like to get on and off, do they require a lot of force or is it pretty easy?

Depends on the rims I have struggled with a tyre on a certain rim that almost fell onto another manufacturers rim.

Hmmm. I just hate how hard it is to get my current rear tyre (continental mountain king 2) on and off, what should be around a 10 minute job takes closer to half an hour or more in some cases, and as said I've ended up damaging a part of the edge of it as well due to the ridiculous amount of force needed to get the thing out of the rim (and that's using those plastic park tools levers, not even metal ones). My Mountain King 1 on the front on the other hand is no problem, so I'm just hoping whatever tyres I get next are much easier to remove/attach.

You're doing it wrong then..

You need to unseat the beads on both sides of the tyre and get them into the well of the wheel before even trying to get a lever in there.
Then once one lever is in, work around the tyre and push the bead back into the centre of the rim (it will pop back into the rim shelf).
Then work a second lever around the wheel until it get too hard to move, then again work around the tyre and push the bead back into the centre of the rim.

So on and so forth.

clydefrog

Ok I'll try and pay more attention to keeping both sides in the middle next time, that might be the reason it's been so hard.

Anyways I have another question regarding this tyre. I am going to be using inner tubes, should I buy the normal crossmark (which I heard is designed to be used with tubes) or the LUST version which has stronger sidewalls but maybe are not so compatible with using an inner tube? What do you think?

cooldad

Unless you are planning tubeless just get normal ones.