Best fast tyres for MTB under £25-£30?

itaa

Hello everyone, I'm in need of new tyres for my mtb ( the old knobby ones are worn to bits and the rubber is cracking, about 9years old I think based on when I bought the bike).

My main goal is to get speed improvement and ease of driving,I can deal with a bit less grip- I think the lowest rolling resistance would be the keyword? my use would be like 50% forest paths (hardly ever muddy or slippery),50% tarmac, but still need something a bit more tough to drive up a kerb and not fall over if I ever encounter some crazy mud?

I'm totally new to all this bike stuff ( well I ride the bike but that's all I do with it ) so really have no idea what's good /what's the best/ and whats not so good.

I want to spend as little as possible( who doesn't... ) , and I have found that at a lot of places the schwalbe city jets are pretty popular , can get them for 18pounds on fleabay, but If there's something much better I don't mind paying a bit more. However I got no idea what's good and what's not.

my wheel size is 26 and I think I want probably 1.5 wide tyres ( my current are 1.95) if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance!

The Rookie

The CJs are a good budget road slick, they are a little wooden feeling to ride compared to the better ones (that will cost about twice as much) such as the Maxxis Detonator.

Any slick though is pretty useless on mud, with mud you need something that will dig into it (deeper harder mud) or through it to the hard surface below (slimy top layer of mud) when something like the Kenda small block 8 will be better. A thinner tyre will also be less forgiving up kerbs and so on and you need to take more care so as not to pinch a tube or damage a rim.

If your previous tyres lasted that long they were probably rather cheap and nasty and a very hard compound, almost anything will be a nicer ride.

itaa

hmm have you heard anything about Schwalbe Hurricane ? Seems like it has a bit more thread when needed?
What would be the speed difference between the hurricane it being a 2.0 tyre VS a city jet totally smooth + 1.5width?

I think Im realizing myself now that I think I don't want a totally smooth slick which won't be able to hold any off-tarmac riding..

The Rookie

You need to work out your priority on amount of grip versus rolling resistance and also how fast you ride, at low speed its all about rolling resistance, as you get to 12+mph then the difference in aero drag starts to become more important and a narrow mild off road tyre will be faster than a wider slick.

The Marathon racer looks a reasonable compromise (there are cheaper Marathons in the range)
https://www.schwalbe.com/gb/tour-reader ... racer.html

or for a bit more off road grip a Kenda SB8 as a 26x1.75.
http://bicycle.kendatire.com/en-us/find ... eight-pro/

itaa

Just did some research and concluded that the racers are a bit of a fail...

but came up to a Schwalbe marathon GREENGUARDS which supposedly has lower rolling resistance than the more expensive regular or plus marathons? heard anything about those?

cooldad

Kenda Small Block 8 are great all round tyres. I wouldn't go too skinny. A bit of air makes the ride much more comfortable.

itaa

I saw some rolling resistance tests about the kenda small block 8 and they weren't that good really compared to others I saw...

I just found this list where they have rolling resistance data of the 3 tyres I was looking at ( the city jets/ Hurricanes/ Marathon tyre- although I'm not sure which marathons as there are like 5 of them and some aren't that good with rolling resistance)
http://www.helsinki.fi/~tlinden/rolling.html

So seems like the Hurricanes has almost the same rolling resistance as the City jets but with the added more grip bonus?
the Marathons seem to have a really huge proportional rolling resistance based on that table compared to city jets for example- but than again I'm not sure which marathons are they talking about?

If the Marathon Greenguards (those who have one of the lowest rolling resistance) would have the same rolling resistance as the Hurricanes than its a clear choice because the greenguards are better protected and doesn't costs that much more.

supersonic

Have a look at the Kenda Klimax Lite:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/391667970080

Are more like 1.75 when on the bike, but seem to offera good blend of performance for your needs (I use the same tyres, have held up very well and surprisingly grippy when cornering).

I assumed your budget was per tyre?!

The Rookie

Kenda used to do a tyre that fitted your needs perfectly, 1.75" with a slick centre, bobbles either side and knobbles on the shoulders, it wasn't MTB tyre fast on mud but would go through it safely, been discontinued it seems.

The Rookie

Rolling Res of the SB8 here with comparisons.
http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com ... eight-2015

They are similar to some of the slower road tyres.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

http://nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.aspx/ ... TB-26/1896

I don't know if this is the best price for the 26" version, but I've had a pair of the 29" versions since last summer (which are currently £16 at PX, bargain), which are great for non-extreme mixed riding on roll great on tarmac.

https://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader ... cross.html

demelitia

Another vote for the Kenda SB8 from me. My experience of them was in 29" guise so that will have helped, but I used them for commuting on a single speed that doubled as a spare trail bike and it took pretty much everything apart from slippy mud. Wear rate and puncture resistance were also good.
That being said, if the trails you mentioned are really that well maintained, Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Raceguard 26 x 2.0 have been excellent tyres for me.
Like Cooldad says, i'd prefer to have a larger volume tyre for anything that isn't smooth tarmac; any weight/rolling resistance penalty you might have is well worth not having your teeth shaken out and being able to keep your speed up when things aren't so smooth.

tangled_metal

If you wanted cityjets then Halfords selling for £12 26"x1.5". If you pop in to your local Halfords you might find something at a decent price. I'm pretty sure a saw a 26" hybrid tyre from a recognizable mid level brand that's nobbly to the edges and grooved along the centreline. I had similar from specialized that came with my hybrid that looked similar. It handled gravelly tracks easily and forest tracks. Struggled on greasy mud but they're not really for that. Controllable in the mud though. They were specialized own brand, IIRC called Trigger but in 700x45 i think. Might be available in 26". Don't know how good but one of the more knowledgeable shop staff at one of my better LBS took an interest in it. He thought it was a good bit of rubber.

tangled_metal

I think it was this one.

https://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/105810

Nutstollen

Schwalbe racing Ralph and rocket Ron offer the best roll resistance v grip they are not aggressive enough for alpine or dh though bontrager do some good team tyres

Nutstollen

Schwalbe racing Ralph and rocket Ron offer the best roll resistance v grip they are not aggressive enough for alpine or dh though bontrager do some good team tyres

trekvet

I've run a couple of these, Continental Travel Contact folding, fast on road, enough grip for tracks, and throw up hardly anything onto chain. http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Continental-Tra ... wodDRsByQ# Get a pair light tubes (and carry a spare).