Tyres for Hardpack and Country lanes

[Alembicbassman]

I've been a Rambler in the Peak District for the past year or so, now bought an MTB.

Most of the riding I do will be single track country lanes (lots of potholes), hardpack farm tracks and cycleways (Monsal Trail etc...). No mud plugging, saving that for boots and a rucksack.

The full knobblies won't be much use on roads so am going to buy some Schwalbe 26x1.95 City Jet.

Hoping these will handle hardpack and cyclepaths OK too.

Sheldon Brown seems to dismiss hybrid tyres saying that the bigger the contact patch the better for anything else except mud and large loose stuff where knobblies are required. Slicks obviously give the greatest contact patch.

Any other views?

 

[MontyVeda]

What will the 'hardpack farm tracks' be like after a downpour? You might want a little bit more nobble than the City Jets.

I spend 95% of the time on road... but ride on nobblies just so that interesting bridleway isn't out of bounds. So "full knobblies won't be much use on roads" is a bit of an overstatement IMO.

 

[Cubist]

I once rode my XC bike with City Jets on a longish jaunt up the Wessenden Valley. The only time the tyres felt dodgy was in muddy puddle remnants. On the hardpack they were very, very quick.

I wouldn't use them on loam, and I would definitely keep the pressures toward the max, as their relatively low volume meant any straight edge bumps could have killed them or the rims.

 

[Cyclist33]

Hmm. I've just fitted some City Jets 1.5" to my mtb. It *has* made a fairly big difference to my road cycling although I suspect in actual % time saved per mile, not that much. Just a lot smoother.

That said, you can get knobblies for all types of surface/riding, some of them are lighter than 26 inch slicks and have low-raised knobs so they roll quite fast and smooth, and as already said, they open up all kinds of off road possibilities.

I did a 15 mile road run last night and veered off onto a farm track for ten minutes. I didn't come off but I definitely had to be too cautious to enjoy it, which kinda defeats the object?

Cheers

Stu

 

[Norm]

My old MTB has City Jets and gets used on just about any surface I can find in the dry, and on tarmac, gravel and stony tracks in the wet. I'd avoid wet mud and grass but anything which is solid and they are fine.

 

[deano69]

I use dmr moto they are knobbly tread but great on road as they are very close knobs, these are great on hard pack gravel and woodland trails etc but not too clever in sopping wet muddy conditions unless you are only riding sensibly, fast muddy trails they can slip out if you not careful

They are quite large though 26"x2.2 so best check your forks and frame will take them........

 

[Alembicbassman]

Anyhow.

I've bunged a set of the City Jets on this morning, they were easy to fit, only £18.30 for the pair including postage.

I've opted for the wider 1.95 over the 1.5 to give a bigger footprint.

I'll try them out to see what they're like.

 

[MacB]

just to piggy back on this thread, I'm thinking of some new tyres for el cheapo MTB/hack that I use for pootling, it has big knobblies on it and it will never go more offroad than the lightest of trails. My first thought was some M+ or similar, basically puncture protection above all else, but it's hard to justify £50 on a £10 bike.

How are the City Jets for puncture protection? I just want cheap, puncture proof and little tread.

 

[Norm]

After a few early problems, I switched to slime tubes and haven't had a puncture since.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I quite like the Shwalbe Land Cruisers and Hardliners for Hard Pack riding. Long lasting tyres that a good on and off road.

 

[Alembicbassman]

City Jets are in Schwalbe's Active Line - Basic puncture protection
http://www.schwalbe....ctive-line.html


"The foundation of all ACTIVE Line tyres is a high-quality 50 EPI carcass. Naturally every ACTIVE Line tyre has a puncture protection belt, a balanced rubber compound, plus a functional and attractive tread design.
Simply said: ACTIVE Line is reliable, brand quality!"

They were piss easy to fit, Marathon plus are supposed to be thumb breakers, so removing to fix a puncture would be a doddle anyway.

 

[Alembicbassman]

[UPDATE]

2nd ride out down the Chesterfield Canal towpath - PUNCTURE ! - Bang in the centreline of the front tyre too (the thickest bit !!) Probably not that well protected.

Better off with Marathons me thinx

 

[MacB]

[UPDATE]

2nd ride out down the Chesterfield Canal towpath - PUNCTURE ! - Bang in the centreline of the front tyre too (the thickest bit !!) Probably not that well protected.

Better off with Marathons me thinx

Well that narrows it down for me, I'll invest in either marathons, pluses or plus tours...thanks for the feedback

 

[Gixxerman]

Schwalbe Marathon Cross are a good mix between road and track.
I have a pair on my MTB for use on mixed road / bridlepath routes and they work very well.
They cope with all but the deepest of mud without being too slow on roads (15 mph average easily obtained).

 

[blockend]

Rough Stuff types used road tyres for decades before MTBs were invented. If you opt for road tyres balloon varieties 1.75"+ are more squirmy than narrow versions, which cut through surface mud and grit. Cyclo-crossers are always among the leading riders in out local MTB challenge and that's seriously competitive with killer climbs and massive drop offs.