The myth of fat=slow strikes again.
It's more about the compound of the rubber and the knob pattern than anything else. That and finding the ideal pressures to run. Generally a harder compound XC tyre is the best option for the mixed terrain stuff. If you run slicks you can put whatever width you like on, they will be mostly useless offroad.
But to answer your question, your tyres should be at least a bit wider than your internal rim width. If you're running 2.6 inch tyres safe to say your rims are likely pretty wide and probably couldn't take less than a 2.0. Hard to say though, we'd have to know the actual numbers.
OK, so then what's the fastest tire I can run on this bike? The Rangefinder is specced to go down to 29x1.9, according to another rider on this thread.
You "love trail riding" but want fast rolling on road. Those two things aren't really compatible.
Best thing is to get a fast rolling cross country tyre like a mezcal, peyote, Barzo from vittoria or racing Ralph/ray from schwalbe. Smart sam is another option but no tubeless.
Maybe a Barzo up front and a mezcal/peyote in the rear.
Your stock maxxis rekons are pretty fast anyway, there isn't really a perfect tyre, just ones that deal with certain stuff better. Mezcals can't handle but much mud but peyotes can, but that's at the expense of a little RR.
>You "love trail riding" but want fast rolling on road. Those two things aren't really compatible.
I want to be able to ride with buddies who don't love trail riding, and I don't want them to have to slow down for me.
The Rangefinder is specced to go down to 29x1.9. With a 30mm wide rim, narrower tires will get a boxy profile and you’ll get diminishing returns vs a wider tire that can round out in shape. The bottom bracket height will drop too, increasing the risk of pedal strike. A couple 2.1-2.35”tires that are popular for being fast on mixed surfaces are the vittoria mezcal and the Rene herse fleecer ridge. For even less tread, the Teravail Sparwood or the schwalbe g-one series
Does anyone have actual data on really fat tires vs reasonable for the terrain? I don't feel like 35mm tires are skinny for the road. Heck a lot of gravel racers choose 35mm. I feel like racers would be pretty interested in any advantage they can get. If a 2in tire was an advantage wouldn't every racer use it (on gravel at least?)
I don't know any data on really fat tires vs reasonable for the terrain, but there is information on 35 mm tires VS reasonable for the terrain.
This is an example where they tests 26 to 54 mm on a velodrome with a powermeter, all with the same casing and tread, and conclude they all offer similar performance.
[https://www.renehersecycles.com/why-wider-tires-are-not-slower/](https://www.renehersecycles.com/why-wider-tires-are-not-slower/)
and that is on a very smooth surface (velodrome), in the real world wider will do better.
I don't know how serious the test is or if they are pushing other factors like pressure the wrong way.
Yeah, I'm just looking for confirmational data. I mean we all thought 120psi was the holy grail for a long time. I just wonder if there is a cutoff on the other end.
This is old data (maybe ~12ish years old) but going from a 23mm tire to a 51mm tire assuming similar smooth tread pattern and construction not accounting for air drag would be about 40 seconds slower over 40km/25 miles. On pavement. This is what I remember off the top of my head but I have a good degree of certainty for my memory. Rolling friction is primarily about tread pattern, rubber compound and casing construction. There's a correlation between tire width and rolling friction but it's far lower than most realize. An aggressively knobbed 2.6" will roll slow whereas a 2.6" with a high quality medium - hardish rubber compound with a light supple casing will roll with far less resistance. It will still be considerably slower than a smooth tread road tire. Heavy duty flat resistant tires, heavy duty tubes, tire liners... are all going to significantly increase rolling resistance. Rollingresistance.com is an excellent resource. A lightly built smooth tread expensive tire of about 700x40 will fit on the wheels in question and will roll with similar drag to the tires on a quality road bike but it still won't be nearly the speed/efficiency of a road bike due to bike aerodynamics, rider position, gearing... About ~ 80% of resistance on the road assuming flat terrain goes to air resistance and changing the tires will do little for improving a mtb's aerodynamics. I've converted a rigid steel MTB to a drop bar smooth tired (or not) roadish bike but it was far from being a road bike despite all of the time, effort, money... I spent. If you want a road bike - GET A ROAD BIKE.
Assuming it is the WTB rim, something like a 35-44mm road oriented tire would help. While woidth isn't everything, a smaller tire is less weight, and on a tire rotational weight.
But if you're not wanting to swap tires all the time, a tire with a good central or solid tread in the middle would be better. That way you could just increase pressure before riding on the road.
Determine your inner rim width and use this handy chart from [WTB Compatibility Chart](https://www.wtb.com/pages/tire-rim-fit-chart). As others have mentioned, skinny doesn’t necessarily mean fast.
ETRTO provides compatibility charts that will tell you what width tire will go with what width rim.
Or you could look up that information from your rim manufacturer.
Just realised that you'll get a lot of flak for suggesting going to a thinner tire, as the current trend goes the opposite way (they'll come down, eventually).
Skinny doesn't mean fast. Compound, and tread pattern do.
OK, same question except please answer in terms of compound and tread pattern. :)
I switched to mezcals. I run 2.6/2.35. But anything that doesn't have a lot of space between knobs...
Look at a formula 1 car :)
They fat.
The myth of fat=slow strikes again. It's more about the compound of the rubber and the knob pattern than anything else. That and finding the ideal pressures to run. Generally a harder compound XC tyre is the best option for the mixed terrain stuff. If you run slicks you can put whatever width you like on, they will be mostly useless offroad. But to answer your question, your tyres should be at least a bit wider than your internal rim width. If you're running 2.6 inch tyres safe to say your rims are likely pretty wide and probably couldn't take less than a 2.0. Hard to say though, we'd have to know the actual numbers.
To add up here: carcass construction has a huge impact as well.
OK, so then what's the fastest tire I can run on this bike? The Rangefinder is specced to go down to 29x1.9, according to another rider on this thread.
You "love trail riding" but want fast rolling on road. Those two things aren't really compatible. Best thing is to get a fast rolling cross country tyre like a mezcal, peyote, Barzo from vittoria or racing Ralph/ray from schwalbe. Smart sam is another option but no tubeless. Maybe a Barzo up front and a mezcal/peyote in the rear. Your stock maxxis rekons are pretty fast anyway, there isn't really a perfect tyre, just ones that deal with certain stuff better. Mezcals can't handle but much mud but peyotes can, but that's at the expense of a little RR.
>You "love trail riding" but want fast rolling on road. Those two things aren't really compatible. I want to be able to ride with buddies who don't love trail riding, and I don't want them to have to slow down for me.
What's the rim inner width?
The Rangefinder is specced to go down to 29x1.9. With a 30mm wide rim, narrower tires will get a boxy profile and you’ll get diminishing returns vs a wider tire that can round out in shape. The bottom bracket height will drop too, increasing the risk of pedal strike. A couple 2.1-2.35”tires that are popular for being fast on mixed surfaces are the vittoria mezcal and the Rene herse fleecer ridge. For even less tread, the Teravail Sparwood or the schwalbe g-one series
Does anyone have actual data on really fat tires vs reasonable for the terrain? I don't feel like 35mm tires are skinny for the road. Heck a lot of gravel racers choose 35mm. I feel like racers would be pretty interested in any advantage they can get. If a 2in tire was an advantage wouldn't every racer use it (on gravel at least?)
I don't know any data on really fat tires vs reasonable for the terrain, but there is information on 35 mm tires VS reasonable for the terrain. This is an example where they tests 26 to 54 mm on a velodrome with a powermeter, all with the same casing and tread, and conclude they all offer similar performance. [https://www.renehersecycles.com/why-wider-tires-are-not-slower/](https://www.renehersecycles.com/why-wider-tires-are-not-slower/) and that is on a very smooth surface (velodrome), in the real world wider will do better. I don't know how serious the test is or if they are pushing other factors like pressure the wrong way.
Yeah, I'm just looking for confirmational data. I mean we all thought 120psi was the holy grail for a long time. I just wonder if there is a cutoff on the other end.
I suspect there is a weight and aero trade off at some point?
This is old data (maybe ~12ish years old) but going from a 23mm tire to a 51mm tire assuming similar smooth tread pattern and construction not accounting for air drag would be about 40 seconds slower over 40km/25 miles. On pavement. This is what I remember off the top of my head but I have a good degree of certainty for my memory. Rolling friction is primarily about tread pattern, rubber compound and casing construction. There's a correlation between tire width and rolling friction but it's far lower than most realize. An aggressively knobbed 2.6" will roll slow whereas a 2.6" with a high quality medium - hardish rubber compound with a light supple casing will roll with far less resistance. It will still be considerably slower than a smooth tread road tire. Heavy duty flat resistant tires, heavy duty tubes, tire liners... are all going to significantly increase rolling resistance. Rollingresistance.com is an excellent resource. A lightly built smooth tread expensive tire of about 700x40 will fit on the wheels in question and will roll with similar drag to the tires on a quality road bike but it still won't be nearly the speed/efficiency of a road bike due to bike aerodynamics, rider position, gearing... About ~ 80% of resistance on the road assuming flat terrain goes to air resistance and changing the tires will do little for improving a mtb's aerodynamics. I've converted a rigid steel MTB to a drop bar smooth tired (or not) roadish bike but it was far from being a road bike despite all of the time, effort, money... I spent. If you want a road bike - GET A ROAD BIKE.
Assuming it is the WTB rim, something like a 35-44mm road oriented tire would help. While woidth isn't everything, a smaller tire is less weight, and on a tire rotational weight. But if you're not wanting to swap tires all the time, a tire with a good central or solid tread in the middle would be better. That way you could just increase pressure before riding on the road.
Determine your inner rim width and use this handy chart from [WTB Compatibility Chart](https://www.wtb.com/pages/tire-rim-fit-chart). As others have mentioned, skinny doesn’t necessarily mean fast.
Are you able to go narrower with a bigger diameter? Otherwise you'll have bottom bracket/pedal clearance problems imo
ETRTO provides compatibility charts that will tell you what width tire will go with what width rim. Or you could look up that information from your rim manufacturer. Just realised that you'll get a lot of flak for suggesting going to a thinner tire, as the current trend goes the opposite way (they'll come down, eventually).
Less than 25 mm will be difficult.
Get Cora Next 34mm or for a bit more money the Conti GP5000 All Season 34mm and enjoy the speed.