26" On/Off Road Tyres

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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Drake
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Joined: 19 Apr 2012, 9:01am

26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by Drake »

I know that multi functional things can sometimes be a compromise.
So i was wondering, from your experiences, what tyre would you recommend.
At the moment i'm running two mtb's . . one equipted with cheap knobbly off road tyres, and the other with Schawlbe "Landcruisers".
I quite like the "Landcruisers", but wondered if there was, in your opinions, something better.
My rides these days consist mainly of on/off road surfaces.
Oh and yes, i prefere 1.95" tyres .
Manythanks in advance.
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by Brucey »

land cruisers are fine (good value for what they do) but some people merrily tackle bridlepaths etc using tyres with a lot less tread than that, and those tyres can be a lot quicker on the road. It is all a matter of personal preference really.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
francovendee
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by francovendee »

I've been using Land cruisers for 6 months and so far I'm very pleased with them apart from their ability to get stones stuck in the tread when new. Much better now with 2000 miles on them. I've still to find out what they're like on wet muddy paths in the winter.
graymee
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by graymee »

I've used Landcruisers for years and think they're good value for money and a good compromise for what I use them for. I've also used Continental double Fighter II.

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/doub ... AkM38P8HAQ

They're also good value but not as capable off road. Schwalbe do a very similar tyre the Furious Fred but it's a lot more expensive.
I'm not old and cynical, I'm realistic!
Galloper
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by Galloper »

I've used these for several years on a multi purpose mtb, roads and a mixture of cycle paths. They roll well on tarmac and are very good on hard pack trails. And at a tenner each, outstanding value.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/easy-rider-m ... 47566.html
Drake
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by Drake »

Manythanks for your replies. Some good tyre deals there.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Something like land cruisers with a solid middle tread (continuous rubber not blocks) in my experience fair well for speed on road.
I have not tried land cruisers yet but price is keen on say a conti Town & Country.

Off road capability (block pattern with solid centre tread) is far better than most would lead you to believe, even in several inches of thick mud old style conti Travelmasters are very good.

Only continuous mud or downhill racers need full block pattern, took me a long time realise that.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
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sreten
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by sreten »

Hi,

A somewhat loaded question as it not clear what the question is.
Yes, there are better tyres than the LandCruiser for road use.

These in 26" x 1.85" reflex are much better road tyres in the log run :
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mich ... -prod69985

Running two bikes your not clear about the separate use.

rgds, sreten.
mfitzy
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Joined: 20 Sep 2013, 1:52pm

Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by mfitzy »

My commute is a mix of on and off road. I'm currently running marathon supremes. However it'll be back to the landcruisers come the Autumn. Just wish Schwalbe would make a lighter, more puncture resistant version with this thread. Reflective side walls would also be a big bonus for the winter commuting.

If you want a better performing road tyre with some off road capability have a look at the 26" touring tyres like the marathons or continental travel contacts.
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squeaker
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by squeaker »

graymee wrote:I've also used Continental double Fighter II.

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/doub ... AkM38P8HAQ

They're also good value but not as capable off road.
IME such semi-slicks do not work on wet grass (on the front wheel) - you have been warned :wink:
"42"
Drake
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by Drake »

sreten wrote:Hi,

A somewhat loaded question as it not clear what the question is.
Yes, there are better tyres than the LandCruiser for road use.

These in 26" x 1.85" reflex are much better road tyres in the log run :
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mich ... -prod69985

Running two bikes your not clear about the separate use.

rgds, sreten.

Ok, i will clarify.
I have two mtb's.
One is equipped with "Landcruisers". This machine is used mainly on road surfaces, and the occasional short off road.
The other machine is equipped with bog standard mtb knobbly tyres. This machine is used mainiy off road, and quite a lot of the surfaces it copes with is loose gravel, chalk and flint.
The tyres on the off road machine were cheap, but so far are standing up to the punishment they receive quite well.
Because i have a 3.5 mile journey on a road surface before i start off road, the knobbly tyres seem to have a lot drag.
The on road machine came originally with cheap knobbly tyres. These wear rate of these tyres was poor and soon showed signs of cracking.
These i replaced with "Landcruisers", which improved the on road performance by quite a lot.
Because i quite like the performance of the "Landcruisers" on the on road bike, i was thinking of fitting them to the off road machine.
So the question is . . how would "Landcruisers" stand up to the off road surfaces that i'm currently riding . . also bearing in mind that winter is approaching, which will bring wet weather and muddy tracks .
So perhaps the tyres i'm looking for don't exist, but if they do, then peeps on this forum will know.
There is a foot note to all of this.
Got into conversation with an elderly gent on Sun who used to off road quite a lot. His mtb was equipt with good quality slick tyres. He couldn't see the point of knobblies in the dry. But he did have identcal wheels at home equipt with knobblies. He used to check the weather before riding and equip accordingly.
His theory was that in the dry and on loose surfaces, knbblies performed no better than slicks.
Not so sure myself, but seemed to work for him.
sreten
Posts: 347
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by sreten »

Hi,

It would seem a sensible move to put the LandCruisers on the off
road bike and better road tyres on the on road bike, like the City's.

Especially as you say the off road tyres are nothing special,
quite likely the LC's will hold up very well against them.

As it is the LC's are designed for exactly your situation,
some on road as well as mainly being used off road.

They are better road tyres than knobblies but are
not good road tyres at all for mainly on road use.

rgds, sreten.
karlt
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by karlt »

Depends how "off road" your "off road" bit is. I rode sections of the Cinder Track between Robin Hoods Bay and Whitby on Cityjets, which are probably as near baby's backside slick as you'll get on a 26" tyre. I'd go with them if it's a firm surface. Not so good on mud.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Knobblies are only useful for deep mud / soft snow and powering across a soden grass meadow on a M/cycle.
Knobblies are useless for smooth rock face, wet tarmac, ice, some road markings and green mould. Motor cycles lots of drift on smooth surfaces.
In the DRY - knobblies will slow you down on off road but will give you a softer ride off road.
In the DRY - all you need is semi slicks preferably with solid centre tread so road speed will be better and off road grip will not be compromised.
In the WET - a semi slick will still give best all round performance.

How often will you stay on bike in deep mud :?: Even then a semi slick will grip.

Conclusion - Knobblies are not needed unless you are doing something extreme.

Any off road Semi Slick all year round.

A true slick / road tyre will give you about a 1 MPH maybe 1.5 MPH advantage flat out....................................
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
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Farawayvisions
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Re: 26" On/Off Road Tyres

Post by Farawayvisions »

I agree with Natural Ankling mostly. Not much need for knobblies since I switched to Marathon Mondials. I swapped them in December 2013 for a trip to Morocco (dry, dusty and rocky) and figured they were so good all round I'd keep them on. There have been a few wet and muddy times I wish I'd had the knobblies but truth is the mud was so deep I'd probably have pushed anyway.
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