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Front Double Duty Tire

1K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  blockphi 
#1 ·
I am asking in here cause you guys are all the coolest....

So my front tire on my old 26er is dead and since I rarely mountain bike anymore, I was wondering if you may have some suggestions as to a good front tire that would pull double duty with some city riding along with some hard pack trail tiding. Don't want to get too crazy on the price because I won't be using it a ton, but I want it functional for some trails and some trailer duty.

Suggestions?
 
#3 ·
I've had the Schwalbe Smart Sam on the front of my hardtail since last year. Schwalbe calls it an "all-rounder", and it's pretty quick on the road but obviously more draggy that something like the Big Apple. I've been really impressed by good it is on dirt though, because I don't really feel like I'm sacrificing very much. I got it because it's available in 2.25, and it's generally a little cheaper than the wtb nano or crossmark.
 
#4 ·
Can you afford $12.99
WTB Vulpine Comp Tire - 26in Free shipping over $50. I bought mine at Nashbar for a similar price.

Good for the road,good for dirt road, good for hardpack, not good for slippery/muddy trails. Lasts a long time on the front. If you were local I'd give you the one I took off when I bought big apples but it would cost more to ship it than they cost.
 
#5 ·
Just about anything with shallow treading in the middle and wide spaced knobs on the sides will be suitable. When I had rails to trails near my commuting path, I used a pair of Bontrager H5 cruiser tires.

Of course, if you are riding only on hardpack, there is no reason not to get something that is more or less a round profile with no/shallow side knobs...they will be harder to balance on, but are better for the road. I liked Maxxis Hookworms for that stuff.
 
#6 ·
I've been riding a set of Continental Mountain King 2.2's recently - the 2012 non-protection version. Picked them up at the local REI for 11.95 each (Not sure how available they are at other REI's or other shops...) My daily commute is 15 miles RT on paved bike trail and my weekend rides are (will be once stuff dries up) on mixed hard pack, loose, loamy soil, mud, mossy tundra. I can't speak to these tires' ability on off road surfaces, having only hit a tiny bit of loose over hardpack to test them, but on pavement they have a low rolling resistance, handle well and seem quite durable.

I've not had any issues of them wanting to wash out on corners even at high speed, and I like knowing that if I decide to ride some ST on my way home from work, they should have the nobbies to handle it with aplomb.

I have also recently tried the 2012 version in a 2.4 inch size, which has a different tread profile and was just a touch too wide for my ride, but as with this older model, the rolling resistance was quite low for a nobby, but the newer version did seem to want to have the sidewall buckle in the curves - likely more from being such a high volume tire and being ridden on pavement.
 
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