pick a 29er tire for me
 

I'm much more a road guy than mtb guy so I need some help. The Bontrager's on my Fisher X-Cal hardtail 29er from years bygone are about done. This bike has been at my son's for kid trailer duty. I'm heading to Michigan's UP for a long weekend and thought this would be a better bike to take than my Pugsley Ops fattie.

What tires would you recommend for riding the trails in the Marquette area?

what's the terrain like?
rocky, muddy, hardpack, loose, roots, etc.
knowing that and weather will go a long way for tire choice

Good question, and two thoughts from me.

First, I'm looking for more of an all-arounder tire; just happen to be going to this area and was hoping some on the forum would know the terrain and have recommendations. It's a lot of mixed terrain, some glacial rock and rock gardens but not Moab-type rock riding. Some sand (big dunes on the Noquemenon trail but I'm not riding that this weekend). Don't expect a lot of mud

Second, having said all that, really looking for a general purpose all-around set that isn't specific to only one or two types of trails.

Hope that's helpful.

oh, one other note: older wheels, running with tubes vs looking for tubeless specific. I could try tubeless on these wheels I suppose, but haven't gone down that path and not sure I want to do so for a bike that will get infrequent use.

1) give another thought to tubeless - mtb is sooo much better on tubeless.

2) get the widest tire that will fit in your frame/fork. volume is awesome

3) for what you are describing, something like ardent/ikon or bonty xr4/xr3 or nobby nics (front/rear) are a nice mix of fast rolling and hookup in the turns. I've really been liking the bonty tires as of late, especially the 2.6 xr4

Schwalbe BIG ONE 2.35.
So darn nice.

One of my bikes (Top Fuel 9.9: se vende) has 2.35 Vittorias on it. Work great. I don't have the name in front of me, but its a pair of Ft/RR specific tires.

The rigid Superfly has an XR2 in the back and an XR3 in the front and that works great till there's mud. The back gets almost no traction in the mud.

The Ritchey P650b has Maxxis tires (1 step knobbier than the Ardent) and that works great too

The Niner SIR 9 has XR1/XR2 combo 'cause that's what came off the Top Fuel. Work great in the dry. Roll nicely. Need a bit more volume than the 2.0s cause rigid and small tires aren't as nice as rigid and big tires

M

Never ridden out there. But my recommendations:

If it's hardpack and you want better RR - Ikon 2.35 front, Ikon 2.2 rear

For chunkier trails - Ardent 2.4 front, and either Ardent Race 2.2 or Ikon 2.2/2.35 rear.

Having said that, look into getting a 29er wheelset built for your Pugsley. I have Rabbit Hole rims and 29 Plus tires. Fun ride.

mtb tread choice is much more involved than road tires where (let's be honest) they all pretty much grip the same.

for what you're looking for, i'd go with open-ish tread, med height tapered lugs. at 29" tire weight differences can be significant, like double, or even triple at the extremes. for this, lower weight > aggressive tread or tougher sidewalls.

i'd go with schwalbe nobby nics. very good in most, but doesn't rule any. only really sucks on slickrock, sucks a little less in mud. pretty great in nearly all other trail conditions. pavement will wear down the lugs pretty quick on any tire tho, so if you plan on any cafe runs, you could consider the maxxis crossmark with semi continuous center.

only thing i'd avoid completely are do-it-all tires that do so with low profile lugs. i've found they're pretty useless in any trail condition other than pristine hardpack.

volume is good, tubeless is gooder. but not that big a deal to use tubes unless you ride in thorn infested trails.

Ardent or Ardent Race, or a combo with Race on the rear and reg Ardent on the front.

Hard to imagine a scenario where this combo wouldn't be effective.

Schwalbe Nobby Nic. Great in all conditions, except maybe mud.

Bontrager XR2 or 3 Team issue - 29x 2.2 $54.95 my son and I have been racing these for a few seasons, no complaints and easy to get for cheap-

Thanks all! We'll likely go nobby nics or bontrager.

Interesting though ok a set of 29ers for the pugs. I'm hesitant to build a set of wheels for a frame with outdated specs compared to current through axles as they not be something I could use on a different bike....

I will tell you that the older NN's tend to weep sealant after 400-500 miles, but the newer ADDIX tires are totally solid, with improved wear/traction and sidewall sealant resistance. As a side benefit, they seal up very easy with minimal issues.

Terrene Mcfly
 

I run a 2.8 but thats what my frame allows
Biggger is better in the plus category IMO

Anyway the Mcfly was made for MTB Bikepacking
So I am sure that covers all around tire

They'er light and still give decent grip
Im sure they make other sizes as well

As others have said, I'm in the Maxxis Ardent camp. I typically run 29 x 2.4 front and rear. They seem to roll reasonably fast and grip pretty well. I've never been a fan of going with a narrower tire on the rear because I'm a sit -and-spin uphill guy and appreciate the extra cushion on bumpy uphills. An Ikon rear would be faster rolling in the back, when you don't need the extra grip.