Advice on new tires.

Sander23

Active member
Aug 28, 2020
700
433
Belgium
When I bought my e-mtb in 2018 it original came with nobby nics 2.6". Overall they where great apart from the flats I had from em. I drove them with tubes but had a lot punctures so I eventually switched to continental cross king protection 2.35" tires. These tires are faster then the nics but have a lot less comfort in riding and I had allmost no punctures with them ( tubeless).

I ride a hardtail and noticed a big difference in comfort when the trails or roads( Wich I also drive alot) get some rougher.

How are the new nobby nics compared to the old one? Rolling resistance, puncture proof, etc?

Or at there any other tires you would suggest, I ride a mix of tarmac and trails, don't do crazy jumping and for sure no downhill stuff and I ride the same tire all year round .
I could go back to 2.6" tires if that would help
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,145
4,676
Weymouth
Riding a hardtail on rougher ground can be made much more comfortable using a higher volume tyre...and at a reasonably low pressure. In effect the tyre provides you with some suspension. It does not sound like you need a huge amount of grip for the terrain you ride but you do value lower rolling resistance. So I would say go 2.6 and run tubeless. Select your tyre on the basis it has a relatively close tread pattern and one that has 2 rows of centre knobs fairly closely spaced. Most of the time you are running on that central section of the tyre. Avoid the softest rubber compounds which provide more grip but are slower rolling. Pick a tyre less that 1kg in weight unless you are particularly heavy in which case you may want a slightly stronger construction.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,429
8,676
Lincolnshire, UK
Maxxis Rekon should meet your requirements. I agree with the recco to go for 2.6", tubeless and low pressure.

Disclosure: The Rekons came as standard on my bike and I took them off pdq because the rear tyre had insufficient grip to get me out of a damp hole and the front kept sliding out :)eek:). But come the lockdown and the need to ride miles on tarmac and towpaths to get to where I wanted to ride, then the Rekons came into their own. I am at least 1mph faster on the Rekons than my HRIIs (when it's dry).
 

Sander23

Active member
Aug 28, 2020
700
433
Belgium
20210102_212427.jpg

This is the pattern on my current tire. I do value lower rolling resistance but not to the point where I have absolutely no grip.

The maxxis rekon are fairly expensive. Selling prices at 60-75€ /tire.
Both my continental tires together costed that.
 

mark.ai

E*POWAH Master
Patreon
Jul 10, 2018
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Windermere

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
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Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
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the internet
Decent enough articles but both are pretty irrelevant to what the OP is actually asking.

Yes. Nobby Nics will be fine for the use you describe just inflate them to higher pressures when riding roads and hardpack smooth trails and lower the pressures for proper off road use.
You don't say what wheelsize you're running but if 27.5 then a really cheap option is a Schwalbe smart sam in 2.6"
Smart Sams are a decent XC all rounder and will roll slighty faster but offer a lot less cornering edge grip to the Nobby nics when leant right over in soft/loose conditions. In Schwlbe performance series tyres are fairly long lasting and offer good value at not much more than £20 per tyre. They're fairly lightweight and not the toughest casings but it doesn'tsound like that's really a priority from the description of your riding.
 

Sander23

Active member
Aug 28, 2020
700
433
Belgium
Decent enough articles but both are pretty irrelevant to what the OP is actually asking.

Yes. Nobby Nics will be fine for the use you describe just inflate them to higher pressures when riding roads and hardpack smooth trails and lower the pressures for proper off road use.
You don't say what wheelsize you're running but if 27.5 then a really cheap option is a Schwalbe smart sam in 2.6"
Smart Sams are a decent XC all rounder and will roll slighty faster but offer a lot less cornering edge grip to the Nobby nics when leant right over in soft/loose conditions. In Schwlbe performance series tyres are fairly long lasting and offer good value at not much more than £20 per tyre. They're fairly lightweight and not the toughest casings but it doesn'tsound like that's really a priority from the description of your riding.
My bad! I have 29" wheels 35mm wide
 

Patchinko

Active member
Aug 14, 2020
77
151
S.W hants
+1 for Smart Sam's. My wife's hardtail emtb came with them (29 × 2.6).
When we ride together her battery always lasts much better than mine. I have Nobby Nics on my bike and am a fair bit heavier though.
They also seem to offer good grip when the trail gets muddy and steep.
 

Sander23

Active member
Aug 28, 2020
700
433
Belgium
+1 for Smart Sam's. My wife's hardtail emtb came with them (29 × 2.6).
When we ride together her battery always lasts much better than mine. I have Nobby Nics on my bike and am a fair bit heavier though.
They also seem to offer good grip when the trail gets muddy and steep.
Thx I'll look into those to
 

Sander23

Active member
Aug 28, 2020
700
433
Belgium
So I was looking at the differences in tires.
So the cross Kings protection 2.3" that I run now have a weight of 755 gr and have a tpi of 3/180? While most tires that's I've come across have 60 or 120 tpi. What's the difference of 3/180 tpi vs a 60 or 120 tpi?
 

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