Entry level knobblies for WA gravel

[Mububban]

I'm planning to take my young son up to the Kalamunda mountain bike kids section. He's got a little MTB with knobbly tyres but my 2003 26" MTB currently has fairly smooth treaded 1.95" tyres on it (Specialized Hemisphere) for commuting:



Reckon this tread will be okay for the green trails and pumptrack etc?

I haven't ridden on pea gravel for about 20 years

[dmwill]

The Maxxis Crossmark used to be a favorite for most XCers a number of years ago for pea gravel.

The cornering tread is what you really need to count on with pea gravel.

Still available in 26", standard wire bead for under $30 online.

[Mububban]

The Maxxis Crossmark used to be a favorite for most XCers a number of years ago for pea gravel.

The cornering tread is what you really need to count on with pea gravel.

Cheers, I appreciate the advice. Maxxis seem very well recommended.

I got given a variety of old used 26" tyres by someone on the weekend:




From left to right, they are:
1 - Bontrager XR3 team issue
2 - Michelin Wild Grip'r 2.0
3 - Maxxis Ikon 2.2
4 - Maxxis Ignitor tubeless 2.35
5 - Maxxis Ardent 2.25
6 - Bontrager XR3 expert 
7 - Bontrager XR4 Expert 2.35

2, 3, 4 and 7 have good grip remaining.

1, 5 and 6 are pretty worn down.

Are the different tread patterns designed for front and rear wheels, or does it not matter?
I've read some people use wider tyres at the front and narrower at the rear?

[dmwill]

Yep, wider up front. You'll want the aggressive tread on the edges on the front to provide good cornering grip, or the front will just slip out when cornering.

I currently run an Ardent up front, Ikon at the rear.

Ignitor is pretty good too. Heavy tyre, but I'm guessing that would be the least of your concerns.

[Mububban]

What's the limit of my rims?

My rims are labelled 26" x 1.5/1.75, but my current commuting tyre is a 1.95 and they've been on for years. How wide can I safely go?

[Duck!]

Out of that lot I'd suggest the Ignotor, Ardent or Bonty XR4 up front; the wider-spaced tread knobs will bite the looser stuff a bit better. The finer treads - Ikon & Bonty XR3s are better suited to the rear, because you can catch a rear slide better than a front one. The Michelin's tread would be OK for the front, but it's a tad narrow.

Your rims will be fine with the 2.3s, most MTB tyres are designed around a 21-ish mm inner rim width, so they're supposed to bag out. Frame clearance would potentially be your bigger issue.

[Mububban]

Thanks everyone. After learning a bit about road bikes, I'm now back to square one learning about modern mountain biking All information gladly received.