Looking for Tyre Advice for 26" Wheels Fully Rigid MTB

hookooekoo

Senior Retro Guru
I've only ridden road bikes for a long time, so I'm a bit clueless about MTB tyres.

My project has been very slow in completion (got distracted by paragliding for several years). A long time ago I built two new wheels and bought two Maxxis Medusa tyres. These are 26" x 2.1" and are fitted to 27mm wide ceramic rims.

I'm not a heavy rider, so I can probably get away with 2.1" wide tyres front and rear. However, I'm now thinking of my comfort, and that 2.1" might be a bit too narrow for a fully rigid bike, especially on the front. I'll be riding in Yorkshire, so I'm expecting some fairly rocky trails sometimes, although given my total lack of suspension I'll aim to stay away from any really rough trails.

Should I keep the 2.1" Maxxis Medusa on the rear, and fit something wider like a Maxxis Minion DHF on the front, which would be 2.5" wide and give me a bit more shock absorption?


P.S. If anyone wants my recommendations for 700C road bike tyres then just ask.
 
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Good choices. Yes go wide and big, but you need 30-35mm internal rims so to so, or you will get squirrely handling. It's not fatal, but it can be a pain. I have been mtb-ing since the 80's, and have used KB's narrow re-rolled road rims right through to the new 35mm rims. Nothing above that yet, but am toying with experimenting with 45mm internal and 'plus' tyres, although the reviews are rather sceptical of the benefits once you get above 35mm. For sure, a 2.35 Hand Dampf or Magic Mary up front makes for a fantastic front end. Interestingly I have just bought a 2.5 26 DHR to go up front on a 30mm internal rim on my latest COTIC build. Should be fun. But on a full rigid, wide rims and big tyres are a Very Good Idea - better handling, better comfort, better rolling resistance. All good.
 
Thanks for your reply.

I took one tyre off to check the internal rim width. Unfortunately although the external width is 27mm, the internal width is only 21mm. According to this tyre/rim width compatibility table, my tyre width limit is about 2.3".

https://www.lightbicycle.com/newsletter ... e-rim.html

I might try a 2.25" or 2.35" Magic Mary or a 2.3" Minion on the front, and leave the 2.1" Medusa on the back.
 
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I've just put new tyres on my wifes 92 rocky mountain. They are 2.1" because with the newly fitted vbrakes on, nothing wider would fit. It's tight as a gnats chuff. Just something to consider if its an older frame. I cant remember ever running anything wider than 2.1" back in the early 90's, I think we mostly ran 1.9's from panaracer.
 
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MartinYorkshire":hv9k6902 said:
I've just put new tyres on my wifes 92 rocky mountain. They are 2.1" because with the newly fitted vbrakes on, nothing wider would fit. It's tight as a gnats chuff. Just something to consider if its an older frame. I cant remember ever running anything wider than 2.1" back in the early 90's, I think we mostly ran 1.9's from panaracer.
Cantilevers on mine, so clearance should be OK. I remember the Panaracers well. I rode on the Panaracer Smoke Lite for a while in the 90s, which I think was only 1.9" wide rather than the full width standard Smoke which was 2.1" wide. Just checked and they're still making them all these years later.
 
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hookooekoo":1w95qyvz said:
MartinYorkshire":1w95qyvz said:
I've just put new tyres on my wifes 92 rocky mountain. They are 2.1" because with the newly fitted vbrakes on, nothing wider would fit. It's tight as a gnats chuff. Just something to consider if its an older frame. I cant remember ever running anything wider than 2.1" back in the early 90's, I think we mostly ran 1.9's from panaracer.
Cantilevers on mine, so clearance should be OK. I remember the Panaracers well. I rode on the Panaracer Smoke Lite for a while in the 90s, which I think was only 1.9" wide rather than the full width standard Smoke which was 2.1" wide. Just checked and they're still making them all these years later.

Aye with canti's you'll fit em. Where abouts in Yorkshire are you roughly? I'm on the east side of Leeds.
 
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MartinYorkshire":13jzwt9q said:
Aye with canti's you'll fit em. Where abouts in Yorkshire are you roughly? I'm on the east side of Leeds.
Leeds. I'm hoping to do some rides in the Dales when the trails dry out in a few months time*. Ingleborough is on my to do list, for the simple reason that it's the only one of the three peaks with a bridleway all the way to the top.

* Assuming that Johnson, Hancock and SAGE ever let us out again.
 
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