Skinny Off Road Tyres

wehey

Pedelecer
Feb 13, 2014
117
7
53
Hiya all
I currently ride around with 26X1.5 road tyres as they can be pumped up hard and have a low rolling resistance (good for range)

I do take the bike along trails occasionally but want to do more off roading this summer.

Is there a 26X1.5 or similar tyre out there that can handle some off roading and still have the lower rolling resistance on road.

I have a set of Maxis Holly Rollers 26x2.5 which are a great all round tyre but the drag is quite noticeable compared to the 26x1.5's
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
The Land Cruisers aren't impermeable to punctures, but do offer quite a bit of protection these days. I have them on my Oxygen MTB and haven't had a puncture despite using them on x-country bridleways. The central ridge offers low rolling resistance on roads too. I shall be putting them back on the Oxygen very soon to replace the very slow, nasty handling and noisy Schwalbe Ice Spikers.
 

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,446
1,264
Surrey
Hi Wehey I use Specialized Crossroads Armadilo Tyres that are 1.9" wide and have fantastic puncture protection, are good on the road but are quite capable off road.

I commute to and from work usually with between a 14 and 18 mile off road route and then 10 miles home on the road. I put them on on the 5th of January 2017 and they have covered 3038 miles and look like they will last quite a bit longer with more wear on the back than the front as you would expect.
 

Gringo

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 18, 2013
1,346
842
Northampton
I've been bumbling around on land cruisers (700c 38) on my analog bike over the winter and they've been fine in most conditions, I would usually buy tyres with more protection but these were only going to be used for couple of months over the winter and at £16 the pair with free post I thought I'd give them a go.
I'm not dissapointed :cool:
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,917
8,533
61
West Sx RH
Problem I find with 700c O/R tyres is they tend to be skittish on the loose or wet/muddy tracks and the CX ones I have been using haven't been very puncture proof.
I have fitted some new Scwalbe Smart Sam +s now and they are pretty good with nice grip and better puncture resistance.
It is a trade off, you either fit lightweight less puncture resistant faster rolling tyres with little center grip but nice edge grip or heavier knobbly treaded ones with better puncture resistance.
I quite like the skitty tyres on the loose wet stuff but find the lack of puncture resistance a nuisance.
 

BazP

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 8, 2017
358
174
74
Sheffield
Can anyone help with my tyre confusion?
My rims just say ERTRO 584 x 30 (23" I assume) and are fitted with 27.5" x 2.6" Nobby Nics. I recently tried to fit some 28" x 1.75" Land Cruisers. Only 0.5" difference I thought, until they went completely over the rim.
My rims are 23.5" diameter and the Land Cruiser beads are 25.5" diameter.
Obviously the Nobby Nics beads are not 27.5" diameter.
What size Land Cruisers do I need?
 

wehey

Pedelecer
Feb 13, 2014
117
7
53
I have gone for a set of Land Cruisers.
They have good reviews and will be fine for the sort of riding i do
They should be delivered tomorrow along with some slimy inner tubes
 

spanos

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 18, 2011
250
64
I’ve got a conti traffic on at the moment , bought out of necessity rather than a first choice of tyre. I’d have bought smart sams

It’s thinner than I like at 1.9 but I’m impressed with balance between on and off road

No good for true mudplugger stuff but it’s not a bad tyre for the cheap price
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
I notice that Schwalbe now do Land Cruiser & Land Cruiser Plus tyres. I think the difference, apart from £1.50 more in price, is a thicker puncture protection band. My Land Cruisers are coming up for replacement & I'll probably buy the Plusses for the extra reassurance, although I have had a puncture in two years.
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
'...haven't had a puncture in two years' is what I meant to say!
 

DynatechFan

Pedelecer
Oct 20, 2017
215
70
t'North
I run Land Cruiser plus on my commuter - decently fast, very hard wearing but they are heavy and because they are so tough not amazing in terms of grip on wet tarmac. Pretty good off road though.

Honestly having used Land Cruiser plus in both sizes I cant tell the difference between the 1.75 and 2.0 except the latter is slightly more forgiving of pot holes

Not convinced that narrow tyres are any faster than wide (though they are lighter so accelerate nicer and "feel" different) For a while now my mix used tyres have been Mezcal, one of the 'tiny nobble' breed of tyre - seriously fast in anything but mud, the TNT can be a sod to fit mind. Though I know recent reviews suggest you can do better:
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews/vittoria-mezcal-2017
 
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DynatechFan

Pedelecer
Oct 20, 2017
215
70
t'North