Chinese 26" tan walls -Innova Pro 'Bobcat' and 'Cross Fit'

[BOBU]

Thanks for those comments Frankenorange, with the cheapo "Bell" Innova's it's the same thing, they quote as being 2" but look skinny. Good to know that they are decent quality/performance though - Cheers!

 

[FluffyChicken]

under 500 grams for a mountain bike tire is pretty good. I would imagine they are fragile. they do look like they'd be great for a drop bar gravel build if they aren't too flat prone.

Not really in the 26" retro world, with the racier 1.95 etc.
only the fat tyred 2.2" got really heavy

Modern schwalbe 2.25 where down at less then 500g before everything fattened up to go Tubeless about 20 years ago.
And then gain weight as they went 650/700 sizes.

 

[BOBU]

I think I'm going to have to buy Maxxis Icon's. They don't have the depth of tread I'd normally want and are expensive but, to get the weight down and keep tan/skin wall they look like the only option right now. Smoke/Dart would have been an option but they are spec'd heavier and sources are dubious right now with some crazy prices too... Any comments on Icon's?

 

[BOBU]

A picture tells a thousand words I suppose....


So, from L to R, Curio Skinwall cruiser tyres, the Bell Innova with boxed in front, the Curio MTB tyre, a single Duro Vantage and a single Tioga Edge. The Duro's came with a frame [the Hawk Hill project, in bits] and ran really well and the Tioga Edge was in with the Bolinas... as padding!

 

[Imlach]

Weight weenies

 

[FluffyChicken]

I think I'm going to have to buy Maxxis Icon's. They don't have the depth of tread I'd normally want and are expensive but, to get the weight down and keep tan/skin wall they look like the only option right now. Smoke/Dart would have been an option but they are spec'd heavier and sources are dubious right now with some crazy prices too... Any comments on Icon's?

Tread = heavier.
The more tread, the more mass there is.

The only way to get tread depth and keep them light is to go narrower, Hence Smoke Lite etc

With modern tyres though (compared to original retro) Old original style Nobby Nics where ace, 2.25" a quality tread on the and where 480-ish grammes, so lighter than old Porcs and PSYCHO-K at 1.95"

I say there where at their best for 26" then back in 2010ish.

 

[dirttorpedo]

Not really in the 26" retro world, with the racier 1.95 etc.
only the fat tyred 2.2" got really heavy

Modern schwalbe 2.25 where down at less then 500g before everything fattened up to go Tubeless about 20 years ago.
And then gain weight as they went 650/700 sizes.

Its funny, BITD I didn't care what my MTB tires weighed - I just wanted good traction in the mud and rain, a reasonable price and some puncture protection. Now I'm always looking at the price to weight ratio.

 

[BOBU]

So I thought I'd report back on this thread. I took the Bolinas out to The Red House bothy last week, from the house which is about 35 miles, 50% road/50% trail. The cheapo Curio's actually did the whole trip very well, good on road and off. They felt a bit twitchy running on raised side-slopes with mud but they never did slip. They were though a hard ride (though I had fairly high tyre pressure) and the Bolinas frame felt very rigid compared with my Team Marin. The roughest parts of the trail ride were very jarring and I was tired at the end.

The Maxxis Icon's arrived today, I went for the 2.2inch version. I've only done a short ride but the extra volume has transformed the ride quality. They went onto some new KTM rims/wheels. The intent is to use this set-up purely for trail work and to use the araya/curio's for pub-biking. This is how it looks now:



The combination of the new wheels and tyres has really dropped some weight and the bike feels much more lively, grip was superb and the bike felt 'floaty'. I'll report back when I've got a better understanding of how the Icon's perform when I get them out to some real stuff. ATB.