Vintage Mountain Bike Tires

[ratzkiwatzki]

Can anyone suggest “age appropriate” tires for a vintage mountain bike. I have an '86 Trek 850 Antelope. I have Panaracer Swift Tires on it which I like a lot. But they have protective lining and are subject to puncutres. If anyone has recommendations for 26” x 2” “age appropriate” tread and sidewall design tires with puncture protection, I’d appreciate suggestions. Thanks

 

[Tootyred]

The puncture protection might he an issue, but you cam always add slime tubes...

 

[ratzkiwatzki]

The puncture protection might he an issue, but you cam always add slime tubes...

Ah, thank you. I'll look into that.

 

[27motorhead]

@Tootyred didn’t you have some kid 80s cruiser/MTB tyres for sale? Perfect for an Antelope which was more of a trekking bike . I think @ratzkiwatzki might not be UK based judging by the spelling of tires though.

 

[Tootyred]

I do, but they are pretty old...probably not really great for full on use...

Also, no puncture protection....

 

[27motorhead]

I do, but they are pretty old...probably not really great for full on use...

Also, no puncture protection....

100% agree! Plus if you want true retro tyres (or tires!) in good nick, they cost more than the bikes worth!!!

@ratzkiwatzki I'd be looking at skinwall/tanwall tires with a profile around 2". Tread pattern will depend on what you ride, but I reckon the Antelope would have come with more trekking tires that would have had almost a centre ridge on the tread so help them roll well on the road vs. true knobblies.

These threads should help and if you're in the US, lucky you as you'll have more choice than us in the UK!

https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/26-tan-amber-wall-tires.452585/
AND
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/26-tanwall-tyres.484839/

For puncture resistance you can get thicker tubes, tubes with slime/sealant, tyre liners - there's Lots of choice out there and no doubt some YouTube reviews about the options. Don't let puncture resistance drive your tyre choice as it will limit what you can buy IMHO.

 

[DrDaveTampa]

Favorite vintage tire that's still in production: Panaracer Fire. "Favorite" is a strong word, I don't feel they ride very well, OK off road I guess. Panaracer is still making their Smoke/Dart combo. All of em look the part.

Favorite el cheapo tire: Probably the Moheiga beach cruiser tires off Amazon. Surprisingly not all that bad, and very retro looking.

Favorite urban slick: Maxxis DTH. Glorious tire, not very retro but it looks good and rides awesome. Light, sticky. I accidentally ordered some Box 2 urban slicks, haven't mounted em up yet but they look darn good and are 20 grams lighter and quite a bit less expensive, eager to try em

Favorite gravel tire I can't afford: Probably Rene Herse Humptulips, although Ultradynamico Cava is looking darn good.

You can see, I kinda look at things a little differently, I really dig light sticky tires. The ones I really like all come in tan sidewall, which is "vintage" enough for me

I guess for durability I'd be thinking Schwalbe. I ran 50mm Marathon Plus tires for years, hated em (really sluggish) but I couldn't wear em out. They are also ugly. Their Blackjack is actually a halfway decent hybrid tire, weirdly inexpensive and I think it looks kinda good on a vintage frame. Billy Bonkers is a popular urban tire, competes with the DTH at a fraction of the price

 

[ratzkiwatzki]

100% agree! Plus if you want true retro tyres (or tires!) in good nick, they cost more than the bikes worth!!!

@ratzkiwatzki I'd be looking at skinwall/tanwall tires with a profile around 2". Tread pattern will depend on what you ride, but I reckon the Antelope would have come with more trekking tires that would have had almost a centre ridge on the tread so help them roll well on the road vs. true knobblies.

These threads should help and if you're in the US, lucky you as you'll have more choice than us in the UK!

https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/26-tan-amber-wall-tires.452585/
AND
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/26-tanwall-tyres.484839/

For puncture resistance you can get thicker tubes, tubes with slime/sealant, tyre liners - there's Lots of choice out there and no doubt some YouTube reviews about the options. Don't let puncture resistance drive your tyre choice as it will limit what you can buy IMHO.

Thank you for all the suggestions. Much appreciated.

 

[ratzkiwatzki]

Favorite vintage tire that's still in production: Panaracer Fire. "Favorite" is a strong word, I don't feel they ride very well, OK off road I guess. Panaracer is still making their Smoke/Dart combo. All of em look the part.

Favorite el cheapo tire: Probably the Moheiga beach cruiser tires off Amazon. Surprisingly not all that bad, and very retro looking.

Favorite urban slick: Maxxis DTH. Glorious tire, not very retro but it looks good and rides awesome. Light, sticky. I accidentally ordered some Box 2 urban slicks, haven't mounted em up yet but they look darn good and are 20 grams lighter and quite a bit less expensive, eager to try em

Favorite gravel tire I can't afford: Probably Rene Herse Humptulips, although Ultradynamico Cava is looking darn good.

You can see, I kinda look at things a little differently, I really dig light sticky tires. The ones I really like all come in tan sidewall, which is "vintage" enough for me

I guess for durability I'd be thinking Schwalbe. I ran 50mm Marathon Plus tires for years, hated em (really sluggish) but I couldn't wear em out. They are also ugly. Their Blackjack is actually a halfway decent hybrid tire, weirdly inexpensive and I think it looks kinda good on a vintage frame. Billy Bonkers is a popular urban tire, competes with the DTH at a fraction of the price

Thank you. That's helpful.

 

[JCS]

My favourites. Made by Panaracer. 1.95 tanwall available with black or green tread.