Your favorite tire for pavement, dirt and gravel roads

[hmaddox]

Most of my bikepacking will be on dirt and gravel fire roads with a bit of pavement riding to access them. I don't know much about mountain bike tires but I feel like tires similar to the Kenda Small Block 8, Geax AKA, Panaracer Comet, etc. would be best suited for this kind of riding because of their low-profile, closely spaced knobs. Am I correct in my thinking? Any other tire recommendations? I ride a Karate Monkey. Thanks everyone!

[annoying crack]

Any other tire recommendations?

WTB Nano's, WTB Vulpines, Continental Race King,...

For the moment I'm running the Maxxis Ardent tires on my mountainbike and find that they roll pretty well on roads too, for a 'real' mountainbike tire that is. I went on a road overnighter the other weekend and couldn't even be bothered to change them over to the slicks I have laying around, just added some air. Speed is never my priority though...

[bmike-vt]

currently on the vulpines. love em.
will try some nano's this summer.
have the race kings, but prefer the vulpines if the dirt road / gravel mix is high.
race kings if there is more trail.

[mattyp]

i did a tour like that with bontrager xr-1.  i really like those tires for that kind of tour.

[paxton coyote]

have run wtb nanos & exiwolfs since '06 but the continental race kings have won my heart over in the last year

[bartspedden]

I like the Maxxis Crossmarks as thet seem to have a low rolling resistance and still has plenty of meet in the corners.

[Pawel]

I like the Schwalbe Racing Ralphs, especially for 29er. They roll fast!

[Area54]

I'm going to trial a set of the new GEAX Evolutions, as well as the Mezcals, both in a 1.9 for the Fargo. Very quiet, fast tyres.

[jhl99]

Whatever Nashbar has on sale.   

[bartspedden]

Whatever Nashbar has on sale.   

Kinda funny!!! I sometimes forget that the first time that I toured the colorado trail I did it on $25 Michelin's from REI... And to be honest, I loved them!

[Cheyou]

I like the Maxxis Crossmarks as thet seem to have a low rolling resistance and still has plenty of meet in the corners.

I am going use the Crossmarks this summer . Ghetto tubless 26". Hope they last 2600 miles


Thom

[bartspedden]

I am going use the Crossmarks this summer . Ghetto tubless 26". Hope they last 2600 miles


Thom

I would definitely check out the UST version. My UST versions ran flawlessly, but my non UST blistered while using Stan's. It seems like most people don't have this experience, but now I know it's always a possibility.

[Payton MacDonald]

I've just switched over to a WTB Vulpine for my rear tire and I'm running them Stans tubeless at around 45 psi.  I'm mostly doing smoother surfaces, no crazy rocky singletrack although some of that can't be avoided on the East Coast.  So far no problems, though I did read a review on mtbr that some folks have had problems with them blowing off the rim when running tubeless.  Anyone else experience that?

They seem like a great tire for TD, but I don't want them blowing off the rims . . .

[Cheyou]

I would definitely check out the UST version. My UST versions ran flawlessly, but my non UST blistered while using Stan's. It seems like most people don't have this experience, but now I know it's always a possibility.

Got what ever is on sale at blue sky . Just have to work with what ever I get.

[Ultra Magnus]

My favorite tire to date is the IRC Mibro for desert riding, and even better was the Mibro for Marathon.  They seem to be impossible to find anymore though.  I would say their only fault was incompatibility with Stan's sealant.  I tried t anyway, but it resulted in the tire catastrophically blowing off the rim .  But I never found a better tire.  They rolled incredibly fast, had great predictable traction, were very light weight, and I never cut a sidewall once.  In contrast, on my normal XC loop that I rode several times a week at the time, I tried out some Maxxis Larsen's TT's and in ONE RIDE had no fewer than five cuts on the sidewall on the rear tire, and a couple good scrapes on the fornt.  The tube was herniating out of the tire, it was a miracle I made it back to my car.  Those were the worst of weak sidewalls, but every other tire I ever rode ended up with a cut sidewall at one point or another.  No IRC tire I ever rode suffered a cut, and I rode Mibros, Serracs, and Mythos's until the knobs were ripping off.

I'm in a state of tire mourning right now, so I just usually ride whatever scrubs I get handed down from friends who work on race teams or have connections to race teams.  

IRC's bike website is still up, and they show new models, including tubleess ready versions, but I can't find them for sale anywhere.  So, if anyone can figure out from where to purchase them- I'm all ears.

BM

edit:  To the op point of riding on pavement- I bike commuted on the Mibros for about a year.  They rolled very fast on the street-and the low square knobs made for predictable cornering on hard surfaces.  Eventually the center knobs wored down to semi-slick level, which only made them better on the street, and still ok in the dirt.

[hmaddox]

Ultra Magnus, looks like they have some IRC tires over at PricePoint: http://bike-parts.pricepoint.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=irc and you can always type in the model you want in Google and hit the "Shopping" tab on the left--worked for me.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I ended up buying Nanoraptors based on the great reviews they got.

[Ultra Magnus]

Ultra Magnus, looks like they have some IRC tires over at PricePoint: http://bike-parts.pricepoint.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=irc and you can always type in the model you want in Google and hit the "Shopping" tab on the left--worked for me.

but no mibros- 

google shopping only comes up with two hits and neither are the mibro for marathon - https://www.google.com/search?q=irc+mibro&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=irc+mibro&hl=en&safe=active&client=firefox-a&hs=ZGY&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvnsfd&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=C5xfT9LmFufYiQKKw82hBA&ved=0CEMQrQQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=c40207938170aea&biw=1837&bih=1109

BM

[wdlandparker]

I run Vulpines for pretty much everything. Don't think WTB makes em anymore though? I could be wrong, but I was bummed to see they weren't on the website anymore.

[HOser]

I've just switched over to a WTB Vulpine for my rear tire and I'm running them Stans tubeless at around 45 psi... I did read a review on mtbr that some folks have had problems with them blowing off the rim when running tubeless.  Anyone else experience that?

I've used the 29er Vulpine converted to tubeless as a rear tire for a few years now on an Arch rim, lots of miles and many worn out tires, no issues at all.

I run Vulpines for pretty much everything. Don't think WTB makes em anymore though? I could be wrong, but I was bummed to see they weren't on the website anymore.

I observe the same thing and I'm equally bummed, I love this tire.  I don't wee WTB offering it anymore either.  WTF, WTB??

[Blammo]

I would say the Maxxis Ikon, but they Stan's tire sealant rots them from the inside out.  Continental Race Kings or Racing Ralphs are my current favorites for the conditions you describe.  I think I like the Ralphs a bit more on the front and the kings on the  back.