Best 26" tubeless rear tire for street/trial

[La Bourde]

Hello,

 

 

After experimenting with the Taunus Armor insert, I would like to try a tubeless setup for my rear wheel of my street/trial bike.

What tire do you recommend?

Is an insert required?

My rim is a DT FR 560.

I was considering a Maxxis Ikon or Crossmark II.

With my previous tires. (Tabletop + insert, holy roller), I often had problem with sidewalls getting open, cause I rode with low pressure and regularly on stones.

On my comp bike, I have an old Maxxis DHR tubeless and the sidewalls are much sturdier (two ply). I don't get pinch flat either.

Any recommendations?

[Daan]

I would definitely rate the Ikon above the Crossmark, more grip in the wet. I also liked the Racing Ralph, but unfortunately it didn't last at all under my riding, tore off knobs left and right. Using the Conti Race King Protection now, not bad, but Ikon has more grip.

The Vittoria Barzo or Mezcal are worth a look too. And a bit more knobby, but the Specialized Ground Control could be interesting too, especially if you ride more than just smooth concrete, and can be had for pretty cheap at Bike24.

I ride everything with an insert on the rear btw.

[Sam Song]

How did the Tannus insert work for you?

[La Bourde]

I created a thread to share my experience:

 

I used the version for tubes. Too sum up, I was quite happy with, but there was two major drawbacks:

1. I used a schwalbe tabletop to save some weights (to obtain with the insert a weight similar to the holy roller's one). Due to the stiffness of the insert, I had to reduce the pressure to get a good feeling. Else there was a dead feeling, the bike was like planted in the ground.

But the thin sidewalls did not like this and the tire did not last long.

The tire did also collapse during a manual in a turn, this was somehow difficult to control.

2. Due to the design and the low pressure, a lot of energy is wasted in the tire deformation. It is incredible how slower you get. I completely underestimated this. My bike used to roll as good as my comp bike with its new freewheel and the HS33 rubbing. 

I would like a street/trial bike that rolls well, so that I can go on the pumptrack or just roll :-)

 

[Swoofty]

Sidewalls will be your biggest problem. I use Ikons at the moment and I love 'em, but I'm not tubeless. To keep tires light, the manufacturers rob the sidewalls for weight savings. I love Holy Rollers on my 24" bikes, but the 26" version feels heavy and sluggish compared to the competition (Ikon, Crossmark, Magic Mary etc). The Holy Roller 26 does have a better sidewall than the competition, but nothing like a Der Kaiser which weighs a ton and rolls terribly. I haven't tried the Vittorias or the Specialized tires. 26" street trials is a very small market so I doubt we'll see anybody come out with the perfect tire for us.

[signo97]

i try every single tyre on the market and i end with a continental der kaiser protection 2.4 and i remove 180g of treads, this tyre resist like a continental danny mac i think. it has strong sidewalls and with tubeless you have a bomb proof tyre. The only problem it made my bike way less street oriented because my front tyre it’s still a maxxis and the bike feel less well balanced. But after cut maxxis ikon tan wall and black wall, continental with shield wall and kenda tyres i don’t see another valid alternative.