I’ve been reading various thread on this topic, and it seems clear that there is a much greater selection with the 26 wheel. My preference however is to buy a 24 Muni (Nimbus with Duro). Do you think there will continue to be a decent selection of tires for a 24 Muni, or will the 24" wheel go the way of the typewriter?
There will always be 24" mountain bike tires for kid’s bikes at least. 24x3.0" is fairly specialized, though.
Yea, I would hate to buy a new 24 and not be able to get a decent tire in the future. I just trying to determine if this is likely to be a problem.
I’d suggest that if you prefer a 24" now, get a 24". Big 24" tires will be around for some time. If/when they’re not you’ll probably be able to switch to something else without too much trouble.
Right now it not an issue, just speculation. I bet when it starts to become a real issue we’ll have a year of posts saying “I can’t find ANY 24 inch muni tires”, only to find half a dozen posts suggesting very reasonable sources. If manufacturing truly ends, there will still be an occasional source popping up, and slightly used tires being sold.
Plus KH will have started manufacturing a full line of muni tires by then. 
26" tyres are in decline, too. Our mountain biking cousins are apparently switching to 29" or even 27.5"
Not really. Certainly there are a lot more 29ers than there used to be, but the vast majority of mountain bikes are still 26".
The new thing is 36" mountain biking, but that’s not going to replace 26" either.
http://www.kloster-neustift.it/de/bildungshaus/aktuelles.html
i wouldn’t not get a uni just because of the tire rarity. Even if your lbs doesn’t have the tire you’re looking for you can order it
Seeing as only kid’s bikes and unicycles are using the 24" wheel size, it may be that kids will save the wheel size, but the tire choices are doomed. I mean really, you can get a Duro 2.6-3" or it’s look alike cousin (Arrow) or you can get a a couple Maxxis DH tires in 2.5-2.7", other than that there only skinny BMX tires.
26" is here to stay unless the 650b becomes a whole lot more popular; 700c is the same as a 29", so a 650b would be ~27". So far 650b is a more uncommon that 29ers, so I think we’re safe 
I just took my 26er for a shake down ride, haven’t ridden 26" much in the past year, mostly rode a 29er and an Oregon (nearly the same diameter as a 29er). What I noticed first off was how much more maneuverable and twitchy the 26er is vs the 29er, it was kinda like riding a big trials uni; I even did some hopping 
You will probably have no problem getting the Duro and Arrow in the short term, they are popular enough and if there was a problem with it being discontinued, QuAx, Nimbus, KH, Torker, et al would together be a big enough buying power to keep the mold warm.
But seriously, I’d just get a 26er, tires really make the ride and to be constrained to a half dozen so-so tires, well that kinda’ stinks. I have more individual models of quality 26er tires hanging in my shed than you can buy for a 24", just saying…
You could get a 26" muni and rebuild it as a 24". If tire supply for the 24" ever became a problem, you could switch back to 26".
It does sound like a pain to switch rims and spokes, but the rest of your nice muni should be fine. You could always just get two different tire sizes and go with whichever one struck your fancy that day.
Scott
I don’t think that the 24" wheel size is going anywhere but 24x3" tires may go the way of the Gazzalodi.
24x3 tires were originally developed for the rear of DH bikes. Since suspension technology has advanced the “big meats” aren’t as necessary and the bike industry seems to have given up on the size in favour of lighter faster 26x2.5ish wheels.
24" is currently making inroads into trials which could be very good thing for unicyclists.
I wouldn’t worry too much about tire availability. Even if all the manufacturers stop making 24x3 tires now you will still be able to find them with a bit of searching for years to come.
On the subject of 26" wheels/tires have no fear. 26 is and will continue to be the most common size for offroad bikes for many years to come.
24*3 Tires
I wrote to the owner of Arrow Racing. He makes a great 24x3 inch tire. He manufactures them in batches of 300 every once in a while. Seems like something that can easily be done by someone else in the Muni world. Besides Muni is gaining in popul;arity so I think that the 24X3 is going to be around for a while.
Another point is that a Duro or Arrow Wide Bite will last you for at least 3 years Even if you ride every day so don’t worry about the tire.
It’s expensive to do a new tire mold, which is why we still don’t have a good 36" tire.
Depends on what you ride; they last a while if you ride on dirt, but if you ride on rocks the Duro wears really quickly.
You could buy a stockpile of 24x3 Muni tires now, and then if you switch to another wheel size, you should be able to sell them easily to other people. If every manufacturer stopped making the 24x3 tires, I expect there will be a lasting demand that will outstrip the remaining supply. Buy a small stockpile now, and when the situation is looking more grim than it is now, buy some more.
Unfortunatley, tires don’t age well, I once bought a NIB Gazz JR and it was dry rotted, couldn’t tell from a cursory look, but when the bead broke on the first ride I knew what had happened.
Molds are expensive and it takes a lot of tire orders to keep one going. The Gazz 3" mold was apparently destroyed, or so the rumor goes, but you never know if someone will come along and remake the mold.
24" Muni is not hardly big enough to support a specialized tire. To say muni is a growth industry is like suggesting that space exploration is on the upswing. We are few, but we are proud.
Bikers are our future, fortunately there are still some DHers who like fat tires or we’d be doomed to riding 2.3 for the rest of our days.
Just get a 26, seriously, you get more bang for your buck in the end.
Dry rot can happen when the tires are improperly stored. If you keep the tires in a relatively cool dry place out of the Sun, they should last. According to this web site, stored tires can last 5 years or longer:
SCHWALBE tires can be stored for up to 5 years without problem, but to attain this they should be stored in a cool, dry, and, most importantly, dark place. When stored properly, even longer storage times may be possible.
I don’t know why you would characterize your single experience as being the general rule rather than the exception.
Coker is our friend
Coker didn’t just make the first 36 tire, they specialize in small runs of obscure tires. Need a front tire for your 1922 Indian motorcycle ? Coker has it. Your Desoto and Studebaker will be shod as finely as your Hudson or Nash.
Even if 24x3 muni tires go the way of the model T, Coker will make a tire if they can sell a few hundred a year.