I have the Ardent 26" in a 2.4 and 2.6, prefer the 2.4 for weight, but they seem to ride very similar. That center ridge is high and wears down in time, but it wasn’t really problem, just need to run lower pressure and a thick tube. I use 16-18psi and a 3" DH tube
In terms of tires for off road use, there’s a big difference between something like the Gazz or Duro than an Ardent, not only in overall size but in ride feel, traction, and durability. Like Aric found with that thin sidewall Vred, mtb tires are often built lightweight, which may work fine for our two wheeled cousins who typically run high psi, but can suck for muni.
Finding a tire than matches muni demands while at the same time being lightweight, that’s a tough one.
I find that I need to have more than one muni, each set up for a different kind of riding, that way I can choose my tire based on conditions. So the Ardent is my XC tire, the Larry is my mud and snow tire, and if I had a Duro it would be a crossover/tech tire.
I have new koxx muni in stock with Kenda Nevegal 2.5.
the tire is good looking did anyone test it?
http://kendatire.com/en/home/bicycle/mountain/nevegal.aspx
http://ridetriton.com/products/Unicycles/Koxx-one-Track-Monster-24-inkl-Bremse.html
by the way… thanks to Eric,
and all the other for excellent test reviews!
Hutchinson Barracuda UST 26X2.35
on a N26 rim it measured out to 2.52 wide.
Pros:
lighter than a Duro and Bontager Earl
Rolls fast
Nice side walls
2 for FREE
Cons:
not so good in mud (not suprised)
not alot of volume
very picky on air pressure
EDIT: any one try a bontager earl DH tire. I am deciding if to sell it because it feels CHEAP.
thin side walls. hard rubber.
So for christmas this year I got 3 new tyres 
I got a 2.5 Maxxis Wetscream, 2.6 Maxxis Ardent and a 2.4 Continental Rubber Queen The two maxxis tyres are super tacky and all of em’ are wire bead!
So as I try them I’ll let you guys and gals know how I like them 
Stats about me
- Weight: 65kgs
- height: 6’ 1.5’’
- roller or hopper? both
- age: 16
- muni abilty: somewhere inbetween intermediate to advanced
My first impressions of the Rubber Queen:
This tyre was cheap! At 40 NZ dollars.
Firstly before riding this tyre I noticed that it has quite a different type of rubber to all tyres I’ve felt (including a slow reezay 2.7 Highroller which I previously had on my muni). The rubber is harder than the maxxis tyres (ST and SR compounds) and it left my fingers felling kinda oily?
The version of the RQ I have is the cheaper wire beaded version without ‘Black Chilli’ rubber, it is lightweight at the clamed ~1050grams!
Custom Kris Holm 26’’ muni with RQ fitted:
When it came to mounting the tyre it was the easyiest tyre to mount out of a Highroller and Gazzaloddi which didn’t realy supprise me. It doesn’t have as tight a fit as those two do, which was nice for mounting.
The inner tube I have on there is a lightweightish one, a specialized 2.3-3.0 tube. I ran the tyre at about 25psi. So far I’ve only rode on this tyre for about 30 minutes.
The tyre seems to absorb bumps better than the 2.7 Highroller I had on previously, but it doesn’t seem to like going straight over roots, it seems to twist the unicycle to either side a bit. Where as with the high roller it was easier to ride in a straight line over roots. Grip is good although the dirt that I was testing it on was mostly dry. The RQ seems to have more rolling resistance but it still rolls pretty well. The RQ makes more noise with the ground and twigs than my high roller did. Also the tyre seems more bouncy than the HR.
After ~30 minutes of riding I measured the RQ with a caliper and the casing measured to 61mm (2.4’’) mounted on a 47mm wide KH freeride rim at about 25psi. The casing width is wider than the tread width btw.
Tyre clearance:
One thing I find odd is that 3/4 of the tyre has criss cross reinforcing on the sidewalls and a 1/4 of the tyre on both sides at the same place does not. I’m guessing it has something to do with the writting on the rubber there.
You can see in this picture:
So far I like this tyre and it seems like a great tyre for $40 NZ. From very limited experiences on road and footpath at ~25psi it doesn’t go very well, which is important for me as a local riding desitination is about 1km away by road. I think it would perform better on the road at a higher psi, but I can’t be bothered pumping it up atm!
Put a 2.6 super tacky Ardent on my 26’’ muni before I went to Wellington for a holiday Had a couple of realy great muni rides there and a street ride I’ve proberly done about 7.5 hours of riding on this tyre so far.
At first for a short while I found the tyre very odd because of the high centre tread but after a little while I got use to that and now I love this tyre Rolls well, not as fast as a 2.7 slow rezzay high roller though, grip is realy good, haven’t tested it out in mud yet… but I think this is a great tyre
I’m going to purchase the first 26" Oracle (New Nimbus MUni pre-fitted with disc brake hub) off the April container. UDC has always stocked the 3" Duro on the 26" MUni. If that is still the case, I will be asking Josh to customize mine with a Maxxis Ardent 26x2.6" (with kevlar folding bead) tire but I want to make sure I am asking for the right thing (am I saying that right?). I guess I could just tell him to use the same one that Kris Holm offers as stock on his 26er.
I have read this thread in it’s entirety as well as the short lived 26" MUni tire discussion thread. I’m convinced some of the info is outdated. For example, I was all set to use a WTB Stout 2.3" but I think they have been discontinued.
Does anyone have a better suggestion for what tire to use on my new 26er?
A little about myself. Beginner at MUni riding mostly non-technical trails (deep in the woods so lots of roots) up and down a lot of hills but no drops bigger than a stair step. I am 5’10" and weigh 165lbs. I’m 43 years old trying to get my young kids into riding mountain b*kes on the miles of beautiful single track in my area. Speed is of little importance to me right now but I might end up with a 29x2.4" XC machine (when they get older/faster) so I’m really looking for a 26" tire very different from the 29x2.4" and perhaps rides more like a 24x3" without all the weight.
I guess I plan to use 3" DH tube (I’m no mechanic so the high maintenance of tubeless is out of the question as is the FOSS clear tube I run in my 36ers) for reliability.
It sounds like you want the highest volume 26" tire you can get while staying under the weight of a 24x3 Duro (mine weighed 3.5 lbs). A lot of tires fit in this range. At one end of the spectrum there are lightweight but decent volume tires like the Vredestein Black Panther. At the other end are heavier DH tires like the Kenda Nevegal 2.7. In between are tires like the Continental Rubber Queen/Trail King 2.4, Continental Der Kaiser 2.5, Kenda Nevegal 2.5, Maxis Ardent 2.4/2.6. Adding more variability is the fact that you can run a heavier DH tube to beef up a lighter tire, and a lighter tube to save weight with a heavier tire.
Since you are trying to get closer to the feel of a 24x3 you’ll might want something towards the heavier end of the mid-weight range: Kenda Nevegal 2.5, Continental Der Kaiser 2.5, Maxis Ardent 2.6.
The kevlar folding bead Ardent is 2.4, 850gm
The wire bead Ardent is 2.6, 1400gm
The 2.6 is $12 at Cambria/Performance Bike, get the 3D sticky rubber.
The 2.6 is only slightly larger than the 2.4 and “may” have a thicker sidewall, but it’s quite a bit heavier, but the price is right
I was using a thicker DH tube, Maxxis and Duro 1.4mm (450 gm), but have recently switched all of my tubes to a Maxxis Freeride 1.2 mm (350gm) to save weight and I have not noticed much difference; 1.2 mm is still plenty thick.
The Duro 3" is ~1500gm, so you won’t save much weight going to the Ardent 2.6 wire bead, but I think the Ardent rides better than the Duro in both speed and resistance, so faster and less tiring, but the Duro has more volume.
It’s not a bad thing to have a Duro 3" hanging around the house, so maybe keep it and get one of those discounted Ardents?
What about crank length and crank choice?
Some tires work great in some areas but not in others. I think if I were you I would just look for a tire aimed at the “all mountain” mountain biking crowd. Something a bit heavier duty than the light XC tires but not as heavy as full on DH tires.
I tried the wire bead Ardent 26x2.6 for a short stint and ended up giving it away since I didn’t like how the raised centre tread made it handle. Many other people use it and have no problem.
I love my 50mm rim with a Vredestein Bull Lock combo for most stuff but was getting a pinch flat every other ride when riding around sharp rocks, so it obviously was not suited to that…
My Duro 24 x 3" is 1750 gram, I had it on the scale.
Here in Europe Schwalbe tires are populair among MTB ers.
They are mostly true to their claimed width, and light.
If you want good grip, choose the Fat Albert or Big Betty . both are around 800 gram.
That describes me precisely. I’m short and light but the trails in my area have lots of roots. The smoothest 10% might qualify as XC so I do need some volume and roll-over ability.
This is probably a stupid question but Schwalbe makes two (front & rear version) Fat Albert tyres. I assume uni would use rear for the reliable power transfer. I’d probably lean towards the Big Betty any way for the durability. They are $90 but money is no object as I might have my LBS do the switch (from a presumable Duro 26x3) so I don’t plan on doing a lot of experimenting.
Good point. I had not thought of that. Then again, I’m not one to risk a flat. Reliability is key. Ben suggested the Maxxis Freeride 1.2 mm (350gm) tube. I’ll order one of those.
I do like the looks of that Continental 26 x 2.5 Der Kaiser (not to be confused with the Dan Baron). Also, my research shows the Kenda Nevegal to be 26 X 2.35 rather than 2.5 but I’m new at this. This tire shopping is loads of fun. I’m so glad I decided against a 24". 
Tire shopping is loads of fun, yes, but i stayed by my Duro 3". Only exchanged the tube from the Duro to something lighter (Schwalbe 3"), in combination with the lighter pedals the uni lost about 500g. (Yes, i know, only beginners need that, professionals can ride anything).
It helped to make riding the 26" even more fun.
Greetings
Byc
What do you guys think of this (the Michelin Wild Grip’R Descent Technology Heavy Duty 26X2.6) tire? It’s the one that UDC is currently stocking on the KH26. Kris’s website shows his KH26 with a WTB Stout 26x2.3. Those are my top two choices so far. I put a lot of credence in what these guys suggest. I’ll ride pretty much what Josh tells me. He has not steered (pardon the pun) me wrong yet.
There’s a few “standard spec” tires out there on the KH26. Original spec was the Stout 26x2.3, which is still in stock in a few places. Then the Ardent 26x2.6. This has become essentially unavailable so will be re-spec’d again in future (note that there’s some differences in what’s available in Taiwan versus what you’ll find in a retail environment). Some importers of the KH26 have also been importing KH components and assembling them locally, so you’ll see some local varations on what tire is offered with the KH26. I’m currently running a Maxxis High Roller 26x2.5 and am really liking it. But ultimately I think there’s some big differences in what’s “best” depending on your body size, riding style, skill level, and priorities.
Kris
Thanks Kris! I will put the Maxxis High Roller on my short list of possible candidates for my soon-to-be-purchased 26" Nimbus Oracle (Unless, of course you announce a new kit that comes with a disc brake fitted “straight out of the box” before April;))
I have been using the ardent 26 x 2.4 on my G26er, an love it! I chose the folding bead to reduce the already heavy wheel weight, due mostly to the hub. It is surprisingly stable on drops and the traction is great. Love this tire but I do want to test the high roller, which also looks good.
Hmmm… I’ll have to read over this tread carefully, lots of informative posts in the last few days.
I’ve read bits and pieces of tire threads and it seems like tires are constantly phasing out of production. My concern is that the duro wildlife won’t be in production or otherwise available by the time my 26x3 wears out.
I’m sure a part of it is inexperience on my part, I simply don’t know what I’m missing because I’ve ridden 3 different tires, but the duro wildlife tire was an awesome step up for me when I first got a hold of one. For me it’s the volume more than anything. Anyway, I’ve kept an eye out for a duro wildlife on udc, they’ve been out of stock for a while - which got me thinking about the possibility of not being able to replace it one day.
I’ll have to re-scour the thread for good replacement ideas. BTW, one of the other tires I have experience with is the 700c WTB Stout. I haven’t gotten brave enough to take my 29er into the woods and part of that is because I don’t feel like that tire has enough volume to ride low pressure. It looks like a skinny baby compared to the duro.
I think the High Roller and Ardent use the same casings for their respective styles, folding, 3C, wire bead, in which case it’s the tread pattern that makes them different. Maybe someone who has both could chime in? The High Roller does come in a 2.7 which might be nice though it’s as heavy as a Duro
The Ardent 2.6/2.4 is smaller than the Duro by enough to notice, but it is still a good sized tire. The 2.6 wire bead can be had for $12 at Cambria/Performance bikes, get one and try it, the price is too good to pass up!
I’s like a bigger tire for my 29er, a High Roller 2.7 would be interesting
Hey, look at that, the High Roller also comes in a 24 x 2.7!