The "official" Muni Tyre Review Page

Unicycles and Equipment
123

I likewise scored an NIB Gazz Jr and had the same problem. I think as the tires have gotten old, the casing has weakened. I won’t buy an old tire again.

Now looking at the Intense Intruder 2.5-2.7

My son rides my 24 x 3" Intense DH and it is the best tire I have ever ridden, only I want to run something a tad lighter and narrower, so I’m hoping the 2.7will be as good as the Gazz Jr.

I’m 200# and I think that the tire reviewers sometimes fail to take into account the different ride characteristics of tires based on rider weight. I am trying out a Conti Diesel, which has sticky tread and a nice pattern, but being single ply it just doesn’t have the support for my weight. Running higher pressures makes it more supporive, but then it rides hard and bounces off obstacles.

I think two ply is the way to go for bigger rides or folks dropping big stuff. Too bad those kind of tires are falling to the way side :frowning:

124

Im gonna have to say the best 24" tire ever built was the Nokian Gazzaloddi I beat the living poop out of mine on the North Shore and in Moab and it never failed even one of the tires I had about 10% tread left on never let me down.

125

Two high volume featherweights

I tried out a couple new tires last night which I had great hopes for. Both tires are really light and fairly wide. Here are my preliminary reviews.

Vredestein Bull Lock 26x2.35


I bought this tire based on the advice given to someone else looking for a high volume tire under 1000g for riding a bike on snowmobile trails. He was told that they were in the 660g range and measured as wide as some 2.7s

My tire weighs in at 680g and is 62mm (2.44") wide at the casing. That is a whopping 990g lighter than my Gazz, talk about loosing weight in a hurry.

I was riding the tire on my Nimbus/Echo 46mm wheel, Dual 165/137mm cranks in the 137mm position, and my new KH26/29 frame. I would have used 145mm cranks but they were on my 29" wheel which I was going to test next. 137 turned out to be a good choice since the light weight tire made it much easier to control with short cranks.

The first thing which was really noticeable was the light weight. As being ridden the unicycle weighed in at 6.2 kg. a full 2kg lighter than the steel frame and Gazz combo I am so used to.

Riding around it felt pretty good and absorbed the lumps and bumps OK but as soon as I started to test how it did in the hopping department I bottomed out right away. I added quite a bit of air and now the tire just felt hard. Some people like a hard tire, I am not one of them so I let air out until I could feel the tire give when hopping hard and the tire would not quite fold if I side hopped. this was somewhere around 30PSI which is a bit higher than my usual 20-22PSI.

I chased the dog around the yard and the tire just felt alive. It was very quick and stuck to the ground like I was running in cleats. I missed the soft rebound of a Gazz but the tire was really responsive. It took very little effort to turn, stop, speed up, or otherwise change my momentum and had incredible grip. I am thinking that this tire will become my preferred tire for rides on loamy rolling trails and suspect that it will also do really well in mud.


Schwalbe Racing Ralph 29x2.4


This is the ultimate in big and light. Measured on my 50mm speedway rim the tire was 63mm (2.48") wide and weighed in at only 590g :astonished:

Using the same frame and just swapping the wheel the unicycle was now down to 5.7kg. I think I might be turning into a weight weenie, but not enough of a weight weenie to loose the steel post mounted handlebar that I use.

I had similar experience to the Vred Bull Lock in terms of light weight and sidewall stiffness. I settled on 35 PSI with this tire. It had a bit more stability side to side but bottomed out a bit easier than the Vred at the same pressure. I think the side stability is from the slightly narrower tire being on a wider rim.

If the Vred was fast and responsive the Ralph was, um FAST AND RESPONSIVE. Seriously a tire this light with a light weight rim and 145mm cranks made for a very easy to control wheel and the rolling resistance was so low it almost felt like it was propelling itself.

The grip was good on hardpack and damp ground but it would wash out a bit if turning really sharply in looser stuff.

So a supper light and fast 29" tire with great volume but not the best for hopping and mediocre grip. I had previously used a WTB Prowler tire on this wheel and think that I prefer the WTB for the thicker sidewalls and better grip even if it is a bit smaller and heavier.

Conclusion

If you got a 26" MUni for XC rides what don’t involve a lot of hopping or dropping Go to Jenson USA and order yourself a Bull Lock (68% off). Very light for their size and it has great grip.

If you really want a light weight 29" tire the Racing Ralph seems OK but so far I think I preferred the WTB Prowler which is not really that much heavier but has a more solid feel with better grip.

600×710 73.2 KB

Edit: While Gazzalodis are the hot topic I will throw in my experience. I have been riding a 26x3 Gazzalodi since 2006. It really did suck before I got a wider rim as it would just fold over then throw me when mounted on an Alex DX32 rim but I love it on a wider echo rim. Now that I have a decent rim to use with it I decided to upgrade my frame and got a KH29 frame and it is too wide. 3.15" and won’t fit between the legs without rubbing. When I am using my Gazz I am stuck using my old steel frame but in a lot of ways the weight is worth it.

126

Great write up! Like the info and the pictures, I love your 29’’!

I really want to get either a 26’’ or a 29’’, I have a 24’’ with a 3’’ gazz but want to get something faster and lighter.

127

Gazza 26"

by the way - If anybody don´t know how to get 26" x 3" gazza - I just have five in stock;)

128

@Sask: I’ve been pretty happy with my Ralph 29 x 2.4. Like you said, the grip on tight corners is sometimes not that great (on certain surfaces), but overall I find it excellent for fast xc. It does have very weedy sidewalls though (no thicker than a road tyre), and I have already had to repair a cut/tear in the sidewall of mine caused by slipping off the side of a sharp rock. You have to be more careful with it than you would with a beefier tyre, but for light weight, big rolling diameter, mostly race-orientated riding it’s really good. Running it tubeless makes quite a difference to the feel - seems to feel softer over rough surfaces without having to drop the pressure too much (which you can’t do with such thin sidewalls). Probably not a tyre for people who like side-hopping though!

Sometimes for general 29ering I think I’d prefer something a bit less damage-prone, even if it is a little bit heavier - perhaps I’ll have a look at one of those Prowlers next.

Rob

129

Do you remember why you wrote that? Both tires look similar on pictures.

130

I am working on assembling a 26er muni as my 29er is now going to be my xc/road uni since I switched the schlumpf hub into it.

This thread is awesome. I saw a few people post that they were going to try out the Maxxis Minion 2.7 but not a lot of follow up on it, what is the overall consensus on this tire? Is it a good DH tire? I want a tire that will be good for the tech trails here in Colorado, as well as some of the awesome trails in Moab. The 29er in Moab wasn’t too great, I had the XC 38mm rim and a Navegal tire, so I am assuming a wider rim and a nice wide tire on a 26er will be much better.

Also, Gazz 3.0 and Gazz jr (2.6?). Everyone seems to love these tires for their 26er munis but I can’t seem to find them for sale. Are there any downsides to this tire, and what would a good equivalent be?

It seems that most people don’t like the Duro wildlife 3.0, so I am staying away from that, but is the Duro downhill thick tube that is for sale at UDC good to use for a 26er muni or will any old tube do? (talking about this: http://www.unicycle.com/unicycle-hardware/tires-tubes-rim-strips-and-valve-caps/tubes/duro-26-x-3-0-heavyweight-tube.html )

I am guessing from reading some of the reviews that the Stout is pretty nice for most muni, but it doesn’t seem like it would handle technical stuff as well as a thicker tire, is this correct, or does the stout 26er handle DH/tech stuff well?

131

You should be able to find a 26x2.6 Gazz somewhere but the infamous Gazz 26x3.0 is really scarce. I believe that Nurse Ben has a 3.0 that he has been casually trying to get rid of if you want one.

I have not used the 2.6" version but love my 26x3 Gazz. What makes this a great tire is also what can be considered the tires downfalls.

Fist off the 26x3" Gazz is WIDE, so wide that I can no fit it in my KH frame mounted on a 46mm rim (KH specs a 47mm rim.) Awesome if you want a big cooshy tire, a deal killer if you have a tight frame like a KH.

Second the Gazz is HEAVY. this gives it great momentum and you can plow through stuff that would otherwise throw you. With the weight also comes great pinch resistance and a nice slow rebound.

And finally the Gazz for all its weight has fairly pliable sidewalls:

I have used my gazz on an Alex DX32 (old school favorite, now considered skinny for MUni at 38mm wide) and it was an unpredictable floppy noodle boat anchor of a tire. I hated it. when I upgraded my rim with a 46mm wide trials rim the tire soon became my favorite. It needs that extra rim width for proper sidewall support. People say that they are even better on 65mm surly rims. The pliable sidewalls allow the tire to deform more uniformly than other 3.0s and allows for lower rolling resistance at low pressures, and just a different feel that some like but not others.

There is no equivalent to a 26x3 Gazzalodi :sunglasses:

132

Do you use a special downhill tube for your 26er, if so what brand/size?

I am pretty set on getting a KH 26 frame, so I guess the Gazz 3.0 is out if it is a really tight fit, but a gazz 2.6 may be wide and cooshy enough for me anyway - and I won’t JUST be doing tech downhill so maybe it will be good to have a slightly lighter boat anchor of a tire haha. I’ll have to do some searching and read more reviews on the Gazz jr.

I am still curious about the Maxxis Minion 2.7 and how that rides, I read a few pages back that several people were going to try them out.

133

Still loving the Rubber Queen 2.4, a great tyre if you want to ride up as well as down. Huge volume yet light weight!

I would not oversize your inner tube, you do not want to add weight you don’t need. I run my tyre tubeless which is worth looking at as it has several benefits.

134

Jap i’ve heard the 2.4 Rubber Queen is wider than what its specked, would you be able to measure its width? Thanks.

135

Yep, its pretty big. :smiley:
I’ve just measured mine at 72mm (2.8") wide over the widest points of the tyre’s sidewalls on KH’s 47mm rim.

Rubber-Queen.jpg
Rubber-Queen.jpg433×600 48 KB

136

Awsome thanks for that :slight_smile: I really want to get a 26’’ or a 29’', but im not shure what would be better and there so expensive :frowning:

137

Right now I ride a 2.6" gazz on my 24" Muni and there’s a really big difference of size between that 2.6 and the 3" Kujo. And with a 2.6" gazz you can’t ride it as squishy as a 3" wide tire because the volume is much smaller. If you can’t find a 26x2.6" Gazz I can get one brand new for you at the LBS. There’s like 10 tires there!

138

I don’t think that’s true. It’s heavy (but so is/was the Gazz) and has a rounder profile than the Gazz, which you either like or dislike depending on riding style (it’s more maneuvrable but apparently slips off skinnies). The side walls are thicker than the Gazz, so it’s less prone to folding without having to use ultra-wide rims. I quite like it personally.

Having said that, I saw Jap’s Rubber Queen recently and it’s a good compromise between volume and weight. Not really THAT much smaller than the Duro, but considerably lighter. I may try one myself when my current Duro wears out.

Rob

139

Tube size makes a BIG difference to tyre ‘feel’.
I had a huge tube in my 24" muni and I put a smaller one in (To save weight). When I put it all back together and rode it, it was horrible! I couldn’t get anywhere near as much bounce with the skinny tube in. I let a bit of air out in an attempt to get some springyness and the rim hit the floor all the time.

I changed back to the fat tube (Same tyre) and it was a completely different beast to ride.

140

Yah experimenting with different tubes is cheeper than experimenting with different tires and the difference can be almost as big.

For years I used a Nokian downhill tube and it was great. It had a sort of a rebound dampening quality to it that I could not find with other tubes. I posted a memorial post on here somewhere when the stem finally gave out on the tube and I had to retire it.

I have tried lighter tubes and they just don’t have the same feel. Another problem with standard tubes is if using low pressures they don’t push very hard on your bead allowing the tire to spin and poof your stem is ripped out and you have an unfixable flat.

I am using a regular downhill tube right now which is OK but I would love to find another Nokian tube.

And yah the Duro is a decent tire and lots of people like it, I just don’t happen to be one of them. (anyone want to buy my modified duro? throw me a PM)

141

Interesting.

I find tubeless to be great, giving a plusher ride, absorbing bumps better and rolling quicker. I’ve not thought of it before but it makes sense that you would loose some bounce.

142

Tubeless is something that I have been increasingly interested in but I don’t think I’d trust it enough. I do fairly big drops and quite a bit of northshore and I can’t help but think the tyre would come unseated and let air out all the time.

Maybe its because I run a fairly narrow rim (Halo Combat) but my tire does tend to fold. Obviously with a tube thats not an issue.

I would like to give it a go because my muni is really heavy and I’d like to try and eliminate some spinning weight to make it more maneuverable.

Edd