Varied Terrain set up .

[KDean]

I'm interested to know what would be a good tire set up for a Nomad MK2  to cover  mixed terrain in the UK all year round .A lot of off roaders have a more knobbly tire on the front to help keep control when hitting muddy patches & I don't see many people on touring bikes doing the same .

[martinf]

I'm interested to know what would be a good tire set up for a Nomad MK2  to cover  mixed terrain in the UK all year round .

Does the Nomad MK2 only take the 26" (559) size  tyre ?

If that is the case, my own choices for wide 26" tyres, but on Raven Tour rather than Nomad are:

- Schwalbe Marathon Supreme in the 26" x 2.0 size. Very easy rolling on tarmac, but the sidewalls are fragile. These are what I use most of the time. They are meant for tarmac roads, but I have also done a fair bit of off tarmac riding with them.

- Schwalbe Dureme in the 26" x 2.0 size. Not quite as easy rolling as Supreme on tarmac but still pretty good, stronger sidewalls so should be more resistant to damage from rocks, slightly heavier, slightly better than Supreme on soft surfaces. My choice if I know in advance that I will be doing a tour with a significant amount of off tarmac riding. In my opinion, the best "all-rounder" tyre, but unfortunately no longer available.

- Schwalbe Marathon Mondial in the 26" x 2.15 size. Significantly slower than the other two on tarmac, strong construction and (according to Schwalbe) better puncture protection. Also significantly heavier. Slightly wider, so works better on soft surfaces and is generally better for off-road use. There are two versions of this tyre, I have the more expensive "Evolution Line" version, which is supposed to have better puncture protection and durability than the "Performance Line" version. I currently have these on a utility bike that I also use off-road. These would be my choice for a tour that was mainly off tarmac.

The trouble with all these choices is that none of them are in the current Schwalbe catalogue, although Supremes are still available on German websellers and the 26" x 2.15 Marathon Mondial are still available here in France. The 26" x 2.00 Marathon Mondial IS still in the Schwalbe catalogue.

Duremes were discontinued by Schwalbe a long time ago, but Thorn/SJS Cycles had a batch specially made a few years ago, all gone now AFAIK.

The Schwalbe Marathon Almotion looks like it might be the nearest equivalent to the Dureme. Almotion in 26" is no longer in the current Schwalbe catalogue but is still available in the 26" x 2.15 size on the SJS website.

[UKTony]

I'm interested to know what would be a good tire set up for a Nomad MK2  to cover  mixed terrain in the UK all year round .

Does the Nomad MK2 only take the 26" (559) size  tyre ?



It’ll take 650b, there’s an example* with Pendix e-conversion on the Thorn website fitted with 27.5”x2” Schwalbe Marathon Almotion Tubeless with mudguards but you’d need a disc brake Rohloff hub conversion and the Nomad Mk2 disc fork which doesnt appear to be currently available.

*Wheels :
Front: Shimano Deore Disc Front Hub 36h,
Mavic EX630 27.5", Disc Rim - Black - 36 Hole
Rear: Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 CC 14 Spd Gear Hub, black,
Mavic EX630 27.5", 584 MTB Disc Rim - Black - 32 Hole
Schwalbe Marathon Almotion Tubeless Easy Folding Tyres - 27.5 x 2.00

[energyman]

Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tours every time.

[mickeg]

My Nomad Mk II, I tour on 57mm wide Marathon Extremes, they were discontinued over a decade ago.  I got the folding bead version, it has very flexible casing so it rolls surprisingly well with low resistance.

Tread pattern has large blocks and narrow grooves so they are a passable off-road tire and also roll well on pavement (tarmac).  In other words, they are a compromise tire.  I avoid mud, I do not think they would work well on mud.

First photo, you can see tread pattern, second photo, this is as close as I want to get to mud.

Oops, have another tread photo, but this photo (third) is where the tire has already lost almost half of the tread depth.  Not sure if I will try this tire on one more tour or not.  This tire might be used for trail riding near home for the rest of its lifespan instead.

I do have a 55mm wide Dureme that I might use on front if I retire that tire.  I am more concerned about rear wheel traction off-road when climbing steep hills than I am about steering.  Too often I have lost traction on a steep uphill and once that happens it is too steep to start again, have to push the bike up the rest of the hill.  Since I avoid mud, I am less concerned about front tire grip off-road.

[KDean]

I'm going to give the Schwable Hurricane  a go .

[PH]

I'm going to give the Schwable Hurricane  a go .

I have one of those in 650b, bought in a hurry when a tyre split (Halfords stock them) I bought it as a stop gap and ordered a cargo tyre.  That was some time before Christmas and I haven't got round to swapping them yet.  The Hurricane is fine, mostly urban riding so haven't really tested the mixed terrain ability, but it looks like it'll be fine and it runs smooth on tarmac, though it's an E-bike so not easy to make comparisons. Touch wood no punctures in around 2,000 miles and it's seen plenty of the usual cycle path debris.

[martinf]

As is often the case with Schwalbe, there are a lot of different versions of the Hurricane.

The 26" x 2.1 version comes with "raceguard" puncture protection, not as effective as some of the other versions.

I've not used this model, so my comments come from comparing Schwalbe's own ratings :

- the 26" x 2.1 version of the Hurricane is classed as rolling better than some of the other Hurricane versions on tarmac. 4.5 as compared to 5 for the Supreme and 4 for the Mondial.

- it scores 4 for off-road grip, slightly better than my version of the Mondial at 3.5.

- it is also quite light at 620g.

- it doesn't do so well as my own favourites for puncture protection and durability. Given the low weight the sidewalls are probably not much better at protecting from rocks than those of the Supreme.

But it is much less expensive than the Kevlar bead tyres I use, so not a bad choice for a wire bead tyre.