Schwalbe Fat Frank Reflective Tyre 26 x 2.35

Advantages: Outstanding performance in mud
Disadvantages: performance on other surfaces is middle to poor

...All tyres are a compromise. The mud Pro is a mud specific tyre, and at this it excels. However it's excellent mud performance is at the expense of it's performance on other terrains. On MUD: There are 2 thoughts for riding through mud 1) fat tyres run at low pressures to float over the surface. 2) thin tyres at high pressures to cut through the muck and find grip below. These are firmly in option 2. And in mud they are outstanding. I have personally ridden through 3/4 mile of constant mud, some if it up to 18 inches deep, and while my mates were left carrying their bikes, I just ploughed on through. Seems to work best at around 50 psi. The narrow profile and tall knobs really do cut through the surface, and where other tyres will just spin these will find grip. As long as you have the power to keep the rear wheel turning this tyre... Read review

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Advantages: Light weight, durable well made tyres
Disadvantages: A little pricey

..., and the tread pattern is very similar to the Comp 24. They have Michelin's Silica Compound which helps decrease rolling resistance, and also have a 127 Tpi (threads per inch) cord casing that is found on all other Michelin top of the range tyres. Even though these are sized at 26 x 2.2 (52 x 559), they are a smaller in width than the 2.2 size you would find on the Michelin DH tyres (54 x 559). The size of these is more comparable to a set of Maxxis 2.1 XC tyres. Installation was pretty straight forward, with the only serious effort needed when mounting the tyre to my rims, as like other Michelin tyres, the beading can be a tight fit when put on for the first time. My first impressions on using them were that they felt incredibly grippy. They are stable when cornering hard, and braking heavily. If you choose to use the directional tread pattern... Read review

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Advantages: Lightweight and fast, should be hard wearing...
Disadvantages: Expensive, but worth it !

.../Force combination, but these won - primarily on price - but also I don't think I really need the super-high performance of those all-out race tyres, at the cost of a reduced puncture protection... The GP4000 has a patented "Vectran" anti-puncture layer to prevent punctures - certainly none this morning ! It supposedly has more cut resistance than aramid, and is five times as strong as steel ! Vectran fibers are used by NASA for space mission airbags and tow ropes, so should stop those little glass slivers, pins & flints that can ruin a morning's ride ! The GP4000 is available in 650x23 size (ERTRO 23-571) in black only (for you time trialists), 700x23 (ERTRO 23-622) in Black, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Metallic Blue, Blue, Conti yellow, Red(my choice) & Lemon yellow, plus a slightly wider 700x25 (ERTRO 25-622) in Black, Black Reflective, Blue, Red & Lemon... Read review

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