In the ten years since the appearance of “The Tire”, (WTB’s Nanoraptor), 29 inch wheeled bikes can be shod with a wide array of rubber. From “barely there” race tires to “monster truck” moto-shredder tires, 29″er freaks have never had it so good. So, why is it that everywhere you look, there is a lot of grousing about tire choices for wagon wheelers?

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Big, meaty rubber and high tech casing designs are finally making an appearance in 29 inch sizes.

It seems as if lots of riders are looking for something that isn’t available. A “mythical tire” that doesn’t exist, or something that is similar to what we have but is lacking in some critical area. While there are well over two dozen different tires that a big wheeler can choose from, what combination of traits is missing? What features are lacking? What is it that big wheel riders are looking for? Finally, do we really need it?

Here are some areas that I have seen talked about along with some of my observations……..

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What the tires says on the sidewall is a big thorn in a lot of riders sides.

Truth In Sizing: This is probably the biggest burr under a lot of folks saddles. The inconsistencies in sizing have befuddled many a rider. Tires that are “measuring up” to what they claim are few and far between. Or- you have to wait until they are done stretching to get a width that matches the hot patch. Why can’t we get tires that measure what manufacturers say they should? Well, there are many reasons. One thing is for certain, it isn’t going to change much in the near term. 29 inch mountain bike tires are still a pretty new territory for many manufacturers. Getting zeroed in on size targets will most likely be better in the future. Still, the idea that all 29″er tires will someday measure what manufacturers claim to within a close enough tolerance to satisfy a majority of riders might be a bar that is set too high.

Tubeless/UST Tires: The other thing I see complained about a lot is why aren’t there more 29 inch tubeless and UST standard tires? Why are there different systems? Why can’t it be like 26 inch choices? Well, there are several reasons for this. First of all, even amongst manufacturers that offer 26 inch tubeless products, there isn’t a consensus in how tubelessness is achieved, and some manufacturers don’t believe it is the best for bicycles, (Although they may not admit this publicly). Add to this that making a 29 inch tire bead that will sustain the forces exerted on it by using it tubeless are very different than they are for 26 inch tires and you might see that a whole new set of design parameters must be employed here. That costs money, and the market for 29 inch tires isn’t anywhere in the same zip code as it is for 26 inch product.

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Bontrager’s Tubeless Ready System tires and rims are one of the few tried and true tubeless systems for 29″ers available.

That we have tires that work tubeless for 29″ers now is pretty amazing. The debate continues though as to how to achieve this. With users being able to match up tires to varying degrees of quality in 700c rims and think that they can all be converted to tubeless use safely and reliably puts a red flag up in a tire manufacturers head. So some have gone with the integrated system approach, (Bontrager, Hutchinson/Geax with UST rims) and some have gone with a “wink and nod” approach to tubeless usage. Not really being forthright about whether their tires should be used tubeless, and not really advocating a rim/tubeless system. Now on the rim side of things it appears as though several manufacturers are going with what I am referring to as the “Stan’s Default” tubeless system, marketing their 2010 rims as tubeless compatible for 29″ers with a Stan’s strip. That’s great, but conveniently, tires are left out of the discussion.

Yes there are some tubeless systems that include recommended rims and tires. As for the rest claiming tubelessness, until tire manufacturers and rim manufacturers have tested and recommended combinations to riders as being “safe and reliable” it will be a sort of “latex roulette” that riders will have to play out for themselves in terms of what will work tubeless for wagon wheelers.

Sidewall/Casing Technology: Until 2009, 29″er tires were pretty low tech affairs in comparison to the same models in 26 inch sizes. Again, owing to the minuscule size of the 29 inch market compared to 26 inch product, this wasn’t really all that surprising. Still, riders complained bitterly about ripping sidewalls open as if they were riding balloons in a land full of knives. Now we are starting to see some new designs and model upgrades to a few tires that offer some sidewall protection. Bontrager’s “AR” casing, Schwalbe’s “Snake Skin”, and WTB’s “Inner Peace”/”Super Duty” casing technologies are some examples here. This, of course, all comes at the expense of weight. However; this is an encouraging sign for choices in 29″er tires, and perhaps an indication that big wheels are gaining more ground in the marketplace compared to 26 inch wheels, at least in America.

Speaking Of Weight… This is an area where the desires of 29″er riders and the realities of physics seem to be leading divergent paths in many cases. On one hand, riders are asking for bigger, more voluminous casings with big knobs, they still want to be able to run them tubeless and have sidewalls that won’t wilt at the sight of a jagged rock. Yet when the tires that come out with any sort of casing technologies added and have a decent knob size, they are panned for being too heavy. The tires everyone seems to reference in these discussions of width and volume fail miserably on the tubeless reliability scale or the toughness scale. Sometimes both. And we haven’t even entered into tread pattern and knob size discussions. I’m sure tire manufacturers are left a bit confused by this, as the “magic elixir” that will allow them to make this mythical tire still eludes their grasp. If someone ever does solve that riddle, rest assured that they will own a big slice of the 29″er pie in tire sales. (I won’t be holding my breath for that one, however.)

Is It Really Necessary?: Then the question should be asked- do we really need a bigger, wider, lighter, tubeless tire? When you go back to the first true 29″er tire- the Nanoraptor- and consider how much can be done with that one tread pattern, with tubes inside, one has to wonder just what all the fuss is about. Now I am not saying we shouldn’t have the choices we have, but we have a lot of really good choices. Just about any sort of riding one can do on big wheels has an excellent choice in tires that will work for that riding style and terrain. Sure- we can dream up new desires and voice opinions on what would be nice to see. That said, I think a bit of reality would be well advised for those that are looking for something in a 29″er tire they don’t find in the ones they are using. There are limitations.

Now I invite you to comment on what you would like to see in tires for 29″ers in the future. Be realistic. Be nice! ( I will delete non-constructive comments at my discretion) Tire manufacturing/marketing guys are reading this, so let ‘em know what ya’all think out there!