Let's talk tires

[jessmarimba]

Maxxis Aspen & Ignitor here.

Sounds like I should take the tubes out soon

[Mama Coosa]

What tires came on the bike?

If they are the new Bontrager XR4's, you should give those a try. They are light years better than last year's Bonty tires. Check out some of the reviews on them if you can find them.

[limewave]

They are Bontrager Experts 29-1. I'm having a hard time finding any info on them. They are probably only available on the bike. I was sliding around a lot last night when I rode them, but part of that was I was so tired that I wasn't riding with good form. I'm going to ride them for a little while, see what I want to do. I plan to go tubeless in a few weeks, I don't know if I want to set these up for tubeless yet or go a different route.

[bellissima]

Congrats on your new bike I would definitely go tubeless with Stan's No Tubes sealant. I've being running tubeless for over 6 years now and wouldn't change it for anything.

[tzvia]

Go tubeless! It's not hard to do yourself, even with a floor pump. There are good videos at Stans site that show how it's done. It makes the ride much less jarring, and the tires grip better and puncture sealing is the icing on the cake for sure. I converted 3 wheelsets to tubeless and I will never go back to tubes.

Now I don't have a 29er so so my opinions are from 26" tires. The Nevegals in 26" are heavy plodding slow things and I don't think I rode mine for more than 5 rides before I started looking for something that rolls better. The Specialized Captains are much better there- that's my rear tire choice. Up front I am enamored with the Tioga Psycho Genius. It's not tubeless, but converted in a snap. It rolls like the Nevegals only wish they could and corner very well. Yea, they float over sand, same with the Captains. We have lots of sand pits here in So Cal, stuff that looks like it came from the beach, and this combo is perfect in 26" from hardpack to loose over hard to sand.

You may find tires like the slant 6 or Specialized Fast Trak Tubless work well enough that you don't need a more aggressive tire though. The contact patch on a 29er is bigger.

[limewave]

I've heard mixed reviews on the Nevegal's--that they have a high rolling resistance on gravel roads, etc. but roll fast on looser stuff.

I've heard the Karma's are good all'round tire.

I didn't check my tires before my first ride this week. I just checked them out this morning. The tire pressure was at 60 psi!!!! The tires themselves are rated for 30-50. No wonder I was bouncing and skidding all over the place.

[Aggie_Ama]

60! Unless you are road riding on it I would expect you to be bouncing like a pinball.