With this article I’m going to share my top picks for the best 26 inch commuter tires.
I have 5 mountain bikes with 26 inch wheels and 3 of them I don’t use on the trail. And one of them was explicitly made for road use only. 4 of them were designed for speed, one is fixer-upper meant to basically haul freight. So I’ve been interested in this category for as long as I ride older-style mountain bikes.
When I commuted my requirements went from going as fast as possible to never having to deal with a flat. That’s because I like to go fast, but I hate flats more. So you’ll find those two categories represented here: fast and durable.
So here’s my list of the best 26 inch commuter tires.
Schwalbe Marathon
I’ve run multiple Schwalbe Marathons on various bikes in various sizes and I can’t remember ever running a flat.
To me, this original Schwalbe Marathon set the standard for a package of puncture-protection and durability. And it spawned an entire category of spin-offs for various other cycling disciplines.
I believe it’s one of the best-selling commuting tires because they do what they’re meant for, keep you riding. And they do so consistently.
Dan Joyce | Contributor – November 22, 2008
Today there seems to be a version of the Marathon to fill any of the numerous different niches, but the original still holds up well. The KevlarGuard belt offers good puncture resistance and the sidewalls are among the toughest around.
Good cornering grip and rolling performance belie the fact that it’s the heaviest of the touring tyres on test. In my experience this is a durable, good value touring tyre that does everything quite well.
- The go-to touring and commuting tire, mile-cruncher.
- None
Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB
The Schwalbe Marathon is the ultimate allrounder in the tire department and one of the best-selling tires on the market. So the German brand decided to make a MTB-specific version of this tire: the Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB.
Although it looks like a knobby tire, if you look close enough you can see that the center tread will let you run smoothly across pavement. And just like the standard Marathon is meant for commuting and touring, the same goes for this one.
It’s a heavy tire when compared to some of the XC racers. But the biggest plus for hauling all that extra weight is that in terms of puncture protection, this tire has no equal. The reason is pretty simple. Schwalbe stuffed a 5mm strip underneath the center tread, made from highly puncture resistant rubber. And as simple as that sounds, it’s extremely effective in preventing punctures.
So for those of you who want the risk of flats nearing zero, this is the tire for you.
Mike | Site Owner – March 15, 2017
Since I’ve made the jump to these large-and-in-charge tires (in my case, on a drop-bar adventure bike rather than a pure mountain bike) I’ve felt like I’m getting pretty close to the right balance of tradeoffs and advantages.
I’m not whizzing through my city streets en route to my favorite forest getaways, but I roll smoothly and comfortably enough out of town. Once I’m on the rough gravel-and-clay surface of the C&O Canal towpath outside my Washington, DC home, I really appreciate the limousine-like feel and peace of mind these tires offer.
- Mile cruncher, unparalleled puncture protection
- Heavy, meant for commuting, touring, and bikepacking.
Continental CONTACT Plus
The Continental CONTACT Plus is another great allround commuting tire from the German brand.
It sets itself apart from the other tires in the lineup because of a cut resistant casing, besides the puncture-resistant belt and reinforced sidewalls.
The tire sacrifices a low weight in favor of basically never running a flat, and does so perfectly. It’s flat center tread pattern means it’s a great long-lasting-durable commuter option.
Shaun Audane | Technical writer – July 11, 2017
Although there are faster tyres around, the weight penalty and more pronounced rolling resistance isn’t going to be apparent on a heavily laden expedition bike, tandem, or off-road on an adventure type build for that matter. The 35mm section is noticeably quicker, much easier to mount, and my choice if you wanted a super-dependable four-seasons road-biased tyre.
- Extremely puncture-resistant
- Heavy
Continental RIDE Tour
The Continental RIDE Tour is a fantastic all-round tire meant for urban commuting. It’s a 4-season option for those people who want to ride their bike year round, and be assured of riding with the most effective puncture-protection for a commuting tire.
As an allrounder it shows characteristics of durability and puncture-proofness. With both reinforced sidewalls and a puncture-resistant belt underneath the center tread. The belt differs from the more road-bike oriented, and lighter breaker, offering extremely effective protection against everything you might encounter on the road.
An unbroken center tread means it’s reasonably fast in a straight line, and it offers a tread pattern to support riding in the rain.
With all that added material and rubber, you should pick this tire for its long-lasting lifespan.
- Ultra-durable, great allround, 4-season option for urban riding and commuting. The best puncture-protection from Continental for a wider commuting tire.
- None
Kenda K838 City Slick
The Kenda City Slick looks remarkably like the Kenda Kwest, only this one comes in a classic mountain bike width.
They are slicks with a minimal tread pattern, so great for people who want to use their mountain bike for non-offroad purposes. And wide enough to still maintain an actual mountain bike feel.
And, last but not least, cheap enough to not hurt your wallet.
- Extremely cheap slick tires
- None
Maxxis Hookworm
The Maxxis Hookworm is a durable urban road bike tire meant to last for many miles as a trustworthy commuting companion.
It’s a large volume, round, and heavy wired tire that smooths out small bumps and road buzz once it has gathered momentum. It’s definitely not a race tire.
It has one of the weirder looking tread patterns I’ve seen on a tire, which makes it fall into the semi-slick category since there are no knobbies whatsoever. The swirling patterns probably do well siphoning water away to the outside in wet conditions.
At 26 x 2.5 inches make sure you’ve got enough frame clearance to be able to actually run these big tires.
I’ve run these types of heavy round tires and can say they offer an incredible plush and comfortable feel, and once you get going are fast enough for quick urban assaults.
Steve Inindy | Contributor – June 11, 2006
I really like these tires. Not just that they are tough but they ride real smooth. They swallow up holes and uneven pavement like they aren’t there. Seams in pavement that would have caused a loss of control on other tires are taken in stride on these. Need to ride in the grass or on a trail? No problem. For commuting on dilapidated city streets these tires are great.
- long lasting slick mile-cruncher, wide tire
- Heavy wired tire, might not fit every frame
Panaracer RiBMo
At 26 x 2 inches and 560 grams the Panaracer RibMo is among the lightest tires for its size on this list. Its minimal tread pattern moves it into the direction of being a slick tire, perfect for fast urban commuting.
The Panaracer RiBMo uses their proprietary ProTite technology, which is an extra puncture-resistant layer which runs the entire length and width of the tire. And they offer a more durable, commuter-friendly compound.
The conclusion is this tire will make your bike feel fast and nimble for many many miles at a reasonable enough price.
Dave Atkinson | Road.cc founder – October 15, 2015
The tread shape, which is ovalised a bit like the pointy end of an egg, is designed to decrease rolling resistance while still offering good grip when cornering. I can’t say that I ever had any problems with grip, even with the hard compound.
One of the reasons for this is that with a bigger air chamber you can afford to run the tyres at a lower pressure. I’m 100kg and normally put 100psi into a 25mm tyre; I found I could run these RiBMos at 85-90psi without any more danger of pinch-flatting than I’d have with a thinner tyre. That means more grip and extra comfort too, and it didn’t noticeably affect the tyre’s ability to roll.
- Ultra-light slick tire, affordable, durable, and supple, japanese build quality
- None
Schwinn Cruiser
The Schwinn Cruiser is actually a great-looking and very cheap tire for urban, commuting, and gravel use.
It will turn your mountain bike into a perfect commuter, while still maintaining some off-road capability for gravel and light cross country riding.
It’s a bit too light to take on the trail, but if you grew up riding mountain bikes in the 90s, nothing is too light probably.
The main attraction is obviously the price, which is about half you’d pay for a more premium counterpart. So unless you want to move into the territory where tires begin to have unpronounceable names, this is the go-to solution for the cheapest light off-road tire.
- The cheapest offroad, cross country tire you can find.
- Expect nothing fancy
Specifications 26 inch commuter tires
Name | Size | ETRTO | Weight (gr) | Tread color | Sidewall color | Compound | Puncture protection | Tire bead | TPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Continental CONTACT Speed | 26×2.00 | 50-559 | 665 | Black | Black Reflex | SafetySystem Breaker | wired | 3/180 | |
Maxxis DTH | 26×2.30 | 55/58-559 | 859 | Black | Tan | Dual | EXO | wired | 60 |
Panaracer RiBMo | 26×2.00 | 48-559 | 560 | Black | Black | Mile Cruncher | foldable | ||
Schwalbe Hurricane | 26×2.10 | 54-559 | 620 | Black | Black | ADDIX | RaceGuard | wired | |
WTB ThickSlick | 26×2.00 | 50-559 | 620 | Black | Black | DNA | folding | ||
Continental CONTACT Speed | 26×1.60 | 42-559 | 665 | Black | Black Reflex | SafetySystem Breaker | wired | 3/180 | |
Maxxis DTH | 26×2.15 | 52/54-559 | 570 | Black | Black | Single | foldable | 60 | |
Maxxis Hookworm | 26×2.50 | 63-559 | 1076 | Black | Black | Single | wired | 60 | |
Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB | 26×2.10 | 54-559 | 1150 | Black | Black | ADDIX | wired | ||
Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB | 26×2.25 | 57-559 | 1260 | Black | Black | ADDIX | wired | ||
Kenda K838 City Slick | 26×1.95 | 53-559 | Black | Black | wired | ||||
Panaracer RiBMo | 26×1.50 | 37-559 | 460 | Black | Black | Mile Cruncher | foldable | ||
Panaracer RiBMo | 26×1.25 | 32-559 | 350 | Black | Black | Mile Cruncher | foldable |
Sources
Founder Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His cycling career has seen him at the starting line of classics such as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege. Realizing his racing capacity would fall short of what was needed he obtained a MS from the University of Amsterdam in engineering. His love for cycling changed into riding in an amateur capacity with his local cycling club TFC Weesp as a roadie and supporting MTB Noordwest as a mountain biker. He repairs, restores, and builds bicycles and shares his knowledge on YouTube, Facebook and this website.
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