I’ve been looking for the best 26 inch slick mountain bike tires for quite a while now. I’ve restored 3 Cannondales and the last one, a Cannondale Killer V, has a set of worn Schwalbe Big Apple tires.
Slick mountain bike tires are the option when you’re looking into converting your retro MTB into a city- or gravel/trail bike. The Killer V is definitely no downhill monster with just 60 mm of travel in its Headshok P-bone fork. And overall, the bike is incredibly stiff and pretty unforgiving.
However it’s an absolute inner-city monster, which is much more fun to ride than a traditional road bike, and way cooler looking. Ever since I put Schwalbe Fat Franks on my Cannondale M300 I started to love slick tires on retro MTB builds. Both for their plush ride quality and their minimal rolling resistance.
So let’s take a look at my pick for the best 26 inch slick mountain bike tires.
Maxxis DTH
The Maxxis DTH is by far the tire I most often see on (retro) MTB builds, and for good reason. It’s a gorgeous-looking semi-slick tire that’s exceptionally fast because it’s meant for BMX, dirt-jumping, and pump tracks.
That means the tire has a racing pedigree, which brings both fast-rolling characteristics, and grip with it. It’s wrapped in a very lightweight package. And because of its intended usage on the race track, it also means the tire is great for gaining momentum quickly.
Maxxis is known for providing a wide range of high-quality tires, and with the added benefit of providing both a standard black and tan version, it’s no wonder many older mountain bikes get outfitted with a pair of these.
Sizes range from 2.15 up to 2.3 inches, which will make for a great-looking setup with a very plush road feel.
- Exceptionally fast racing tire. Tan options available. Fantastic tire for MTB builds, with excellent puncture protection.
- 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
Continental CONTACT Speed
Meant for the road the Continental Contact Speed is a slick tire in the true sense of the word. A minimalistic profile will turn your bike into a city slicker.
In the commuting and touring range from this German brand, it sits in the fastest category and is one of the most affordable options to obtain a fast-rolling tire.
It also has excellent puncture protection with Continental’s more than adequate SafetySystem breaker technology. Chances of flats are minimized.
Shaun Audane | Technical writer – June 30, 2020
For me at least, the Contact Speeds strike an excellent balance between speed, comfort and puncture resistance – in that order. The wide range of sizes is another big draw and I’d even do a bit of weekend/lightweight touring with them. If these are your priorities, there’s little to touch them. However, if you put reliability and durability over everything else, there are plenty of options for similar money and, indeed, less.
- Affordable slick tire, with excellent puncture protection
- None
Continental CONTACT Urban
The Continental CONTACT Urban is, as its name implies, a slick tire meant for urban commuting.
It’s one of the fastest tires for urban applications, and has a certificate for it to be mounted on speed pedelecs up to a speed of 50 km/h. It has the performance-oriented PureGrip compound, which is a step below their race compound BlackChili used for mountain bike tires.
A strong nylon breaker sits underneath the center tread and serves as a lightweight, flexible, yet very puncture-resistant protective layer.
Jarno Bierman | Tire tester – March 4, 2022
I’m impressed by the performance of the Contact Urban, especially when considering its friendly price. It’s one of the fastest rolling touring bike tires, offers excellent tread puncture resistance, and is simply the best performing tire in our wet grip test. The main weakness can be found in the sidewalls as they aren’t really up to touring bike standards.
- Very fast, lightweight, yet puncture-resistant slick tire
- For those who prefer speed over durability
Kenda 3-Sixty
The Kenda 3-Sixty is a semi-slick tire meant for slopestyle that also comes in a 26 inch version.
The tire comes in a standard black and a creme tread pattern. But the color isn’t just there for looks, but denotes a difference in functionality. The creme version uses a rubber compound that is ideal for dry condition tracks. While the black tread rubber is the perfect solution for wet conditions.
- multiple colors available, fast rolling
- different colors have different characteristics
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
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
Schwalbe Big Apple
The beaded Schwalbe Big Apple tires are a great value for money and come in three different sizes, from 2 to 2.35 inches.
It’s not my favorite in the racing department, they’re simply too heavy for that. But as mentioned before, extra rubber does mean more durability in general, and more miles.
So besides already being cheaper than other options on this list, it will last you a long time as well and you’ve got the RaceGuard puncture protection to boot.
- affordable excellent commuter tire, RaceGuard puncture protection
- heavy
WTB ThickSlick
Of all the tires I’ve come across, none is as true to its name as the WTB ThickSlick.
The high-contrast white letters on the smooth carcass is one of the most distinctive designs for a black tire you can find. A tire with a non-existent tread pattern such as this one is obviously meant for riding on pavement and tarmac. And it does so admirably, with a reasonable enough weight and rolling-resistance.
It’s a very niche-oriented tire to turn your bike into something more. And one of the best-looking slick mountain bike tires ever to hit the market.
Dave Henly | Site Owner – March 6, 2017
For urban riding and as a road training tire, the ThinSlicks are perfect. If you want to ride gravel on a road bike, these might work ok, but you’ll be pushing them to their limit. And if you want to do a lot of touring, you can either go with these bad boys or the Gatorskins. The Gatorskins might be more comfortable over long straight stretches.
- True slick with no tread pattern. Unique-looking tire
- Meant for urban riding only
Specifications 26 inch slick mountain bike 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 | Standard | SafetySystem Breaker | wired | 3/180 |
Kenda 3-Sixty | 26×2.25 | 57-559 | 583 | Creme | Black | Single | tlr | ||
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 Big Apple | 26×2.00 | 50-559 | 675 | Black | Black Reflex | ADDIX | wired | ||
Schwalbe Big Apple | 26×2.15 | 55-559 | 710 | Black | Black Reflex | ADDIX | wired | ||
Schwalbe Big Apple | 26×2.35 | 60-559 | 780 | Black | Black Reflex | ADDIX | 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 | |
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 | ||
Continental CONTACT Urban | 26×2.00 | 50-559 | 590 | Black | Black Reflex | PureGrip | SafetyPro Breaker | wired | |
Continental CONTACT Urban | 26×1.75 | 47-559 | 565 | Black | Black Reflex | PureGrip | SafetyPro Breaker | wired |
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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