In this blog I’m going to cover what I feel to be the best 29 inch road tires for mountain bikes.
I currently am the proud owner of 5 mountain bikes, and if I’m honest, only one of them is decked out to be trail worthy. I find the combination of a mountain bike and road tires much more appealing than road or gravel bikes. And from personal experience I can attest to the fact that you can still go very fast with today’s high quality options.
There are a number of great, plus size options for mountain bikes with 29 inch rims, thanks to the incredible popularity of e-bikes. Since an e-bike basically does all the work for you, and needs a strong tire, you’ve got amazing, fast-rolling, durable, incredibly puncture-resistant options out there.
And those are exactly the type of tires that have made it onto my list of the very best 29 inch road tires for mountain bikes. Enjoy!
Schwalbe Hurricane
I also decided to include the Schwalbe Hurricane in this list. It’s a shame they don’t sell them in skinwall versions as well. But the tire packs a solid combination of a flat centerline and side knobs.
The side knobs means the tire is more versatile than the average slick, opening up the possibility to take your bike offroad and away from the beaten path.
If you want to keep a MTB look for your tires without sacrificing too much speed on the road, this is the perfect tire for you. Especially if you like the occasional trail as well because of the added grip.
- Great all-round gravel and light XC tire, with an affordable quality.
- 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.
- Mile cruncher, unparalleled puncture protection
- Heavy, meant for commuting, touring, and bikepacking.
Maxxis Grifter
It’s funny that depending on the size, 20 vs 29 inch, the Maxxis Grifter falls into the category of either BMX or urban commuter tire.
Whatever size you pick it’s a very strong tire indeed. It offers the Silkshield bead-to-bead puncture protection and sidewall reinforcement.
Its BMX nature makes this a fast-rolling, relatively lightweight tire. And it comes in plus sizes as well for a very plush and comfortable ride.
- Strong, well-reinforced tire, fast-rolling, and reasonably lightweight
- 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.
- long lasting slick mile-cruncher, wide tire
- Heavy wired tire, might not fit every frame
Continental Double Fighter III
The Continental Double Fighter III is an affordable semi-slick tire. With lots of sizing options you can turn any mountain bike into an urban commuter, or a road bike into one with a beefier tire setup.
It doesn’t pack any tire technology to speak of, hence should be used for dry conditions on tarmac.
- Affordable all-round semi-slick for dry conditions
- Doesn't excel in any category
WTB Slick
The WTB Slick is, especially when compared to other tires in the WTB lineup, a reasonably affordable semi-slick tire.
It has a lot in common with the very popular WTB ThickSlick, except for its tread pattern. Because it actually has one, whereas the ThickSlick doesn’t.
So if you really want to use this tire as a commuter tire, and plan on also using it on wet road conditions, it’s safer without compromising on speed versus the ThickSlick.
That being said, there are tires which I feel score (much) higher in both durability and puncture protection (looking at you Schwalbe Marathon MTB).
- Semi-slick
- No added puncture protection
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.
- True slick with no tread pattern. Unique-looking tire
- Meant for urban riding only
Kenda Kwick Nine
The Kenda Kwick Nine is an e-bike certified commuter tire of both reasonable weight and price.
It offers a K-Shield puncture belt of 3mm underneath the center tread, which will do a solid job of preventing you from running a flat.
Being e-bike certified also means it adheres to standards of greater durability, sidewall strength, and braking power, necessary when dealing with a heavier bike.
A great allrounder for any big-wheeled commuter.
- Great allround, e-bike certified commuter tire, with solid puncture protection.
- None
Specifications 29 inch road tires for mountain bikes
Name | Size | ETRTO | Weight (gr) | Tread color | Sidewall color | Compound | Puncture protection | Tire bead | TPI | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WTB ThickSlick | 29×2.10 | 52-622 | 705 | Black | Black | DNA | folding | 30 | ||
Maxxis Hookworm | 29×2.50 | 63-622 | 1230 | Black | Black | Single | wired | 60 | ||
Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB | 29×2.10 | 52-622 | 1275 | Black | Black | ADDIX | SmartGuard | wired | ||
Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB | 29×2.10 | 52-622 | 1350 | Black | Black | ADDIX | SmartGuard | wired | ||
Continental Double Fighter III | 29×2.00 | 50-622 | 915 | Black | Black | Sport | wired | |||
Kenda Kwick Nine | 29×2.20 | 56-622 | 964 | Black | Black | SRC | KS | wired | ||
Kenda Kwick Nine | 29×2.00 | 52-622 | 889 | Black | Black | SRC | KS | wired | ||
Maxxis Grifter | 29×2.00 | 52-622 | 911 | Black | Black | Dual | wired | |||
Maxxis Grifter | 29×2.50 | 60-622 | 1090 | Black | Black | Dual | wired | |||
WTB Slick | 29×2.20 | 54-622 | 979 | Black | Black | DNA | wired | |||
Schwalbe Hurricane | 29×2.25 | 57-622 | 740 | Black | Black Reflex | ADDIX | Performance | wired | ||
Schwalbe Hurricane | 29×2.40 | 62-622 | 940 | Black | Black Reflex | ADDIX | RaceGuard / Double Defense | wired |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
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