Tires! Tires are soooo important to how a bike rides Orange Cat. Here is another take on it. If you don't ride your "klunker"(whatever that is) on any serious dirt, then don't put knobbies on it! They are heavy, loud, and completely inappropriate for non-dirt riding. IMO, any tire sucks if over 800 grams on any bike, but if you want the "look" of knobbies to overshadow all other considerations, then so be it. CST tires have done well for me, and as a matter of fact run truer than some of the expensive brand name tires I have run
Back to KLUNKER tires. Since you ask, I think the lightest, fattest semi-knob tire would be the best choice. Problem is, they don't make many in FAT sizes that have lightweight casings. The rabid ANTI-26" manufacturers put pressure on tire makers to focus on the 26 snowbikers, the 27.5, 27.5+ & 29 markets. 26" tires today badly need new fatter designs with light weight casings. My all time favorite 26" tire was the small-knobby WTB Mutano Raptor Race in a 2.4" width. 585 grams! That is correct. 585 grams in a true 2.4 that rolled great. The big-knob 2.5's with downhiller casings in 26" weigh as much as a whale and feel like it while riding.
So where are we folks? Going nowhere fast in terms of 26" tire options. Like pulling teeth. Where are the small-knob 2.4 to 2.8 26" tires with lightweight casings? Missing in action, except for the new WTB 2.8 Ranger. So, after my long diatribe about tires, I offer up below TWO tires for your 26er. The Vredstein Black Panther 2.4,(675grams) and the new chinese Electra 2.35 street fattie that weighs almost nothing!
Don't know who makes the new 2.35 Electras(right): Bought this example at a shop, and can't find them on the net yet. The versatile and fat 2.4 Black Panthers are also super hard to find, but roll great and give you loose surface abilities. And finally, there is always the lowly Schwinn brick 2.35's with the low-profile brick-like knobs. skpc
