36er tyres - which is best?

[mark williamson]

Yes, I know it depends what riding I'm doing ;-)

I've been doing long rides (often > 10, not more than 20 yet but I'm planning on it!) on my 29er, so I'm considering getting a 36er to make life a bit easier on the longer rides (the 29er will be used as an XC muni instead).

I'm really going to be riding the 36er mostly on the road, and although I'd love to do some coker-muni-ing I can't really see it happening that often. I was planning on getting the Coker tyre in the hope of extra grip off road. But I've seen occasional posts suggesting the Wheel TA (as found on the Qu Ax Big One) might be better for riding on tarmac / pavement.

Although I'd like to be able to go offroad, I really think I should be optimising for the kind of riding I will do most. So, my question is: is the Wheel TA slick substantially better than the Coker tyre for road riding?

And a secondary question: any positive / negative experiences going tubeless with either tyre?

[Daytripper63]

I vote for the ta radial for street riding, it has a smooth roll to it
I love mine

[hans]

The original Coker tyre was worn down after 1500 km. I now have used a TA Wheel tyre for about 750 km and it is as good as new. The TA Wheel (=Qu-ax) tyre has more rubber to wear down, so it lasts longer.
I use it mostly on tarmac and dirt roads and I feel no difference in riding behavior.

Hans

[TonyMelton]

Originally Posted by mark williamson

And a secondary question: any positive / negative experiences going tubeless with either tyre?

Heh, heh you should ask Gizmoduck about this! Do a search on it. I have a tubeless Coker and it seems fine. Another option is to replace the standard (overly heavy) inner tube with a 29" inner tube. The first time I tried this it worked perfectly but since then others (myself included) have had trouble with 29" inners getting pinch-flats during installation. After my bike shop had pinch-flatted three 29" inners they did the tubeless conversion and all was well.

[GizmoDuck]

The Coker tyre is apparently lighter than the Quax tyre. I don't know how they managed to make it heavier

I like the Coker for off-road but I've had no experience with the Quax tyre.

The new Coker tyres seem to wear down a lot quicker. I think I wore through half a tyre last year after just one days riding. After about 1000km most of the knobs are gone, and 1500km you'll start seeing the casing.

The tubeless kit is great- rides really well especially off-road- it's lighter and and more supple. The trouble is getting the tubeless kit on- it needs a bit of effort.

Ken

[GizmoDuck]

Originally Posted by TonyMelton

Heh, heh you should ask Gizmoduck about this! Do a search on it. I have a tubeless Coker and it seems fine. Another option is to replace the standard (overly heavy) inner tube with a 29" inner tube. The first time I tried this it worked perfectly but since then others (myself included) have had trouble with 29" inners getting pinch-flats during installation. After my bike shop had pinch-flatted three 29" inners they did the tubeless conversion and all was well.

Have you gone tubeless as well Tony?

My bike mechanic got frustrated having to do the conversion for the third time and stuck half the bottle of Stans into the tyre Now it's probably as heavy as a non-tubeless tyre. It rides nicer though.

[mark williamson]

Heh, heh you should ask Gizmoduck about this! Do a search on it.

Yes, I'd tracked down all the old threads about the first tubeless conversions - sounded really interesting. But I couldn't find anybody who'd run tubeless on the Wheel TA - I guess it's a niche of a niche, which happens to actually be empty in this case! :-)

Thanks for your help.

[mark williamson]

I use it mostly on tarmac and dirt roads and I feel no difference in riding behavior.

Sounds good.

Have you tried the stock coker for a point of comparison?

My searching mostly suggests that although the Coker tyre is a little lighter, the Wheel TA is a much smoother ride. I was originally leaning towards buying the Coker for the knobby tread pattern, but if the Wheel TA is significantly nicer to ride then I think that'll be the way to go.

[zippy]

coker tyre i fine more practical, it's ok on road and on gravel / off road. and 200mile lifespan difference on the 2 tyres i pref the coker one.

coker 800miles/1300km
radial 1000miles/1600km

[zippy]

lagalicious

[Daytripper63]

Originally Posted by zippy

coker tyre i fine more practical, it's ok on road and on gravel / off road. and 200mile lifespan difference on the 2 tyres i pref the coker one.

coker 800miles/1300km
radial 1000miles/1600km

I think the difference in mileage is going to be ALOT more than 200 miles, look at the 12th post at this link http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44553

[Pantelis]

Originally Posted by GizmoDuck

The Coker tyre is apparently lighter than the Quax tyre. I don't know how they managed to make it heavier

I like the Coker for off-road but I've had no experience with the Quax tyre.

The new Coker tyres seem to wear down a lot quicker. I think I wore through half a tyre last year after just one days riding. After about 1000km most of the knobs are gone, and 1500km you'll start seeing the casing.

The tubeless kit is great- rides really well especially off-road- it's lighter and and more supple. The trouble is getting the tubeless kit on- it needs a bit of effort.

Ken

Whats tubeless???

[mscalisi]

I think the differences between the two tires are subtle at best.

Tha being said, I prefer the Wheel TA for its road handling. Going straight, I don't think there's much difference, but the Whel TA has noticably easier turning.

The coker tire might be better off-road, but I've used the Wheel TA off-road also, and I can't say it was dramatically different. (the coker tire isn't THAT knobby anyways).

So, to recap.

Wheel TA better for road, but still fine offroad
Coker better for offroad, but still fine for road.

The Wheel TA is supposedly heavier, but I didn't notice.

I can't imagine that going tubeless would be any different between the two.

My advice? Flip a coin. (If it lands on its edge, get the Wheel TA)

[mornish]

what is tubeless?

[mark williamson]

Tubeless is simply that: a conversion to allow you to run the tyre without an inner tube. The Stan's kit supports sizes up to 36" wheels, and includes sealant to "heal" any punctures that occur in the tyre itself.

It saves weight, adds self-healing (though you can do that by having a self-sealing tube