Best knobbly tyres for tarmac

[Lancj1]

I appreciate the best Tyre for a MTB on tarmac is a slick one.

What's your opinion on the best treaded tyre for road use - is there a good compromise ?

TIA

 

[HovR]

Any tire with a smooth(er) central band running around the middle, such as the image below (which is obviously not a bike tire, but it demonstrates my point).

But it's always going to be a compromise. The better a tire is on the road the worse it will be off road, and vice versa.

 

[biggs682]

schwalbe land cruiser's look good to me but have never used them so no experiance

 

[lulubel]

Why do you want to use knobbly tyres on the road?

It it's because you're going to do a mixture of on and off-road riding, it's probably best to just use the tyres that are most suited to the off-road conditions you ride in, and accept that their performance will be bad on the road.

 

[PaulSecteur]

Another vote for land cruisers. Slick centre with nobbly-ish sides.

Pump em up for the road, let em down for off roading. Remember though, jack of all trades, master of none. And not much good in proper mud if thats your thing, that needs a specialist tyre.

Heavy, but with decent p*ncture protection.

 

[Lancj1]

Why do you want to use knobbly tyres on the road?

It it's because you're going to do a mixture of on and off-road riding, it's probably best to just use the tyres that are most suited to the off-road conditions you ride in, and accept that their performance will be bad on the road.

The honest answer is I have a road bike with 700 x 23, I have a Hardtail with Knobblies and I have my old steel Raleigh "mountain bike" which has no suspension.

I use the Raleigh for the shops and the gym etc - 5 mile round trips, lock it and leave it. It has slicks on it as its always used on the road. It would be ideal for commuting in the bad weather, unbreakable and uncomplicated. I feel it would benefit from a treaded tyre. It wouldn't really cause problems over my ten mile commute, but would offer a bit more durability and grip in conditions like this week.

 

[Pale Rider]

As others have said, look for a band around the centre of the tyre, or a pointy profile so the tyre - when properly inflated - will run on its centre on road, but across its width on softer stuff.

This tyre has, er, ramped centre knobs:

http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=8366&cPath=358#scroll_to_here

 

[lulubel]

I use the Raleigh for the shops and the gym etc - 5 mile round trips, lock it and leave it. It has slicks on it as its always used on the road. It would be ideal for commuting in the bad weather, unbreakable and uncomplicated. I feel it would benefit from a treaded tyre. It wouldn't really cause problems over my ten mile commute, but would offer a bit more durability and grip in conditions like this week.

Most people would probably recommend something like marathon plus for commuting on road in all conditions.