29” lightest folding tyre ?

Yep, even the likes of Schwalbe are heavy nowadays for the level of grip and puncture protection each model offers.

I am a similar weenie but truth is you have to accept a bit more weight than you are used to.

Bontrager offer a really nice balance of low weight/ durability/ grip/ speed/ puncture protection/ easy to live with. I use XR4 2.4 F&R in winter and XR4 F, XR3 R, both 2.4 when the trails are more mixed. Volume is very generous too from Bontrager so you can easily size down compared to other brands (random volumes between brands who state the same width is another mine field for weight weenies! 🙂 )

The only real light option left IMO which again offer low weight/ durability/ grip/ speed/ puncture protection/ easy to live with, would be Continental Protection tyres. If it is bone dry and you don't need much volume then my Conti Race King 2.2 575g are per tyre and crazy fast. X-King are also nice for low weight, speed and more grip but they don't have Bontrager XR4/ XR3 levels of grip and puncture protection.

A heavier tubeless tyre will roll faster than a lighter one with a tube in it (within reason) because you get more hysteresis loss between the tube and tyre.

Maxxis Ikon or Ikon Race?

Vittoria have some light ish XC tyres.

Maxxis Ikons have been great. Not the most durable but otherwise can't fault them.
Actually, I can, they were sketchy as **** on a wet enduro course but for XC racing they are great.

Conti Race King 2.2

very light, very sketchy, very temperamental to set up tubeless.

I have Wolfpack Speeds on my Cascade. They're light and grip well in most conditions.

Have a look at Vittoria Mezcals, not sure I'd want to run them this time of year though. Barzos are another option.

Ikons are great for XC or light trail stuff. Rekon race are also nice. I can't tell much difference between the 2. The Rekon race might have slightly better grip on corners. But Imons are my go to summer XC tyre.

A mate has just put some 29x2.0 Furious Freds on his Gravel Bike that he's had in his garage for years, waiting to find a new home... He is the ultimate weight weenie though! But yeah, they were crazy light... Not been made in a few years though.

Thing is, even the XC racers realised a few years ago that it's far better to finish a race with a tyre that's a little heavier than ideal, than to DNF because of one that wasn't up to the job... Super Race carcass Thunder Burts are still pretty light, even if 650g for a 29x2.25" doesn't sound that light compared to what was available 10yrs ago though...

Wolfpack Speed is 640g in full fat 29" x 2.4" version & can be had for £30 in the UK, it's skinny 2.25" version weighs in at 590g and can be had direct from source in the EU.

Modern tyres are so much more robust these days, I used to destroy the side walls of xc tyres in years gone by.

I had 2.3" Panaracer xc racy tyres years ago (can't remember the name) that were super lightweight but needed to be pumped up hard to stop them deforming in the corners which then made them ping about over rough terrain. They punctured really easily also, but were light.

I'd rather ride my Racing Ray / Racing Ralph combo I now have even though they're heavier.

I bought a pair of xc tyres off Isla Short (xc racer) at the weekend. They're 29, 2.25" Racing Ray / Thunder Burt mixed pair. According to Google, they're less than 700g a piece. That sounds light to me.

I'm looking forward to giving them an airing in the spring / summer.

WTB Nine Lines are pretty light too, come in 2.0 and 2.25. I’ve got the larger on my gravel bike and they’re great.

The bit you have missed is that a 29 tyre is always going to be heavier even if the tyre was exactly the same so a 550g 26 tyre would be 750g in 29. Maybe get some 20" wheels then your tyres will be lighter 🙂

29" Vittoria 'Barzo' and 'mezcal' are available in tubeless ready flavours around the 650g (claimed) mark. I've no personal experience of either but I was mulling over trying one or other on the rear on my MTB next summer.

I've just fitted some Specialized Fastrak and Renegades S Works - they're 620g each. Ground Controls are another 150g with more tread.

I’ve lived through 26” tyres that had tubes and weighed 450 – 550 grams

From memory, you would have been looking at something about 1.95 inches and with a lightweight casing to get down to that weight. A 29er at 2.3 inch width and the same construction and tread will be quite a bit heavier because it is physically a lot bigger.

I weighed some of my tyres over the summer. All 29” :

Forekaster 2.35 -734g

Mezcal 2.6 - 867g

Terreno 2.25 - 747g

Peyote 2.35 - 731g

Ikon 2.6 - 751g

The Forekaster is probably the best all-rounder of the lot. The Ikon comes up a bit skinny for a 2.6. And the Terreno is pretty much slick in the centre.

Thank you so much guys, that’s more than I could have asked for.
Thanks Tom that is super helpful.
Thols2 and Kelley and DanW yep spot on there 26” and 1.95 mostly so, like any modern bike the weight can’t touch a 26er but, as we were told years ago “26 is dead”. Mmmm
Munrobiker and tuboflard and didnthurt good ideas and weights.
Mboy and qwerty really useful suggestions.
Cookeaa I’ve got a pair of Mezcals on my 27.5” bike and use them throughout the year. They are a little sketchy in the winter slop if you put a little too much air in. I weigh 10 stone so can get away with less than 30psi and that works.
Thanks to the guys that suggested ikons and conti’s.
Chiefgrooveguru right !
I’ve got a lot of searching to do on the internet tonight. Now what’s in stock at Chain Reaction ? 🙂

I thought the invention of graphene and it's use in tyres would've made for a vast reduction in weight and increase in strength, silly me. Will they ever find a good ground breaking use for graphene.

I weigh 10 stone so can get away with less than 30psi and that works

Christ on a bike, I'm a good 2 stone heaver than you and run my 29er XC tyres in the low 20's, tubeless of course.

Anyway back to the question, Conti RaceKing Protection TLR are claimed at 595g for 29x2.2 and are bloody close to that, grippy too, the CrossKing in the same size are 630g. I run them on both of my XC bikes and they're bloody good, plenty tough and grippy too

Came here to recommend Race Kings, beaten to it.

Rekon 29x2.4 are 720g

I’ve got them in 27.5x2.8 flavour and have been impressed with the grip

There's not been much mention of this, so just to add, it's not so much the tyre model but the carcass type you'll want to be looking for. A lot of companies will have each model available not just in different sizes, but different carcasses

So Vittoria's XC tyres are available with TLR casing (the tanwall ones) or TNT casing. The former is the lighter version; single ply with no sidewall protection

Schwalbe have something like Super Race, Super Ground, Super Trail and then some DH thing available. I think Super Race is the lightest; the only one without sidewall protection

Specialised have Control, Grid, Grid Trail or something. Control are I think the lightest

These are damn light:

https://www.specialized.com/gb/en/s-works-fast-trak-2bliss-ready-t5-t7/p/203409

Steve_b77 obviously, you would run tubeless less than 30 normally but I was trying to point out DON’T run them over 30 because they are awful in the wet then. Thanks for your suggestions though. Might well go for those. There’s so many choices to make. Price might be the deciding factor now on the lightest.
Thanks again guys

Rekon 29×2.4 are 720g

I’ve got them in 27.5×2.8 flavour and have been impressed with the grip

27.5 x 2.8F and 2.6R Rekon is exactly what I have selected for my lightweight spring/summer set up. This is as light as I dare to go and might even be pushing it.

While I totally understand where the OP is coming from, weight is just a number and there comes a point where too light becomes massively counter productive. I have accepted that this point is higher than we think, however counter intuitive that also is.

Conti Race King 2.2

very light, very sketchy, very temperamental to set up tubeless.

No tubeless issues with mine. Use them for tame bridleway and wagonway duties with a bit of tarmac in between.

I used to ride the specialized fast trak back in the day and really liked them for general xc duties. But never in the light weight casing (can't remember what the names of lightweight or general casings were back then) as they would puncture and cut up really easily.

My bike came with 2.4 Forekasters. They work well in the summer in an xc sense

But be warned the new Forekaster is a different beast. A more all round trail tyre

Oh and I’m 100kg. I run my rear at 22psi and the front at 20 psi. That’s quite low as I don’t hit things that hard. But 30 psi seems a lot. More than then my 47mm gravel tyres

I am about 75kg and use 2.35 Vittoria Barzos all year round on an xc hardtail. They are about 620-630g each. I run them at 17/18psi (F/R), tubeless obviously.

Someone mentioned Forekasters. I have those too. mine are 2.25s and are about 650g each. Might be slightly better in the wet than Barzos but slower rolling too. I just stick with the Barzos now. I haven't yet found any conditions in which they're really awful, so not worth the effort to swap them.

MrsF has Specialized Fasttraks, 2.3s I think. They're also under 650g. Fast-rolling and much better in the wet that they ought to be.

@gingerflash, that's really light for the 29er Barzo -- are you using the TLR/tanwall version?

Yes, tanwall. I was surprised, they were both a lot lighter than claimed, but have seemed tough enough so far.