I have a Whyte 905 bought long enough ago now that it has QR rather than thrubolts. Hasn't been used much, but I fancy tackling some of the non-technical offroad stuff round here, like the coastal path and firetrails in Drumtochty. I don't do technical offroad because I have no 3D vision, but I have half an eye on bikepacking the Cairngorm loop at some point, or at least getting to Glen Tilt from Pitlochry train station. So more for exploring and getting to places I couldn't get to on my road bike than anything else.
I was sure it was a 29er, but on checking I have a 650b. As it's of an age, I doubt it's tubeless ready, and I'm just not willing to go to the expenditure of buying new wheels just now (the rims are also Whyte). It currently has Maxxis IKONs on there, which came with it and were fine around Aviemore, but the on-road rolling resistance is a bit much. I want to be able to ride to my paths, so I'm looking at mixed terrain tyres. This is not for racing, but for leisurely exploring.
What are the recommendations of the panel for 650b tyres that work well tubed, and have decent lack of rolling resistance on-road, but can handle fire trails and the odd bit of single track? I've thus far looked at the Maxxis Rambler, the Specialized Pathfinder Pro, and the WTB Venture.
Sam