Gravel tyres for MTB?

[ravenbait]

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

[ElyDave]

I'm very happy with Terravail Canonball, I'm using them at 40mm on my Faran 2.5, and rode round KAW on them. Wider sizes are also available, and I've run the front tubed by necessity after a slash in the tyre on an Essex audax

[D.A.L.E.]

I like Cannonballs but I like Gravelking SKs more. They come in a ~50mm flavour at 650B iirc.

[morbihan]

Ive been using Rene herse fleecer ridge In endurance casing. (Admittedly in tubeless but no reason not to stick an inner tube in, Ive done that with the gravel/no nobbles tires.)
They have about 1600km off road on them and look new.
They make several 650's 40 to 50's mm with nobbles.
They cost a few quid more than some other brands but they last longer and roll fast in my opinion.

[ravenbait]

I decided all of these are very nice but probably a bit spendier than I can justify given that currently my only firm plan is finding out if I can ride all the way from Inverbervie to St Cyrus off road.

I've gone for a pair of WTB Venture TCS Road, as buying two of these came to less than a single tyre in any of my other choices (they were heavily discounted). These should be enough for me to decide whether this is the kind of adventure I want to do a lot more of.

Thanks for your help! I've taken notes for future reference.

Sam

[wedoii]

For me, Maxxis Rambler and Specialized Pathfinder Pro offer a good balance between on-road and off-road performance. If you want a clear comparison between these tires, I think biketoworkday will provide helpful advice for you