Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Forty years after the original Snake Belly tire was produced, House of Looptail in Colorado is bringing it back for everyone to enjoy, and it looks perfect for your winter klunker or vintage mountain bike restoration project. Learn about the House of Looptail Snake Belly tire here…
Last summer, Wakeman Massie launched House of Looptail with a mission to keep mountain bikes from the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s alive. Wakeman is no stranger to innovation, playing a pivotal role in the creation of Quality Bicycle Products’ singlespeed lineup in the 1990s, which eventually led to the development of a little-known brand called Surly Bikes. Wakeman has been teasing products on the House of Looptail Facebook group for a while now, and he’s officially getting the project going with a redux of the classic Snake Belly tire.
The Looptail Snake Belly is inspired by the National Tire Company—now Panaracer—Snake Belly tire. It started as a BMX tire, but there was an unscaled 26″ version for mountain bikes within a year or so of its launch. According to Wakeman, this was essentially the first new tire made specifically for mountain bikes. Forty-five years later, House of Looptail is bringing the Snake Belly back. Normally, tributes and copies are inherently cheap, but to avoid this, House of Looptail has partnered with Panaracer and the original designer to produce the nicest Snake Belly yet.
The new Snake Belly features an identical tread pattern as the original, a brand-new mold, a modern 60 TPI casing, a folding aramid bead, and Panaracer’s proprietary ZSG Zero Slip Grip all-condition rubber. It’s available in one size, 26 x 2.125″, and tires sold individually for $85/each. Customers are limited to two sets per order.
Head over to HouseofLooptail.com to snag yours.
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