Rainbird stealing Craig's laptop, stumbled across this. Never had a single issue with DMR tyres. I think I've had about 3 punctures on these tyres EVER - the most recent and only one since I've been on 24" wheels for the last 2 years of which was a ripped valve after i was drunk in charge of a pump and thus NOTHING to do with the tyre at all. If you're killing tubes that much then you either need to throw a bit more pressure in or smooth things out a load. They're more than grippy enough, rounded profile for rolling glory and not a terrible weight. I'll be more than happy running these for the forseeable future. They also look considerably better than a knobbly bobbly dirt/trail-based tyre which weighs a metric kilo-wank and rolls like a donkey on heat. 26" tubes will work fine, just throw a kink in there, but for the sake of a quid or two if you're getting a fresh wheelset you may as well throw the right stuff in there 16:12 is pretty much in line with the other ratios mentioned