You are hereForums / By Discipline / Mountain (off road) / MTB Gear / All mountain tyres
All mountain tyres
Guys about to get new tubeless tyres. They're for a 26-inch wheel if anyone remembers those! Any recommendations? I'm much more interested in grip rather than speed. Cheers.
Nige
[Mod. moved to MTB Gear]
- Login to post comments
- Bookmark & share
Tags
Ive recently switched my rear from a 2.35 High Roller to a 2.2 Ardent for precisely the opposite reason. 2.35 High Roller is a lot more grippy.
On the front I have a 2.35 Minion which I've stuck strong with.
I don't run tubless, so for my 2c if you are trying tyres why not run tubes until such time as you have locked in a tyre choice?
Conti Trail Kings. 2.4" front and 2.2" rear or 2.2" front and rear. They are a big, grippy tyre with good sidewalls, unlike another German tyre brand.
as fa as im aware with the trail kings you do pay the price for the stronger sidewall with considerable weight increase
The 2.2 is acceptable around 800gm. The 2.4 is a big tyre around 1100gm. It's still lighter than the UST Minion DHF 2.5" though!
Used to run trail king 2.4 on the front and 2.2 on the back.
They are brilliant tyres and it's a great combo but the 2.4 is heavy and slow rolling so I have swapped it out for a 2.35 Hans Dampf. The HD is a superb tyre as well and a bit lighter and faster rolling which for me is a better compromise.
You can't beat the Highroller II for grip, next would be a Minion.
My tyre experiences:
Kenda Nevegal 2.1 (F&R) - never again - just...no.
High Roller 2.1 extra tacky (R) – stick, ground, poo, blanket etc. Wore out quicker than Tony Abbott’s welcome at a gay wedding.
Hutchinson Octopus 2.3 (F) – Brilliant tyre. Would get more if I could find them.
Minion F (F&R) – dual ply 2.5 – Excellent tyre, heavier than Jupiter.
Minion F (F&R) – dual ply, slow reezay 2.5 – (Very, very good on the DH bike. Still heavy).
Minion R (F&R) Dual ply 2.5 – prefer the Minion F.
Below are / were tubeless:
Bontrager XR4 Single ply 2.35 (F&R) – excellent around Sydney, Ourimbah and Awaba but a bit scary on Stromlo’s loose over hard. Rear tyre seemed to roost it’s knobs though.
Kenda Nevegals 2.3 (F&R) – they came with the new bike – removed and burned before riding.
Ardent (F) – dual ply 2.2 – very good grip but found the side knobs knackered themselves quite quickly
High roller (F) dual ply 2.3 – So far, very good.
Crossmark (R) dual ply 2.2 (very happy, just got my second)
Bear in mind I’m 120kg and ride fairly technical / aggressive tracks, keep PSI around the 28-32 (F) and 32-36 (R) mark and ride either a 6” bike or DH bike. I ride Sydney, Canberra, Ourimbah and Awaba. Grip is also important to me. Weight is a factor but I generally can’t run single ply without having a crap experience. The Bontragers were the only exception.
Cheers Matt...informative and funny...you should write tyre reviews.
i currently have schwalbe hd 2.35 tlr evo 27.5 for the front and same in a rock razor for rear(standard giant trance sx setup) it was awesome for the winter conditions in perth, fast rolling and grippy as hell,, although in the steep stuff the rock razor loses points for straight line braking grip in the loose,, and holding up well so far this summer(i have increased pressure by a few psi for summer)the only thing i struggle with is hard clay berms, the hd squirms a bit under load, although it handles wood berms no probs,i find it good in loose over hard and generally loose gravelly tracks, as long as it has something to grab, the rr is also very good in loose, takes a while to break loose, very predictable,shreds off camber turns, oh i run tubes too...hd is much better than the 2.35 high roller ive ran for years, although that was on a 26 inch bike, so maybe wheel size helps , dunno , find the fastest person and on ya local tracks and see what they run, good luck.......
shithouse in 26 inch with 2.35 width, too skinny for perth as a front, even in winter no grip, i should know popped me shoulder out in a crash, massive front end slide, off went the minion to rear duties, nice rear tyre, 2.5 was good on dh bike but only for winter or hard pack...oh yer sam hill is on schwalbe and its the fastest hes looked in ages
Cannot fault them except for weight.
I run 3C 2.4" on front and 60a 2.3" on rear. They are folding/TR and seat tubeless fine.
I also have a 26" bike and much prefer grip over fast rolling on boring road bits.
I run Specialized Butcher Control 2.3 on my 26 inch 160mm bike. Same tread pattern as the Butcher DH tyre but lighter. I am very impressed with the grip and wear, and at about $50 to $60 good value too. Is tubeless ready and holds air well.
I have a Butcher Control too but I am too fat for them, I ended up with sealant leaking through the sidewalls(as did a mate) after a nice ride in hero dirt. I gave upon running it tubeless and threw a Freeride tube in it and it's has a tiny bit lest grip in the loose stuff but everywhere else it's a lot better.
If I go Speshi again I'll get the SX casing but I want to try a Conti Baron 2.3" next they have a proper casing and side lugs built for fatties.
I think you'll have to suck it and see.
Everyone has their own riding styles, weights and therefore different opinions can arise from the same tyre.
Whats mine? feather weight, love the mountain goat stuff but not a downhiller.
Heres my experiences with tyres.
First tyres were Maxis ignitors : loved them but then i was a beginner.
Read reviews like these and went with Crossmarks front and TT back. HATED them ,, absolute rubbish. Zero steering and back end all over the place. Still hanging in the shed if you want to try it.
Removed them a couple of weeks later and put Kenda Nevegal on 2.35 and 2.1 rear, Loved them and ran on these for years.
Got a new bike which came with Conti Mountain King 2.4 all round, Crap,Hate them too ,
Backend felt very sloppy like the morning after eating Indian, and had no confidence the front would hold.
Swapped the back end after about a week, Ahh the comfort and safety of the Nevegals.
Now came the time for Tubeless and i had read that the Nevegals had troubles with some of the fluids so ended up going for Hans Dampfs . Love them and have just brought the second tyre for the back , running 2.35 all round but they seem bigger than the Conti M/King 2.4
Must say the new Gahnia and Serrata trails are taxing on the rear tyre and hard on the side walls and the Dampfs snakeskin side walls are standing tough.
Everytime i go through i think that i must have ripped the side wall but dust the tyre off and theres no marks at all.
Oh yeah , there are 2 different tyres in the dampfs for front and back . Slightly harder compound for the rear.
PS they are not cheap but shop around and you can get them for around $65
Good luck
You like Nevegals, really?
Conti Mountain King 1 in Black Chili is ok on hardpack but that's about it, the Mountain king 2 looks pretty good but I believe it is smaller the the Mountain King 1/Rubber Queen.
Forget about the simplistic claims such as 'wider is better for you', or 'I love this tyre you'll like it'. Rather than just use opinions from people who ride a different bikes (or even the same bike), with different suspension settings, different riding style, different rim widths and weights, different body weight, different terrain, different skill levels, etc. - dig up some knowledge and let that inform your choice - include the opinions of those who ride the same terrain as you - though take the above factors into account. (Just what is the internal width of your rims? 21mm? And theirs?)
For what it's worth try looking at info such as this http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday--Wider... (I don't claim the info on the web page is absolutely correct, but it is informative and their are many other pages.) Answer the question at the bottom of that page and check out the spread of around 7000 or so answers.
FWIW I don't ride a tyre (29r) over 650 grams in weight for general riding in WA. Currently running tubeless 2.1 rear (24psi) 2.35 front (23psi) - but the front will be changed to a narrower tyre as it is too wide for the rim IMO. But there again, I'm slow, don't hit things hard, and can't stand the KC
PS try searching on "MTB wide tires on wide rims review"
see http://perthmtb.asn.au/node/47884