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What trail bike tire casings don't suck?

rollertoaster

Monkey
Aug 7, 2007
730
179
Douglassville , PA
For what it's withe surly dirt wizard 27.5 is a pretty damn good tire as far as plus size goes. The casing is pretty tough as plus size goes and traction is absurd. It's pretty close to being a giant dhr2 but you definitely have to pay the piper as far as weight goes. At about 1300g it's no lightweight.

I like to ride my plus bike as resistance training during the week so that when I race the unrideable on the weekend it feels light. And hey if you ride a plus bike you need to ride it fast so you can outrun the insults.
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,135
1,364
Styria
ATTENTION: Wild Rock'r 2 sidewalls can be a bit weepy when set up tubeless. I was having a bitch of time keeping air in the rear tire and finally tracked it down to the sidewalls. Of course, I can't remember if I put any sealant in when I mounted them up.
:imstupid:
I'll join the club. WTB TCS Sealant in WR2 Adv Rnf 26x2.35.
IMG_20160817_225237.jpg
IMG_20160817_225300.jpg
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,784
5,600
Ottawa, Canada
I did something similar to the same tire (except in the correct wheel size) last night. managed to cut it right at the bead. stans wouldn't seal despite it being a tiny hole. oh well, it lasted me most of the summer, so I'm ok with that. will bang again.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
8,364
6,881
Yakistan
That slaughter has been oozing clear liquid on the floor between rides. Must be a wear indicator.

Puddles of clear ooze, all over the floor.
 

Dogboy

Turbo Monkey
Apr 12, 2004
3,215
618
Durham, NC
That slaughter has been oozing clear liquid on the floor between rides. Must be a wear indicator.

Puddles of clear ooze, all over the floor.
It's pretty common, I've seen it with multiple brands of tubeless ready tires. I think it's partly down to sidewall wear and partly the sealant thinning/separating.
 

Fool

The Thing cannot be described
Sep 10, 2001
2,913
1,665
Brooklyn
Keep an eye for my new product, the TireDyper, absorbent strips you put around the outside of your tire. Poll about colors to follow.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
17,313
14,123
Cackalacka du Nord
never torn a sidewall... only pinch flats are burps when i case at low pressure...i chalk it up to the fact that my rims are so old they're not really tubeless ready.
 

DaveW

Space Monkey
Jul 2, 2001
11,589
3,118
The bunker at parliament
Only oozing tyres I've seen in my workshop have been Schwalbe's (about half of them) and Conti's
There's a bit of sidewall seepage when you bead them up but the Stans fluid then plugs the weak points and they are good to go after that..... Never seen a Maxxis doing it.

Maybe do the 2 fluids one tyre gig?
lol So when you bead up the virgin tyre (oooh yeah) use the Stans "Race" fluid, it's larger molecule size will plug holes faster and more effectively.
Then top up a day or so later with normal Stans.
Top up with the normal as it has a longer service life than the race stuff which has a really short lifespan.
 
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SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,673
14,076
In a van.... down by the river
No flats. Have I mentioned no flats? Yeah. No flats.
I know I'm gonna curse myself... but still no flats. And I smashed the ever-living-shit out of my front tire into one of JefCo's famous "drainage cuts" on Too Long trail last Saturday. I'm really liking the fact that I don't seem to have to worry about these tires. Although this may get me in trouble in the long run...
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,673
14,076
In a van.... down by the river
I know I'm gonna curse myself... but still no flats. And I smashed the ever-living-shit out of my front tire into one of JefCo's famous "drainage cuts" on Too Long trail last Saturday. I'm really liking the fact that I don't seem to have to worry about these tires. Although this may get me in trouble in the long run...
Aaaaand so it ends. Pinched one side of my tire right at the bead. Apparently sealant was too old to fix it. Tube installed. Lots of cursing. Same exact spot that has claimed every other tire I've put on the back of my bike.

I'm starting think that it may actually be my hackitude. :mad: :(
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,135
1,364
Styria
Anybody got any info on the Continental Trail King with the "ProTection Apex" shit? It says it's 3-ply in the sidewall? 3 plies of what? Onionskin?

What's the skinny?
Don't. Buy. Conti.

I still have 2 unused Rubber Queens/Trail Kings in my bike hole I received as warranty replacement for cracked casings.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,673
14,076
In a van.... down by the river
Don't. Buy. Conti.

I still have 2 unused Rubber Queens/Trail Kings in my bike hole I received as warranty replacement for cracked casings.
These were the "Apex" reinforced casings? I had some *OLD* Rubber Queens and the sidewalls were uber-noodly. But I presume those old tires actually *had* sidewalls made out of onionskin. :D
 

dcamp29

Monkey
Feb 14, 2004
589
63
Colorado
FYI: Maxxis has good 29" tread patterns with DD casing now. (DHF Minion 2.3 only, DHF Minion SS, Griffin?)

Still waiting on the 29x2.5" DHF Minion in DD.



Anyone ridden a WTB Vigilante? The durable casing is nice and heavy and the tread doesn't look terrible.
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,634
1,084
coloRADo
^^ Don't forget Aggressor. Great tire IMO. But only avail in 2.3.

I'm with you, the 2.5 DHF in DD would be sweet.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,784
5,600
Ottawa, Canada
Anyone ridden a WTB Vigilante? The durable casing is nice and heavy and the tread doesn't look terrible.
Yes. I'm riding one on my back wheel now. It's only been two rides, and it's hard to tell what's going on because the leaves have fully fallen and it's wet as hell out there now (i.e. slick as snot). It replaced a 2.25 Trailboss in the tough casing. I can definitely feel the difference in weight and rolling resistance. Cornering traction is fine - breaks loose a tad earlier than the 2.5 DHF I'm running in the front. Off camber on wet, leaf-covered roots is predictable. Braking is great. Clears mud well too. The knobs remind me of a burlier Nobby Nic. Maybe somewhere between the Nobby Nic and the Muddy Mary.

Regarding the tough casing, it's quite tough and stiff. I was running the 2.25 with much lower pressure than the 2.3 it replaced (specialized slaughter GRID)

FWIW, I'm running a 2.5 DHF in the front, and the 2.3 Vigilante is wider at the casing than the 2.5 DHF - by at least 2mm.

I think next year I will run the 2.5 DHF front with the DD Aggressor rear.
 

Cant Climb

Turbo Monkey
May 9, 2004
2,683
10
Anyone ridden a WTB Vigilante? The durable casing is nice and heavy and the tread doesn't look terrible.
I had these couple years ago. Bought them because looked good. Absolute nightmare to mount on my Crossmax rims. Had to use the 12 inch Pedro's tire lever to get them on.
 

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,432
888
Anybody got any info on the Continental Trail King with the "ProTection Apex" shit? It says it's 3-ply in the sidewall? 3 plies of what? Onionskin?

What's the skinny?
I've used the Trail King a lot. I love the Black Chili rubber, and the rolling resistance vs grip the thread offers. I'd like the tire even more if they had real side knobs offering support, but that's another story. They seem to have problems now with the casing these days: I've had a couple developing a severe hernia in the past couple of years. I have one sent back for warranty currently.

Concerning the Protection Apex shit, it's garbage in my experience. The only one I had was ridiculously porous and I found the casing to be too fragile and not very supportive. The only Trail King worth riding IMO is the UST, which has an additional (butyl?) layer. It makes the casing significantly more robust and stiffer.
 

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
FYI: Maxxis has good 29" tread patterns with DD casing now. (DHF Minion 2.3 only, DHF Minion SS, Griffin?)

Still waiting on the 29x2.5" DHF Minion in DD.



Anyone ridden a WTB Vigilante? The durable casing is nice and heavy and the tread doesn't look terrible.
The 29x2.5 DHF is already a 1000+ gram beast. I haven't ridden one, but they seem pretty burly.

Vigilante: I've ridden a couple of them in the strong casing, high grip combo. That casing is worry free, as it's a full on 2 ply DHF casing, but folding bead. So it has DH puncture resistance but saves some weight in the bead.
The rubber grips pretty well, doesn't rip off knows immediately.
The tread pattern has the side knobs fairly vertical, even on an i25 rim, with some of them staggered. That makes it easy to ride, but feels to me that it gives up some ultimate cornering grip in the loose compared to something like a HR2 that has a wall of side knobs further over on the casing. My favorite usage was on the rear, clipping the center knobs to half their height to make it semi slick.
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,767
501
As an update, I actually got full life out of a set of Butcher Grids riding the piss out of the trail bike at Mammoth and Snow Slummit all summer, so that's gonna be the tire.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,062
10,626
AK
I had these couple years ago. Bought them because looked good. Absolute nightmare to mount on my Crossmax rims. Had to use the 12 inch Pedro's tire lever to get them on.
I thought it was just me.

But grippy tire. Ended up puncturing it dead center on a rock during a DH run after an enduro race. I had the thing pumped up because it was the replacement wheel I built after cracking a carbon rim. Better the tire than the rim, but it's a decent tire, if you can get the mofo on. I just bought a hairdryer.
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,135
1,364
Styria
These were the "Apex" reinforced casings? I had some *OLD* Rubber Queens and the sidewalls were uber-noodly. But I presume those old tires actually *had* sidewalls made out of onionskin. :D
No, but the UST versions coming at 1.165 kg or 2.56 lbs.

Concerning the Protection Apex shit, it's garbage in my experience. The only one I had was ridiculously porous and I found the casing to be too fragile and not very supportive. The only Trail King worth riding IMO is the UST, which has an additional (butyl?) layer. It makes the casing significantly more robust and stiffer.
I had those, still deforming on sideway landings. But the Black Chili Voodoo stuff is good. At the wet leafs moment I'm back at DHR2 MaxxTerra out front. My dream tire would be a WildRockr2 casing and side knobs, DHR2 center knobs and Black Chili Compound rubber.