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Whistler Tyre choice?

Demomonkey

Monkey
Apr 27, 2005
857
0
Auckland New Zealand
Some buds and I are heading to Whistler for 2 weeks end of August through mid September. We're old farts celebrating our 40th's and are on the AM ticket. Most of our time will be guided rides outside of Whistler but inbetween days will be in the park.

So, tyres for that time of year? Minion, HR, Ardents, some lesser brand?

Are things getting dusty or is a hardpack tyre suitable?

Cheers!

S
 

richgardiner

Monkey
Aug 19, 2008
224
26
The tyre that most people run out there is either a minion dhf on both ends or a spesh butcher, I used a minion dhf front and high roller rear but I only rode the park. If I had money to buy tyres out there instead of taking my spares from home I would have ran a dhf on the rear too. most of the off piste stuff that you would be exploring should be fine on minions, its quite rocky and loamy, otherwise its hardpacked so you should be fine. Wish I could get back out there!
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,288
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
One of the reasons people ride dual DHF (one of the reasons, not the only reason), is so they can swap tires front to back as the rear tire gets worn. Pop the front tire on the rear and put a fresh tire on the front. In two weeks, you might do this at least once if you ride every day. Especially if you ride Pemberton for a day or two. that place shreds tires.
 

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
i ride dual dhf because they bite hard when braking, are predictable, and have a nice shoulder to lean on and are somewhat durable.

high rollers bite harder when braking, but get destroyed far too quickly. and they are not that good to lean on.... on the front they are just way too impredictable on loomy ground.
 
i ride dual dhf because they bite hard when braking, are predictable, and have a nice shoulder to lean on and are somewhat durable.

high rollers bite harder when braking, but get destroyed far too quickly. and they are not that good to lean on.... on the front they are just way too impredictable on loomy ground.
I beg to differ, Id run a High roller on softer terrain (we have a lot of that here) but for Whistler in August go with the DHF for sure.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
I think the Minion DHF will hold up better (in the bikepark) than Muddy Mary's for the same reason that they hold up better than Highrollers - the Minion DHF has more elongated braking knobs which are much harder to tear up/off than the short wide ones on the MM and HR. For two weeks though it probably doesn't matter.

Everywhere I've ridden outside the bikepark though, I'd probably rather a Mary, or even a Dirty Dan for the loamier stuff. Minions suck when it gets muddy.
 

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,010
1,146
El Lay
DHF front and rear is the money unless you are really early in the season and dealing with lots of mud up top.

If you are a confident rider and chillin on the speedway trails mostly, run the 60D on the rear.
 

nojoke

Chimp
Jul 5, 2011
27
0
I like the Butcher's....ran them here in Alaska all year in very rocky/shale conditions. I rode at Whistler also and had no issues. Will probably keep buying them.
 

Demomonkey

Monkey
Apr 27, 2005
857
0
Auckland New Zealand
Hey monkeys, further questions.

A lot of the riding we are doing will be guided back country. We are scheduled for a days shuttling in Pemberton (noted on the Minion recommendation thanks) and also the Lake Tyax ride (ala Shandro/Weir Xtr movie clip), a Squamish day, a northshore day and a helidrop.

The inbetween days will either be in the park or quite possibly resting.

So, for the days out out of the park, for trail riding and vehicle assisted shuttles out of Whistler, what are the thoughts on Ardents? Most of our riding locally is on hardpack so we tend to run faster running tyres. I fully rate the Ardent as a good allround tyre that only really loses it in the slop.

None of us are freeriding DH monster train TLD fireballs.....just ol farts looking to get the Whistler experience under our belts before we're too frail to enjoy it.

Or does everyone just run Minions on every bike they own/ride up there?
 

samnation

Monkey
Jan 25, 2009
139
0
Somewhere in KANURDUR
Outside the park Ardent inside the park Minion personally being as poor as I am here I just run minions on everything so I essentially have 4 tires that can go on any bike.
 

UncleHowie

Chimp
Feb 9, 2011
76
0
Switzerland
A lot of the riding we are doing will be guided back country. We are scheduled for a days shuttling in Pemberton (noted on the Minion recommendation thanks) and also the Lake Tyax ride (ala Shandro/Weir Xtr movie clip), a Squamish day, a northshore day and a helidrop.
Where did you book that? I'm in whistler for a month this august and i'd like to ride some trails outside the bikepark.
 

Demomonkey

Monkey
Apr 27, 2005
857
0
Auckland New Zealand
Whoops, you hit the nail on the head buddy. Departure date is looming and my road bike still has flat tyres....

Samnation, thanks, Ardents are my prefered for all round AM sneaker.

UncleHowie, we booked with Ticket2ridebc.com. We arrive 31/08 and are in town until 14/09.

Anyone, feel free to PM if you're in Whistler and want to catch up for a ride (or a beer) with 3 slow ol buggers.
 

shirk007

Monkey
Apr 14, 2009
499
354
ABA - Anything but Ardents.

For your days outside the park are you going to be on AM bikes? Or DH bikes?

The local front tire of choice for everything from XC / AM / Trail / DH is the DHF. Guys on lighter trail bikes run the 2.35 single ply, beefier AM bikes go with the 2.5 EXO and then DH run the dual ply. Winter and wet is Super Tacky and 3C most of the rest of the year.

Rear tires are kinda all over the map. Some trail / am guys really like the Larsen TT or Crossmark. Plenty fast with just enough traction to keep things from getting sketchy. High Roller II EXO is a good tire for a AM when not so worried about rolling resistance or weight. For DH you'll see many Whistler locals run the DHF on the back, this is because they just keep rotating the worn front onto the rear. They put in tons of days in the park and it cuts down on the cost. You'll see many many bald blown out rear tires on locals bikes in the line-up. Here in North Van you'll see riders running rear tires in much better shape. Braking traction is needed on the steeper and looser trails. The new HighRoller II and DHR II are very well liked. Again Super Tacky in the wet, 3C in the intermediate and then 60a in the dead of dry summer.

Hope that helps.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
Whistler has very little real dirt. It has rock, smooth roots, and packed clay/hardpan. The tread pattern has little impact on performance. I've run old Mobsters with half the knobs torn off in the rain and they ride just fine, as long as they are 42s and not 60 comp.
So, any 3c or 42 tire should do great in all weather conditions. People love the DHF because it has so much rubber in the center it lasts. High rollers literally last 1 day in the summer.
I buy 60 comp DHF for the rear and save them for the hot and dry days.

If you are going in August, run a 60 DHF in the back and swap it out for a 3c for anything outside the park.
 

Demomonkey

Monkey
Apr 27, 2005
857
0
Auckland New Zealand
ABA - bugger, I run them tubeless and love the fact I can just stick em on forget em. We're all riding 160mm AM bikes. I cant be faffed swapping tyres out, might take two wheel sets already set up.

Thanks for the advice all.
 

shirk007

Monkey
Apr 14, 2009
499
354
Get a Minnion DHF 3c for the front.

Outside the park you'll want the bite from that outer row of knobs on the DHF.

For the rear I'd suggest running something dual ply. It will save you being concerned about flats. You'll be able to plow thru anything in or out of the park. Sure it weights a bit more for the climbs, but you won't be racing. Run something that is fast rolling.

To run 2.35 dual plys you give up about 1 pound to running EXO's. I recently ran DHF Exo front and High Roller II EXO rear on a trip and had tons of flats with the rear. I wish I had run dual plys. Once I had flatted a few times I started pulling back a bit on my riding because I didn't want to hold up the group with more flats. It's wasn't worth saving the pound on a trip to riding as fast as I wanted to.
 
Feb 13, 2002
1,087
17
Seattle, WA
For the rear I'd suggest running something dual ply. It will save you being concerned about flats. You'll be able to plow thru anything in or out of the park. Sure it weights a bit more for the climbs, but you won't be racing. Run something that is fast rolling.

To run 2.35 dual plys you give up about 1 pound to running EXO's. I recently ran DHF Exo front and High Roller II EXO rear on a trip and had tons of flats with the rear. I wish I had run dual plys. Once I had flatted a few times I started pulling back a bit on my riding because I didn't want to hold up the group with more flats. It's wasn't worth saving the pound on a trip to riding as fast as I wanted to.
Amen, brother. I've been running DH tubes / dual ply rear since forever. It's not worth it to have to stop and change tubes all the time.

I've gone 2 years in Vancouver without a flat on dual ply minion rear. I ran a single ply minion for a north shore ride for the first time in 2 years and pinchflatted twice.

Never again.
 

jds

Chimp
Jul 4, 2012
1
0
Depends on the weather.

Dry

Front - Continental Kaiser or Minion 3c DHF

Rear - Minion DHF 3c or 60A

Wet

Front - Continental Der Baron (Rain King (Is also good in the dry. Becomes **** in the dry when the sipes are gone))

Rear - Minion DHF 3c or 60A

Rear compound for both dry and wet depends on your style. I destroy a 3c in less than a week, so never ride them. I use 60A's all season.

Keep in mind Whistler is absolutely brutal on tires and if you're in the bike park you will need dual ply. Don't even consider using single ply, it will be a waste of both time and money.