[sanjuro]

I bought this front tire for my XC bike, but I got rid of the bike before I could put them on.

I am giving my cousin, who is a newbie and only about 105 lbs, a 2005 Rockhopper Women's, so I decided to put them on in place of the heavier stock tires.

Well, I saved 400 g over the other tire, but even though the Explorer was listed as 2.1, it looked like a 1.9 (the iso for this tire is 54-559). The tread pattern is also much smaller than the picture, the knobs being only about 3mm high.

Now my cousin is tiny and she will mostly be riding the fireroads of Mt Tam. But I don't want her to wash out on the first high speed descent. Do you think this tire will handle well, or should I get her a wider front tire, like the Vertical 2.3?

 

[spincrazy]

I don't know about the explorer, but the vert has been a good tire for me. Conti in general makes pretty decent treads. She'll probably be fine.

 

[blue]

The Vert is a nice one. Kinda chunky, but nice. I put my GF on Panaracer Cinders after she hated some skinny Tioga's I had lying around...loves them, even for the uber-techical sidewalk descents.

 

[JRB]

It's pretty grippy. She'll be fine on it, sanj. I rode tons of miles on the 2.1s.

 

[BikeGeek]

I rode the Explorer for a season and really liked it. It does come up small compared to the advertised size, as do all Contis, but I was pleased with it's performance. If you're worried about her washing out, she's light enough that you could get away with running the psi a little lower than the stated minimum to help the tire spread out a bit.

 

[jacksonpt]

I've never ridden the explorer, so take this for what it's worth...

I think she'll be fine. For as light as she is, she doesn't need huge knobbies, especially if you run them at a lower PSI (which you should be able to get away with considering her weight). Regardless of what tire you put on there, she's going to have to learn the bike... get a feel for it's limits. Granted, you want those limits to be reasonable, but I think she'll be fine.

And every conti I've ever seen runs small... almost an entire size.

 

[peter6061]

She'll be fine. I still roll those on my SS, while I have Verts on my FS. I'd buy another set of the Explorers if I could get some for a decent price. They're small, but they grip.

 

[The Toninator]

the tires have plenty of knob she'll be fine. I've run the SS's and their good tires.

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>

Now my cousin is tiny and she will mostly be riding the fireroads of Mt Tam. But I don't want her to wash out on the first high speed descent.

Just tell her to keep her weight back. IMO those descents on Mt. Tam are pretty tame. She'll likely keep her speed in check anyway.

 

[James]

I LOVE those tires. I had some super-gnarly-light versions that I came across, the "Special Werks Edition," they were like 380g or something. But I really liked them, had them on my NRS Carbon, and rocked them until they wore out. I will be getting another pair for my Anthem after my current tires are worn out.

JJames

 

[sanjuro]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to keep them on. The biggest factor would be her petite size. If I keep the tire pressure around 35psi, I hope the traction would be more than adequate without any threat of pinch flats.

I could probably put on Fatboy slicks and she would be ok, but since my cousin is a new rider, I want to err on the side of caution, not gram counting.

 

[The Toninator]

I LOVE those tires. I had some super-gnarly-light versions that I came across, the "Special Werks Edition," they were like 380g or something. But I really liked them, had them on my NRS Carbon, and rocked them until they wore out. I will be getting another pair for my Anthem after my current tires are worn out.
JJames

james you should give these a looky look. they roxored durango last year. i plan on getting the larger one (1.95 last year 2.1 this year) for more traction this year for crested butte.
maxxis ignitor

 

[James]

james you should give these a looky look. they roxored durango last year. i plan on getting the larger one (1.95 last year 2.1 this year) for more traction this year for crested butte.
maxxis ignitor

Wow, those look familiar...
I'll have to check them out. I always liked the rubber compound on the Contis, how do the Maxxis stack up?

 

[The Toninator]

Wow, those look familiar...
I'll have to check them out. I always liked the rubber compound on the Contis, how do the Maxxis stack up?

they have a soft and a hard compound, i've used the 62's (the soft) and they wear quick but it's a great time. their a little less knobby in the center with little ramps leading up to the front edge but full knobs off camber and sidewall.

 

[def]

Those are some of my favorite tires. I've tried many others and I keep going back to explorers or vertis. Usually its a verti in the front and an explorer in the back. They feel good, last ok, are fairly fast and grippy and I just dig them. Still the tires I buy.

The maxxis look nice. A buddy got some preproduction ones a few years back and they were damn good, but the production ones came out much narrower (maxxis 1.95) than what he was on. I haven't seen the larger ones yet, but they might be another option.