What's the haps on decent trailbike tires? I have several massively clapped out tires and would like to go ahead and buy stuff that doesn't suck. What is good, relatively light, and reasonably durable?
General trailbike tires
- Thread starter Sandwich
- Start date
I've been running a Maxxis Ignitor front and a Crossmark rear on my trail bike for the last few months and love it! Super low rolling resistance but still enough bite when I need it.
What kinda bike are they going on?
What kinda bike are they going on?
I have a trek Fuel EX 8. It's sweet but the tioga XC pros on there now are a little flimsy for what I'd really like to use them for. They are light and roll well, but I had a puncture yesterday and the knobs are rather sparse. Plus they're worn out...
Michelin Wild-Gripp'r in a 2.20 very durable, good on hard pack, loose over hard pack and loam. They also do a decent job on muddy rides of clearing the mud from the tread, the side knobs are fairly well spaced but it has never been an issue for me while cornering. If you can afford them the new Shwalbe stuff is great as well but even with a discount they are still around $55 each. I'm on my second set of the Michelins and couldn't be happier with them, they are a great fast rolling high volume tire that somehow still hangs on.
Those seem a bit heavy and heavy duty for just kerplunking around the woods....or is the girth worth it?
you know, I gave my friend a set of those because he couldn't fit the wide tire he had on the rear. They're the red ones, which I shudder to put on my bike, but I might be able to remooch them back from him.
are you talking about the hot S or something else?
For me, yes. But I also do alot of riding in the mtn's on the same bike. So I like a high volume/ slightly wider/ softer compound tire that does good on the XC trails and in the mtn's as well. I have them set up tubeless, and they roll really fast IMO. I thought 700g was light
I run a weird setup. I have a Kenda Nevegal front tire, XC. On the back i have a skate park tire. It's the WTB Graffiti UK. 2.2 wide. Rolls fast, drifts like crazy. I love it. I used to run a small block 8, but it was really inconsistent. It would grab when braking sometimes, other times it wouldn't. Same with cornering. I ran it as a back tire. At least with the skate park tire, i know it consistently WON'T grab. It drifts like crazy.
I just bought some WTB MotoRaptors in 2.14 for my XC hardtail. Love them, great in just about every condition. They shed mud like crazy, are grippy on roots/rocks, they handle sandy/loose underfoot conditions well, rolling resistance isn't too bad and they corner very well. I've also had pretty good luck at running lower tire pressure without pinch flatting. If you buy them, get the race version with the DNA rubber compound, they are a little more expensive but you'll be glad you did. The race version with DNA compound is fairly lightweight, I think they're around 650 grams.
Whoops! I just found a pair of IRC Trailbeers in my stash. I'll mount those for the next ride and see how they go. No idea whether they're kevvy or steel, but they're much more aggressive than the Tiogas I have now, and they aren't pink.
If they end up sucking, I'll look into the michis or Motos. I may actually have one 2.4" motoraptor tire hanging around.
I can't fathom riding with a dirt jump tire in the rear. Might be moderately fun for a few minutes, but climbing would be a beatch.
If they end up sucking, I'll look into the michis or Motos. I may actually have one 2.4" motoraptor tire hanging around.
I can't fathom riding with a dirt jump tire in the rear. Might be moderately fun for a few minutes, but climbing would be a beatch.
I usually either run an Ardent/Advantage combo or a Minion/High Roller. This is for riding done in the Lynn/Northshore area. Both are top notch in my opinion.
Lynn was actually where I realized how inadequate my tires were. I think a Minion/HR combo is overkill for probably 90% of the trails I'm normally on, but do the rest of Maxxis' trail tires run as small as their DH ones? My minions at 2.5" are as small as some 2.3"s I've run before....I don't want to buy a 2.2" maxxis trail tire and actually be running a 1.8.
Second.
Agreed, but sadly durability goes out the window.
That said, the 2.4 Motoraptors I've been running on the RFX have been pretty solid (once I got the right tire pressure locked in). Somewhat aggressive tread (especially side knobs), and seemingly thicker/tougher sidewalls than any of the comparable Maxxis tires I ever ran.
The 2.1 Exiwolfs I'm running on the Burner have me blown away as far as traction and strength.....maybe a 2.3/2.4 version would be good if such a thing exists.
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My two favorite All Mountain Tires are the Kenda Blue Groove and the Nevegal. I have UST Blue Groove 2.1s on my hardtail and UST 2.35 Nevegal DTCs on my Yeti and they're both great. The Nevegals are beefier and have a higher rolling resistance, but they hook up great on the rocks and roots!
Im a fan of the nevegal or the blue groove on the front, and i usually go with a faster rolling rear. right now ive got a karma on there, and they always hook up well.
My Michelins took a dump on me. On the search for something more durable, 3 tread punctures from one ride is unacceptable. Anyone?
I've become a pretty devout fan of the Schwalbe line. From Nobby Nics and Fat Alberts, to Big Bettys and Muddy Marys. Choose your condition and go; all 4 of those have just been sweet. And the Big Apples are the most godly slicks ever devised if you ever find you need that application.
I'm sure Bullcrew could give you all the info and then some on whatever you may want to know.
I'm sure Bullcrew could give you all the info and then some on whatever you may want to know.
I am currently running a UST Conty MK 2.4 on the front, and UST Larsen on the rear.
The MK is very light for it's size, has buttloads of cornering grip, but a bit too much rolling resistance compared to the Hutchy Barracuda (this was a good tyre too)I was running before. I will try the 2.2 next time.
I am very impressed with my first Continental tyre, but have been hearing very good things about the Schwable's. It will be either one of those brands for my next tyre I think.
The MK is very light for it's size, has buttloads of cornering grip, but a bit too much rolling resistance compared to the Hutchy Barracuda (this was a good tyre too)I was running before. I will try the 2.2 next time.
I am very impressed with my first Continental tyre, but have been hearing very good things about the Schwable's. It will be either one of those brands for my next tyre I think.
Got a Nobby Nic 2.25 in the dd casing for the front and a Racing Ralph 2.25 in the ss casing for the rear. I keep hearing about these things so I'm gonna see what happens. On another note, I was trying to see if I could get a few more rides on the old michelins with some help from my patch kit but one had a nasty sidewall gash as well.
For general trail use I am a big fan of the standard ignitor 2.35 front and 2.1 rear... I dont run them tubeless anymore due burping the front off the rim and landing on my face.. I just squirt some stans into light weight tubes..
I find they work in the varied terrain I ride - eg clear well in mud and work well on skatey gravel..
To get the bike to roll faster sometimes I opt for the crossmark on the rear..
I find they work in the varied terrain I ride - eg clear well in mud and work well on skatey gravel..
To get the bike to roll faster sometimes I opt for the crossmark on the rear..
The Advantage is my new favorite tire. I bought a set on a whim cause they are available in a single wall 1.5"
They rock. They roll fast, grip well in all directions, and you can lean them hard.
They rock. They roll fast, grip well in all directions, and you can lean them hard.
I went back to an old setup i used to use. Trails out here finally got pretty loose and dusty, so i went with one of my old DH front tires for extra grip in the front, and a little bit of knob action in the back. The skate tire wasn't hooking up on anything anymore. Now i'm running an old Kenda Tinker tire. But on our conditions out here (dry, loose, rocky shale) i needed more traction in the back, mostly on the climbs.
I've run the Conti Mountain Kings before. Those were really nice too. I think it's a bit hard to go wrong these days really. There are so many good tires out there. I think picking a good front tire is more important than the rear. I always like having a front that is meaty as hell and grips in the turns like mad. The rear eventually follows the front, so i usually run something with a little less meat or hardly any at all on the back. I like a fast rolling rear tire since 90% of my weight is back there most of the time.
I've run the Conti Mountain Kings before. Those were really nice too. I think it's a bit hard to go wrong these days really. There are so many good tires out there. I think picking a good front tire is more important than the rear. I always like having a front that is meaty as hell and grips in the turns like mad. The rear eventually follows the front, so i usually run something with a little less meat or hardly any at all on the back. I like a fast rolling rear tire since 90% of my weight is back there most of the time.
I currently run maxis crossmark and larsen...fast, and great grip. If all else fails find you a panaracer smoke and dart....still a great combo
Have a pair of Tioga Team DH on my Reign (2.5f/2.1r), the rear is loosing knobs like crazy; haven't had punctures on them thou.
The Ignitor's are great but a little weak on the sidewall IMO.
Try Maxxis Advantage or DHF on the front and a High Roller on the rear.
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Might be overkill, but i run an Ardent 2.4 3C in the front and a single ply Minion 2.25 60 duro. in the back for trail riding. I think I'm used the predictability of the minion tread pattern from dh'ing and thus far it's working well.
EDIT: I know a lot of folks who use the nevegal 2.35 with great success. Terrain is typical NE stuff - loam, rock slabs, etc.
EDIT: I know a lot of folks who use the nevegal 2.35 with great success. Terrain is typical NE stuff - loam, rock slabs, etc.
Been running High Rollers F&R for 2 seasons now and love them. Ride NE/MA, Lynn to Glostah.