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Need Tire Advice

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Barbaton

Barbaton

Turbo Monkey
May 11, 2002
1,477
0
suburban hell
So I've been running some Michelin WildGripper Comp S tires that came on my Blur and I haven't been super happy with them. As soon as the conditions get wet (so every other ride here in NE), and rocky (every ride here in NE) they completely lose traction and get pretty useless.

Anyone have any good suggestions for those sort of conditions and the fairly agressive XC riding I do on that bike? I've had Velociraptors suggested if that's a good jumping off point...


wow, a bike related post...
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,748
8,748
yeah, i run conti verticals on my xc rig. seemed to work well enough for boston-stuff
 
Barbaton

Barbaton

Turbo Monkey
May 11, 2002
1,477
0
suburban hell
Oh, left out that the current tires are Michelin WildGripper Comp S. I'll go back and edit that. Seems that folks in the Tech forum have recommended those over the Velociraptor so maybe those aren't the solution.

I'll look into the Contis
 
berkshire_rider

berkshire_rider

Growler
Feb 5, 2003
2,552
10
The Blackstone Valley
I do the same riding, maybe even the same places. I ordered a set of Nevegal's, but they haven't arrived yet. :mumble: I've heard the Blue Groove's are better for the summer, after it dries out a bit.
 
Enginerd A2

Enginerd A2

crappy
Feb 20, 2002
369
0
Ann Arbor, MI
berkshire_rider said:
I do the same riding, maybe even the same places. I ordered a set of Nevegal's, but they haven't arrived yet. :mumble: I've heard the Blue Groove's are better for the summer, after it dries out a bit.
Click to expand...
I've heard nothing but good things about the Nevegals and Blue Grooves. They appear to be priced reasonably, too. Here in in Michigan, it's all roots and hardpack, so I feel like I can get away with running almost anything, otherwise I might have a more relevant opinion. I have some Maxxis Larsen TT's in 2.35 that I'm pretty happy with, but they're hardpack tires for sure.
 
Ian F

Ian F

Turbo Monkey
Sep 8, 2001
1,016
0
Philadelphia area
Toshi said:
yeah, i run conti verticals on my xc rig. seemed to work well enough for boston-stuff
Click to expand...
Another vote for Conti's. I'm lovin' the UST 2.3's on my squishy bike. Also doesn't hurt they are amoung the lightest UST tires available. :love:
 
Wumpus

Wumpus

makes avatars better
Dec 25, 2003
8,161
153
Six Shooter Junction
I have been happy with the blue grooves in the damp. We have limestone here that is slicker than snot when it gets wet and they grip pretty well. The stick-e compound seems to wear pretty fast. I wasn't very happy with them this weekend in the dry, loose rock(marble to softball size) that is our normal summer conditions, though. Loco claims that the sidewalls rip easy in the rocks, but I haven't had any problems yet.

Don't think WTB makes them anymore but the enduroraptor worked really well, too.


(Our trails suck when they are muddy so I don't ride in the mud.)
 
McGRP01

McGRP01

beer and bikes
Feb 6, 2003
7,793
0
Portland, OR
berkshire_rider said:
I do the same riding, maybe even the same places. I ordered a set of Nevegal's, but they haven't arrived yet. :mumble: I've heard the Blue Groove's are better for the summer, after it dries out a bit.
Click to expand...
Speaking of BG/Nevegals...look what I got today!





:D
 
Andyman_1970

Andyman_1970

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2003
3,105
5
The Natural State
I vote for the Conti Vertical's - I run them as "winter" tires on my Blur with stans (non-UST tire) and love them in the loose stuff and they do well when it's damp on rocks and roots.
 
jacksonpt

jacksonpt

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2002
6,791
59
Vestal, NY
SkaredShtles said:
Ritchey Z-Max. Good rock/loose traction. Don't know about mud, since I don't ride in mud. :p

-S.S.-
Click to expand...
I had terrible luck with those. We've got a lot of off-cambur roots, and those tires slide side-to-side like nobody's business... very little lateral traction on wet roots.
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,823
14,162
In a van.... down by the river
jacksonpt said:
I had terrible luck with those. We've got a lot of off-cambur roots, and those tires slide side-to-side like nobody's business... very little lateral traction on wet roots.
Click to expand...
That very well may be the case. Wet roots give me the willies..... maybe it's because of the tires. :D

-S.S.-
 
golgiaparatus

golgiaparatus

Out of my element
Aug 30, 2002
7,340
41
Deep in the Jungles of Oklahoma
jacksonpt said:
I've been pretty happy with my Conti verticals... I live in upstate NY, so conditions are probably similar here.
Click to expand...
Conti verticals are absolutely great nearly perfect tires... except on wet rocks or sharp rocks (if used in the rear). Basically its hard to find a tire that will hold on in the corners on wet rocks. The survival pro is my favorite wet conditions tire, but again, wet rock (especially mossy) is bad news even for it.
 
McGRP01

McGRP01

beer and bikes
Feb 6, 2003
7,793
0
Portland, OR
berkshire_rider said:
Bastard! :think: I ordered mine back at the NWD5 video showing, and still have nothing. :confused:
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You're kidding!?!? Might want to make a phone call. Of course it doesn't hurt that Kenda is one of my sponsors. :)
 
berkshire_rider

berkshire_rider

Growler
Feb 5, 2003
2,552
10
The Blackstone Valley
McGRP01 said:
You're kidding!?!? Might want to make a phone call. Of course it doesn't hurt that Kenda is one of my sponsors. :)
Click to expand...
No, I'm not kidding. I also paid for them back at the showing, and I have asked about them multiple times, and was told they haven't come in yet. :think:
 
jacksonpt

jacksonpt

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2002
6,791
59
Vestal, NY
If it's not too late, and for what it's worth...

I rode around on the trails behind my house a bit last night with the Velociraptors on. I did it again tonight with the contis - about 30 minutes both nights, no real rocks/roots, basically just snowy, slushy, sloppy field trails. I ran them as sets, WTBs front and rear, contis front and rear, no mixing and matching. I ran the velociraptors at 15psi and the contis at 20.

The rear conti pushed through the snow better, but the front velociraptor seemed to track better without sliding side to side as much in the deep wet snow. In the harder/shallower snow, both were good. On firmer ground, the contis were better, especially in turns - they held much better. However, a bit more air in the WTBs would have helped this.

All in all, I think either tire would be a good choice. For an all-around, year long tire, I like the verticals better.

Hope this helps.
 
golgiaparatus

golgiaparatus

Out of my element
Aug 30, 2002
7,340
41
Deep in the Jungles of Oklahoma
jacksonpt said:
If it's not too late, and for what it's worth...

I rode around on the trails behind my house a bit last night with the Velociraptors on. I did it again tonight with the contis - about 30 minutes both nights, no real rocks/roots, basically just snowy, slushy, sloppy field trails. I ran them as sets, WTBs front and rear, contis front and rear, no mixing and matching. I ran the velociraptors at 15psi and the contis at 20.

The rear conti pushed through the snow better, but the front velociraptor seemed to track better without sliding side to side as much in the deep wet snow. In the harder/shallower snow, both were good. On firmer ground, the contis were better, especially in turns - they held much better. However, a bit more air in the WTBs would have helped this.

All in all, I think either tire would be a good choice. For an all-around, year long tire, I like the verticals better.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Good choice... I run one in the front year round, but because of the sharp rocks and all the tech climbing I do up here I cant run on in the back (poor little knobbies pop right off). Because of this in the summer I am still trying to find the perfect match to the conti's cornering abilities without sacrificing knob stability in the sharp shale stuff. In the winter on the other hand I use the survival pro... that thing is bullet proof. Even in the summer it works pretty well, just lacks surface area for climbing flat rock areas which is why I opt for a more square/flat knobed tire.

Blah blah blah, anyway, really, I just wanted to warn you about the vert's tendancy to shed knobs in sharp rocks (climbing especially).
 
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