[MtnBikerChk]

HEY GUYS!

Ok so the tires that came with my RM SUCK.

Opinions please -

I ride in New England. This year was unusually dry and now that it's a little wet, my tires slide all over the place.

I have the Maxxis Hard Drives right now. The only other tire I've ridden was the WTB Velociraptor - which were ok, but not GREAT.

HELP!

 

[SK6]

A real good consistant tire is the WTB Velociraptor............Climbs great, great traction, corners well!!!! and tracks real well!!!!

an all around awesome tire!!!

They might be different on your bike..............I just read your comment on em, and maybe on this bike they will perform as well as they are rated IMHO

 

[MtnBikerChk]

what are the advantages/disadvantages of kevlar - do I want those?

 

[MtnBikerChk]

so if I decide to stick with the wtb, should I get the kevlar folding ones at pricepoint for $20?

 

[novice]

Michelin Wildgripper Comp S is a great tire for just about everything. Sheds mud very well, handles hard pack with no problem, but I don't think is great choice if you ride a lot of loose pack. Loose pack handling is ok, but not great, a little worse than the velociraptors. The only other flaw with this tire is that it wears pretty fast, so try to staya off of the road as it wears the hell out o f the tires.

The IRC Mythos is also a tire you should look into. It has a similar treadpattern to the velociraptor's, but it has less rolling resistance. It is also a little better in the mud because it doesn't pack in mud like the velociraptors will do.

My $0.02

 

[SK6]

Originally posted by MtnBikerChick
so if I decide to stick with the wtb, should I get the kevlar folding ones at pricepoint for $20?

I most certainly would!!!!! Good luck and keep us up to date!!!

 

[MtnBikerChk]

so confused

that OTHER website that has those consumer ratings likes the continental explorer pros. Any experience?

 

[I Are Baboon]

Originally posted by MtnBikerChick
HEY GUYS!

Ok so the tires that came with my RM SUCK.


I have the Maxxis Hard Drives right now.

BTW, I have Maxxis Mofo XC's (same with the bike). They are good on dry surfaces, but slide all over the place when it's wet.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

I also vote for the Velociraptors. Kevlar's a toss. When the rains come in New England, all tires are going to exhibit some sideslip on logs, rocks, and roots.

Pay attention to the direction arrows on the rear tire. (Of course, I can't remember off the top of my head which one is better on wet logs; I do recall that I have it going the wrong way now).

If you can run 40 PSIG, it'll help traction. I weigh 160 and usually run at 45, having gotten tired of snake bite punctures at 35.

Once it starts to get icy, a set of Nokian Extreme studded tires will help on ice and absolutely conquer logs and roots. However, those skins are $100- a wheel...

J

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Dummy Question:

what's the tubeless tire? do they fit on the same rims as other tires?

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Originally posted by johnbryanpeters
I also vote for the Velociraptors. Kevlar's a toss. When the rains come in New England, all tires are going to exhibit some sideslip on logs, rocks, and roots.

Pay attention to the direction arrows on the rear tire. (Of course, I can't remember off the top of my head which one is better on wet logs; I do recall that I have it going the wrong way now).

If you can run 40 PSIG, it'll help traction. I weigh 160 and usually run at 45, having gotten tired of snake bite punctures at 35.

Once it starts to get icy, a set of Nokian Extreme studded tires will help on ice and absolutely conquer logs and roots. However, those skins are $100- a wheel...

J

HEY - are you in New Haven CT? (never heard of New Haven, VT).

I used to work there! Small world.

Ok - so you guys say the velociraptors, huh? by the end of the day, we'll have made our decision (will probably get a pair for Baboon too - lucky guy).

The thing I didn't like about those was I found it hard to navigate in tight corners - but that was a different bike so maybe it'll all be good now.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Originally posted by MtnBikerChick


(will probably get a pair for Baboon too - lucky guy).

Yes, I am a lucky guy.

 

[riderx]

My votes: WTB Velociraptor or Motoraptor on the front, Panaracer Smoke on the back.

Lots of technical rocks and roots around here, so it's probably pretty similar to your terrain.

Here's a couple of reviews I wrote on these tires if you want some more info:
http://www.singlespeedoutlaw.com/issue1/junkdrawer.shtml#ProductReview

 

[I Are Baboon]

Originally posted by riderx
Lots of technical rocks and roots around here, so it's probably pretty similar to your terrain.

YUP! Lots of rocks and roots. I love that stuff.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Originally posted by riderx
My votes: WTB Velociraptor or Motoraptor on the front, Panaracer Smoke on the back.

Lots of technical rocks and roots around here, so it's probably pretty similar to your terrain.

Here's a couple of reviews I wrote on these tires if you want some more info:
http://www.singlespeedoutlaw.com/issue1/junkdrawer.shtml#ProductReview

Nice article.

Never thought of mixing and matching brands. hhmmmmm

how about WET roots - I hate washing out on that stuff - OUCH.

 

[SK6]

Originally posted by MtnBikerChick


Nice article.

Never thought of mixing and matching brands. hhmmmmm

how about WET roots - I hate washing out on that stuff - OUCH.

Wet roots are gonna be a pain no matter what tire you ride.......Wet roots if hit on an off angle is like ice.......

The WTB have on the tire which direction to mount them....

wet roots are just a part of the trail, part of the fun!!!!!!

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Originally posted by sirknight6



wet roots are just a part of the trail, part of the fun!!!!!!

I can live with that - but when the difference is so noticable to me (and I don't notice anything) we have a problem. I used to ride in mud all the time and never had a problem like I did this past Saturday. It was ugly!

 

[riderx]

Originally posted by MtnBikerChick
how about WET roots - I hate washing out on that stuff - OUCH.

SK6 is right when he says to avoid wet roots at an angle. Best bets are to hit them perpendicular (sp?) and try to carry your momentum so you don't have to pedal on them. If you do have to pedal on them, a rear tire with lugs that are spaced fairly wide seem to give the best traction. The Smokes work well on wet roots. Wet roots can definitely be tricky, so watch out.

 

[Yankee Tim]

I just picked up a set of Motoraptors from Pricepoint a few weeks ago. Thus far, they're great. I'm very happy with their performance and can't beat the price. However, I do ride in primarily dry conditions. I couldn't tell you how they do in wet conditions.

 

[Merwin5_10]

Hutchinson Pythons. GREAT tires for all around riding. They have a full, low profile tread which doesn't collect a ton of mud but still offer great traction on all aroung conditions. I used the golds for a year, put 900 miles on them and just replaced them with Michellin Comp S front and Sprint S rear (race set-up.)

 

[chrisJohn]

Different people look for different things in a tire. The most important salient fact concerning tire selection is the type of riding you do or are planning on doing. I'm not shy about switching tires to fit the conditions and or the course. Mud tires tend to be a real drag, literally, in any conditions other than mud.

This brings up a topic near and dear to me. How can people afford to ride in the mud enough to really worry about tire performance in it, with the exception of those living in wet climes. Spent three days at the Tsali last month riding in torrential rain and burned through two sets of red kool stops, and ended up replacing all my cables and housing, not to mention probably shortened the life of my entire drive train.

Okay, back to tires.

Until you find the tire combo that fits you, don't be shy about buying wire beaded tires, they're usually a lot cheaper and most often have the identical tread of their more pricey kevlar cousins. Bigger tires are more stable, but not as fast. I fought the battle of speed versus stability when I was getting back in to riding after a four year hiatus. Stabilty and traction are more important than speed, at least for me two broken bones later. Don't for an instant imagine that what works in the back will necessarily work in the front, totally different aninmals. WTB velociraptors are good tires, but personally get squirrelly in the wet. Rubber compound shreds on the rocks, or at least the set I ran did.

Now for my advice, purely personal, and may not be right for you, but here goes. Rear tire, Continental Comp Pro 2. These are have large enough lugs to slow you down going down hill and are a great sloppy conditions tire. Natural rubber compound seems to hook up better, especially on roots, but that's just my impression. They're tough to find, but if you want, I'll box up a used one of mine for you. I bought a bunch from Universal Cycles on sale last summer.

As for a front, I have to say the Continental explorer pro is the best all around front tire I've ever run. Light, rolls fast, and corner well. Not as stable as a WTB motoraptor for sure, but again it's an XC tire, which fits my riding style.

Tires are the easiest way to increase/change the performance of your bike, of course other than tweaking the engine.

 

[MuDHoG]

I would also like to recomend that you keep width in mind mtbrchick....the wider the tire the more control and stability you'll have..but ask at the lbs what size you can actually go to....it all depends on frame size and suspension (the brake mount on the front drastically reduces the size you can increase) ask a simple question and get 24 different answers eh? lol

 

[Ranger]

Servus!

This is like asking someone what's the best color for a t-shirt....

Anyhow, I will agree with chrisJohn about the Conti Explorer Pro being about the best all-around front I have ever run. I use the Conti Vertical Pro (2.3) for my rear during the wet/snow/nasty seasons and have nothing but glowing praise. I find that the width adds to the overall rideability and the lugs are deep and wide enough to keep me out of trouble when it comes to traction issues.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

I "grew up" riding on 1.95s but then went to 2.1 when I put the velociraptors on my old bike (earlier this season). I started climbing better, but I couldn't corner as well - as you stated.

For now, what I've decided to do is take the velociraptors of the old bike and put them on the new one - and see how they feel (the treads are still like new). I am sure by next spring I'll be itching to try the Pythons and the Continentals (2 tires I had already heard great things about).

Decisions, decisions!!

Thanks guys.

 

[iepeulas]

I reccomend Michelin!!! I've ridden them for quite a while now, and they seem to do really well on all conditions, but they really shine on wet stone and roots as long as you dont mash the pedals while your on them. I recently bought a pair of IRC Mythos, and I am dissappointed with the way they preform on the wet slippery stuff, but they are decent mud/loose stuff tires.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

so I've taken the velociraptors and put them on the element. they are the same size as the maxxis, but they feel wider. I'm having a hard time adjusting