What trail bike tire casings don't suck?
- Thread starter Kanye West
- Start date
-
Two more days to enter the Secret Santa!
Entries must be in by midnight on November 29th. We're kicking off the 2024 Secret Santa! Exchange gifts with other monkeys - from beer and snacks, to bike gear, to custom machined holiday decorations and tools by our more talented members, there's something for everyone.
Yeah I'm always trying to have 2 fresh spares at all times just in case they stop making them since they're often sold-out. Just received one off bike-components.de on sale for 23euro. They only had one left but I needed other stuff at the same time so it was still worth it.
The Grappler that should be out soon looks like it has a nice tread pattern (similar to Assegai), but the side knobs seem smaller. They told me they wouldn't stop producing the Mopo TRS A/T for the foreseable future so we should be fine. We're just between you and me, but since the general concensus towards E13 parts seems pretty bad, we should be able to keep this secret for outselves for a little while. I'm also using their composite Base pedals, forged Base stem and Base bar and I have nothing to complain about. They all work great and the quality is up there, espcially for the price.
The Grappler that should be out soon looks like it has a nice tread pattern (similar to Assegai), but the side knobs seem smaller. They told me they wouldn't stop producing the Mopo TRS A/T for the foreseable future so we should be fine. We're just between you and me, but since the general concensus towards E13 parts seems pretty bad, we should be able to keep this secret for outselves for a little while. I'm also using their composite Base pedals, forged Base stem and Base bar and I have nothing to complain about. They all work great and the quality is up there, espcially for the price.
I have a few rides on the new Magic Mary. Same trails that tore the old ones up. Sides walls are beefier than DD which as of late have been wearing faster. Im liking them so far.
Supa Gravity? Or SupaTrail?
super gravity. comparable to DD.
Just got a new Super Gravity 27.5 x 2.4 Magic Mary and wanted to see so weighed it in at 1190g on two different scales. Weird cos the last one I had was ~1300. I wonder what changed in the process. Surely thats too much for normal variation.
Maxxis new EXO+ tested:
www.vitalmtb.com
Tested: Maxxis' Revised EXO+ Tire Casing
By now, most riders are familiar with the Maxxis Minion DHF tire. Furthermore, most of us understand (or think we understand) the myriad of casing and compound combinations available from Maxxis. Existing in Maxxis’ lineup for some time now, their EXO+ tire casing has been the ‘do everything’...
So, they trickled the butyl insert down from DD and DH, I wouldn’t be surprised (I have said this before) if the next Gen DH and DD tires include a built in ‘proper’ insert that emulates a Tannus or CC.
We shall see.
We shall see.
Riding PNW on a 160x160 29er.
Didn't love EXO+. I struggled with finding a balance point between low enough pressure to give a smooth ride and give that glued to the ground feel, and high enough pressure I wasn't banging on my rim regularly. At high pressures it felt like riding a big spring with an over pressurized shock, and it was pretty rough. Grip was fine.
Currently running Assegai MaxxGrip F/R in a DD casing. Will probably switch the rear tire out, as I haven't loved losing the party channel in the back end. May just get clever with some cutters and not bother. Pretty happy with the DD casing. More damping definitely has had positive results on my ride comfort. Grip is hard to say for sure, because I went from winter wet with constant water over roots to spring weather at the same time as I switched tires, which in the PNW means riding on grip tape hero dirt. Grip is pretty insane though.
Strong proponent of DD casing if you're riding anywhere rowdy. EXO+ (even with cushcore) can have kind of a springy feel, and you don't get the damped feel you do from a good tire.
Weight kinda sucks though. Great for "ride up then ride down" type rides, not so great if you're doing trails with multiple ups and downs. If you're doing any sort of racing I probably wouldn't recommend, because maxgrip plus DD casing is pretty sluggish, but it's well worth on the downhill sections.
Didn't love EXO+. I struggled with finding a balance point between low enough pressure to give a smooth ride and give that glued to the ground feel, and high enough pressure I wasn't banging on my rim regularly. At high pressures it felt like riding a big spring with an over pressurized shock, and it was pretty rough. Grip was fine.
Currently running Assegai MaxxGrip F/R in a DD casing. Will probably switch the rear tire out, as I haven't loved losing the party channel in the back end. May just get clever with some cutters and not bother. Pretty happy with the DD casing. More damping definitely has had positive results on my ride comfort. Grip is hard to say for sure, because I went from winter wet with constant water over roots to spring weather at the same time as I switched tires, which in the PNW means riding on grip tape hero dirt. Grip is pretty insane though.
Strong proponent of DD casing if you're riding anywhere rowdy. EXO+ (even with cushcore) can have kind of a springy feel, and you don't get the damped feel you do from a good tire.
Weight kinda sucks though. Great for "ride up then ride down" type rides, not so great if you're doing trails with multiple ups and downs. If you're doing any sort of racing I probably wouldn't recommend, because maxgrip plus DD casing is pretty sluggish, but it's well worth on the downhill sections.
what version of EXO+ were you running? Last year's 120tpi version, or this year's 60tpi + butyl insert version?
Last year's version
That would make sense then. IMO, a single ply 120tpi casing is far too flexible for "aggressive" riding. Especially on the rear wheel. The new version might be better in that regard.
I've got a month on the Magic Marys. I'm surprised that the look brand new still, DD Maxxis I would start to see some threads in the sidewall from rock rub.
Orange sticker Soft ones?
Just got my wife one of the new EXO+ Assegai Maxxgrips. I'll throw her wheel on my bike at some point here and do a back to back with it against a Assegai DD Maxxgrip and report back.
Yes. I'm very impressed. I never had a tire from this brand last in rocky terrain more than 2 weeks.
new bike gets 120tpi exo+ assegai maxx grip front, new exo+ dhr2 terra in th back. will try it with octamousse red/black inserts, they are still stuck in customs though :/
#following
New Canyon?
nope. needs still some upgrades till i reveal it
fair warning - might be a month or so before I have a chance. It's going on a new wheelset i'm getting her for her birthday and I suspect she's not going to be totally enthusiastic to let me steal it right off the bat
Sounds tempting by my BLCK DMND ELMNTR refuses to die.
Wild guess: vocals weaken stuff. I have no proof, but neither I have doubt.
Quite some time on Schwalbe SG tires. Still look barely worn. I am using Tubolight HD inserts and found them to be a great paring.
got my supertrail Magic Mary and Big Betty in the mail on Monday. Installed them last night. Mary went onto my Chromag rim easily enough despite a stiffer than expected bead (soaped up the beads, popped them on with a tube, removed it and one bead, removed the valve stem, hit it with a compressor). Held air overnight, so that's a win.
Rear rim is a Spank Spike 33. Even soaped up and with a tube, I couldn't get the beads to seat properly and evenly all the way round. Left it at 40psi overnight, and they didn't budge. I'm going to try and install my Tannus tubeless insert tonight, but I'm not hopeful it will work and hold air. I'm very torn about this rim. It's stiff, straigtht and true after 1.5 seasons, but goddam is it ever a pain in the ass to get it to seat tubeless. I don't think I will be getting another one next time around...
Rear rim is a Spank Spike 33. Even soaped up and with a tube, I couldn't get the beads to seat properly and evenly all the way round. Left it at 40psi overnight, and they didn't budge. I'm going to try and install my Tannus tubeless insert tonight, but I'm not hopeful it will work and hold air. I'm very torn about this rim. It's stiff, straigtht and true after 1.5 seasons, but goddam is it ever a pain in the ass to get it to seat tubeless. I don't think I will be getting another one next time around...
does anyone other than Schwalbe make some? I should have ordered some when I bought the tires from zee Germans.
Come on... no way that "tire lube" is anything other than vegetable oil, right??
It's a thin grease.
No-Mar Tire Mounting Lube Paste - RevZilla
Minimize profanities with No-Mar Lube Paste. This water-soluble lube will make tire changes as easy as they can possibly be. Apply the paste directly …
www.revzilla.com
Yeah - vegetable grease.It's a thin grease.
No-Mar Tire Mounting Lube Paste - RevZilla
Minimize profanities with No-Mar Lube Paste. This water-soluble lube will make tire changes as easy as they can possibly be. Apply the paste directly …
Easy to clean tho, but go ahead, get messy with your favorite virgin oil.Yeah - vegetable grease.
I've never had any trouble mounting up *any* tire tubeless... so have no experience lubing up the wheels.Easy to clean tho, but go ahead, get messy with your favorite virgin oil.
well then, go ahead and share your technique... I'm all earsI've never had any trouble mounting up *any* tire tubeless... so have no experience lubing up the wheels.
Srsly - I'm going to be of little help - I just pull off the old tire and put on the new one. Add a little sealant, air it up until the beads are seated, and go on about my business.
I use this for stupid stubborn bastard tire rim combos:
Remove the valve core.
Use a hair drier to warm the tyre up to soften it.
quick wipe around with thin grease or oil or soapy water then use an air gun not a tire inflator so you get a massive volume super quick.
Valve core back in and inflate to usual pressure.
Most tire inflators have a good flow rate but sometimes you just need more and swapping the air gun onto you compresser does a much greater volume.
Use a hair drier to warm the tyre up to soften it.
quick wipe around with thin grease or oil or soapy water then use an air gun not a tire inflator so you get a massive volume super quick.
Valve core back in and inflate to usual pressure.
Most tire inflators have a good flow rate but sometimes you just need more and swapping the air gun onto you compresser does a much greater volume.