Choice Rubber?

[Tony S]

I tried the Schwalbes last year, a Hans Dampf/Magic Mary combo in the softer rubber and Super Gravity casing. I had a frustrating race day on them with crashes all over the place, seemingly out of nowhere, and I doubt I'll run those again any time soon.

Yeah, Schwallbe is popular locally but after three experiments with them over the years I'm not sold. Especially given the crazy high prices.

 

[Tony S]

Ha! Parallel posts.

 

[Tony S]

I'm running Enve 60/40 HV rims from probably four or five years ago. At the time they were avant garde wide. Now they're probably considered narrow. I don't have the exact dims at hand.

 

[EricG]

@Tony S - Can your frame support a wider tire (2.8-3.0")? or are you limited to a 2.4-2.6"?

 

[Tom K.]

Thinking of switching it up to Bontrager XR4s or maybe something from Specialized. Never had a Bonty and it's been a LONG time since I ran a Specialized tire. Contis have been very mixed for me, both in terms of quality and durability.

I came to Bontrager tires with some wariness -- house brand, OEM spec, and all that -- and fell in love with them. They do NOT have the ultimate grip of some of the more square profile tires, but for me, they more than make up for that in how gently and predictably their rounder profile reaches its limits, and how well they telegraph that point. They just have great "feel".

My favorite combo for awhile has been XR3 rear and XR4 front for trail riding. Then they changed my beloved XR3, and it looked a bit odd to me. I finally got on them last week, and fell in love. Very fast. Small center knobs hook up well in loose over dry, and the bigger side knobs bite hard the instant you start leaning into a turn.

They seem to be the rare free lunch: Faster than an XR3, as much cornering traction as an XR4, and a bit better than either in loose over dry "kitty litter" conditions, which is what I live in for 3 months of the year on my home trails.

Winter time, when things are slippery, I'l probably revert to XR4s on both ends. Great bite everywhere, and faster rolling than they appear.

Hope that helps!

 

[Tony S]

@Tony S - Can your frame support a wider tire (2.8-3.0")? or are you limited to a 2.4-2.6"?

No. Rear is pretty limited. Probably 2.4 max. (Yeti SB 4.5). Could probably go to a 2.8 in front if I wanted to, but not sure I want to. Have ridden plus bikes and been ... nonplussed. Too logy.

 

[EricG]

No. Rear is pretty limited. Probably 2.4 max. (Yeti SB 4.5). Could probably go to a 2.8 in front if I wanted to, but not sure I want to. Have ridden plus bikes and been ... nonplussed. Too logy.

People either love:hate plus bikes. Sounds like the Maxxis options mentioned above will be up your ally.

 

[Primoz]

Ok for US availability is very valid point. For Europe, where this Maxxis hype is pretty much same, availability is not that much of a question, as Schwalbe or Continental are as available as Maxxis if not more. Michelin, Vitoria or even Mitas is different thing, and you might have issues getting them everywhere. Another point is price, and again for US I understand you guys prefer Maxxis over Schwalbe or Conti, as I heard Schwalbe/Conti are super expensive over there, but here, they are actually cheaper then Maxxis.
@Erik Timmerman for me Maxxis line is actually quite confusing. You have 15 different models, and then inside of each model another 10 different options, from protection to rubber compound to I have no idea what, so picking right tire doesn't sound too easy for me. But on the other side, especially if you have several wheelsets for different conditions, such broad range, gives you more options to get best possible tire for certain conditions.
And to make it a little bit more on topic, yeah I know not even close , I'm actually thinking what to get myself for next year, so that's sort of why I'm asking this about Maxxis. I have used them only once looooong time ago and wasn't so impressed but obviously everyone else (as I wrote also in Europe) are, and while for front tire I'm definitely, well almost definitely, sticking with Schwalbe's Racing Ray, I'm wondering what to do with rear. New Racing Ralph is nice and fast, but I had 4 or 5 punctures this year, so one option is to go back to Conti's Race King Protection, which is also fast, some 50g heavier but pretty much indestructible, or maybe give Maxxis a chance after all these years, and try them for a season. After 10+ years things changed for sure, so what I knew about them ages ago doesn't mean a thing.

 

[Josh Matta]

I think if you like the Racing Ralph the closest Maxxis makes is the Ikon. I know it looks different but they have similar scope.

in maxxis

EXO - is the tougher bead but it still pretty supple

TR - means tubeless ready(duh

3c maxxspeed is fastest but still stickier than Dual.
3c Maxxterra is slightly slower still plenty fast.

If it were mean I would for sure run the 2.35 front, and choose 2.2 rear or 2.35 rear. The 2.35 rolls noticallbe faster on rougher terrain with a trade off being weight and and rolling on smooth terrain especially pavement. Make sure you get EXO and if you ever ride on slippery wet rocks/roots you want some sort of 3c. Lots of people at the MSA XC WC were running Ikons IMO they work and even still run one on the rear from time for fun trail biking on hardpack.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Ok for US availability is very valid point. For Europe, where this Maxxis hype is pretty much same, availability is not that much of a question, as Schwalbe or Continental are as available as Maxxis if not more. Michelin, Vitoria or even Mitas is different thing, and you might have issues getting them everywhere. Another point is price, and again for US I understand you guys prefer Maxxis over Schwalbe or Conti, as I heard Schwalbe/Conti are super expensive over there, but here, they are actually cheaper then Maxxis.
@Erik Timmerman for me Maxxis line is actually quite confusing. You have 15 different models, and then inside of each model another 10 different options, from protection to rubber compound to I have no idea what, so picking right tire doesn't sound too easy for me. But on the other side, especially if you have several wheelsets for different conditions, such broad range, gives you more options to get best possible tire for certain conditions.

Maxxis is actually really expensive here too. As far as confusion goes, I get that for sure, but I'll bet that the majority of people have no idea that there are different casings and compounds, they just buy a DHF.

 

[scott43]

Maxxis is actually really expensive here too. As far as confusion goes, I get that for sure, but I'll bet that the majority of people have no idea that there are different casings and compounds, they just buy a DHF.

Most people probably don't care that much.

 

[Primoz]

@Josh Matta this year's Racing Ralph is quite different to what Racing Ralph was in past. It's officially rear only tire, even though I have seen some, including racers, run it front too, and it's way more similar to for example Conti's Race King then previous Ralph was. So if I go with Maxxis, I was more thinking Rekon Race or even Aspen (not really likely) for rear and not so much Ikon, and then probably Rekon for front if I would give up Racing Ray for a year

 

[scott43]

I always wonder how many different ways you can stick knobs on a tire. No, this year we have BETTER knobs..

 

[Josh Matta]

I always wonder how many different ways you can stick knobs on a tire. No, this year we have BETTER knobs..

part of the reason why IMO maxxis so popular.

The very rarely just come out with meaning less knobs and design stays the same for ever.

 

[Tom K.]

New Racing Ralph is nice and fast, but I had 4 or 5 punctures this year.

Flats on the Snakeskin casing?! I used those forever in the rear as my infallible 100 mile mtb race tire. Zero flats. All my weight weenie buddies tried over and over again to run the non-Snakeskin versions tubeless. CONSTANT challenges including flats, burping, squirmy handling. But I loved the Snakeskin RaRa in back, set up tubeless.

Maxxis is actually really expensive here too. As far as confusion goes, I get that for sure, but I'll bet that the majority of people have no idea that there are different casings and compounds, they just buy a DHF.

Which also happens to be a fine rear tire.....

 

[Tony S]

I'm bumping this thread because I'm feeling ungrateful. I got lots of good advice and never looped back.

Despite @Erik Timmerman's compelling testimonial I ended up with Rekon 3C EXO+ 2.6 front and Rekon 3C EXO 2.4 "WT" rear. (I ran into some kind of practical or mental roadblock with the Michelins, but can't remember the details now.) I got the "WT" only because that was the only 29 x 2.4 I could find with the 3C compound Josh was advocating.

I had health issues the second half of last season. This spring I have been fat and it was very cold and wet until a few weeks ago. Been riding on the road and am finally starting to get some semblance of legs back, though not the weight loss I need. So I haven't really ridden them all that much.

It's taken me a long while to learn that I have have to run these tires at REALLY low pressure - especially the front. I presume that's because of the higher volume. I'm at something like 10psi and 14psi. They just feel harsh and bouncy otherwise.

Cutting to the chase, they're plenty grippy but feel heavy and slow compared to the 2.4 Ardents y'all love to hate, and some other tires I've had on there, such as the Conti XKing 2.4. I need a few more rides on them as is, but I'm thinking of moving the Rekon 2.4 to the front and putting a significantly lighter/faster tire on the rear ... especially if it stays this dry. (Sudden turn of weather a couple weeks ago.)

 

[Ross Biff]

No. Rear is pretty limited. Probably 2.4 max. (Yeti SB 4.5). Could probably go to a 2.8 in front if I wanted to, but not sure I want to. Have ridden plus bikes and been ... nonplussed. Too logy.

I have a customer on a Yeti SB 4.5 and any thing bigger than a 2.35 on the rear is pushing it.

 

[AmyPJ]

I'm bumping this thread because I'm feeling ungrateful. I got lots of good advice and never looped back.

It's taken me a long while to learn that I have have to run these tires at REALLY low pressure - especially the front. I presume that's because of the higher volume. I'em at something like 10psi and 14psi. They just feel harsh and bouncy otherwise.

Cutting to the chase, they're plenty grippy but feel heavy and slow compared to the 2.4 Ardents y'all love to hate, and some other tires I've had on there, such as the Conti XKing 2.4. I need a few more rides on them as is, but I'm thinking of moving the Rekon 2.4 to the front and putting a significantly lighter/faster tire on the rear ... especially if it stays this dry. (Sudden turn of weather a couple weeks ago.)

I am still having the same issue--finding a good tire pressure is nearly impossible with these big tires for me, being light. I even bought a digital gauge.

 

[EricG]

@Tony S - Maxxis WT casings are really designed for rims with an ID of 30mm or more. On narrower rims they can ride harsh.

 

[Tony S]

@Tony S - Maxxis WT casings are really designed for rims with an ID of 30mm or more. On narrower rims they can ride harsh.

I know. My frustration here is definitely showing. I have lovely Enve rims that five years ago were state of the art high volume big tire hoops, and now people are referring to them like they are bronze age artifacts.