Mountain bike tyre advice

[PH5121]

I'm looking for some advice please.

My son and I went to the Forestry Commission Dalby Forest trail centre at he weekend and he was struggling for grip with the standard tyres on his Specialized Hardrock. I want to get some nobblier / grippier tyres and am looking at the cheaper end of the tyre market. I've have been looking at Schwalbe tyres at on the Tredz website.

I've come up with the possible combination of using a 2.25' wide Tough Tom on the front and a 2.1' Rapid Rob on the rear. Is there a better combination of tyres I should consider? I've also been looking at using Nobby Nics front and rear.

TIA

Edited by PH5121 on Monday 19th October 09:59

[Bathroom_Security]

Personally hate nobby nics

For winter, How about Magic Mary. Size wise, I run 2.6 27.5, this might be too draggy for some, so how about 2.3ish.

Specialized butcher grid/purgatory i think are cheap at the minute. The new specialized tires have been released with the 'trail' versions being the new ones. So the older versions are going cheap. Long as you don't weigh 100kg the side walls on the older versions should be sufficient but when I was obese the walls were too sloppy.

Come summer maybe something faster rolling, swap the rear tire out to something like a schwable rock razor or something.

All personal choice though. People rave about the minion dhf but I thought they were like riding on velcro.

[lufbramatt]

Magic Marys are good. I run Hans Dampf front (mainly because they were on offer at the time) and Rock Razor rear, which tbh copes a lot better than I thought it would in mud so have never bothered swapping it for winter.

Go for the biggest width that works in the frame

See if you can set them up tubeless so you can run lower pressures, this makes a huge difference to the amount of grip.

[chopper602]

PH5121 said:

I'm looking for some advice please.
on the Tredz website.

Might have just been me, but it took ages from ordering a set of tyres from Tredz to actually receiving them - over two weeks

[PH5121]

chopper602 said:

Might have just been me, but it took ages from ordering a set of tyres from Tredz to actually receiving them - over two weeks

I noticed that they were quoting a long delivery period so ended up ordering some from another bike shop. I went for a Rapid Rob for the rear and Tough Tom for the front as per the recommendation on Schwalbe's website, both at 2.25 inch wide.

They were a few pounds more than Tredz but I wanted to get them on so we can go out at the weekend, they should arrive tomorrow.

I went for the cheaper tyre option as he's not adverse to locking the rear wheel up and doing a massive skid on the road (like kids do) and if he was chewing up expensive tyres I'd get annoyed. The tyres his bike currently has would probably be okay if it weren't for the massive treadless patches caused by doing this.

Edited by PH5121 on Tuesday 20th October 10:10

[Gio G]

Found Maxxis Minion DHR II Tyre superb while in the forests. I run them tubeless and they have not put a foot wrong.. Not sure the minimum width..

G

[MC Bodge]

Bathroom_Security said:

Personally hate nobby nics

I'm not sure what you find so bad about them, but as all-round tyres, set up tubeless, I've found them to be really good on a 29er hardtail and on old 26er hardtail and a full-suspension. I ride on natural muddy tracks, hardpack and rocky tracks in NW England and in Wales and don't want to be swapping tyres around. The grip is good, they corner well on the side treads and they roll well.

[GraemeP]

Can’t beat Minions for Uk year round - if you want something a bit more mid specific go Shortys

[Dowks]

Maxxis Shorty is my goto in winter, can't go wrong with the Minion though. Personally find them easier to mount and seat tubeless

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Dalby trail-centre stuff is all pretty hard pack so my go-to would be something like a Maxxis High Roller up front and maybe a Crossmark (if they still do them) out back for something a little faster rolling. For the off-piste stuff there then definitely Shorty/Minion up front and High Roller out back works for me.

Personally, I've never got on with Schwalbe tyres and have always used Maxxis.

I did read something about Schwalbe tyres being dirty cheap on Merlin Cycles at the minute...

[PH5121]

Thanks, I have High Roller 2's on my bike and they seem decent enough for the conditions at Dalby as they are at this time of year.

I've put the Schwalbe Tough Tom and Rapid Rob's on my lads bike this afternoon. We'll see how they perform over the weekend.

Hopefully he won't end up face down again this week!

[MC Bodge]

DaveyBoyWonder said:

the off-piste stuff there then definitely Shorty/Minion up front and High Roller out back works for me.

Personally, I've never got on with Schwalbe tyres and have always used Maxxis.

I've used various Schwalbe and Maxxis.

I've used Minion Front/High Roller rear on one of my bikes. The High Roller has always been a pain to keep inflated tubeless for some reason. And the setup is quite draggy.

The Nobby Nic front and rear are a good all-round setup.

Tubeless doesn't lend itself to swapping tyres around much.

Edited by MC Bodge on Friday 23 October 20:47

[PomBstard]

I’ve got Maxxis Ardent F/R at the mo and they seem pretty good at the mix of trail conditions I’ve got which are generally hardpack with rocky/rooty bits with the occasional mud patch. Might suit you too.

Previous fave combo was Nobby Nic for a bit of bite at the front and easy rolling yet surprisingly grippy Maxxis Larsen TT rear

I’ve always found Minions to be overkill with too much drag on anything that isn’t down hill or muddy, but I know many love them.