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New general purpose tyres for the hills.
Hi All
I am looking at putting together a reasonably tough pair of 26" wheels for general trail riding & training in the local hills here in Perth.
I will be using them on a long travel fork HT & a 5" travel duallie. I would like to be able to ride drops & rock gardens without worrying unduly about punctures & splits
I would generally go straight for the tried & tested Maxxis Ignitor 2.35 F & Crossmark 2.1R UST combination but wonder whether its time for a change. I prefer the extra cusioning & pinch flat protection of larger tyres & can probably fit 2.4s in the frames without a problem but suspect my XC 21mm rims may make really fat rubber a bit impractical due to tyre flex.
Priorities are that they handle well, are pretty resistant to side wall damage and give a reasonable life. Weight isn't such a big issue but I really don't want to lug DH rubber weighing around a kilo per end around.
A friend in Marg river rates the Ardent 2.25 up front but as our trails here have more loose pea gravel sections & rocks I am undecided although as I have a few ok Maxxis tyres around suitable for the rear I'm tempted.
Enough waffle, any advice?
Cheers Tony
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If you want resistance to sidewall damage, Schwalbe will be off your list.
I'll be trying some of these new Rubena tyres from Czechoslovakia in the next month or so once I'm back on the bike.
Sidewall protection isn't a big issue over in WA as the rocks we have aren't the razorsharp variety you see elsewhere (I know some will disagree but geologically we just don't have the sandstone, shales etc over here on our trails compared to trails over east).
So sidewall protection probably isn't a great deciding factor. Maybe check out the Schwalbe Hans Dampf, Schwalbe do a snake skin protection which is more than enough for our trails.
Try some Contiental Verticals or Survivals as well.
Ive been riding Big Betty's (2.35) for a couple of years now and can't fault them. I run tubes at around 30psi and have only had 2 flats the entire time. I've never cut a side wall and the tread pattern works very well on all terrains, however can be a little skatey on wet rock. I mainly ride rough terrain and give them an absolute beating. Couldn't tell you what they weigh though. RRP is around $70, but I've been paying a lot less from my LBS (NBC Narrabeen). I think the bad rap Schwalbe get are for Racing Ralphs.
Go with Scratchy's advice and get yourself some Hans Dampf, as your requirements are pretty much exactly what it was designed for. Otherwise some 2.4 Nobby Nic's are also a good option.
If Schwalbe isn't your bag, I think that the original Conti Mountain King was an awesome progressive tyre, and its been updated since but I havent had a chance to try it, also the Rubber Queen looks very grippy, especially in the 2.4 Black Chilli compound.
FWIW always thought anything over 2.25 was a bit of a waste and extra weight in hills around Perth. Unless you riding on deep loam/gravel. Just about any 'aggressive' treaded tyres will be ok, such as those mentioned in the other posts. Personally I've settled on Purgatory front and Control rear (both S-Works and tubeless though non S-works are just as good IMO). The only puncture I've had was from a nail and the sealant stopped that, so just reinflated and continued.
But i can vouch for the Conti Rubber Queen 2.4 Black Chilli compound, by far the best tyre ive put on the front of a bike running one up front with a Race King 2.2 at the back.Ive tried a lot of tyre combo's over the years and ive finally found the perfect combo.
cheers
have stuck a Race King 2.2 on the rear so was looking for a Conti for the front to match
conti vert pros are awes for winter and hans damfs are awes for summer, damfs have a big bag and heaps of grip in the loose pea gravel you have over here in summer. the gravel spun me out when i first came here, have now learnt how to deal with it, hang loose.
Ok, I have been surfing around & found Vertical pro tecs at a very good price & liked them when I ran them a while back so ordered them plus a ust Mountain King to try up front with a Race King that I already have on the rear. I previously tried the X king rs version but ripped the sidewall after just two rides.
Regarding Schwalbe's I have found the UST versions far tougher than the normal folders & rate the Ron or Nic fr & Ralph rear as a great, fast combi.
Thanks for all of the info.
T
Haven't destroyed any side walls, and I ride Sydney sandstone which can be tought on side walls. Ardent 2.4 up front, 2.25 in the rear. Not the lightest going around, but certainly one of the toughset. My favourite trail tyre. Before I had Coni Rubber Queens, good tyre, to heavy and not as fast rolling as Ardents. Also have run a Ardent up front and a crossmark in the rear and that makes a good fast combo.
Hey Tony,
Ive had superb experiences with the new Conti X-King. Admittedly being an XC rider I used the lightweight RaceSport casing but if you want some more protection go for the (Obviously named) "Protection" casing. These tyres have a predictable grip all the way through, and I've had mine for just about a year (note I use 2 different XC bikes with Conti on one). They roll along very quickly as well.
The only downside is that they're not cheap (think 20% less than Schwalbe or thereabouts) but I would pay the price any day for these.
Hi Mikey
Unfortunately my experience of the X King firmly puts it in the "XC race for light blokes" catagory. They come up small & have very thin sidewalls, I ran the (RS version) at Dwellingup and thought that they were fast but didn't really excel in much else, I then ripped the sidewall through rubbing a small rock on my next ride in the hills so wasn't overly impressed.
I found the Schwalbe UST combi of R Ron f & R Ralph r better all round giving more grip & feel as well as better durability without losing speed.
For this set though I'm going for more grip & tougher without costing too much so that rules out $75 plus rubber. If cost wasn't an issue I may go for Nobby Nic 2.25s or the new Hans Dampf. Conti Mnt king 2.4 in UST are on offer as well so may be worth a look.
BTW. has anyone ran normal Ardent 2.25 exo's non tubeless with a tubeless kit or tried the Ardent 2.25 rear with a 2.35 UST Ignitor up front?
Cheers
T
Have a Conti Mountain King2.2 on the rear-Richo where did you get the Rubber Queen?
Not as much of a fan of the Nobby Nic 2.25 on the front as I was. When it lets go, you don't get it back.
I've had two washouts with it that did not end well, one resulted in a broken collarbone, the other a hole in my shin that took six weeks to heal. It seems to be confidence inspiring in loamy conditions and isn't bad in mud and sand, but in loose over hardpack it is prone to dumping you with ZERO warning. At the Mont I tried it with the direction reversed to that the side of the edge knobs instead of the narrower ends were presented to the trail when leaned over, and this seemed to be an improvement, but I'm not sure how much of that was the "hero dirt" conditions we had at this year's event and I haven't run that wheelset since the race.
The Maxxis Ignitors sometimes let go too, but for some reason I was always able to get the front end back and keep the rubber side down. I might have to buy an Ignitor and an Ardent and back-to-back them.
Hawkeye, that's an interesting observation you make regarding the Nobby Nic as when I bought my first pair about 5 years ago I also found it would give out without warning when run up front in the designated but visually wrong looking direction .
I changed it around after a few rides and found them far more predictable.
I have now been running them up front in the "wrong" direction for about 5 years & in that time they've reigned in a good few seemingly unsaveable wash outs.
Btw. I was given an Ardent to try today so will try the following combis over the next few weeks:
Ardent f Aspen r both 2.25
Ardent / Crossmark
Ignitor 2.35 / Ardent
CRC mate and they have just released some new conti tyres (I'm only running the 2.2 upfront)
cheers
will have to get onto CRC & buy some.
I recently started trying some new tires for my trance 5" travel bike and got the Conti 2.4 X-King (Protection) up front..and its not a bad tire.
Great in most conditions except for really rocky stuff (Ignitors have got that covered)
Kenda small block 8 in a 2.35 on the rear. Running tubes and don't get any pinch flats at 35psi.
First impressions were that these tires both roll well and due to the large volume and moderate weight they are quite comfortable to ride on in hilly conditions.
When providing feedback that your X brand tyre is great, bad, effing awful or whatever, could you indicate where you ride and on what please, as some have done. As posts can come from different states/areas the type of ground you ride on is important info. Here in WA we have pea gravel, mainly on hard pack - it is as the name suggests, like riding on a covering of hard peas. Many tyres just can't handle the stuff, typically the fast rollers IMO. Other areas have different dirt types. So knowing what you ride on is needed info in judging your feedback, so even if you're in WA it would be helpful to know where you ride and on what.
FWIW.