[Closed] A new pair of tyres, is it really just Maxxis/Schwalbe?

Wild Enduros are really good imo. Definitely better up front than a dhf, unless it's dry as it rolls slower. Rear is good too, but currently have a butcher t9 on and it has a similar damped feel to the wild enduro.
Yeah wt for 30mm rims.

Big fan of the Bontrager XR Team series tyres. XR1>XR5 less>more tred.

What bike & where ridden?

Out & out grip? How much weight penalty are you happy to live with?

It's not so much maxxis/schwalbe, it's more that the dhr2, rockrazor, magic mary and shorty are absolutely brilliant tyres. They kind of outcompete a lot of their own ranges never mind other brands.

My lads, orange 5. Calderdale rocky and sloppy. He’s around 55kg. Grip important, and not too draggy.

Merlin look to have a reasonably good deal on magic Mary super trail soft and Nobby Nic blue stripe, both super trail compound.

if you want them anytime soon its a case of getting whatever you can get, i rate the wild enduro's but my rear one is about a year old and very worn, missing loads of knobs. can live with it at the moment but need a new one before racing starts. keep checking for stock but nothing doing so far, late april is what a few sites quote which is better than it was a few weeks ago.

starting to look for alternatives now, possibly a SG big betty, maxxis are out as even DD doesn't last for me with a lot of lakes riding.

Just be aware that Schwalbe Super Trail are heavier than Maxxis DoubleDown

I really liked my Wild Enduros. Annoyingly I've just had to sell a pair that were 27.5 and I can't find 29's anywhere.

I like the simplicity of the Bontrager range but haven't tried them yet. I've had mixed results with Specialized. Some good, some bad.

I'm absolutely baffled by all the jargon used by Schwalbe. I'd have no idea what to buy.

Also a Bontrager fan

I’m on Pirellis now. Really like them.

“it’s more that the dhr2, rockrazor, magic mary and shorty are absolutely brilliant tyres”

This. However I’ve found that running foam inserts opens up the options because you can get away with lower pressures or flimsier casings without pinch flats or squirming - and that gets you more grip and/or better rolling for a given tread pattern / compound. So on my most used bike (which also commutes) I’ve had a Hillbilly on the front and Butcher or Eliminator on the back for years, which perform remarkably well and last ages.

Apparently the inserts do wear out but no sign of that with mine after 3+ years.

I'm a Vittoria fanboy, but finding them in stock is another thing. I was looking for a 29" X 2.6 Martello but nowhere has then, guess I'll use up the spare 2.35 I have when my rear gives out.

Or that new brand that seems to have come in quite cheap

Wolfpack? I’ve only had the Trails on my bike for about 6 weeks so can’t comment on longevity but they roll well and grip on the edge. If you want as much grip as a Mary I think you need the Enduro (?) though.

I've had great experience with Specialized tyres so far. Currently running Butcher T7 front and rear (for all the grip I can muster) and find them predictable in most conditions and still fairly swift (downhill) in the dry too.

As usual, suggest what you run.
Ours are on either Butcher, Butcher and Hillbilly, Eliminator. Blck Dmnd or the lighter Grid Trail, basic Grid is a bit flimsy on the sidewalls. We run them all year round in all conditions, daughter competes on them, we have got some of the latest T9s but not got round to trying them

Don't think I'd be jumping on Wolfpack based on this review.

Edit... the Offroad.cx review of their Enduro line, seems pasting links now doesn't work on this forum

I like Trail King on the front and Ardent rear for trail centre use and firmer ground. The rear can get a bit slidey in slop though.

Delium maybe?

https://www.deliumtires.com/products/fast?variant=40290058633424

I’ve never tried them but they got a good review from Pinkbike at least.

I've just bought Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR WT 3c Maxterra for a new hardtail build that were £80 for the pair, I know they work for me on my local trails.

Once you've found a tyre combination that works for you it can be an expensive gamble trying out something different, I'd rather stick with what I know.

Those with wild enduro fronts, are you using the GUM-X or MAGI-X compounds?

I run Maxxis Assegai's in 29x2.5WT MaxxGrip with DoubleDown casing on the E-MTB

Best tyres i have ever run for pure grip and work in all conditions inc wet roots/chalk/sand/rock etc..apart from really sticky mud where they tend to clog up (change to Maxxis Shorty's then)

Used to be a serial tyre swapper, tried most of the Schwalbe range, Had Michelin endruo's, hated the Specailzed Butcher's and Pugatory's (as did most people who had them come as std on their Spesh Levo's, death traps!) no idea about the newer ones, The Hillbilly was the really good

Running the Classic Maxxis DHF & DHR2 on the Hardtail (DHR2 changed to a Minion SS in summer)

Not as grippy as the Assegai's but a small sacrifce to pay as im pedalling the hardtail unassisted

Once i find a tyre that works for me and the conditions i ride in i tend to stick with them now

Bonty Xr4 is a great tyre.

Nobby Nic killer...

"Nobby Nic Killer", that's damning with faint praise if I ever heard it

Those with wild enduro fronts, are you using the GUM-X or MAGI-X compounds?

Doesn’t matter, they are both shyte 😆

DH22 & 34 are decent (but they wear at an astronomical rate) and are so heavy they have their own gravity field.

For my big bikes the standard go to is still an Assegai MaxxGrip front & DHR2 on the back. Pick the compound and carcass that works for the type of riding you do and the speed you like to go & that’s about it.

Doesn’t matter, they are both shyte

DH22 & 34 are decent

DH22 is made with the Magi-X compound as is the DH34.

Suspect it's all about what you have and works for you. I'm a Schwalbe boy for years, but also Spesh tyres cos they came on the bike. My lad running Schwalbe winter, Vittoria summer. Pragmatically I reckon it doesn't much matter for most of us unless the tyre is actively trying to unseat us.

I run an Assegia up front and a WTB Verdicg wet on my eBike
But I’m considering going back to Verdicg wet front and rear

DH22 is made with the Magi-X compound as is the DH34.

Magi-X (DH) is different to the Wild Enduro Magi-X. It’s considerably softer. Hence why they now make the Wild Enduro Racing Line tyres in the DH compound.

There are lots of makes that have decent tyres - it’s just finding the good ones. And tyres are often so expensive it’s a risky gamble.

For front tyres in the winter I’d use any of:

Hillbilly grid trail
Shorty 3c maxx terra
Magic Mary addix soft
Wild Enduro (gum x)

That’s in order of best to worst in terms of really mucky slop. The magic Mary and wild Enduro are better allrounders. The wild Enduro would be first to clog in mud.

Front tyres rest of year

Dhf 3c Maxx Terra
Butcher Grid Trail T9

Rear tyres winter

DHR2 - the 2.3 if you want to keep some rolling speed. The 2.4 for ultimate grip in slop but it’s a lot draggier. I like the 2.3 on the 3c Maxx terra.

I don’t ever look past the Dhr2 tbh it just works. If I couldn’t get hold of one I’d get a Big Betty instead I think.

Summer rear tyres

Slaughter
Aggressor
Dissector

I’ve used all of the above and for summer the slaughter was my favourite - the other 2 are ok but don’t roll as fast.

I’ve got a Rekon to try on true rear this summer - it feels a bit flimsy like the slaughter so going to run it with a rimpact.

I have a Forekaster that’s stayed in my hardtail all year round - that’s been pretty good as a better nobby nic - also a light ish tyre so run with a Rimpact.

All of the above are in exo / snakeskin apex / grid trail casings - it seems I’m not heavy on tyres generally - but I have just got a big ish 29er and going to be riding some bigger stuff potentially so maybe that’ll change and I’ll have to go heavier casing on the rear in particular 🤷‍♂️

Calderdale rocky and sloppy.

The Mary and Nic you've found will be decent, yeah.

But my current fave pairing is the WTB Verdict high grip on the front (don't get the "tough" version) and the Wild Enduro Rear. They have great damping, handle a mix of terrain really well and hook up brilliantly in corners.

Tested this pair on a winter at Hebden and they were ideal.

I've also got the Wild Enduro front ready to try, after excellent feedback from friends.

I recently swapped to a pair of Kenda Hellkat in 27.5x2.6, impressed as a good all-round tyre for the steep-ish and mostly off-piste riding I tend to do. Can't match a shorty in proper mud but more versatile, and rubber compound is good. Quite draggy, but that's to be expected from this style of tyre.
My other bike has WTB Vigilante in 29x2.5, and again they've been great.

I tried Wild Enduro and found that the rear tyre wore down really quickly and the front just wouldn't hold air. they were good tyres but not so astonishingly better than my usual DHR that I wanted to deal with the issues, so I've gone back to Maxxis

Occasionally use Conti Trail and Mountain King when I can't be arsed to drag around the DHR anymore

I've been running some Pirelli Scorpion Trail S tyres (29x2.4) for a few months now, as I got a great deal on them from PBK. The S is for softer ground and whilst I was initially quite sceptical, they been superb in the winter slop, performing significantly better than the latest generation Nobby Nics they replaced. Traction in mud or the sandy soil of the Surrey Hills has been brilliant. The sidewalls appear to be tough and the grip on rocks and roots has proven to be far better than I expected. I bought them for winter riding, but I'm going to leave them on and see how they perform in spring/summer

I tried Wild Enduro and found that the rear tyre wore down really quickly

This is weird because my rear one is looking surprisingly fresh after loads of riding since last summer. It must have an oil painting of itself in my loft or something.

chakaping

Tested this pair on a winter at Hebden and they were ideal.

Pair? They're different brands. Aaargh.

Been running the ubiquitous maxxis dhf (or shorty in winter) and dhrii combo for years, I always preferred the feel of their exo+ casing on the rear,but found it too fragile, their double down casing was tough enough but made the back end feel dead/wooden. So could never get it feeling quite right.

So at the begining of this winter I swapped to magic Mary super trail on the front and big Betty super trail on the rear both in soft xompound. I think this combo suits me pretty well. Tough enough to not puncture easily,but doesn't feel dead like the maxxis double down casing.

I could he tempted to try a super soft on the front,and maybe a rock razor on the rear for the summer.

There are plenty of good non Maxxis and Schwalbe options out there but it can take a bit of puzzling to work out what it right for you.

Specialized, Bontrager, Michelin, Wtb, Vittoria, Onza, Continental, etc make good options it’s just a matter of find the right tread, compounds, casing combo…

DHF 2.5 Maxterra Front and 2.3 Dual Compound Rear (has always been my bench mark compromise between grip and rolling but I have been messing round with a few different brands recently due to not being able to get hold of tyres at reasonable prices due to Brexit and COVID.

In order of fast to draggy…

Onza Ibex FRC2 in 2.4 Front and rear. Fast as heck but sidewalls lack support and grip in the wet is poor on the front - might try on the rear with an insert and something spikier on the front)

Specialized Butcher T9 Grid Trail on the front with a 2.3 Eliminator T7 Grid Gravity in the rear.  This is slightly draggy than my DHF bench mark, quite like this combo to be fair, plenty of grip up front bit, drifty out back, not soul destroying in the climbs. Sidewall support is ok.

Specialized Butcher T9 Grid Trail on the front with a 2.3 Butcher Blck Dmnd on the back. Loads of grip front and rear, nicely damped out back. Really hard work on the climbs. Would be good for uplift/alps/etc.

One thing I learnt is that it’s worth persevering with a tyre for a bit as it takes a while to learn when it will grip, when it will drift and when it’ll try to put you on your bum.

All sorted now, and it was possibly a no brainier in the end.

The schwalbe rear options were 2.4/2.5 and the clearance on the five swingarm doesn’t look massive.

So I went for a DHF WT 3C on the front and a dual compound 2.3 DHR for the rear. £62 for the pair (with a bit of TCB) isn’t too bad.

With the new 30mm rims, the logic is the front will go where it is pointed and the rear will just have to tag along.