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At the beginning of lock down I took off my Bonty Muds and put on my XR3 FRONT AND XR2 REAR.
These were brilliant in the bone dry but not very happy in the recently returned mud.
The Bonty Muds always feel a bit nervous after running 2.3 tyres in the summer so after a true do it all tyre. A 2.3 Bonty Mud would be good.
Surrey riding, so not much in the way of rocks to worry about. The tyres MUST NOT do that washing out that some tyres do when entering mud patches at speed.
What say ye?
I am happy with my Ardents on my general bike all year but not 2.3. How about Spesh GC? I had one on the front and then moved to the back and was happy with it. These were in 27.5.
I like the Specialized Purgatory's, they're narrower than some other 2.3's though. Perfect British tire, not a mud specific tyre, but knobbly enough to work well the other 98% of a winter ride without being squirmy on the harder packed stuff.
Is a Magic Mary 2.35 too burly for you?
The Mary is my choice for when it might be muddy but not horribly so.
Got a lightly used 2.3 Shorty here I need to offload if you fancy a more mud-specific tyre.
Specialised butcher and purgatory for wet moving to a slaughter on the back for the dryer months for me.
Smorg/Monkey combo?
Butcher/purgatory for me too. Cheap on spesh website too. I put a slaughter out back in summer.
Specialized still had some really cheap tyres a few weeks back. I got a 2.6 Butcher and 2.3 Eliminator for just over £40.
Bloody hell they are cheap. I'm assuming Purgatory goes out back?
Or just get an XR4 and put the XR3 on the back.
Seconded. Stick the XR3 on the back and an XR4 or a Butcher up front.
I was very surprised at how well a 2.3 Butcher rolled, despite the big middle knobs.
Butcher on the front no problems
Have had a Slaughter on the rear but it keeps getting punctures and grip is crap on wet. Thinking of getting it replaced with a Maxxis High Roller would anyone recommend that ?
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/maxxis-high-roller-ii-mtb-tyre-tr/rp-prod133186?gs=1&sku=sku480244&istCompanyId=8d42cf00-fc35-44ce-8770-97ae3ffd4c16&istFeedId=c759ee22-6d7f-4501-bd00-f1af47c60490&istItemId=iwxttppim&istBid=t&pgrid=60711842858&ptaid=pla-424965920110&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA+All+Products&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid|sASCL2I9u_dc|pcrid|309840163148|pkw||pmt||prd|480244UK&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7qn1BRDqARIsAKMbHDYZZ52sQfWk1h1Of5DY9xmMUsyB7lkRwIpLB-SQUDpFvxF-sWoAYTAaAnmFEALw_wcB
Have gone butcher,purgatory for £35 posted.Cheaper than buying just an xr4 for the front!
Good choice
DHR front and HRII Rear is my go to combo for the full sus. Just bought and Agressor to try as a summer rear tyre, I'll stick with the DHR on the front though.
The hardtail gets HRII front and Ardent Rear, I've got an Ikon if its bone dry and I'm doing a race.
Minion F up front and either an Aggressor or Minion SS on the rear.
for 2.3 tyres i would go with the Minion SS at the back. surrey isnt that muddy and i want the extra speed all year round.
im currently running aggressors as they came on the bikes but will switch to Minion SS when i need new tyres. i ride regularly at surrey all year sound.
Maxxis Forekasters?
Minion DHF front (2.5 3c maxterra) and rear(2.3 dual compound) year round for me, stick a Minion SS on if it gets proper dry, Magic Mary Front/Nobby Nic Rear for the lad works well too.
Have used the CM/Smorg combo too and they are also great for the money.
Not sure I'd bother with the Aggressor, doesn't really brake or grip better than the SS, doesn't corner better than an SS, doesn't roll better than a DHR2
The tyres MUST NOT do that washing out
Dont know why everyone is suggesting Spesh tyres then. They do an awful lot of great stuff , but tyres ain't one of them. If you are really not bothered about changing tyres then you really can't go far wring with DHF/DHR combo (or even just DHR front and rear)!
When I first went 29in, I used to like DHR2 rear HR2 front for all year purposes (both in EXO 2.3).
I'd recommend the HR2 over the DHF for mixed conditions, certainly.
im currently running the purgatory 29x2.6 rear and its a bit washy outy. It was trying to swap ends last ride quite a lot. The read is fine so dirt etc its ok but anything that required the compound to stick (like rocks) its rubbish. The eliminator (same compound ) is a lot lot better tho but much heavier.
im yet to try a dhr. can anyone suggest the right compound for them?
HR2 both ends (3c front, dual rear) on the hardtail for all year. Providing rims aren't too wide as it ruins the profile.
Will be trying DHR2 on back of other bike soon (HR2 rear, DHF front currently).
I'm Forekaster curious too.
im yet to try a dhr. can anyone suggest the right compound for them?
3c for front, but dual compound is fine for rear (and lasts better).
Surrey riding here too. You know what that means. Schwalbe Racing Ralphs 2.35 front and 2.2 rear just about do the job for all season use. However I'm after a few KOMs at the moment so am waiting for them to wear down and shall change them over to Conti Race Kings which would definitely have been faster before the rain. Preferred choice over the winter are Bonty Mud-Xs. Perhaps a tad fragile when up against flint but this year I haven't changed the tyres over so have been running Racing Ralphs all year. Given the changeable conditions at the moment the Racing Ralphs will be staying on.
"Surrey riding here too. You know what that means."
I don't know what it means because you couldn't pay me to run those XC tyres when I ride the Surrey Hills. Most popular front tyre amongst my riding mates is probably the Magic Mary 2.35, keep it on all year. DHR2 2.3 is fast becoming the most popular rear. They just work, whatever the conditions.
@chiefgrooveguru In fairness I wasn't recommending these tyres to you. The OP mentioned that he'd been using XR3 and XR2 Bontys which would suggest he was mostly bridleway bashing. They are XC oriented tyres after all. For riding off road around the Surrey bridleways you wouldn't want to be dragging heavy, excessively grippy tyres. Perhaps if you drive to Pitch, Leith and Holmsbury, live in the middle or within a couple of miles of that area then downhill tyres are suitable. However, most of Surrey is not that area and even many of the steep (the steepest even) drops off the Downs are perfectly fine with XC tyres. The Racing Ralphs have more grip on the edges than the fastest XC tyres that are Conti Race Kings and even his Bontys. That would address some of his less washy criteria. I wouldn't race on the Racing Ralphs on hardpack but for the changeable conditions we have now and for distance riding in Surrey the Racing Ralphs are a good choice. Still it's a moot point. He'd made his choice even before I'd posted so good luck to him.
Mary 2.35 would be good in the wetter stuff but a lot of tyre for hard stuff. I'd go Minion dhr2... In fact I have, though the 2.4 maxxgrip.