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So I’m doing a last minute bit of panicking about tyres on my bike for Antur Stiniog this Saturday (riding Coed y Brenin Friday / Snowdon and maybe Marin sunday).
Currently have a 2.5 exo dhr2 on the front which I’m not too worried about, but have a 2.3 exo aggressor on the rear which might be a bit vulnerable to punctures. Run tubeless on a Bird Aeris 145LT so I have plenty of suspension - and I doubt I’ll be doing all the blacks / I’m a very average kind of rider so not shredding the gnar!
Looking at what I can get with next day delivery (and cheap - ideally under £30 or just over) there are:
WTB trailboss tough fast Tcs 2.4”
Michelin Rock R2 enduro gum-x ts tlr 2.35”
Thoughts on these 2 tyres?
Trailboss good tyre but blooooody tight on all rims I’ve used them on and a devil to get off. Have had to cut the bead a couple of times. Specialized Purgatory Grid for the rear is pretty tough and often around that price.
As a local to those, I'd go for a vigilante over a trailboss to be honest - tough casing in either fast or high grip. Though incidentally if you need a trailboss tough fast rolling I've got one a brand new which you are welcome to collect en route to CYB.
Specialised purgatory grid. Delivered £24 from their site.
Might be able to get next day delivery. We have just given these a good run in Canazei and Les Orres over the last couple of weeks with no problems
https://www.specialized.com/gb/en/eliminator-grid-2bliss-ready/p/157875?color=237557-157875
https://www.specialized.com/gb/en/butcher-blck-dmnd-2bliss-ready/p/157756?color=237113-157756
I've got a Trail Boss tough on the back of my hardtail, & it's held up well given I mostly ride in rocky terrain similar to Antur & the amount of jumps I case.
In fact the tread is more worn than the sidewalls.
Trailboss or vigilante sounding like a potential option then. Noting the tight to get on the rim comment is that likely to be a drama with the 2.4 onto a 30mm internal DT Swiss Xm481 rim?
Trailboss or vigilante sounding like a potential option then. Noting the tight to get on the rim comment is that likely to be a drama with the 2.4 onto a 30mm internal DT Swiss Xm481 rim?
My vig and trailboss go onto a set of Nextie 30mm ID rims fine.
Just buy a dh tube? But I've found the wtb tough stuff to be as durable as most.
Inner tube?! Nooooooo!
Might just order the wtb if no-one has any experience of the Michelin’s as they are then a bit of an unknown.
I found a few reviews of the Michelin that suggested it is very durable but it’s also heavy and very draggy. Therefore ordered the wtb trailboss in tough / fast spec from cRC for £28. I think it will have less grip than the michelin but roll better whilst still having stronger sidewalls than my current Maxxis.
Spesh Butcher if they’ve got any left?
Was happy with a trailboss 2.4 tough at Antur last year on my old MK1 Aeris. Was cheap/tough. Never felt a lack of grip at the rear but it was dry, sampled most of the trails.
That’s good to know - the forecast was looming dry last time I looked - although with Wales you never can be sure!
Think I’ll leave the aggressor on for CYB as it rolls fast and it’s a nice 3c one, and swap to the trailboss on the evening before Antur.
I just bought a cheap Schwalbe Super Gravity Hans Dampf from CRC for £31 - plenty tough for clumsy rock riding.
Rockrazer, Aggressor and Slaughter all come in tougher casings - super gravity, double down and downhill. Specialized had some tyres on sale
Budget option - pump up the tyre a bit?
(those spec eliminatiors look good!)
On recent good alps experience the specialized blk dmnd casing is v tough. So I’d say a butcher or eliminator in that for £39 from them direct if still available.
As above I’ve ordered the trail boss for £28 - because I left it so late I needed next day delivery so it arrives today and not all shops could manage that.
Tomaso - I did actually check cRC for a super gravity Hans Dampf and didn’t find one - there was a listing that was very vague for HD on there but it had no reviews / no questions and I wasn’t sure it was what I wanted. Otherwise for £31 I probably would have gone for one of those.
Van Halen - I’m not worried so much about pinch damage to the tyre (although it’s possible) - I normally run the rear at 25psi tubeless and have never had an issue - more ripping a tyre wall / slicing the tyre that I’ve read can be an issue.
Not sure what pressure I’ll run at Antur - maybe I’ll play it safe towards 30psi at the start and see how it goes.
"Budget option – pump up the tyre a bit?"
Yes!
"(those spec eliminatiors look good!)"
And yes - really liking the 2.3 I've just put on the back of my motorbike!
I maybe being stupid, but how is pumping up the tyres more going to protect against slashing the side wall on a rock?
I don’t run silly low pressures anyway - normally 25psi on the back (ish - using my track pump gauge) and somewhere mid way between 20 and 25 on the front.
CRC came up trumps with their next day delivery and I now have a 2.4” tough / fast Wtb trailboss in my possession. Just debating whether to fit it tonight or tomorrow (once I’ve done the day at CYB with the lighter / faster aggressor on the back).
I picked up a Hillbilly and a Purgatory 2Bliss Grid in 29x2.6 (alleged) direct from Specialized a couple of weeks ago, £24 each. Strong and cheap.
I think he's got his tyre but as an aside the Specialized Grid casing is nothing like a WTB tough, Grid is more like Maxxis exo.
WTB tough is more like Shwalbe Supergravity.
The downside of the Trailboss is I think it's the heaviest tyre I own. Possibly heavier than a SG Magic Mary or maybe one of my car tyres.
I’ve had an aggressor on the back of my enduro bike the past couple of European trips and it’s been fine. Done one or two days at antur and bpw on it too, I’d be happy enough leaving it on and keeping the crc tyre as a spare in case. I tend to err toward dh tyres for that kind of riding but the exo aggressor is pretty good. I’ve trashed a dh minion at antur so it’s all a pig and a poke.
The wtb feels robustly heavy now I’ve got it here, but I think I’ll
probably stick it on tomorrow night after the day at CYB. I’d rather not risk trashing my aggressor as I really like it and they aren’t cheap to replace in 3c flavour.
I’ve heard mixed things about grid casings - that they used to be good but they aren’t so strong these days - and certainly not much stronger than exo Maxxis.
I would have liked a supergravity Hans Dampf as above but maybe my Google fu let me down on this occasion.
Trailboss popped onto the rim (XM481) with just a single blast from the airshot - so far it’s the easiest I’ve ever got a tubeless tyre seated on a rim. Hopefully it stays up overnight.
It’s the smallest 2.4” tyre I’ve ever seen - quite a bit smaller than the 2.5wt dhf on the front and smaller than the 2.35 magic Mary on the front of my mates bike.
It feels pretty heavy but comforting how thick the sidewalls are - and the tread is quite small down the middle so I’m hopeful it’ll roll ok.
“I maybe being stupid, but how is pumping up the tyres more going to protect against slashing the side wall on a rock?”
It would take some very good slo-mo camera work to confirm this, but it feels like having more air in a tyre means it more quickly deflects off sharp things, rather than letting them dig in for long enough to damage the casing.
As an aside to this thread, I ordered a butcher and purgatory GRID after seeing the recommendations above on Wednesday night. £42, free standard delivery. Arrived yesterday. Can't argue with that! Getting them on is tonight's entertainment!
Not bad for a pair of pretty decent tyres.
Did Antur today and no dramas with punctures. The trailboss seemed to roll pretty quick and gripped well enough. Happy.
Going to leave it on for Snowdon tomorrow and see how I get on. If it doesn’t suck the life out the bike with the weight of it I might just leave it on for a few months to save the tubeless faff of going back to the aggressor I had on there.