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I've just got my shiny new Canyon Strive CF 7.0 which is a pretty awesome little thing (if not a little on the heavy side coming across from my featherweight Radon Slide 160 Carbon). I wouldn't say that I do a huge amount of serious downhill work and ultimately, I would like the bike to be a 'jack of all trades' machine (hence why I didn't buy the Torque) which can also deal with some occasional XC work (the Radon was perfect for this, but struggled on the Enduro stuff as the head angle was a little too steep).
Traditionally, I have run a combination of Schwalbe Hans Dampf on the front and a Rock Razor out back which has worked really well and rolls really fast. The Strive is fitted with VERY draggy Maxxis Minion DHR 2.4" tyres front and rear.
I could pull the Maxxis tyres off and switch to Schwalbe, but the other alternative is to leave the front Minion DHR and replace the rear with a Minion SS (I want to have the same brand front and rear, purely for vanity reasons). I am working on the basis that the Minion SS is essentially the same 'type' as the Rock Razor.
Thoughts? Would I also be better off junking the front DHR II in favour of something a little faster rolling and 'front' specific? If I did this, I could then also consider other brands (Vittoria, Continental WTB, Michelin etc etc).
Alternatively, I could just buy a 110-120mm bike and keep the Strive for 'big days'... but tyres do seem a little more 'cost effective'.
I really rate the Rock Razors. I run them on my Strive with a DHF on the front. I guess Minion SS rear + DHF is a good option but I'm not as vain as you and wouldn't be constrained by brands 😛
My Strive is the older 650B version, though.
I use a Minion DHF on the front and Ardent on the rear. Works well in all but very muddy conditions. Then I just use a different bike.
There was a thread about fast-rolling maxxis tyres yesterday, have a butcher's at that.
I'd keep the DHR2 on the front, but if you change brands then the new Hans Dampf is a great all-round rear tyre and rolls very well. Works great with a Mary up front.
I use a dhf front and aggressor rear. It’s a big old bike though, 29in tyres and nearly 15kg it’s never going to be an xc whippet. Aggressor is about the best compromise I’ve found, a lot better than the dhf I used to use, all be it in 60a coumpound. Do they still ship them with 42a super tacky rears?!
(26” strive here though)
Don't worry too much about the front. Most of your weight (and hence rolling resistance) sits on the rear tyre when you're sat pedalling. You won't notice the difference in drag up front from a Hans Dampf to a Magic Mary (if you kept the same compound at least), but would notice it immediately on the rear.
To that ends, my preferred summer/overkill XC setup for long travel trail bike is a Super Gravity Rock Razor Addix Soft on the rear and a Magic Mary Snakeskin Addix soft on the front. The Addix soft compound on the rear is quite crucial, the Speedgrip is a tiny bit faster yes, but doesn't grip as well, and the Rock Razor in the Addix soft compound will grip in some remarkable situations that you wouldn't necessarily expect it to.
Mix it up and go with Specialized Slaughter. My fave.
Rock Razor in the Addix soft compound will grip in some remarkable situations that you wouldn’t necessarily expect it to.
Because I’m lazy and CBA changing tyres (esp Schwalbe which are super tight, at least on my rims), I ran the Rock Razor all winter. It was genuinely amazing how well it worked even in deep slop. I probably would still change it in winter but didn’t feel it was that essential - especially if your riding is more rocky/hard pack.
Aye, I ran a spesh slaughter all winter, and RR is a better tyre.
On mine, I swapped the DHRs out in favour of a 2.5 aggressor on the rear and 2.5 DHF on the front, (2.6 DHF also easily fits on the front). Seems to be a good compromise.