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I've been using MM front and back on my bike since it got really wet. Happy with the performance, but the combination of a wide tyre and winter slop is doing a good job of removing the paint from the frame. So what's like a MM but narrower? Looked at the shorty, but I think it'll still be too wide. Anything out there apart from the skinny storm / mud x / dirty Dan?
Maxxis Beaver comes in a 2.25in exo version.
I haven't tried it but have been pondering one as a substitute for my DHR2 or Purgatory, but they don't do [i]that [/i]bad as a rear tyre so I've not bothered yet.
Maxxis Beaver's are good at clearing mud, but nowhere near as agressive as a lot of the others unfortunately. Maxxis Shorty is the equivalent of the MM, but not sure you'll find a big difference in size.
Anything out there apart from the skinny storm / mud x / dirty Dan?
Storms are good, but obviously a lot smaller and also a harder compound
Cheers. A mate runs a mm and shorty on his bike, and the difference is quarter of an inch measured on the same rim. Still probably too tight. I ran a storm last year, ok but needed high pressures due to the local rocks and roots and to stop them rolling on the rim. I'll have a look at the beaver, if not it'll probably be another storm
I had a quick measure of mine and on a flow EX (25.5 int) the shorty was 58mm at the tread, and the MM on a flow (22.5 int) was 58, pretty much identical. On the same rim, the shorty will only be a few mm less, probably not enough.
A beaver on a flow EX was ~57mm at the sidewall, and 55mm on the tread, so only a couple of mm less than a shorty. That's the 2.25" version.
To get something significantly smaller you'll probably need a 2.0" tyre.
26" or 650b?
I only ask as a Maxxis swampthing comes in 2.3 which comes up quite narrow. Much narrower than my Maxxis Shorty, but it's only available in 26".
The spesh hillbilly grid comes up a touch smaller than the shorty, I've got a hillbilly front and shorty rear at the moment, great combo.
29 lardman. Swampthings are an awesome tyre but not in 29. I'd forgotten about the hillbilly, isn't it fantastically heavy though? I'll have a look.... 1030g, that's 100g heavier than a magic mary!
I'd like to avoid a 2 inch tyre if I can, plenty of rocks as well as mud around here.
Yes the hillbilly is quite heavy I guess, I don't mind the sturdy casing as it allows my to drop the pressure down lower than I normally would with say an exo casing. Not quite in super gravity territory weight wise but getting on that way. Maybe check out the new Conti Projekt Baron see how that one measures up.