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Already dreaming of rides where it doesn’t take an hour or so to clean up all the slop from bike / clothes etc!
I’m new to 29ers and happy with my winter pairing (Hillbilly 2.6 / dhr2 2.3) - wondering about summer tyres idly at the moment.
Short list so far is:
Front - Mazza / Butcher T9 / DHF
Rear - Slaughter Grid / Rock Razor Super Trail / Vittoria Barzo? / Aggressor
I’m generally fine with exo ish casing tyres - not holed any of them. Have a 30mm internal rim on both front and back of the bike.
Looking for a grippy front to be able to really lean on, with a fast rolling rear.
Max weight really 1kg per tyre ideally.
I know very little about Vittoria / Vee Tyre / Hutchinson etc. Got on fine with a slaughter last summer but in 650b and DHF is a staple. Just wondering if there’s either something better out there outright or better value but similar ability.
If you want robust for the rear, try and find a doubledown rockrazor. They're discontinued sadly but they're fantastic, best schwalbe I've used and best semislick I've used by far. Though the supertrail might be OK for you if you're OK with exo
DHR2 on the front is always my first choice, in whatever carcass or compound seems right. Probably maxxterra for most people, but imo the extra drag and wear of the maxxgrip, is well worth it for the, well, grip, it's a superb tyre.
I reckon looking at the weight a super trail rock razor might do the job tough wise. It’s a similar weight to the old super gravity - Schwalbe seemed to move everything up a weight with the most recent revision.
I’ve had a dhr2 on the front and didn’t rate it. Much prefer it as a rear tyre. Read that the Mazza is like a newer / better DHF but it seems just as expensive. Hence wondering about a Butcher in the new grid trail casing / compound
maxxis crossmark 2.35 in the TR EXO version. tough as a tough thing.
Mazza is a fast front tyre for dry conditions only. Its not good on mud or wet roots as a front tyre, quickly learnt not to brake with the bike leaned over.
Had it on the back since early Novemeber and its been good there.
Martello is my go to April-Nov rear tyre, fast and grippy.
2.3 Grid Trail T9 Butcher / 2.3 Grid Trail T7 Eliminator would fit that brief. Front is just over 1kg and the rear just under. I ran them for the autumn dry spell and they worked well. Now have the T9 butcher on the rear with a wild enduro front. They come up as 2.4s on 30mm rims.
fwiw, I prefer the T9 Butcher to a 2.5 dhf, although that was a maxxterra, so not really comparing apples with apples. But regardless of compound, the grid trail is far more supportive than exo.
I am tempted with a T9 butcher I have to say.
Heard from a few people the eliminator is a bit crap 🤷♂️
It's not crap. It's like an aggressor. So no, it won't stick like a super-soft compound dh tyre, but it will roll fast give a lively feel to the rear when you are pinning it in the dry with the butcher on the front.
It is very noticeable that the t9 butcher feels a lot more damped than the t7 eliminator though. If the eliminator was available in grid trail t9 or grid trail t9/t7 dual compound then that would be ideal.
I think the comments I’ve heard are that the eliminator isn’t that fast considering it’s scared of the wet.
I’ve had an aggressor before and it puts up an ok fight in the wet as long as it’s not slop. The slaughter was faster again and cornered alright but probably had less drive / braking traction. So I’d probably be happy with either of those.
The rock razor is new to me / I’ve not tried it and I’m curious on that - same with the new Butcher T9. Mazza also interesting but expensive.
If you can get one, WTB Trail Boss 2.4 in Tough/Fast is a great bet for the rear. Rolls really fast, casing is like the old Supergravity from Schwalbe. Think it cones in at about 1100g so not a million miles off your target weight but we'll worth a look.
I’ve got a Trailboss in 650b - I’m not a huge fan tbh. Lacking in sideknobs and the tough fast rubber is quite hard and skippy on the trail. It is quite fast though.