[Closed] Tyres everyone should try once

Conti vert pros.

Ooh I like this thread.

Wetscreams or similar in the real wet

And almost like one of your suggestions but more specific- really grippy tyre on the front, like a shorty maxxgrip, and ungrippy tyre on the back, like a rockrazor, in winter. Hilarious doing basically everything with the front wheel.

Full fat, 4.8s or bigger

And a bit like jam-bo, things that people used to think were great. Nevegal stick-e and dtc 2.1, vert pros, smoke/dart, swampthings

Not tried XC tyres since tearing them on a blade of grass over ten years ago.

Sorry I'm a bit confused as to what is supposed to happen. I've got to suggest a tyre everyone should try? Why? I don't really have any that generate that strong a feeling to be honest. Look at the weekend picture thread and you'll see the type of place I ride so that might explain it 🙂

Onza Rip and Rail f&r specific tyres back in the day - helped me clear a climb I'd been trying for ages. I'd buy them tomorrow if they were available.

Nokian Gazzaloddi
IRC Kujo
Tioga Factory DH

Coming back to the modern crop will be like returning to tyre Valhalla having ridden the above abominations from yesteryear…

Sorry I’m a bit confused as to what is supposed to happen. I’ve got to suggest a tyre everyone should try? Why? I don’t really have any that generate that strong a feeling to be honest. Look at the weekend picture thread and you’ll see the type of place I ride so that might explain it 🙂

Yes; suggest tyres that people might find interesting to try. Because for some of us it's interesting, and for others it might get them to try something different which could benefit them. I see your straight flat dry ditchside path and now understand your position 🙂

Onza Rip and Rail f&r specific tyres back in the day – helped me clear a climb I’d been trying for ages. I’d buy them tomorrow if they were available.

You are going back some! I loved those tyres at the time but weren’t they 1.9”? I don’t think I’d like them so much these days.

also from history I loved something I think Continental called the Pro1 as a winter mud tyre. Big paddles with a lot of space between which was unfortunately rather puncture prone

Sorry I’m a bit confused as to what is supposed to happen. I’ve got to suggest a tyre everyone should try? Why?

I’m also a little confused, I’m not sure whether to suggest tyres you’d only try once because they are so ridiculously bad or the ones you’d try a second time because they are so good.

I'm surprised people are confused. The "once" is superflurous, but it's a common expression - it probably should have said "AT LEAST once". Northwind gets it, but others are posting old tyres from back in the day that you'd try exactly once (which tbf is what I asked!) to experience how bad they are.

Tyres to try because it might be interesting or you might be pleasantly surprised with. Take the "at least once" in the sense of "based on my armchair evaluation, a semi-slick is no good for a British summer, but I'll try one to see for myself what it's like".

Michelin DH34 and DH22.
They are unlike anything else in the market. No inserts needed, ultra damped ride, it's like adding 30mm of suspension travel. And the grip is so high that it's comical, you keep doing the same corner faster and faster and they just grip

Kenda Small Block 8

I loved those tyres on my jumpbike, mostly because they just looked really cool.
Rolled fast though at Chicksands and the like.

Maxxis Swamp things.
Classic but a great tyre for lot of uk dh tracks.

I’d say:

* A semi-slick for the summer. You can go a lot faster with them in the right conditions. Rock Razors are the one I’ve tried.

* Proper chunky tyres can make the winter slip more bearable. Magic Mary or similar.

* Inserts + lighter compound tyre. Something like CushCore/EXO+ has similar weight to a DH tyre but you can run lower pressures which is nice IMHO.

Not an enduro tyre but everyone should try a Vee Bulldozer in 29” 3.25 guise. Yeah it’s draggy blah, blah but you can ride up, along and over everything.

I concur with Michelin's, I don't have them on my current bike, but I rode them on a mates bike, holy s*?@, they are so quick.

Teravail Coronado in 29 x 2.8 for fast rolling summer tyre duties. Wouldn’t put them on my enduro bike but on the singlespeed they are fabulous.

Onza Rip and Rail f&r specific tyres back in the day

Got a set right beside me as I type on the 1991 Orange Clockwork that hangs on the wall of my study. The reason they've made it this far is that they look good but didn't work well so went straight to the parts bin for display resurrection decades later!

Everyone should try Farmer Johns Nephews to remind them how much tyres have improved.

Continental Trail Kings. For lots of good reasons Conti fell out of fashion, but as a front tyre, the Trail King is pretty good, and often overlooked.

I'm totally surprised semi slick rear tires are not more popular for summer use.
Bought a Specialized Slaughter last summer out of total curiosity after being a longtime doubter of semi slicks.
It was like putting a turbo on the bike!
Fast as chuff, so much so I was piling into corners with too much speed.
Cornering is very predictable and grippy.

Continental XC 1.5"

Used back in the 90's for xc racing. Fast, light, scary. Cut through mud like a hot knife in butter.

+1 for IRC Kujos. Then we can all be Martyn Ashton!

Kenda Small Block 8

Still running those (tubeless) on my retro.
Along with a set of

Continental XC 1.5″

on another set of wheels, which i "regularly" swap with michelin wildgripper (original green muds) and some green sprints as well.

Onza octopus

Wot no Magic Marys? I bet some people haven't tried them. In my riding life only 2 tyres have been "ooh wow!" to me (maybe 3, if you count Bonty Mud Xs in the mud) - Magic Mary on the front making "that noise" on berms and about 20 years ago, Michelin Jets in the dry (soooo fast).

Full fat, 4.8s or bigger

I'd say this. I had Nates on my fatty which were 'only' 3.8 and they just seemed to grip and go so I can only imagine what 4.8 would have been like.

Maxxis Larssen TT ....in the dry

+1 for IRC Kujos. Then we can all be Martyn Ashton!

Only if paired with an El Gatto…

Kujo’s?! Let’s do it properly and get back to IRC Missiles please

XR4 in Team flavour - a really, really good tyre that few folk seem to run.

There are better options now, but a couple of years ago I would have said a "proper" 2.4 Ardent. Seems there were a whole load of bikes that came with paper thin, plastic grip 2.2 oem only ardents which people rightly hated. But then took it out on the entire ardent range without ever trying them.
But I have ikons for xc now, so I wont go back.

Marathon Supremes, great gravel light to tarmac tyre.

matt_outandabout
Full Member
XR4 in Team flavour – a really, really good tyre that few folk seem to run.

I'd absolutely agree with @matt_outandabout. I'm a big fan of Bontrager Tyres and the XR4 is bloody brilliant. I've got 2.4s on at the moment and they're sub 800g, which seems good in the modern market, especially given their capabilities. Sand, mud, leaves, grass, wet rocks - just great.

I've got a set of XR2s for the summer.

Umm. Dunno. But I would recommend anyone who doesn't ride in mud for fear of no grip tries "proper" mud tyres at least once. My first experience of this was Panaracer Trailraker, nowadays Maxxis Shortys. I get there will be more extreme examples but riding these kinds of tyres in thick mud is a lot of fun.

Also, similar to Northwind maybe, a Rock razor is a suprisingly capable tyre beyond dry rock and gravel. Keep it on, see how far into Autmumn / Winter you get.

Damn, everyone has said it already... Minion SS or similar on the rear paired to something reasonably grippy up front (just a DHF/R or similar). Always a laugh.

I also want to try the Michelin combo somewhere rocky... heard good things. Need to be fitter first I feel.

Anything that comes in a proper DH sticky compound front and rear at a bike park. The extra grip you gain from the rear being able to brake on the steep stuff and into corners is another level above just a sticky tyre on the front.

+1 for IRC Kujos. Then we can all be Martyn Ashton!

Loved IRC tyres back in the day! I reckon if they had just done what Maxxis did with the Minion (enlarged the design for wider tyres and bigger rims without actually changing it) with the Mythos XC and beefed up the carcass they'd still be popular now.

Specialized hillbilly in loamy conditions

Of limited use in this country, but Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pros were amazing in Sweden. Being able to ride over frozen lakes and down icy steps took some getting used to.

Michelin wild enduro rear - Incredible grip for a relatively low profile tyre

DH casing minions in a bike park

DHR 2 on the front - Still amazing how many insist it's a rear tyre only. The grip on the steeps is incredibly good.

My summer hardtail combo is often Shorty on the front, Spesh Slaughter on the back. All the cornering grip; all the speed.

The only problem being is that the Slaughter has devolved into a really fragile beasty. The first couple I had were tough as old boots, the last couple seem to pinch flat every ride.

So would anyone care to tell me what casing and compound I would want in a Rock Razor, 27.5x 2.3ish to go on the back of a hardtail that gets caned around the Peaks? I don't want a boat anchor DH casing, but XC weight won't hack it either. Thanks!

I’ve got a set of XR2s for the summer.

Now we had some of those..I haven't laughed so much on a bike in a long time. I think that slicks would have had more grip on Dumyat descent...

JonEdwards
Free Member

So would anyone care to tell me what casing and compound I would want in a Rock Razor, 27.5x 2.3ish to go on the back of a hardtail that gets caned around the Peaks? I don’t want a boat anchor DH casing, but XC weight won’t hack it either. Thanks!

Old model supergravity. NOT the new one, it's basically a dh tyre. The old one is probably one of the most useful allround carcasses ever made, and imo the new range doesn't have anything to match it.

As someone who has returned to mountain biking after about 10 years away, it seems people are swapping tyres a lot less often than they used to. I guess as we're almost all using tubeless, it's a lot more faff to do so, but it seems that maybe with better design and lower pressures, tyres are much more versatile, much less condition specific. I don't get the sense that most people have 10+ sets and swap according to the weather and where they're riding.

I use Barzos on my little xc bike and, while very fast rolling on tarmac or dry trails, i'm amazed that they aren't totally rubbish in the wet, nor do they explode on contact with rocks. the level of grip they achieve on technical trails seems ridiculous to me. I'll probably run them 9 months of the year, regardless of terrain.

That said, some of the specialist tyres back in the day were great. someone already mentioned the 1.5 Conti Cross-country. On an old-school grass and woods XC course, in proper mud, they were brilliant. very grippy, incredibly fast, shedding of mud and obviously loads of clearance. a proper tool for a specific job. Trailrakers and spikes were good too, but terrifying if you had to corner on tarmac.

plenty were absolute rubbish though. I think many of us went through a phase of putting 1.7in red Ritchey Z-Maxes on our bikes to hit a stupid weight (and look awesome), even though you'd get a puncture before you even got it out of the car.

Panaracer Smoke and Dart

I've gone from SS (Rock Razor or Slaughter) on the rear all year round to a big volume, low tread tyre all year round so I'd recommend a 2.8 WTB Ranger on the back teamed up with a 2.8 Vigilante or DHF on the front.

My BITD day suggestion would be Spesh Evil Twins for soft/wet conditions. Brilliant and a great name too.

I don’t want a boat anchor DH casing, but XC weight won’t hack it either.

You, me, and everybody else! Slaughter grid.

It's a bit difficult to try a + or fat tyre without a complete bike upgrade.... Although...I suspect a plus tyre up front might possibly be do-able...

Agree with the Semi Slick on the back. I need to stick the Minion SS back on my hardtail.

My contribution to "tyres you would only try once" Panaracer Speedblasters. Hilariously bad. They literally said on the packaging "WARNING: DRY CONDITIONS ONLY" not really a sensible choice for riding in the west of Scotland but they were stupid light and very fast in the right conditions, one day a year.

it seems people are swapping tyres a lot less often than they used to.

Nope, serial tyre swapper here.

Must admit first time I tried the combo of a Magic Mary (Vertstar?) Supergravity and Rock Razor I was amazed by the grip and it's ability to fire rocks at my shins with incredible velocity.

In the "old school, silly fast" camp are Michelin Savanne tyres. Pretty much a gravel tyre, but amazingly grippy (and terrifying when they let go!) in much the same way as conti race kings can be.

Not sure it'd be the same now, but the first time I rode a fresh set of Michelin comp32/24/16 tyres was a revelation for grip compared to anything which had gone before.

Onza Octopus

LOL!

I am showing my age but can tick the White Porcs (on a Nickel P7 with a Flexstem(!)), the Dart/Smoke combo, the Conti Vert Pros. Never tried the Farmer Johns. They always seemed to let go suddenly on my pals. I would add Continental Survival Pros.

All were good in the day, but modern tyres are in different league.

Those suggesting the Onza Rip/Rail. They were damn grippy but my god they sucked the life out of you with how much they dragged.

anyone who hasn’t tried a Magic Mary (there can’t be many) stick one on the front, it’s impressive.

Going back to the old skool, Dart 2.2 😎

Vittoria Mota TNT 2.35” is a good substitute for a Magic Mary, now Schwalbe no longer make them with a lighter casing.
I don’t understand why mud tyres aren’t available with light weight casings. Here in Surrey we often have to wade through winter mud and slop, without a rock to be seen.

Panaracer Fire XC's used to be my go to years ago - now, it's anything but Specialized

But if you want to dice with death, just for the buzz, try Specialized

Ironically, I've got Spesh Butcher and Purgatory on my Shan - just because I had them kicking around in 26" flavour - they were sketchy as I expected them to be on the Swinley dry berms. Being replaved with skinwall Nobby Nic's imminently

MM's are great, like nothing I've ever known, but they wear so quick, even on the front

it seems people are swapping tyres a lot less often than they used to.

£50+ per tyre will do that… To quote someone on the other site. I’m too invested in Maxxis, I haven’t the time to invest in learning another manufacturers models, tread patterns, compounds, casings and acronyms.

Continental Survival Pros

I had one of those was only good in deep snow. Also had Conti Supersonics on my Superlight, they really were paper thin and after a few rides just flatted every 100m.

I loved the B+ Slaughter on the back I used to have paired with a B+ Michelin Enduro.

I think I'd like to try a 29" MaxxGrip Assegai on the front but the MaxxTerra DHR2 I have is great at the moment. The comments about the rear Michelin Enduro seem quite interesting, maybe for the Winter?

bearGrease
The comments about the rear Michelin Enduro seem quite interesting, maybe for the Winter?

They're not the best winter rear tyre. I loved them for the rest of the year, but they wore out pretty quick. Ended up using a part worn Wild Enduro front on the back during winter.
I'm on Pirellis now & they're flipping ace.

So would anyone care to tell me what casing and compound I would want in a Rock Razor, 27.5x 2.3ish to go on the back of a hardtail that gets caned around the Peaks?

You probably want the misleadingly-named 27.5 x 2.35 Super Trail - it's basically what used to be Super Gravity, but slightly lighter and less wodden I think and is pretty tough without being full downhill. They no longer do the basic Snakeskin version afaik, but it wasn't tough enough anyway, don't ask how I know etc. You might, if you're aggressive / clumsy also think about an insert and don't go too low on pressure.

Tyres you should try: Ice Spiker Pros, the 2.35 versions, on proper neve / water ice stuff that appears after a freeze/thaw/freeze cycle. Like magic. Oh, and the 2.6 Rock Razor, which is properly fast rolling for a biggish tyre, but still reasonably grippy though I don't love whatever the compound on mine is.

I don't have any 'back in the day' suggestions other than avoiding Panaracer Trailblasters, which were bloody awful.

Really interesting stuff. Bearing in mind tyres cost money, and I can't really justify something obviously inappropriate (for my riding) just for the heck of it, and take time to swap, the only ones I'll probably actually try are the Rock Razor and Magic Mary 2.6" (or equivalents).

DHR 2 on the front – Still amazing how many insist it’s a rear tyre only. The grip on the steeps is incredibly good.

I'm already a convert. On the rear for winter, on the front the rest of the year. Absolutely hate DHF on the front.

@bikesandboots
It took a while but I really like my DHR on the front. A while back I used a High Roller on the front and that was good too. Maybe Maxxis have a track record of creating back tyres that work on the front?

I’m already a convert. On the rear for winter, on the front the rest of the year. Absolutely hate DHF on the front.

So in the Winter when the DHR is on the back what do you use on the front?

Ahhhh Conti Vert Pros were the bomb and i'll not hear a bad word against them.

Can't see beyond magic Mary/big Betty at the minute.
Used to love minion dhr/dhf
On one chunky monkeys were great
Panaracer cinders
Bonty Jones acx

On one chunky monkeys were great

They were. I raced my hardtail at the weekend with one on the front and a minion SS on the rear.
A bit sketchy leant over on the loose dusty corners.
If it was a bit newer it might have been better, the side knobs are bit piddly compared to a DHf or Mary but way less draggy.

A while back I used a High Roller on the front and that was good too.

Didn't like it (HR2) for same reason as DHF - vague transition.

So in the Winter when the DHR is on the back what do you use on the front?

Continental Der Baron Projekt (now discontinued and replaced by Argotal). I'm sure DHR2 would have been fine, but given I was buying a tyre anyway this seemed a better option (was between this and a Magic Mary).

Tioga Factory DH

Used to be £20 a pair IIRC which was a bargain. Don't remember there being an awful lot that was noticeably better back in 1999... don't think Kujos were. Seem to remember Specialized doing a half decent tyre around that time that weight as much as a car tyre...

Bit of a schwalbe fanboy here, have tried many of their offerings

I tend to switch between these two on my road commuter / gravel bike depending on time of the year

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-schwalbe-kojak-slick-road-tyre-raceguard

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-g-one-allround-evo-tyre

I used to be a huge fan of the Magic Mary + Hans Dampf combo on the mtb all year round, bought a new bike last year that came with a pair of Nobby Nics fully prepared to swap them over to MM+HD, honestly haven’t felt the need yet, the Nic’s are a great tyre for me, suitably impressed, quick yet grippy when needed

Tried a Racing Ray + Racing Ralph combo for a while, really disliked them, found them to be really slippy / slidey in the wet, they didn’t stay too long

Wtb velociraptors with the 'paddle' style rear

coloured tyres....regardless of the riding you do everyone needs coloured tyres in their live as least once.

any proper UST tyres (I know it's now a "dead" standard), the ust racing raplhs were a revelation @ 15 psi no squirminess and prodigious grip even over wet greasy rocks for a xc tyre.

coloured tyres….regardless of the riding you do everyone needs coloured tyres in their live as least once.

@mrchrispy Agreed, camo tyres have a permanent residence on my jump bike

Panaracer Smoke and Dart

As long as the Dart is the 2.2 SC version as the 2.1 was awful!

Loving the big betty/Mary combo on my enduro bike.

Everyone should try a good XC tyre though on a shorter travel bike. Mezcals on a light wheel with an insert for protection are brilliant fun on fast dry trails - so quick.

29er 2.3 Hans Damfs, 25 psi front and 28 rear. I'm also running Rimpacts. Regular front and pro rear. Not a particularly comfy ride but rolls well and doesn't squirm in the corners.

Rocket Ron / Racing Ralph combo on my Scalpel. 27 psi front and 30 psi rear. Works well. Not as fast as a gravel type tyre but considering how well they grip (for an xc tyre) I like them.

Crikey I’ve been round long enough to remember when Tioga Farmer Johns were the go to choice for most people….. I always wanted some Spesh Ground Control Extremes in the 2.5 flavour but never actually saw any for sale back then, and they probably wouldn’t have fitted on my bike!

I used to love white Porcs and bought my last pair when they were £5 each in the sales - if only I had bought every single remaining one as an investment!!

My first ever new mountain bike was a Claud Butler Osiris, pretty much top of the CB range at the time, with Grimeca disks (awful in retrospect) and wired Tioga Factory DH’s on it. To make it lighter, I upgraded to some Panaracer Fire XC with red sidewalls.

Ticked lots of boxes with one bike.

Lots of tyres on here I literally only have tried once. Then got rid off ASAP...

Continental Danny Mac Air Kings

Yeah i had farmer johns on my muddy fox, they were almost the goto tyre in the late 80s.
I had a raleigh moonshine (1990?) which came with a brilliant michelin tyre, it had fantastic side knobs, good grip and it rolled really well. Wore out in about 6 rides like, but still a good tyre. No idea what it was called though.