You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
So, yesterday I had a massive off on the black run at Afan. A trail ive done many times before and never had a problem, but it was wet yesterday. It made me think, ive had four serious offs in the last year or so since starting riding again and they have all been in the wet! Im starting to not want to go out in the rain which lets face it loses about 300 days in england 🙂
Ive tried, and what ive found
Continental Mountain Kings - never did anything that well really
Panaracer Fire XC's - Great for singletrack like Bedgebury but lethal on wet rocks
MAxxis Minion- never tried in the wet, awesome in the dry but couldnt get use to the maxxis shuffle as I call it (when transferring on to the cornering knobs)
Ralphing Ralph(rear) - Fat Albert (front) - Awesome in the dry, but skittish as heck in the wet (this is what I had on yesterday)
All these were tested on my Scott Spark, but I now have a Meta AM with the SChwalbes, and besides multiple punctures in the rear, I need an al round tyre that can perform in the wet (makes up for my lack of talent!) I ride mainly in Wales, trips to Scotland, and few short blasts round Bedgebury as its local...
Any suggestions? Thinking possibly Rubber Queens of Hans Dampf?
It's not the tyres. Not at Afan anyway.
as above.
wet tyres are generally designed around mud.
aint no mud at afan.
At places like Afan, where you're riding predominantly on rock, or at least very firm ground, it is rubber compound that will make the biggest difference to grip levels in the wet. With that in mind, your Minions would be good, as would some Black Chilli Rubber Queens, but harder tyres like the Mountain Kings and Fire XC's you've had would not be so good.
Hans Dampf in Trailstar are very good in the wet on roots and rock but the two posts ^^ probably apply.
maxxis crossmark all year round at afan so its not the tyres.
maxxis crossmark all year round at afan so its not the tyres.
Is a good tyre choice for Afan, as they're a grippy compound, and the tread pattern is designed to work well on rocks and hardpack, which is what Afan is mainly.
Crossmarks are rubbish if you ride mainly soft, loamy trails, but for somewhere like Afan, ideal most of the time.
+1 for compounds rather than tread pattern, if anything you want something that looks close to a car tyre (i.e. more blocks than gaps). My fave rear tyres are maxxis hollyroller 2.4 and DMR Moto-R, the latter rols so quick it feels like you're 3 gears higher! Match that to something like maxxis highroller 2.35 or Spesh Eskar 2.3 is my favourite comination for dry trails and trail centers.
Cheers...Haha, so what your all trying to say is its actually my riding not my tyre choice? 🙂 which could potentially be true, but I manage to blitz everything reasonably well in the dry but as soon as the wet rocks appear or wet gravel, I just sketch everywhere and generally lose the front wheel sliding on wet rocks..
Thanks for the advice though, I probably need to try the Minions in the wet, ill stick them on next time..a little draggy on the uphill but its probably worth it for a bit of security and faith!
just to ad, I find the large volume casing a really nice ride overall and I will lose that switching to the Minions..Rubber Queens potentially?
Haha, so what your all trying to say is its actually my riding not my tyre choice?
Correct. People fret over tyres far too much IMO. Chuck some on, ride them until they're worn out. Learn their limitations and your own.
Correct. People fret over tyres far too much IMO. Chuck some on, ride them until they're worn out. Learn their limitations and your own.
Far be it for me to offer a contradictory opinion... 😉
Seriously though, there are 2 schools of thought on this. TSY's is very valid, but the other viewpoint is that the bikes only contact patch with the ground is its tyres, so arguably they're the single most important component on the bike, and can make an enormous difference.
Now some people take this a bit too far IMO, with dozens of sets of tyres, and change them every ride dependent on conditions. Personally, I'd rather just find one good set of tyres that work pretty damned well in just about everything and leave them on most of the year (perhaps swap them out in severe mud for something more suitable). Bit of a holy grail, but so far, I've found the Black Chilli Rubber Queens are about the best all round, all trails, all conditions tyres. Others opinions, may of course, vary!
Always found Nokian NBX to be a good allround tyre for S Wales. Tend to use Nobby Nics now as the compound is a bit softer.
Hated Fire XC with a vengeance - would let go unpredictably on wet Welsh rocks and roots. Same with Kenda Nevegal / Blue Groove, couldn't get on.
Probably tyre pressure related as well. I'm heavy and like fast rolling, so prefer to keep pressures high - which does not aid with rock and root grip
I do agree with both of you, TSY - just get on and ride! but not being a great rider and having a few offs, id like to set myself with a good standing tyre that will help out my lack of talent 🙂
MBoy - I drive a Subaru Impreza STI, and it dosent matter how good ones car is, the most important thing is the contact with the road. I wouldnt put crap tyres on that ( im a good performance trained driver) so why would I do that with my bike?
Definitely sounds like some Rubber Queens might be in order!
I switched from Mountain Kings black chilli, to Rubber Queens black chilli,and amm very pleased with the increased grip in all conditions.
Ian
P.S. Cheapest are usually hibike.de,currently £63.60 for 2.2 black chillis delivered,and about £2 dearer for 2.4s,last time i bought some delivery took less than 48 hours from Germany.
Cheers dude,do you get stung with import charges with them?
Im reading that the RQ dont like 'leaning'? also has anyone used Continentals Barons before?
if going for rubber queens in Black Chilli flavour whats the differences between the following?
Rubber Queen 2.2: 3 plies / total 180 tpi / Black Chili Compound
Rubber Queen 2.2: 3 plies / total 84 tpi
Rubber Queen UST: 3 plies / total 330 tpi / Black Chili Compound
HUH??
I will be running tubes.
Im reading that the RQ dont like 'leaning'? also has anyone used Continentals Barons before?
Haha
Describe please... I lean em over quite a bit, and they hang on and on and on, more so than most that's for sure... 2.2" Black Chilli version that is.
Baron's are more of a soft conditions tyre, more bite but much slower. Great if you want a decent volume winter tyre if you ride more natural trails, wouldn't be so good for places like Afan.
You know what I mean 🙂 I like to lean owner to hit the corners and berms...one of the reasons I couldnt get along with the Minions, the 'shuffle' always concerned me!...Sounds like RQs are the way forward..If I slip again now, its probably time to hang the bike on the shelf 🙂
*bangs head on desk*
Put the Minions back on and ride them until you can control the shuffle... seriously, go to an uplift day, they're ubiquitous.
Wired,no import duty from the EU
Cheers dude,do you get stung with import charges with them?
no - Germany is in the EU
Yeti + 1
Minions grip better in mixed conditions than RQs IME.
Have you got too much air in them maybe?
Fair play, point taken..ill give the minions a go..I run them at around 25, I ran the Swalbe at 30 - in the dry they were great but terrible in the rain, lowered them to 25 but the ralph punctured a few times and they wearnt that good even with the pressure drop.
I have the 2.35, does the 2.5 come with a bigger volume?
are these the ones?
[url= http://www.hibike.de/shop/product/ped4c7dec5c1a6bbc80ed16b836a7de88/Continental-Rubber-Queen-folding-tire-55-559-26x2-20-black-3-84tpi.html ]cheap!?[/url]
Those aren't the black chilli ones,you want these
http://www.hibike.de/shop/product/pfd11fb2c9efcd27bb92a82fe5219a58b/Continental-Rubber-Queen-folding-tire-black-3-180tpi-BlackChili-compound-pack.html
HTH
Ian
thankyou 🙂
Put the Minions back on and ride them until you can control the shuffle... seriously, go to an uplift day, they're ubiquitous.
+1
them and the high rollers have an inbetweeny bit where they 'shuffle', you have to have a degree of commitment to the corner in order to find the grippy bit of the tyre, once you're there it's like riding on rails. The downside is if you're minceing along they can really mess with your head until you get upto speed and start leaning the bike right over.
Minions grip better in mixed conditions than RQs IME.Have you got too much air in them maybe?
RQ's are faster, usefully bigger, and quite a bit lighter though. I like Minions, don't get me wrong, and if it's out and out grip that's your most important criteria, go for them... The annoying sizing where the 2.35's aren't much bigger than most 2.1's and the 2.5" is dual ply only now (though didn't always used to be) limits their effectiveness for me too.
Though if you've already got a pair, seems churlish to spend more money and buy more tyres without giving them a try.
As for the Maxxis shuffle, can't say I've ever really experienced it. Commit to the corners rather than going in half hearted, they definitely bite plenty!
Never experienced the Minion shuffle either, put a super tacky on the front you can pretty much ignore the fact it's wet.
You are probably leaning your body too much when cornering, putting a lot of pressure on your front tyre to maintain grip.
You should lean your bike but keep your body more vertically over your front tyre, so the edge of it is cutting into the ground.
Check this video:
[url=
Barel on cornering...[/url]
From the 2 schools up above and the people fret too much over tyres
It all holds out unless you have the WRONG thing!
Ie Crossmark/Larsen in wet mud/grass
Spikes on Rock
Minions etc are great middle of the road tyres that perform 80% of a specific tyre in 80-90% of situations.
Start from a good all rounder then pull out something special for special occasion - Les gets in heavy rain etc