[Closed] Urgh! MTB tyre choice bewilderment!

Having ridden Specialized's 3.0 purgatory grids and 2.8 butcher grids through winter and now on Maxxis dhf and dhr2, id choose the Maxxis over the Specialized's tyres any day

They have so much more grip, feel more stable

As for sidewall and compound choices, that comes down to where you mainly ride, rocky, flinty areas then get more sidewall protection but the tyre will be heavier, mainly mud and slop then get ones with less sidewall protection and they will be a bit lighter

With compound its a trade off, softer compound better grip but wear faster, harder compound little less grip but last longer

Look at the tyre's website and choose one on the conditions you generally ride in

Yep, it's getting crowded, but I agree about Maxxis. Whyte made it easy for me, speccing a great combo on the 909 (Rekon 2.8 back, HR2 2.8 front). Don't think I'll deviate for a long time.

Are the WTBs that come with the Triple B not the TCS versions? If it's running on the Comp versions, and you're happy with them, why not get the TCS equivalents?

Probably worth mentioning where you ride the most, then others can let you know what works for them there.

If you don't want to spend £50 per end, have you considered a Chunky Monkey/Smorgasbord combo?

Good point Si77

the bike has the WTB comp versions on. Woburn, Aston Hill and Swinley are my normal bike park visits, as well as the local woods.

You're over thinking it...

IMO, like bikes, tyres are now generally good. The differences are more to do with your local flavour of dirt and your riding style.

We have a rag-tag mix of tyres in OAB household. The big difference is rolling resistance and grip in wet - I've a pile of faster rolling tyres (Ralph's, XR3's, Saguaro's and Smorgasbord) and a pile of more grippy wintery tyres (XR4's, HR2, Chunkymonkey, Butcher's, Dampf's and Mary's). The exact compounds and models who knows... The only one I do faff/fit thick carcass is eldest_oab with DH tyres as he is an animal...

All my tyres are sales or second hand, as I can't justify spending £80 - £100 a bike every six months to a year on tyres.

Don't worry about brand (or even tread design really). Most modern trail tyres will work pretty well in most conditions.

I just buy whatever On-One currently have for £10-15 in the appropriate width.

So currently I'm running some WTB Vigilante/Trailbosses and some Vittoria Gomas. All tubeless ready and all £15 or less each. The Gonas were £15 a pair with a free bottle!

I just run Chunkymonkey up front and smorgasbord out back, trail extreme compound all year round very predictable never had a tyre related off. Plus  £15 spons each at the mo!!

For cheap those on one tyres can’t really be beaten. TTheyre good on hardpack and trail centre trails, so far since the weather got a bit worse I’ve found them a little out of their depth on the steeper muffs rooty stuff. But they are on a fairly steep angled old hardtail and my only comparison is a magic Mary / dhr2 combo on a long / slack / 160mm travel Enduro bike. So the tyre comparison isn’t really fair.

I do like the Mary front (£35 for CRC a month or so back) dhr2 rear combo though. Both go up tubeless easily and so far they’re great. I think the dhr2 in 3c Exo is a little draggy on the back - I’d prefer to have it in the dual compound for that end of the bike I think - plus it’ll probably be cheaper to buy.

Generally the better brands are all offering similar choices albeit with silly proprietary names in some cases.

Riders tend to get a bit tribal about tyre choices. There are cases as with WTB TCS or true UST where this has some basis - WTB tyres and rims work so well together while the tyres can be a total PITA on other popular rim brands and UST rim and tyre combinations although rare now should ideally be used together.  Schwalbe have a tendency to have batches that are off spec for size which can complicate tubeless and are also crazy money in the UK.  Until recently they were probably the worst offenders for silly names for technology and properties too.  Maxxis are generally a dependable choice although often expensive and again with relatively impenetrable naming.   Not going to do a brand-by-brand writeup! Probably no one would agree anyway and it would be TL,DR if this isn’t already.

In principle, for mountain bike use your main considerations are about traction vs drag vs braking and cornering bite. Mud clearing is important in the UK although less so in California where many tyres are designed to perform.  Generally very ‘open’ designs will clear mud well and designs without much space between lugs will hold mud.  Different muds affect this and it gets complicated and local.    Different rubber compounds are used to affect the basic properties of the shape - harder compounds will result in faster, longer lasting tyres that have less grip in poor conditions. Softer compounds will help performance when wet roots and slick rock are expected but will drag more and wear out faster.  Tyres with multiple compounds are trying to find a balance between these properties.  It’s pretty normal to put something sticky and toothy at the front, probably with a higher volume and lower pressure and something with a faster pattern, harder compound and higher pressure out back.  Tyre volume and pressure are huge areas for experimentation and very personal.

Sidewall reinforcement has a couple of main faces.  Reinforcing a tyre adds weight. This is inescapable and some prize light tyres. It’s not so many years ago that any tyre much heavier than 400g was laughed out of town unless it was on a DH bike. Reinforcement comes in various grades from strengthening fibres added to the walls (lightest and least effective) all the way to full on doubleskinning.  Some people still prize weight above all else and that’s fine, but if you ride heavily or in places with lots of sharp edges it’s going to get boring very quickly with all the ripped tyres and smashed rims.  Reinforced tyres trade weight (1kg is not crazy heavy and about what I expect a tyre to weigh now) for resistance to having sidewalls torn out etc.  They’ll also make very expensive, light wheels pretty pointless but be much easier to set up for tubeless. It’s not uncommon to spec a reinforced model at the rear and a lighter model at the front if it’s rocky but not particularly sharp.

I didn’t mean to write so much.  I think that’s a reasonable primer on MTB tyre choices.  It’s a very personal area, riding style and trust are heavily involved. What works well for one person isn’t guaranteed to be good for you even if you both ride the same places on similar bikes...

Will second the On-One Chunky Monkey and Smorgasbord combo in trail extreme compound.

Got these in 26" and 27.5" flavour and are ok all year round.

Cheers folks - I feel an On-One order will be occurring soon. Can't really go wrong at £15 a tyre can you!

I think you can when a Nobby Nic Evo 2.6 is just over £25 at Merlin.

Or a Fat Albert EVO £20 at CRC

I stuck the vigilante on the back and popped a chunky monkey on the front of my V2 bossnut. No complaints in the peaks.

I'd just pick a proper MTB brand and stick with it. I have bought a few over the years and have found Schwalbe to be really good, so now I just buy whatever Schwalbe tyre fits my needs. Makes life much easier.

I’m happy to mix and match where I come up with a better option than just sticking with one brand. E.g. the Magic Mary is a great tyre but I’m not excited by any of the Schwalbe back tyres - hence the Maxxis DHR2 being on there.

Summer I run Maxxis front and rear on the Fs and On One front and back on the hardtail.

Seems to all work - except for people with ocd where the Schwalbe / Maxxis combo should be burned!

edit - even if you don’t count on-one as a proper mtb brand the tyres are made by Maxxis.

Years ago I used to pay a lot of attention to tyres, but nowadays I just don't seem to care anywhere near as much.  Maybe since getting bigger wheels and going tubeless, I'm much more concerned about how the carcass behaves - as I always seem to have enough grip more or less.

Minions

Just to add a bit more (and make OP's life a tad more difficult!) - I have always been a Maxxis-man. For some reason last week I decided to try the new Mountain King 2.3, in Black Chili version (front and back on a XC hardtail). Tested them on Saturday, in full rain riding over the very rooty and rocky woods. I must say - the grip these rubbers provide is phenomenal!

I've tried lots of tyres, always end up back with Maxxis.

The new michy tyres are awesome too by the way... large air volumes, good profile on wide rims, strong sidewalls and nobs - fast rolling!

HR's then HRII ( a year in the wilderness on conti's, that's a year I will never get back) Back to HRII's with a few Minions thrown in where stock dictated.

Currently on Minions DHF / DHRII to try as an alternative to HRII's but will probably go back to them next.

All I'll say is I've never in all my years been as happy as with a Magic Mary wrapped round the front wheel.

Which model of Magic Mary, I have no blinkin idea, cos I bought it before they went all Addix on our assix.

Minions front and rear in DD flavor - Year round

I've run the Chunky monkey/smorgy combo for the last few years all seasons and really liked them.

Giving DHF/DHR2 a go now and pretty happy. Haven't tried a winter on them but general impressions in the wet are good.

Would be happy to recommend either setup.

A Magic Mary on the front is like having some weird witchcraft steering you round corners. I've got one on the front of my Capra in Trailstar compound, with a Hans Dampf in Racestar on the back - the back breaks loose, but it's ok.

As I've now got an ebike and the 2.8 Butchers were horrible, I've gone 2.6 MM on both ends, as the drag doesn't matter - Addix Supersoft, DH casing, wire bead. I've not been off road yet with these, but expect it to be on rails - reports from others suggests the same