You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Hey guys...
I have entered a winter race season and need to swap my tyres. I normally ride superlight fast hardpack tryes all year round and squirm around the local trails in the winter, just living with my summer tyre choice and having fun.
But now I am racing this winter I should really invest in some proper knobbles to cut the mud..
Every manufacturer seems to offer all their tyres in numerous compounds/sidewalls etc etc. Add the problem that some sites (chain reaction etc) fails to mention if they are tubeless ready so I have to go googling to see. It's a complete pain in the rear.
Sooooo.....
Any recommendations for a full winter season tyre that I can use from late autumn to late winter? ie not a 100% skinny mud tyre, something that can do the lot.. .
26" and tubeless, light and cheap! Or am I asking for the moon on a stick?
Although I use Spesh Storm Controls I believe Bonty HR muds are supposed to be more suitable as a race tyre and also good as a general "wet" tyre.
They still do them in 26" as well!
Whoops - do you consider 2" as a skinny tyre. If so, sorry . Maybe Hutchinson Toro?
Moon on a stick, depending what you mean by 'light'.
Personally I'd probably look at something like a trailstar/pacestar set of Hans Dampf snakeskins. They have their weaknesses but generally do most things and behave reasonably in mud.
I've just got some Hans Dampf the new Addix compound from Merlin in 26" flavour.
https://www.merlincycles.com/schwalbe-addix-hans-dampf-performance-tlr-folding-26-106032.html
Maxxis Beaver 2.25 is the answer, but is also discontinued I think. Brilliant tyres, not just a mudcutter.
For racing, it should probably be more the cast that you choose tyres for conditions tbh so a set of Storms or something and an intermediate would do you better.
<cheeky ad> I have a Bonty Mud X 2.0 in the soft gum-bi rubber, which could fit your bill pretty well and has the advantage that you can have it for a tenner>
Usually barzos 2.25s for generally all round winter stuff, but mud x's if it's really claggy mud.
Maxxis Beavers are brilliant winter all-rounders. Quick but all round grippy ime. Next Day Bike seem to have them in 26" still - ah, they have one according to the website... the Bonty muds worked for me at a couple of muddy horror show Mountain Mayhems. Not as quite as the Beaver, but super reliable on muddy stuff and not as slow as full-on traditional spikes ime.
I tend to put a Storm Conteol up front and an open intermediate tyre such as a Rocket Ron out back. I fallen out of love with Schwalbe so am looking at a Vittoria Gato this year.
I have a pair of 26" Maxxis Swampthings in good condition if that helps?
Assume this is XC/marathon racing?
I like Bontrager XR Muds, but they're slow. As are Beavers and Storms IMO. You need to ask if the speed you’ll gain from the confidence outweighs the fact they’re really draggy tyres! Unless it was a total shit fest I’d go with something like a Rocket Ron, and slide a bit.
Heavily caveated that it depends on the event and terrain. But that would be my tack for something like the Brass Monkeys.
Main issue is finding stuff in 26.
Tubeless Ready though, most tend to be these days, but with enough sealant and soapy bubbles to seat them, you can get a lot of non tubeless to work fine tubeless. I had a lot of success with non TR Maxxis stuff. Still running an old 26 Minion DHF non TR tubeless in fact.
I've yet to find a non tubeless tires I can't tubeless
So much so I don't even look at whether it's tubeless or not any more.
Anyways for mud mud mud I still run fire xc muds.
They do the trick for cutting through and are cheap for all the time you use em.
Pump em up hard and they cut through let the knobbles do the work of gripping the underbelly of the mud and avoid anything roots at anything but 90degrees 🙂
Before you do any looking, you need to decide how knobbly/fast you are after.
So, what are you running? How slow are you prepared to go in the pursuit of grip?
Oh and (edit) are you wanting more grip on wet roots/rocks (and needing a softer compound) or just something in a fast compound that will find some grip in mud?
Is this for the Brass Monkeys as ^ ? If so then it's a sandy mud that falls off well, but it will be rooty. I would run a barzo/rocket ron/ x-king type tyre for those.
Conti projekt baron. Not cheap or light but grip.
I have a set of 1.95 trailrakers that are going spare.
Some great advice here guys, appreciated as ever..
I really have no clue what to expect from the courses I will be racing on.. I dont know if I'll be on roots or extreme mud. I am predicting some fire road then pine tree woods. Its Thetford Forest so I doubt rocks.
All I really know is I need something very different from the out and out summer race tyres I normally ride all year round and live with having some slippy fun, but I need to get a serious face on and get something suitable/sensible.
The Maxxis Beavers..... Are they a pure mud/slop tyre?
*edit - wrong thread
Its just sand and wet roots at Thetford. As Yak says, I'd ride Barzo's/Ron's F&R there and take all the roots at right angles in the Wet.
I used to use Beavers at Thetford. If you can find a pair they're great. Not awful in the dry either. I also liked Vittoria/Geax Gatos.
Ive got a pair of 26" x 2.25 beaver EXO's in transit.. cheers for your help guys..!
My 1/2 price Gato2 arrive from Germany in the week, and I put it on this morning. As usual I'm impressed with Vittoria tubeless ease, sticking it on and sealing with a track pump.
The Gato 2 looks impressive,I always think the "spin" test is revealing - spin the tyre and see how the tread pattern looks under rotation. In this case some quite defined deep and wide channels in the tread, a clear rolling direction for speed, lots of sipes yet "more" and closer knobs that a Ron perhaps meaning it'll roll well on the firmer stuff.
I've left a Barzo on the front, an have a Storm Control for when it really gets muddy.
I was considering the Gato's but managed to find some 26" Beaver's so went with them.
Opted for 2.25 as I wanted them for big air comfort too (I ride rigid) rather than out and out mud carvers.
Lets see.