[Closed] worst tyres ??

Maxxis cross mark for me. Had 7 punctures in a week and soon binned them off for something better. Didn't grip well, weren't particularly fast rolling, a poor recommendation from my lbs

lol

stupid low pressures or thorn punctures?

From ye old days of yore: Tioga Psycho - never has a tire been so well named. Lethal in the wet. Lethal in the dry. You could have sued that tyre for corporate manslaughter 😉

Kenda Karma. Nothing karmic about those tyres unless you included contemplating life from a hedge.

The conti race king that came on my Zesty. Lasted 1 ride before getting punted.

My punctures were all thorn punctures. Strange thing is I've never had another thorn puncture with any other tyres?!

And I have to say the kenda nevegal tyres that came with my bike were also pretty awful. I think you have to take oem tyres with a pinch of salt though as they are often a cheaper, plasticy company different to the ones you buy off the shelf?!

+1 oem kenda nevegal. put me off kendas ever since.

Continental MK's are the worst tyre I've tried/had so far. I really didn't get on with them. Nevegals on the other hand, well, I think they're great and been running them for 4 yrs now

Just my 2p

Crossmarks here too garbage tire

First time ive ever cut a sidewall twice on a ride,not even fly lights just your standard 40 quid cross mark on its first ride a ride ive done many times on other tires no issue

Didnt like the grip availible either - went back to small block 8s as summer tire of default

[i]Didn't grip well, weren't particularly fast rolling[/i]

Yep I'd have to agree with this about the Crossmark...much prefer the Aspen or Ardent

[i]Kenda Karma. Nothing karmic about those tyres unless you included contemplating life from a hedge.[/i]

Yep...okay on the back but lethal on the front

Are Rapid Robs that bad for their intended role as a balls-out XC race tyre? I ride WTB nanoraptors a lot. Another Xc race tyre and great on hard packed forest and open country trails, and predictable breakaway on looser stuff. If I rode them on anything wet or rocky or wet and rocky, I'd find them crap.

I fell horribly out of love with Cotinental verticals on the trail round Ullswater on a wet day. Felt like they had a coating of that slimy green stuff around rock pools.

Won a set of Geax something or others as a spot prize at some event or other. They were shite. 2.3" but came up about 1.9. Thick black cheap feeling rubber. Draggy without being grippy. Eurhh

Anything kenda!
Ive had the small block 8, Nevegal and blue grove on various bikes when I bought them. All have been awful with little to no grip. Im not even sure how they can make a 2.35 not grip ?! They have been sat in the garage somewhere to rot.

Can I just add that I love crossmarks, find them fast and surprisingly grippy.

Some versions do seem to cut up easily tho, but same for any light tyre.

In terms of worst: tioga factory DH. Dear god.

There is a tyre, which makes many claims. It claims to be fast, hardy against punctures and grippy. I'm not sure which universe these claims are based in, it's certainly not the one we inhabit.

Let me start with a picture.
[img] [/img]

It's sold as a cyclocross tyre. I'm not sure which cyclocross riding they're talking about, maybe an indoor kind. It certainly doesn't do the things you'd expect a cyclocross tyre to do, like grip stuff. I'm happy to accept this was a tyre aimed at Californian residents, but it's not that good in the dry. In good old Blighty, it's like smearing butter on your wheels and heading down an iced over canal.

I could forgive poor grip. I am after all, an awesome rider and can accomodate such issues. What I can't forgive, it's it's complete lack of puncture protection. These tyres attract thorns and glass. I've never had so many punctures on one set of tyres in all my life. Every ride, I can almost guarantee it. And we're not talking gnarly or anything, these are my commuting tyres. They could run faster than anything else in the world and be grippy beyond belief but that's all pointless if you spend the time you gain, fixing holes in them.

Destroy!

The proper Kenda Nev & Blue Groove tyres are excellent. They drag, for sure but the proper DTC & Stickee versions are a lot better than the wire beaded POS that are OEM.

Tioga Psycho, now that was a bad tyre, closely followed by Conti's 2.2 Mountain King for the 29er. Verging on dangerous unless you ride at no more than 5 degrees from upright.

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These came fitted on my 456SS. Anyone else used them? No corner grip on road and even less off road - although they are a bit better now the trails have dried a bit. They roll fast and i'll be keeping them as they're too new to bin (I tend to keep tyres 'til they're bald or ripped).

I've always been of the opinion that tyres is tyres and people who blame them for their own short comings need to mtfu.........right up until I rode conti mountainkings (the original non black chilli ones).I'm still convinced they have a personal vendetta against me and won't rest until I am dead.
29er crossmarks are AWESOME btw!!

Lies rorschach lies i tell you 🙂

Agree on that michelin tire another horrible tire - so similar to spesh fash traks ( awesome tire) yet performace couldnt be any different if it tried !

Panaracer Fire XC

Awful

It's a neat trick making rubber that behaves like plastic.

I had a set of wtb velocoraptors once. They lasted ages, which was the only good thing about them, although the reason for this was that they were such a hard compound that they were lethal in all but the driest conditions, the front trised to kill me by washing out on numerous occasions, took years to get my confidince back...

Maxxis advantage
Conti vertical
Both horrendous and cheap

[i]I had a set of wtb velocoraptors once.[/i]

got a pair in the shed if you're feeling nostalgic 😉

Maxxis Advantage are great on rock.

Fraid Im going to have to say crossmarks too, continous centre line has no grip when climbing out of the saddle. Also nominate nobby nics for being too fragile.

Tioga Factory XCs- a dazzling combination of heavy, draggy and grip-free. Just properly boggin.

Can't say as I've used any other bad, aftermarket tyres in the modern era though, even the worst ones still do the job.

Oh aye- comments on OEM models up the page are spot on, frinstance with the Nevegals the only thing they have in common between OEM and aftermarket is that they look the same. One is a good allrounder, the other is a chocolate fireplace.

In order of epic cackness...

First, by a mile, tioga factory DH. By. A. Mile. Really can't stress that enough! Heavy, rolled like a soft compound tyre despite having the grip of a super hard (scratch that, tioga managed to create friction free rubber)! Nightmare to fit, massive size compared to what was stated on the side (2.1 was nearer 2.4, 2.3 was about 2.5/2.6) yet every bike in the land seemed to have a pair!!!! /rage.

A long way back in second, I never really got on with nevegals, dunno why, just felt odd.

Had a Michelin DH 24 once, mega money, average performance really...

Other than that, all good, as long as I'm using the tyre for its intended purpose!

Kenda Nevegals for me.

Became known as the "Kenda Surprise"

^^ Yep Tioga Factory XC & DH both awful. Draggy and yet no grip. I remember once going to do a stoppie on some tarmac and I doing a front skid instead (not a euphemism)

I could never get Michelin Wildgrippers to work for me, other people swore by them, I found they would just let go without warning.

You didnt like the dh24 !!! As far as dh tires went for intermediate to dry they were the tires to have . Absolutely loved the on the scottish rocks

16s for the wet

Did baulk at he 50 quid each price tag though. Worth it for he puncture proofness though for mega grip at low psi when racing

I kept rolling maxxis high rollers off the rim and stretching the bead

Continental Vertical Pro.

Should be named Continental Horizontal-Without-Warning

For me it has to be pre black chilli Conti Verts on wet rock or off camber trails simply lethal!

I guess it wasn't a bad tyre, just expected a lot more I suppose. That and I've had many better tyres since, so that's prob what's made me think they weren't so hot. Apologies to Michelin.... 😳

Maxxis Ignitor. Just not enough grip in corners. I guess I am not a

the most discerning professional racers

I also found my Nevegals quite good as well but UST if that made much difference.

High Rollers:
Grip if leant over at approx 80 degrees - fine.
Grip if totally upright - sketchy.
Grip if anywhere between upright and 80 degrees (you know, the bit you normally use) - none existant.

Here's an experiment for you to try:
Get a couple of novice MTB'ers on similar bikes.
Fit one bike with High Rollers and one with a decent tyre - say Cinders or Ignitors.
Place both at the bottom of Colden Clough and watch them ride up it.
No matter how often you ask them to swap bikes, the one constantly spinning the rear tyre will be the one on the High Roller.

I genuinely, genuinely hate them.

IRC Mythos XC II

Which version of high roller?

XC one - they're cack, except in the dry.

DH one - what you doing riding up stuff?

Get a couple of novice MTB'ers on similar bikes.

Perhaps you're right. I'm not a novice though and I love my High Rollers.

For me worst has been a set of WTB MotoRaptor in OE guise on a Marin i bought, they seemed to be made of teflon compound, talk about sketchy.

Had Nevegals for a bit gripped well but draggy for me.

IRC Notos XC. Hilariously sketchy 🙂

IRC Mythos XC II

Actually they were rubbish too,

High Rollers:

I didn't like the 'lurch' between the central tread and shoulder knobs either, run minions now.

Conti MK are frightening tyres. I papped myself many a time and then binned them off.

Weirdly, I really like Michelin 29er Dry tyres. I think they're tough and grippy.

IA - Member

Which version of high roller?

XC one - they're cack, except in the dry.

DH one - what you doing riding up stuff?

2.35 MaxxPro and 2.35 LUST.

In the North West, you can have them if you want them - E-mail in profile.

Spin, surely the test of a grippy tyre is that a pedal mashing beginner with an action as smooth as a gritty thing shouldn't spin out?

Seriously, I've been riding off road for many years, my Mrs for about 6 - 7 years.
She tried them first and kept complaining about a lack of grip when partially lean over.
I tried them and just couldn't believe how dangerous they felt.
Biggest case of horses for courses I've ever experienced.

All my opinion:

Original OEM Conti MKs 2.2. OK when bone dry, otherwise terrifying. No defined edge to feel when cornering, just sliding straight away.

Non OEM Nevs were generally OK but too flimsy (punctures) and got me in trouble in the very worst situation several times: fast, flat corners. I think the edge knobs just folded over when pushed.

HR on the rear is not great for climbs unless run in reverse. They can feel skittish unless you lower the tyre pressures. Their big benefit is that they grip on rails when cornering fast.

High rollers and nobby nics, both are utter rubbish.

High Rollers:
Grip if leant over at approx 80 degrees - fine.
Grip if totally upright - sketchy.
Grip if anywhere between upright and 80 degrees (you know, the bit you normally use) - none existant.

See the thing is, this is what makes high rollers great!

I could re-phrase that as:
Grip if leant over cornering hard, when you want grip - great, and fast the rest of the time when you don't need all that grip.

Interesting thread this though, what works for some clearly doesn't for others. But then when you watch folk ride, and see the differences in riding style, terrain etc. I guess that's no surprise?

Is there a tyre no-one can fault?

Personally loving the beaver just now...

I found highrollers great for grip

But when i as going through 2 tires in a weeke ddue to bead stretching(. On d521 at between 22 and 28 psi it became cheaper to go back to comp 24 which would run down to 15 psi no issues if i wanted them to

On d521 at between 22 and 28 psi

Do you not get pinch flats all the time?

Conti Traction Pro OEM wire bead

Very draggy

OK in really wet soggy stuff, but not mud as they don't clear well enough

huge unstable edge blocks are terrifying cornering on hard surfaces

Low traction compound

Honestly they are the worst here. The fact that you may not have heard of them supports my argumnet

The move to High Rollers, despite the vague feeling at part lean were better under all conditions and less draggy

Do you not get pinch flats all the time?

He's talking about DH high rollers, that pressure's fairly normal. Either chunkier tubes or tubeless.

Standard tubes with dh tyres ( as oddly i was using them for dh racing at the time :)) very rarely flatted

Despised jones xr but they may have been oem, put me off bonty tyres for years...

Verticals are lethal...

He's talking about DH high rollers, that pressure's fairly normal. Either chunkier tubes or tubeless.

Ah. Thanks.

OEM Continental Mountain Kings are truly, shockingly bad as you never really know whether there is grip there or not. Puncture prone too & I genuinely believe they were a major contributory factor in a crash last year that gave me a broken collar bone. A hateful tyre!!!

You're all clearly young whipper-snappers. If you want really awful tyres go back to the mid 90s and pick just about anything.

Ritchey Z-Max (or worse the Alpha and Omega bites)
Panaracer TrailDusters (slick like a road bike tyre between knobs about 1.5 inches apart) lethal on everything but dry sandy soils.
WTB Velociraptors, which at least got a mention above - although the rear was at least good for climbing on small wet roots.

More recent Continental Gravity for anything that's stickier in consistency than mildly moist dust (but I did get them cheap).

OEM Continental Mountain Kings are truly, shockingly bad as you never really know whether there is grip there or not. Puncture prone too

couldn't have put it better myself. Hateful things, were on my Orange 5 when I bought it in 2008. never had so many punctures in a short time

Vredestien something or other central-spined plastic things on the hire bike a mate had a few weeks ago - like riding on WD40...

More recent Continental Gravity

These appealed to the cheapskate in me (just me really) and they were crap. Couldn't even get them to sit on the rim without high and low spots.

Did baulk at he 50 quid each price tag though. Worth it for he puncture proofness though for mega grip at low psi when racing

I kept rolling maxxis high rollers off the rim and stretching the bead

never paid more than £20 for a comp16/24 during the many years I used them either.

I bought a set of Maxxis Wormdrives to put in some miles on local old railway tracks / bridleways. My mate got a set of Halo Twinrails for the same rides. I spent most of every ride with the bike upside down replacing tubes, then later repairing tubes when I'd run out of spares. My mate thought this was hilarious.

Disagree with the chap who hated Tioga Psychos - I had loads on various bikes and absolutely loved them!

double post...

Panaracer Fire XC

Tyres I spose are just like every other bike item... both the best thing since sliced bread and the biggest pile of utter sh***... both at the same time.

Except for...

Michelin Country Gravel

I bought a set of [s]Maxxis Wormdrives[/s][b] lightweight tyres with very thin sidewalls[/b] to put in some miles on local old railway tracks / bridleways. My mate got a set of [s]Halo Twinrails[/s][b]200g heavier (thicker sidewall) tyres[/b] for the same rides. I spent most of every ride with the bike upside down replacing tubes, then later repairing tubes when I'd run out of spares. My mate thought this was hilarious

I'm with your mate on this one

It pains me, but I agree with GW 😉

Are Rapid Robs that bad for their intended role as a balls-out XC race tyre?

Rapid Robs are an entry level Racing Ralph - same tread, cheap carcass, cheap compound. Not a race tyre by any stretch.

I've got some Specialized Sauserwinds that seem utterly crap, just no good at anything!

You're all clearly young whipper-snappers. If you want really awful tyres go back to the mid 90s and pick just about anything.

Ritchey Z-Max (or worse the Alpha and Omega bites)
...

I had some Z-maxes, weren't that bad for XC riding in the dry.

re: IRC Mythos XC - are they really that bad ?

I ask; because I've just swapped a pair off and moved to Racing Ralphs and (superficially) they look like a similar tread pattern. The IRC's were always a little sketchy over wet roots; but what tyre isn't ?

Am I going to be amazed by the RR's or is it likely to be a more minor improvement?

Oh; and is it worth (since I'm moving ahead in tyre technology by a number of years) going ghetto tubeless at the same time (RR's are Tubeless ready)

IRC Mythos XC

Are the only mountain bike tyre I've ever had squealing when cornering on road in the dry. In the wet, well...

This thread is filling me with confidence seeing as i bought a Conti Mountain King 29x2.4" at the weekend (guess there was a reason it was in the bargain bucket for £18!).

Was expecting it to be bigger though, it's a 2" carcass with a few side knobs protruding out. Guess i'll try it on the rear at some stage, sounds like it'll be a touch sketchy on the front....

I hated my 29er Rampages, about the only tyre i've ever used that i had zero confidence in.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who doesn't quite gel with High Rollers, especially up front. I find they feel vague up front and grip is medicre, which doesn't motivate me to push them hard and lean the bike over. They're okay on the back though.

I've tried a Minion on the front, but it just seemed to flop around then the going got very slippery and just tramline straight on. I will have another bash with them when I can get back on the bike in a couple of months.

Took my Kona to Morzine with the OEM Kenda Nevegal's, bought some High Rollers but went out without changing them as I was too excited. Halfway down a scree slope the rear tread on the Nevegal just peeled off in one go leaving me with a smooth canvas carcass that immediately burst. Difficult to even describe them as tyres tbh..

Parrot Macaw, wore quickly and burst just after I'd finished a descent. But they had purple tread...

I've always found Maxxis Crossmarks a great summer [u]rear tyre. I ride in Wales and have not torn one yet. I found high rollers would slip out quite often. A friend had a conti vapour on the rear of his bike which would fishtail on the tiniest of twigs.

Continental have made some really gash tyres over the years.

You got to admire their expirementation with tread paterns and compounds but the seem to have as many misses as hits.

Vertical Pros: not bad on soft ground (not great though) just no grip on anything else and should have a health warning if you attempt to ride wet tarmac on them.

Flow: A sort of weird semi slick tyre had the side knobs from the Vapour / Gravity but a wierd centre tread that offered no grip but didn't roll well either - Rubbish

Slash: Similar to a Flow but not as good

Mountain Kings: Proper scary, literally no idea of what they were going to do next sometimes they would slide sometimes they would grip. It was like riding around on my tip toes, horrible tyres.

For the record I think the vast majority of tyres are good (or good enough!) but these ones stood out as just being shockingly indequate

Nokian Gazzaloddi 26 x 3.0

/thread.

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I've got some Specialized Sauserwinds that seem utterly crap, just no good at anything!

Blimey glad I read this, was about to buy a couple of Sauserwind for my marathon / race bike, as I had heard they are a good tyre for mixed conditions, I dont want to be changing tyres every race/event dependent on ground type, so thought an allrounder would be good for UK. What was not to like Njee ?
maybe I'd be better sticking to my Monorail / Crossmark combo, which has worked for me inthe past but I considered a bit too dry conditions only

Worst tyres ever? +1 on Tioga Factory DH by a country mile. Had to endure many, many crashes with these p!ss poor excuses until I bought some proper tyres.

Kenda blue groove and nevegals, utter utter gash

Single ply high roller DHs.

absolute total farking crap.

heavy enough to be dreadful unless you are running them for DH.

SO weak that putting them anywhere near a DH bike pinch flats them.

useless. I've chopped up brand new ones and used them as chainstay protectors in the past.