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I've just bought a 29er HT for my local trails and it comes with Maxxis Rekon Race tyres, which look great for the summer but not so good for some of the wetter stuff. I don't know a great deal about XC/lightweight trail tyres as I've ridden full sus prior to this.
Does anybody have a view on winter tyres? Local trails will be a mix of mud, loam, and some wetter but well draining stuff where you're riding through wet channels with a stoney base.
The Maxxis Forekaster looks like a good option, or maybe a Vitorria Barzo. Basically something that's still going to be pretty fast rolling in the harder packed stuff but offers a bit more bite in the mud than the Rekons.
As you say Maxxis Forekaster
I use Vittoria Barzo, they are really good tyres in a wide range of conditions and are fast rolling on smooth surfaces.
Mine took a few rides for (I guess) the mould release agent to wear off - they were a bit sketchy on wet tarmac for the first couple of rides but are really good now.
Forekaster front, Rekon rear?
Dissector front, Rekon rear?
I'm currently running an Assegai front, DHR rear, but that's just because they're what I've got hanging around in my garage. They are nice and grippy though.
I have Barzos and the new Forekaster. The Barzo is noticeably a bit faster on hard surfaces and cuts through mud and grips well. It can feel sketchy on wet rocks though. If I didn't have skinwall Barzos I'd probably run Barzo rear/ Forekaster front!
I put a Specialized Fast Trak Grid T7 on the rear of my U.K. winter hardtail (it lives in North Devon)
Seems grippy/robust enough for the bridleway and singletrack around there.
You can get a lighter casing & T5 compound if you’re going proper XC.
Run it with a Butcher T9 up front - this will prob get swapped out for a Ground Control at some point though.
Reasonable enough cost wise as well!
I’m running the new maxxis severe which superseeds the forekaster I believe. The Severe is really good at finding grip in our winter conditions.
I run a barzo front and mezcal rear. Was expecting slippery death this winter but have been very pleasantly surprised on grip and traction. I'm not a tyre changer so just use the same ones all year round.
My advice would be experiment for yourself as what I've found is counter-intuitive... I've got 2 XC bikes, an older semi-retired 'winter' bike on fairly knobbly Rocket Rons, and a summer bike with a lovely fast Conti Race King on the rear and a slightly knobblier Cross King on the front. I ride a mix of Surrey hills, bridleway, South Downs in summer so everything from mud, sand, sticky stuff, flinty trails on the SDs etc. So while the Rons are typical knobbly mtb tyres, when the going get's muddy they do their job which is to dig in to the mud, increasing friction and slowing me down, making pedalling harder. Riding the same trails in winter on the Contis, I never feel like they are struggling with the conditions, and I'm much faster...
I'll stick with the Rons on my winter bike as no point wasting money on something quicker and I'm just out to enjoy the ride, but if they need replacing it will be less knobbly, more-XC summer style tyres going on
Depends how far into the ‘trail’ world you want to go?
I’ve always had good times with Spesh trail tyres, which is surprising for me as I really am not a fan of any of the others they do.
My XC wheels are Renegade T5 Ground Control T7 & the more trail is a Purg T7 on the back & the newer (mini Butcher style) T9 on the front.
I have run Relons before & they are great too, that with a new Forecaster on the front is a great trail setup for most stuff.
I have been impressed with how well a Hutchinson Taipan on the rear has coped in both mud and drier conditions. It seems to roll well too.
Most impressive for £28 on eBay
I'm running WTB Vigilante front and Maxxis Rekon rear on my trail/xc hardtail. Both 2.8
DHF 3.0front and Rekon 2.8 rear on my 29+ rigid.
Both combos have been fine so far this (very wet!) Winter.
I do run the Maxxis Forekaster front and rear in winter gloop, ie now, and it rolls surprisingly well for the nobbliness.
This year ran 2.6 front and 2.35 (IIRC) rear and been very impressed with how they've coped and rolled.
Traditionally recommending what you have 😉
James
The Maxxis Forekaster - Crucially - the NEW Maxxis Forekaster - so the 2.4 inch wide trail flavour one, not the older 2.35 jobbies.
They are sufficiently different that they should have given them a new name. The old ones were ok, used them a fair bit on q a winter hardtail for plodding, pretty light too,
The new ones are ACE. XC fast. Trail bike grip.
https://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/tyres/maxxis-forekaster-ii-3c-maxx-terra-tyre-review
10/10 review here and lots of other places. My favourite bike thing of 2023 easily!
https://www.maxxis.com/us/tire/forekaster/
(Its still not listed on the UK maxxis site!)
ETA for the OP I'd even suggest just sticking one Forekaster on the front only potentially.
Does anybody have a view on winter tyres?
It entirely depends on your local winter conditions. There's not one tyre combo that will work everywhere. Some spiky tyres are generally "better" but even then it's mostly a compromise. I used to change to a Shorty front. but these days I just leave the Assegai/DHRII combo on and just deal with whatever's in front of me.
Wow. 50 to 60 quid for that new forecaster tyre, weighing 900g plus....you're now into light enduro tyres for XC use 😀 😂😂
I've a spare V2 Forekaster in the classifieds if it helps anyone.
Bought as an alternative to my T7 Ground Controls but I read a few more reviews and decided it was so similar that I was sticking with the Specialized.
I've switched to a Barzo on the rear as the Spesh doesn't have as much zip as I'd like, yet to test this setup though.