XC tyres on trail bike

I find a Racing Ralph a good rear tyre in the dry. It's obviously not as grippy as something with more aggressive knobs, but much easier to pedal. I pair it with something grippier up front.

Start with something lighter/faster on the back and see how you get on. It's still winter so you might want to keep something grippier on the front. Depends on your local trail conditions and your riding style.

My Jeffsy is currently wearing Wicked Wills, which are between Ralph's and Nobby Nics. They are excellent on bridleways and at trail centres. Light and fast. Better than Ralphs in mud.

Maybe bung the dissector on the front and go for something lighter on the back

Victoria barzo is a good tyre if you live somewhere where there's nothing sharp to rip open the side walls

You mention Swinley and local bridleways, are you a Chilterns rider? I am, and I fitted a Racing Ralph/ Racing Ray combo on my trail bike last year, and they were brilliantly fast in the dry, but didn't prove durable with the flints.

I'd also advocate Vittoria Barzos, minimally heavier for a lot more reliability and all round performance. Nobbys are another food shout, slightly more aggressive again.

Another for Barzo’s, I’ve been riding and racing the TNT in many conditions and have never cut one.

Just ordered a set of Barzos for exactly this reason. Just beware the tan sidewall TLR version is the paper thin sidewalls while the TNT black/grey sidewall has an extra layer of protection.

Bontrager XR3/4s will save a bit of weight - grip well and are pretty robust

I think it depends on whether you're likely to push tyres to the limit of their grip. If so, then the predictability is key.
I used Racing Ralph, Nobby Nics for years and got on really well with them because I knew exactly when they would let go. I've now got Wolfpack trail tyres and can't stand them as they have very little grip and the only thingi can predict is that I have no idea when they will lose grip!

I'm 64 kg and also finding a 29er full squish a bit hefty. But I think this might be more due to length even though I'm I'm slap in the middle of medium on the size guide

Yes, based in the Chilterns so thanks for the location specific advice! Might take a look at the Barzos

Use Rekons on my Occam occasionally. Love them.

You could just lose the Assegai and get another dissector - will lose some weight and drag without buying 2 new tyres.

Or you could move the dissector to the front and get something faster rolling for the rear. Not sure if maybe something like a rekon (go for a exo+ rather then exo) might do the job perhaps? Lighter than a dissector and faster rolling I reckon - whilst still retaining some braking grip.

For the summer you could stick a rock razor on the back with the dissector up front and that’ll be fast whilst still giving decent grip. Think the rock razor comes in some robust casings for flint.

My own preference is that I'd rather be over-tyred than over-biked if you see what i mean: i have a vitus sommet 27.5 and its great for techy steep trails locally and trips abroad but for just regular trail & xc it never felt right for me....its just the wrong bike for the job for my regular riding. I put more xc tyres on it (tried a few, racing ralphs included) to try and make it more xc/trail but they just would squirm on trails but felt too hard if i ramped up tyre pressure. Plus they didn't have the grip of more trail tyres and were rather fragile.

So looking at the Escarpe CR, its a lot of bike and at 15.1kg fairly hefty (quarter what you weigh!)  Can you make it  more xc/trail by swapping tyres....yes, defo worth a try but you eventually may come to the same conclusion as me and decide that maybe it's just too much bike for what you're riding (unless what you're riding changes to align more with the bikes capability). For what it's worth end result for me was I've now bought a Vitus Rapide FS

I have a Trance X so in a similar position. With the standard minion/dissector tyres it felt very sluggish so for the local trails which are mainly bridleways I changed to Rocket Ron’s. The difference in rolling resistance is enormous and makes the ride so much better. The Ron’s (2.25) have been great, even in the claggy Cambridgeshire clay and I have also ridden them in Derbyshire along froggat edge with no problems. This is with the heavy stock wheels so they are the next to be changed and hopefully improve things more. It takes a while to get used to a heavier bike but my times on the local loops indicate it isn’t slower even though it feels different. I went from a light-ish 26er to a trail 29er with modern geometry so a massive change in bike style.

Similar riding 95-100kg rider on a 120mm FS South and Wiltshire downs with occasional rocky trips further afield.

I've been running a Conti Cross King drama free on the rear for ages (2.0 Specialized storm control in muddy conditions). I run a Specialized Butcher with big knobbles and a relatively light casing up front.

Something fast rolling and light-ish out back seems to work well for me. I've burped and buckled a few hardtail tyres due to the lack of give on the back so I tend towards something a bit lumpier out back on the HT.

I'm not a hucker!

I notice a difference between when swapping between XR4/3 and the Assegai/DHR on my Flaremax. Some of it will be the weight difference, which isn't insignificant, but I think a lot of it has to do with the reduction in rolling resistance and the change of profile. Definitely makes the bike feel more lively. The XR4/3 give great grip in most conditions too.

I've been riding Swinley most weeks for about a year on XC tyres on my XC hardtail - Maxxis Ikon front & rear when it's dry, switching to a Forekaster on the front when it's wet - even the Forekaster is noticeably more draggy. I'm 70kg.
I would switch to XC tyres if I were you - you'll be surprised at how much faster they roll.

I run Specialized Fast Trak rear and Ground Control or Maxxis Forecaster (first generation) front on my hardtail and a 120mm full suspension bike that doubles as a trail bike and race bike in Scotland. They're light enough to feel zippy but have held up well to trail centre and natural riding. A lot of what I ride is rocky and I've had one puncture in each.

It's hard to undersell how much faster light tyres make a bike feel. They're a big improvement. Having ridden at Swinley, I can't see why you'd want anything more than a lightweight XC tyre. It's all very tame and there's nothing sharp with no big rocky impacts. The DH style trails there aren't rough either. Try some lighter tyres and I suspect you'll feel the benefit. You can always keep the ones on there for trips to rougher trails.

Oh, and having borrowed a bike with a front Assegai, that is a large part of your problem. It's by far the draggiest tyre I've ever ridden - I had to check the brakes weren't rubbing. I don't know how anyone who rides up a hill actually uses them.

While we are on the subject im the same weight as the op and I’m running a Maaxis High Roller ll front and  Crossmark ll rear on my Whyte T130. My riding is NY Moors XC and Wales trail centres. I’ve no idea how these tyres compare to any others so is there anything else out there that I should be looking at that would roll better? Sorry to hijack the thread btw.

Another vote for Barzo's with the TNT sidewall.

I run a front Ardent and rear Ikon for the type of riding you're talking about, and i'm 95kg on a HT.

Ground control and fastrak rear, both grid casing, T7 compound.

Find these fine locally and at trail centres. Once everywhere dries out a bit more, renegade will go on the back for all of the speed.

Vitus Escarpe CR as my first full-sis bike

I usually ride the local bridleways and Swinley so nothing super-extreme.

Does not compute, why did you buy a 150mm trail / AM bike if you mainly ride bridle ways and Swinley? Surely a 100-120mm travel XC bike would've been a far better choice, it would've been a good 2.5 to 3kg lighter, easily capable of handling what you ride and would faster out of the box.

Just coming back to this as I was riding my hardtail yesterday and remembered how good the Forekaster is on there. It’s the just replaced version - I run a 2.6” exo version in 650b size. Where my mate was struggling with the mud on his Assegai / dhr2 combo my bike was excellent on a 2.6” magic Mary / 2.6” Forekaster combo. Given the Forekaster is a couple of years old so has a bit of wear it’s amazing the forward drive it finds whilst still rolling pretty fast. Obviously the 2.6” magic Mary doesn’t roll fast but needed the outright grip upfront - it was the kind of mud that isn’t full slop but more of a clog your tyres whilst also being really greasy. Some bits are quite steep and yet I still had decent braking control too.

So if you can find the just replaces version of the Forekaster you could stick one of those on the rear and move the dissector to the front. Losing the assegai will probably make a decent difference.

As the poster mentioned one above this post you do seem a little overbiked - some kid of downcountry bike might have done you better - or even a 130/130mm trail bike.

I read the first 5 replies then gave up, OP what are the carcass of the fitted Maxxis tyres? Are they double down, exo+ or exo? By going down a carcass you'll save rotational weight which you'll notice when riding.

If they're as published Vitus spec,

Maxxis Assegai, 29" x 2.50" WT, 3C MaxxTerra compound, EXO casing

Maxxis Dissector, 29" x 2.4" WT, 3C MaxxTerra compound, EXO+ casing

I have the same Dissector except in EXO casing (66g lighter) on my rear which I find fine (I don't have wide experience). From what I've read, look at that Assegai first - it's well-known for its rolling resistance.

Don't put the Dissector on the front!

As a beginner, it will terrify you.

Sorry to suggest the elephant in the room - but a 150mm travel bike is always going to be heavier and squishier than a shorter travel bike or your old hardtail.

Are you also feeling that?

As good midway recommendation. I put a pair of Vittoria Syerra's (Down Country tyre, haha) on my trail bike I've been super impressed. TBH I was expecting a heavy XC tyre that didn't offer trail tyre grip or xc spritlyness but actually they're brilliant. They don't feel heavy at all (I think they're 80g heavier than a TNT Barzo, or something like that) and the low progile tread is grippy in most conditions. The tread is fast and works on most surfaces well but is pressure sensitive,

The sidewalls seems a little tougher than the TNT case, and a lot tougher than the TLR case.

Well worth a look

Thanks everyone, I’ve ordered a Barzo and may try that out on the back as things dry out.

Thanks for the feedback on the bike choice. Am looking at getting into some more advanced riding and living about 10 minutes from Aston Hill if/when it reopens I wanted to try something a bit burlier

There was an Inbetween option of a specialized purgatory grip but not huge knobs.

I’ve always had EXO tyres on my bikes (HT and 160 travel Orange Alpine) and never needed stronger tyres (I don’t live anywhere super rocky or flinty) and they’ve been fine for everything from Dartmoor, FOD, BPW and the obligatory month or 2 in the Alps each year (prior to kids). I’m currently running a Minion SS (Double Down as that’s what I ordered without paying attention) on the back of my 29er HT with a DHF on the front and they seem pretty good for rolling, grip and predictability. But while I’m not willing to sacrifice the predictable traction on the front I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed by the SS on the real.  It rolls well and corners great, although I wish they’d either do a 2.5 version or my rims weren’t 30mm, (25/26mm seems to be my sweet spot as I’m still not sold on these wider rims).

if you’re not riding anything that requires lots of cornering grip and super strong tyres then fitting nice light tyres is a good idea. Or if you’re feeling flush you can splurge on a pair of light wheels with lighter, skinnier tyres and keep your bigger tyres and heavier wheels ready for bigger trails and tracks

Where are you guys getting Barzos for at reasonable prices? They seem to sut what I'm after perfectly, but call me old school, but I still find it hard to stomach 50 quid a tyre.

I ordered from bikeinn last week. £38 including shipping - not arrived yet but is en route. That was for a 29 x 2.35 TNT.

I still find it hard to stomach 50 quid a tyre.

I have taken this as "normal" for a while now.  I used to swear by Specialized 2bliss tyres at £30 a pop but I think they're a chunk more than that now and the local dealer has closed it's nearest store anyway.

Bike Inn as well. £69 for two shipped. Here already and awaiting fitting.

I have just swapped from Barzo/Mezcal combo to Wolfpack trail/cross. Really pleased with them so far.

posted in error

Where are you guys getting Barzos for at reasonable prices? They seem to sut what I’m after perfectly, but call me old school, but I still find it hard to stomach 50 quid a tyre.

I can't match the Bike Inn prices but I have a small amount of Vittoria stock left from race shops at events that I can sell for a good price. Any of the below for £80 a pair delivered and including a 500ml bottle of Vittoria sealent.

If you're interest drop me a mail to adam@eventrexuk.com

Terreno in 29 x 2.25
Mezcal in 29 x 2.25
Barzo in 29 x 2.35
Syerra in 29 x 2.4
except for the Syerra all of them are in the TLR (tan wall) casing