Best All Year Mtb Tyre Setup

Not a fan of a DHF in the winter and switch up to a shorty for the natural trails round me, a DHF is OK just not quite enough

However I'm led to believe a wild enduro is a pretty good bad conditions tyre, just don't know so...

On my hardtail i've been super pleased with Bontrager SE5 as a front in all conditions, although that could just be me

What bicycle do you ride and which red and black trails?

If you like things simple then buy two maxxis dhrII, for front and back, and go ride. Check back in 2030 to see if tyre tech has changed any.

Magic Mary front, dhr2 rear. Who cares about mismatching brands, just ride what is best.

DHR front and back works in all but the shittiest of mud.

Kryptotal Front and Rear is also a good option.

Assegai MaxxGrip front, DHR2 MaxxTerra rear for me.  Tried Michelin Wild Enduro, they were OK, not tried Schwalbe recently, would be interested to try the new Contis.

Never mismatched brands (there's plenty of good F/R options from as single brand) and logos/valves aligned please.

Magic Mary on the front and Maxxis Dissector on the Rear

I use Bontrager XR4s front and rear.

Conti Kryptotal - roll really well in the dry -  but like everything it depends, do you want to favour the winter or summer conditions

Very pleased with the switch to a Ultra Soft Magic Mary up front from a very old DHF.  Ok I've not ridden it much (at all?) since early Nov but it was doing very well through the summer and into the start of the wet stuff.  The Soft Hans Dampf on the rear I'm a little less enamoured with as it's struggled for traction occasionally in the wet but then it's not a true wet tyre so it's prob as decent a compromise as the DHR2 it replaces.

I liked them so much I bought a year's worth of different carcasses for different riding.  We'll see if I can be bothered to change them when it comes to BPW/Alps trips.

Which of these would you choose or are there any better options for all year riding for wet and dry weather on red and black trails ?

Just trail centres or 'natural' - ie: bridleway / footpath trails as well and in which area? Built trails tend to be pretty weather resistant, quite a lot of rights of way stuff aren't, but it depends a lot on where you ride. Some areas are prone to sticky mud, the Chilterns say, others like the Dark Peak tend to get wet and gritty rather than muddy.

Are you bothered about rolling resistance or just grip?

Hillbilly front, butcher rear 

or

butcher front, purgatory rear

Both good but which depends on where and what you ride

Magic Mary is still just about the best all year tyre for UK riding IMO. The rear tyre is less of an issue so front should be priority. DHF is good in dry but not so much in the wet.

Continental Argotal does the same job as the Magic Mary but is better at absolutely everything all of the time ime, apart from being ****-me expensive. Best front tyre I've ever used.

But, anything as spiky as that only really becomes worth it with wet conditions/mud, so as others said it depends so much on what you actually want to ride. The Minion DHR2 is brilliant if you're not doing much mud, it's faster, can still deal with most conditions, has better manners on hard stuff and only loses out on the sort of riding that frankly a lot of people never do. Just a really good allrounder. TBH I'm so happy with mine that I've never really tried other newer alternatives though

Also like Bontrager - currently running SE4 rear and XR5 front. Will probably swap front for an SE5 for a bit more protection. 

teenratFull Member
Hillbilly front, butcher rear

or

butcher front, purgatory rear

Both good but which depends on where and what you ride

I ran butcher/purgatory t9 compound for ages, all year. For the money spesh tyres are hard to beat

Michelin wild enduro. Liked them as well but i did buckle the rear tyre somehow, and without an offer on they were expensive.

currently got conti kryptol trail on new bike. Like them as well actually.

i steer clear of maxxis tried a couple of sets and found them very easy to puncture unless you went for a very heavy tyre..

DHR2 front and rear.

I don't expect any combination of Kryptotals does the same because the Re is more squared than the DHR2, and the Fr is going to clog up easier like an Assegai.

My life would be a tiny bit simpler if I could just accept my own advice on this and stop reading tyre threads, tyre reviews, and swapping tyres in search of the optimal choice for the season.

As above, Magic Mary is my to go as an all rounder, for the front anyway. It just works well in all conditions, aside from the worst of the slop, but for that you’ll want a proper mud tyre such as a dirty Dan anyway. The MM is super grippy in the ultra soft compound.

On the normal bike I run a magic Mary on the front, DHR2 on the rear, whereas for the DH bike I have magic mary front and rear.

One set of tyres for the whole year, all conditions? Assuming trail/enduro riding, I'd go for either the Mary or WTB Verdict or WTB Vigilante front, and the Wild Enduro Rear.

DHR2 would also be acceptable on rear.

Schwalbe

Magic Mary front & Big Betty Rear

This for me

IME, Mary front and DHR2 rear would be my all year round tyre combo, but...

...I'd want a new MM every winter at which point you may as well put a better wet weather tyre on like a Shorty or Hill Billy and run an Assegai in the drier months.

I haven't tried the Contis yet, mainly because...

being ****-me expensive

The Minion DHR2 is brilliant if you’re not doing much mud, it’s faster, can still deal with most conditions, has better manners on hard stuff and only loses out on the sort of riding that frankly a lot of people never do.

Yep, I like the DHR2 for most stuff. There's a sort of weird drift going on where people are using full-on enduro/downhills tyres for 'trail riding', which is fine if your trails genuinely need that level of grip and puncture resistance. I run a Rock Razor out back most of the year in the Peak because it gives deceptive levels of grip for its low rolling resistance and I really can't be doing with slogging around on dog slow tyres all day.

If I mostly rode trail centres, I'd probably have one of those with something grippier up front where the impact on rolling speed is less pronounced. but it's all down to the individual, some riders are happy sacrificing speed on the flat and uphill for more outright traction etc, which is fine if you're genuinely going to use it, but an awful lot of folk don't really seem to.

And then there are inserts, which sort of blur things again...

From your choices I would go All year Mary Front / Betty rear for winter, but Nobby Nic in the summer, if determined to run only one combo base it on available casings or pick grippier (betty) or faster (Nic) if you want a Trail casing tyre. There's no conditions where a Hans Dampf is the choice tyre.

To throw in a curve ball.... Tacky Chan soft rear is probably better all year than either of the above. You could pair it with an Ultra front, its a surprisingly good mud tyre for something that rolls so quick.

Maxxis I would go DHR both ends for an all year combo.

Maxxis I would go DHR both ends for an all year combo.

Anyone used the latest version Forekaster in a range of conditions? I wonder if that might be a good; balanced, all-year UK trail tyre.

Vittoria tyre are my current gotos either Maza both ends or a martello up front.  The ebike ones my preference as they are exactly the same except for the patch on the side and are usually cheaper 😀 

@BadlyWiredDog

Anyone used the latest version Forekaster in a range of conditions? I wonder if that might be a good; balanced, all-year UK trail tyre

Yes. My 'product of the year'. Really, very very good, trail tyre grip and XC tyre speed. I am a big fan - exactly what you said, balanced, all rounder.

DHF and DHR2 for all year. I've some low end Nobby Nics for any XC distance where you don't need off camber grip. The Minions just give loads of grip for me (I'm not a mad descender) without dragging too much on climbs.

Assegai and DHR/HR2 on the rear seems to be pretty good all the time. mostly ride off piste.

If those reds and blacks are surfaced trail centre type things then you shouldnt need to worry about mud tyres like shortys and something like the above will be fine.

I used to have DHRII front and rear, but late to the party as usual last summer I bought an Assegai, and it's yet to come off. It's a 'bit' more draggy I guess, but the trade off in grip is worth it, and even as its been mega-wet, I've still to stick on my usual Shorty. So its become by default a year round combo for me. 

Yes. My ‘product of the year’. Really, very very good, trail tyre grip and XC tyre speed. I am a big fan – exactly what you said, balanced, all rounder.

Thanks for that. I'll consider Forekasters if I ever manage to work my way through the tyre pile in the cellar 🙂