MTB Tyres feeling flat- Mountain Kings + Hope Tech XC wheels

MTB Tyres feeling flat- Mountain Kings + Hope Tech XC wheels

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Discussion

tjdixon911

Original Poster:

1,911 posts

236 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
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Bit of an odd one, I have recently purchased some Hope Tech XC wheels (29"), which I am running some basic 2.2 Mountain Kings (no additional marks on the side wall, came off another bike) - I have them set up Tubeless and they are holding pressure, its just that the rear feels a little flat all the time, I have tried various pressures from 25-35psi - I don't know whether its the slightly narrower (than what I'm used to) rim width or the basic tyres (weak sidewalls?) that are creating this feeling any ideas?

Also what width tyre can I realistically run on the rim - (19.5mm internal & 24mm external width)?


matt-ITR

892 posts

188 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
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So you are not losing air, just the tyre feel soft?

A narrow rim can make the tyre squirm, especially when cornering but shouldn't feet much different otherwise.
Probably just a more supple carcass. I went from tubed 40psi to 25psi tubeless and it felt like I had a constant flat tyre but I did get used to it.

richardxjr

7,561 posts

209 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
quotequote all
Width is fine. First time tubeless?

If you're used to tubeless I can't see you wanting more than 30psi ever, so must be rubbish tyres! Non black chilli Contis are bloody lethal anyway.

loudlashadjuster

5,083 posts

183 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
quotequote all
I have Mountain King 2.2s on my XC and I really don't rate them. I run with tubes but the sidewalls are like silk so it doesn't surprise me they feel squishy tubeless.

They grip OK but inspire zero confidence on the turn-in as, I presume, deflection in the sidewall gives very poor feedback. Th transition from straight to any kind of angle just feels...loose.

I was doing anything more on it than the odd trundle through the woods with the kids nowadays I would definitely be changing them.

tjdixon911

Original Poster:

1,911 posts

236 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
quotequote all
matt-ITR said:
So you are not losing air, just the tyre feel soft?

A narrow rim can make the tyre squirm, especially when cornering but shouldn't feet much different otherwise.
Probably just a more supple carcass. I went from tubed 40psi to 25psi tubeless and it felt like I had a constant flat tyre but I did get used to it.
No I am not loosing a significant amount of Air, I do check them recently and they may drop a few PSI over the course of a week or 2, I guess this can be down to temperatures?

richardxjr said:
Width is fine. First time tubeless?

If you're used to tubeless I can't see you wanting more than 30psi ever, so must be rubbish tyres! Non black chilli Contis are bloody lethal anyway.
Not first time tubeless, I've been running my Canyon Spectral tubeless for a few months (High Roller / Ardent TR tyres), my old XC hardtail has been running a tube in the rear for a longtime and tubeless front - so its the first time for a while that I've had tubeless rear on a HT.

loudlashadjuster said:
I have Mountain King 2.2s on my XC and I really don't rate them. I run with tubes but the sidewalls are like silk so it doesn't surprise me they feel squishy tubeless.

They grip OK but inspire zero confidence on the turn-in as, I presume, deflection in the sidewall gives very poor feedback. Th transition from straight to any kind of angle just feels...loose.

I was doing anything more on it than the odd trundle through the woods with the kids nowadays I would definitely be changing them.
This sounds about right - I purchased a Boardman Pro as a donor bike and these were included - I ran out of funds for tyres so just ran with them to get the bike rolling.

What tyre width can I get away with on this width of rim? I don't think I need to go much wider 2.25/2.3's.. I like what I have on the Canyon albeit they are 2.4's, would these in 2.25/3's be suitable for XC or are there better? (Not wanting to turn this into a What tyre thread...)



richardxjr

7,561 posts

209 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
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I've run true 2.4 wide Chunky Monkeys tubeless on 19mm ID absolutely fine.

jshell

11,006 posts

204 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
quotequote all
richardxjr said:
Non black chilli Contis are bloody lethal anyway.
All my best, I mean WORST ever falls/offs/crashes were those horrible fecking widow-makers of Conti's! One sniff of moisture and they were lethal.

Craikeybaby

10,369 posts

224 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
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There are a big difference between conti tyres within a range, I had the OEM spec X Kings on my bike, I then replaced them with the black chilli/protection versions and whilst they look virtually the same they feel like different tyres.

LasseV

1,754 posts

132 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
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jshell said:
All my best, I mean WORST ever falls/offs/crashes were those horrible fecking widow-makers of Conti's! One sniff of moisture and they were lethal.
I agree, not a good tires. these was my first tires in sc Heckler and they were horrible and bike was badly undertyred (is this even a word?) laugh They have a too soft sidewalls which makes them feel like they are flat all the time.

vanordinaire

3,701 posts

161 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
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Welcome to my world smile . They all feel flat when you weigh 20 stone frown

tjdixon911

Original Poster:

1,911 posts

236 months

Thursday 26th May 2016
quotequote all
vanordinaire said:
Welcome to my world smile . They all feel flat when you weigh 20 stone frown
I know that feeling - I was 20 Stone in 2002, managed to get down to and fluctuate since between 16-17 stone the same year - Last month I decided to join a Gym and get a bit of Personal Training/nutrition advice - I am now down to 15.5 stone with a target of 14.5 stone by end of July.

Mr Gearchange

5,892 posts

205 months

Friday 27th May 2016
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Useles tyres - on my very first ride on them I landed the rear slightly sideways on a big drop and it warped the tyre so the wheel rode like it was badly buckled. Had to chuck it away after a single ride - at fifty off quid. Wouldn't use conti's again

Watchman

6,391 posts

244 months

Friday 27th May 2016
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I have the standard (non-chilli) Conti MKs but being a fatty, I need to inflate them slightly higher than normal or they squirm and move as though they were flat. However, at the higher pressures, I was getting a few punctures - nearly one per ride - so I stuck that Panaracer Flataway strip inside which has completely stopped punctures. Completely. Not one single one in 1000 miles. And at the slightly higher pressures, they actually ride really nicely. They are still quite compliant, no longer squirm, and are decent on most/all except wet rocks where they completely run out of grip.

phil-sti

2,668 posts

178 months

Friday 27th May 2016
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What weight are you? To be fair my rear feels soft and that running flow rims. You say the width is fine but what width are they?

phil-sti

2,668 posts

178 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
Just noticed the rim size and I'd say they are thin. My flows are 29 external, 25 internal and they seem to 'squish' when banging it into corners.