Off Road Tyres

[Lord Pikey]

Thanks to some pond life discarding his beer bottle in the street i now need a new front tyre.

I currently have a WTB Weirwolf pictured below.



im after something very similar, and if possible a bit fast rolling on hard pack but also i do not want to loose mud/grass ability?

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Cheers

LP

[RRS_Staffs]

Im liking Scwalbe Nobbly Nics

Roll well and good apart from when its really gloopy

I have the UST version
Theres a lot of chatter about fragile sidewalls on the conventional ones

Cheers

EDIT: They cost £££ here but are much cheaper from Germany even including the P&P

Edited by RRS_Staffs on Monday 7th September 21:13

[rhinochopig]

Does anyone else think tyres are a very personal thing? I'd had stuff that's highly rated, which I thought was ste and vica versa.

[mackie1]

I just ordered some Maxxis High Rollers to replace the somewhat lightly treaded Bontragers that came with my bike. Supposedly very good, various people have recommended them to me.

[jshell]

Just replaced my downright-bloody-dangerous Continental Verti Pro's with Maxxis High Rollers, though they are a bit 'draggy', but there is a choice of compounds from super-sticky down...

[Lord Pikey]

Thanks chaps.

RRS_Staffs - Scwalbe Nobbly Nics. Jsut looked on google, bloody hell they are expensive. Ill check out my LBS at lunch and see if they are much cheaper in thier home land like you say.

Mackie1 and Jshell - ill have a look at maxis high rollers as well.

Cheers

[anonymous-user]

very pleased with the Larsen TTs that came on the Commie... wont change them for the winter unless i have too and then it will be to panaracer fire xcs. for the summer of 2010, weather dependant of course, i will try racing ralphs...

[Digga]

rhinochopig said:

Does anyone else think tyres are a very personal thing? I'd had stuff that's highly rated, which I thought was ste and vica versa.

+1

I can't figure mtb tyres at all. Have a set of Specialised "The Captains" on my Stumpy and they're supposed to be good, all round XC, but IMHO they don't grip as well in the mud as the (admittedly narrower, 2.0) S-Works "Fast Trak" low-pro racer tyre, especially on the front end.

My nephew and his mates are forever ragging and wrecking their bikes and also selling and swapping kit with each other; so they are a good 'test bed' for tyres. They reckon the High Roller is a decent tyre for front end grip, although they don't do the XC mileage and hills that I enjoy.

I'm inclined to experiment a bit and am also quote prepared to mix front to back.

[mackie1]

I've gone for super tacky 42A compound for the front and the maxxpro 60A compound on the rear. I can't remember where I read that that was a good combo but hopefully it will be.

[Steve UK]

I have found that because of the vast difference in soil/gravel/rock you may encounter on a ride along with the changable weather we get in the UK its rare that you will find yourself on the perfect tyre. Look at the racers they carry loads of choice.

I have High Rollers and to me they are an ok all round tyre, the best they gripped was sept oct time when the ground was damp and medium packed soil. Ok on rocks and not too good on loose gravel. Tyre pressures make a huge difference too, I run a lower pressure on the front to increase grip but not too low so the tyre folds.

Steve

[Lord Pikey]

Thanks for all the advice.

i looked at the tyre in my LBS at lunch and my pikeyness got the better of me. They had Schwable Fat Alberts at 60% off so it was too much of a good deal to turn down.

Add them to the Deore gear cables i got as well and it was a very expensive lunch outing.

Ill fit them tongiht and report back on how they ride in case others are considering them

[Digga]

Lord Pikey said:

in my LBS at lunch...and it was a very expensive lunch outing...

Have almost been banned from 'random' visits to my LBS by Mrs Digga. Visits are now heavily monitored and rationed.

If you have a spouse/partner, beware!

Good luck with the new boots!

[Lord Pikey]

Normally i can sneak the new shiny stuff into the keller before coming up stairs so the shiny things cannot be spotted. However after fitting the new boots i noticed that my hubs sound like a pensioners knees. So it will be another trip to LBS tomorrow lunch for some grease.

However, im not sure how i am going to get around the Trek Soho i purchased from ebay that i will be flying back with next week

A friend and Pher asked me on Monday if mountain biking was expensive. I likened it to running a car, multiply that by my 5 main bikes plus another 6 chicken chasers and it adds up to quite a lot!

[mackie1]

Fitted my High Rollers last night. Even with a super tacky compound on the front they seem to roll better than the Bonty Jones XR I had before. Very grippy and the slightly larger size makes for a more comfy ride too. Hopefully they'll stand me in good stead when it gets muddy.

[johnnyboy666]

Panaracers all the way for me. Fire XC pros. Pretty good in all conditions and not too heavy either. Plus you get some pretty awesome looks.

[Gooby]

johnnyboy666 said:

Panaracers all the way for me. Fire XC pros. Pretty good in all conditions and not too heavy either. Plus you get some pretty awesome looks.

I have used these and hate them.
Tyre choice is very individual. The mix of terrain you cycle and the way you cycle is going to affect your tyre choice. My reason for dislike is that I borrowed my wifes front wheel (with Fire XC pros on) and on a bend which my tyres have done a hundred times easily, the wheel scrubbed out and left be grazed, bruised and battered.

For my style of riding and terrain mix (sand, gravel, mud, dirt, heath, rooty woodland, rocky downhill and promenade!) I have found the best tyre is continental mountain kings.

My wife loves the Fire XC pros!

[pdV6]

Fire XC Pros usually get good reviews.

Having said that, I ran a Fire and a Cinder for a bit and just didn't get on with them in the wet / mud / roots 'round these parts.
Would be cracking in the summer, though, I reckon.

[hughjayteens]

I use Maxxis High Roller eXCeption 2.1s for dry stuff, and Panaracer Trailraker 1.95s when it is muddy.

Very happy with both although if the conditions crossover they both do a pretty cr4p job where the other one excels.

[chrisga]

Gooby said:

For my style of riding and terrain mix (sand, gravel, mud, dirt, heath, rooty woodland, rocky downhill and promenade!) I have found the best tyre is continental mountain kings.

Good good, tell me more about these tyres please. I just ordered a set of 2.4 mountain kings's for the enduro, never had contis before so hope they are as good as you say. Do they come up bigger or smaller than the stated size would you say. Im a bit worried about clearance on my fork so hoping they will fit ok. I'm only replacing the specialized Eskar tyres that are on it because ive worn them out rather than not liking them. Not had a problem with grip. As others have said a tyre will surely always be compromise. Does anyone ride on the same surface for the whole ride (apart from roadies)?

[Gooby]

chrisga said:

Gooby said:

For my style of riding and terrain mix (sand, gravel, mud, dirt, heath, rooty woodland, rocky downhill and promenade!) I have found the best tyre is continental mountain kings.

Good good, tell me more about these tyres please. I just ordered a set of 2.4 mountain kings's for the enduro, never had contis before so hope they are as good as you say. Do they come up bigger or smaller than the stated size would you say. Im a bit worried about clearance on my fork so hoping they will fit ok. I'm only replacing the specialized Eskar tyres that are on it because ive worn them out rather than not liking them. Not had a problem with grip. As others have said a tyre will surely always be compromise. Does anyone ride on the same surface for the whole ride (apart from roadies)?

I use the 2.4 because I love the way hey "float" over sand wells. I have no clearence problems but I do have friends (on a specialized) who have serious rub on the front under braking so they have put a 2.2 on the front. They are a very round tyre with a distributed tread that ejects the sticky clag really well. I have the tubeless and I have not had a problem with tears, holes or rips. (Touch wood) Because of the distributed tread patern, I do find they wear quickly but that is fine for the confidence that I have in them. Strong, light, durable and good in the very diverse conditions that I get in the purbecs and New Forest. The terrain changes very quickly, in yards we go from sandy beach, to heath and coarse rocks to rooty forest to exposed cliff paths with slipery clay clag. All of which the tyres cope wih really well. They do seperate the good from the average. On a very steep rutted grassy and muddy hill (almost cliff) bontranger tyres were causing real problems for thier owners while the mountain kings gripped and held superbly. Best tyre I have had and I wont change yet.