MTB tyre acronyms - help!

[AcidReflux]

Can somebody more knowlegeable than I please translate these two-letter acronyms that seem to pepper cycling forums and online shops? I don't know what to buy. These are all from the Panaracer page on Chain Reaction Cycles. Some of these might be Panaracer's own model names, but I assume some of them relate to the type of riding for which the tyres are best suited:

FR - Front/Rear compatibility? Freeride?
PR
XC - cross-country, right?
PT
SC
DH - downhill?

On the Maxxis page:

LUST - brand name or acronym?

On this forum page:

AM - a riding style? All-mountain?

Actually, that brings me on to another thing: what's my regular riding type? I ride bridleways, trails and tracks in the south-east English countryside. Is that XC? Or some other bloody niche?

[Engineer1]

I'm interested in this as well I have a GT Agressor xc3 with standard tyres and on wet mud uphill the front wheel has slid out from under me on a couple of occasions. I also intend to ride trails such as FTD so want a tyre suitable for both if they exist.

[Matt106]

FR - Normally freeride
PR - Puncture resistant
XC - Cross-country
PT - Another form of puncture resistance
SC - Not sure, maybe type of rubber compound?
DH - Downhill
LUST - Lightweight ultimate sidewall technology
AM - All Mountain

An XC tyre will be fine for what you ride. You could always invest in some semi slick type tyres like Schwalbe racing raplhs if you don't get that involved with muddy trails.

Edited by Matt106 on Tuesday 9th November 10:43

[AcidReflux]

Thanks Matt.

So for practical purposes, what's the difference between cross-country, all-mountain, and freeride?

[Matt106]

The main changes you see going to freeride, dh etc is the tread patterns are deeper, tyre width is wider, stronger sidewalls, usually heavier, rolling resistance is usually slower.

[Fume troll]

AcidReflux said:

Thanks Matt.

So for practical purposes, what's the difference between cross-country, all-mountain, and freeride?

XC, lighter bikes, steeper head angle, more fragile. Normally minimal rear travel (or none) and 150mm front, usually with lockout.
All mountain generally means a bit of everything - pedalling up, almost full DH going down. 6" travel front and rear. Quite slack head angle. Sometimes called Enduro.
Freeride is a bit like downhill but for style / fun rather than speed, so more jumps, hucks, air.

Cheers,

FT.

[AcidReflux]

Fume troll said:

AcidReflux said:

Thanks Matt.

So for practical purposes, what's the difference between cross-country, all-mountain, and freeride?

XC, lighter bikes, steeper head angle, more fragile. Normally minimal rear travel (or none) and 150mm front, usually with lockout.
All mountain generally means a bit of everything - pedalling up, almost full DH going down. 6" travel front and rear. Quite slack head angle. Sometimes called Enduro.
Freeride is a bit like downhill but for style / fun rather than speed, so more jumps, hucks, air.

Cheers,

FT.

Ahh - OK, thanks. That makes sense. Except my Specialized XC is more like an all-mountain style with plenty of travel and a laid-back ride. Suits me perfectly though but I guess the boundaries between these labels are blurry.

[mackie1]

XC bikes normally have ~100mm of front travel, not 150, but I'm guessing that was a typo.

You could probably add a class between XC and AM of "Trail" which tend to have a bit more travel (120-140mm) and be a bit burlier and slacker, the perfect UK trail centre bike.

[rufusruffcutt]

Matt106 said:

LUST - Lightweight ultimate sidewall technology

This also means its for a tubeless rim (UST).

[Fume troll]

mackie1 said:

XC bikes normally have ~100mm of front travel, not 150, but I'm guessing that was a typo.

Yeah! I was thinking 4" and didn't convert it very well!

Cheers,

FT.

[AcidReflux]

mackie1 said:

You could probably add a class between XC and AM of "Trail" which tend to have a bit more travel (120-140mm) and be a bit burlier and slacker, the perfect UK trail centre bike.

That describes my bike to a tee.

Edit: Someone has lent me a pair of kevlar Continental Vertical ProTection 2.3s to try. So my acronym problem has faded a bit now. Fell off four times last night on my Specialized 'The Captain' tyres though.

Edited by AcidReflux on Wednesday 10th November 15:14