New MTB tyres

[cRaigAl205]

Bit of a newb looking for advice. Looking to swap the rear tyre on my MTB. I've got a Calibre Bossnut, with the standard WTB tyres (Vigilante and Bee Line).

The front seems ok, but the rear isn't really grippy enough for the mud/weather/conditions. Ride in the FOD, typically the Verderers trail, so nothing too bonkers, but aiming to improve this winter and take on a bit more in due course.

I run it tubeless, so a recommendation for a tubeless compatible 27.5 2.2.

Thanks,

Craig

[Ian_sUK]

I'm not familiar with wtb tyres but have you tried playing with pressures before buying a new tyre?

[cRaigAl205]

I've tried it with a reasonably low pressure since I converted it to tubeless, but looking online it seems to be a fast rolling/dry tyre which I dont think is ideal for my local trails, regardless of time of year!

[lufbramatt]

what's the biggest tyre that will fit in the frame? get one that size

When I went from 2.1 to 2.35 the difference was unbelievable.

[Pothole Racing]

Maxxis Minion DHF for the front, you can get it in 2.3
Maxxis Minion DHR on the rear.

Probably one of the best tyre combos for all year round riding, dry or wet.

If you ride in really muddy conditions can always put the DHF on the rear and get something like a Maxxis Shorty or Schwalbe Magic Mary for the front to get some more grip.

[BRR]

Pothole Racing said:

Maxxis Minion DHF for the front, you can get it in 2.3
Maxxis Minion DHR on the rear.

Probably one of the best tyre combos for all year round riding, dry or wet.

If you ride in really muddy conditions can always put the DHF on the rear and get something like a Maxxis Shorty or Schwalbe Magic Mary for the front to get some more grip.

Yeah I'd second that recommendation, I've gone 2.5 DHF front and 2.4 DHR rear as i prefer the rear to be less sticky than the front

[fredd1e]

For winter gloop I'm using Schwalbe Magic Mary front (in the super sticky ultrasoft rubber) and Maxxis Shorty rear. The front sticks like poo to a blanket and is noticeably grippier than an old MagicMary front in the old trail spec rubber. PS the trails I ride tend to have lots of patches of soggy mud/peat. These are draggy on the harder pack uphill trail but really dig in when needed and I just see that drag as extra cardio training effort when flogging my guts on the long climbs .

[PomBstard]

I've always found Minions to be too much drag for anything outside the gloop, so as someone who rides to the trail, I've been using 29 x 2.4 Maxxis Ardents for the last year or so and found them to be a good compromise. Not as sticky as Minions, but also roll a whole lot better when the trail is harder/rockier.

Bonus is that when they wear down, they become Maxxis Ardent Race, and can be put on the rack until summer...

[opieoilman]

I have a Bossnut and it came with the same tyres (they've changed them now). Those tyres, especially the rear, are awful, I can't work out what it was designed for, but I mainly used my bike on shale, grass, gravel, mud and hard sandy earth and it barely gripped on any of them. I went with a Magic Mary on the front and a Continental Trail King on the back. Under £40 for the two off eBay and it completely transformed the bike.

[Mr Ted]

I ride the Forest of Dean a lot! Maxxis Minion DHF front and Maxxis Forekaster rear, Maxxis bills the Forekaster as an aggressive XC tyre optimized for loose or muddy conditions and I find it not only works well but has less drag than the full Minion DHF front, Minion DHR rear combination.

[cRaigAl205]

opieoilman said:

I have a Bossnut and it came with the same tyres (they've changed them now). Those tyres, especially the rear, are awful, I can't work out what it was designed for, but I mainly used my bike on shale, grass, gravel, mud and hard sandy earth and it barely gripped on any of them. I went with a Magic Mary on the front and a Continental Trail King on the back. Under £40 for the two off eBay and it completely transformed the bike.

Glad it's not just me! I've found it pretty slippy at the back all summer, so I don't think it's specifically the mud/wet. I've also learnt that they aren't really TCS tyres (which does explain why they take some sealing..!)

Thanks guys, some good suggestions, will do more research, but a Minion DHF seems like a sensible starting point, with maybe something a little less grippy on the rear than the DHR

In terms of compound, any pointers? This seems more complicated than buying car tyres..

This seems cheap compared to chain reactions and the usual suspects, am I missing something?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maxxis-Minion-Folding-Dua...

Thanks,

Craig

[Ian_sUK]

The maxxis tyre range is a complete nightmare. The linked one is not the 3C (triple compound) but the cheaper dual compound.

I have DHR2 3C TR WT EXO, and yes each one of those means something!

[cRaigAl205]

Haha, bonkers! So this is... better..? https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/maxxis-minion-...

[Pothole Racing]

cRaigAl205 said:

Haha, bonkers! So this is... better..? https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/maxxis-minion-...

Maxxis compounds do get confusing!

That will be the one what you're after, 3C Exo TR is the popular one for UK trail riding.

[opieoilman]

cRaigAl205 said:

Glad it's not just me! I've found it pretty slippy at the back all summer, so I don't think it's specifically the mud/wet. I've also learnt that they aren't really TCS tyres (which does explain why they take some sealing..!)

A friend bought a Norco at about the same time and that came with the same tyres, he had the same problems. Another friend had a Cannondale with different WTB tyres and they don't offer a lot of grip either.

[lufbramatt]

Just to throw my hat in the ring I’ve been running schwalbe Hans dampf on the front and a rock razor on the back in 2.35” and been really impressed, I ride mainly chalky downland, natural loamy trails through the woods and hardback trail enter paths and they’ve been very grippy and not had a single puncture running them tubeless for the last 18 months.

[HughiusMaximus]

Morning all,

Can I hijack the thread slightly?...

I'm new to mountain biking and picked up a shadownut (bossnut in a different colour..) last weekend.

I think given the time of year and negative feedback on the stock tyres on the bike I'll need to change the tyres asap.

The bossnut comes with 2.5 inch tyres on the front, but from what I can see most 'mud' tyres only go up to 2.35 inches.

Is this because the thinner tyres dig in better in the mud and therefore work better than the 2.5?

Any reservations on going 2.35 over the stock 2.5?

[Bill]

FWIW my Whyte 901 came with Trail Boss front and Riddler rear. I've put the TB on the rear and got a Vigilante on the front and am now very happy. Mix of mud, sand, chalk and rocks.

[Gilhooligan]

HughiusMaximus said:

Morning all,

Can I hijack the thread slightly?...

I'm new to mountain biking and picked up a shadownut (bossnut in a different colour..) last weekend.

I think given the time of year and negative feedback on the stock tyres on the bike I'll need to change the tyres asap.

The bossnut comes with 2.5 inch tyres on the front, but from what I can see most 'mud' tyres only go up to 2.35 inches.

Is this because the thinner tyres dig in better in the mud and therefore work better than the 2.5?

Any reservations on going 2.35 over the stock 2.5?

I wouldn’t get too worried about tyres sizes when comparing 2.35 to 2.5. Depending on manufacturer there probably won’t be that much difference. For instance a 2.35 Magic Mary or Maxxis Minion are pretty chunky. I also ran Conti Trail King 2.4s for a while which looked smaller than my current 2.35 Minions.

It’s also worth looking at running your tyres tubeless to allow lower pressures. Will help massively with traction.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Here's my thoughts / experiences...

For properly muddy and clay trails, and if you're riding properly#, the rear tyre really doesn't matter that much. In these conditions you can almost run a slick rear as long as you have loads of confidence in the front. Except for extreme cornering, if the front goes round, the back will follow.

If you're riding natural muddy trails, counter to what you're asking, I would buy a mud tyre for front and stick with a normal rear. I have two front wheels that I can swap depending just how wet my local trails are. For very wet weather use I run a maxis Wet Scream front, which enables me to ride significantly faster than I can on say a maxis minion or magic mary. If you just want a fit and forget all year round tyre, you can't go far wrong than the mary. The knobs are slightly less ramped and taller than minions so have better wet weather grip. On drier trails I think the minion edges it.

The other thing to do, which is free, is to run your suspension slightly softer in winter as you don't ride as fast or jump as high. Thus, it doesn't need to be as stiff / offer so much support, so you get more supple small bump sensitivity and thus more grip.

Having run a fat bike for a couple of years, I would also say that narrower is better in the gloop. The tyres float less, so go for 2.35s. Wider is definitely better out of the gloop though.

1. arms bent, weighted front on the steeps and in the corners - not hanging over the back like people do when they're scared.