Which tyres do you prefer and why

ashes_mtb

ashes_mtb

Has preferences
Scotty T said:
I rode those on the Goose for years and really liked them, similar to HRII, and the bike shop had a bunch that weren't selling so I got them cheap. This has been a pattern in my tyre usage for a very long time, cheap or free works for me :p Here's the very short review I wrote on them in 1998 for some lols. Trying to understand why I talked about riding it on the road, was it because most rides I did at the time involved road to get there or link trails in Sydney? Was it when we started riding stairs and stuff in the city? Did I sell my commuter at that time and only have one bike? I wonder if I ran them at 80 psi on the road? Anyway have a laugh at me when I was a bit older than half my age now.

Hutchinson are famous for their downhill specific tyres, they sponsor Australia's downhill series. They make damn good tyres too. The old On The Rocks was a favourite of downhillers for a long time and version II is the new fave. It has a nice hard compound, can take 80 psi and has a really aggressive tread pattern. The side knobs give excellent cornering traction and the paddles in the middle give good climbing and powering grip. The tyre seems to work well in all conditions and is also a tyre that corners well on the road, well for an off road tyre anyway. The tread diminishes a little quicker with road use though, but lasted well until I started road riding with it. Overall a great tyre with excellent ability to push through corners hard. Sorry the photo doesn't show it too well.
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Haha - well your review was factually accurate about them taking 80psi.

386296


Amazing that they seemed big back then and were 2.1’s!
 
caad9

caad9

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Oddjob said:
I haven't listened to that one. There was an older one. I'll try and dig it up after I have my old man nap.

Sent from my M2012K11AG using Tapatalk
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Could have been the older one I heard it on too, just did a pretty half-arsed 'Hambo' of it
 
Ackland

Ackland

chats d'élevage
SummitFever said:
Since switching to 29" I've been testing a variety of tyre widths and have settled on Conti's in the 2.2" size as offering the best traction in the gravel / sand over hard pack which is pretty much all riding in and around Canberra. The wider versions of my favourite tyres offer less cornering traction than the skinnier 2.2" versions. On 26" the 2.4" versions (especially on the front) are better.

For Canberra conditions, wider is not necessarily better, particularly for 29" wheels. The thing that gives you higher cornering traction is a narrower, longer contact patch that can slice down through the loose top layer and get stuck into the hardpack below. A wider, shorter contact patch is not what you want when there is any sort of loose over hardpack (or mud).

If anyone is running monster truck tyres (or any of that plus size crap) on loose over hardpack, I'd suggest trying something narrower., particularly on the front where you can get away with less PSI. You might be surprised.

Trail King 2.2" front and Mountain King II 2.2" on the rear are working well on the Trance 29er. For bikepacking, I've got X-King 2.2" on the front and Race King 2.2" on the rear (but that's in 26").
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Over tyred is the new over biked
 
H

Halo1

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I am only at the stage now where I notice the real differences in tyres. Party due to riding old school tight single track were there were not a lot of berms and partly lack of skills. Now every corner has a berm these days and I now notice grip more.
Maxis DHR and DHF seems to be the best all round for me.
Reckons for XC
Nob Nics we’re good a low pressure on my HT.
I did blow one off a rim so moved away from these after that.
Rider weight must play into this to as I am in the plus 100kg club.
 
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smitho

smitho

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I think my favourite combo feel wise has been a Magic Mary on the front, with a Hans Dampf in winter or Rock Razor on the rear for summer. The Mary grips like shit to a blanket and is surprisingly good in typical You Yangs loose over hard gravel for a tyre that was originally designed as a wet tyre. Only criticism is the wear rate. The Hans is a bit of a slow roller but has a lovely progressive slide. It was my go-to combo in Supergravity until they upped the width (from 2.35 to 2.4) and the weight quite substantially. Now, I just can't stomach the extra weight. They seem to be 100-200g heavier for comparable Maxxis.

Ran DHF/DHRII combo for a while, both in 3C EXO+ plus but never seemed to gel with them - maybe my cornering technique sucks and I keep getting caught in that vague midzone.

Currently running Assegai 3C EXO front with a Aggressor EXO on the rear. No issues with the Assegai at all - it has some real similarities to the Magic Mary which I like and is marginally better in the dry. Aggressor has been a bit of a fail, one torn sidewall and an unrepairable puncture have put two tyres out action - although really my fault for running EXO on the rear. It's OK as a rear, but it's best trait is that it rolls fast rather than grips well unless you're on pretty compact hardpack.

I have a spare Rock Razor Supergravity which will go on the rear for the time being, then likely a Dissector in EXO+ for the rear once things get a bit damper.
 
Chriso_29er

Chriso_29er

Likes Bikes and Dirt
DHF front and rear.
Actually read that dhf rolled better than dhr on the rear, but is a little heavier. Not sure if that is reality or not.

I don't find this a heap different to running HR2 front and rear, but do like the DHF up front.
Also running Dhf front with Hr2 rear which seems to go alright as well on a trail bike doing bigger km's.

But honestly xc tyres like icon and ardent race are awesome in dry none challenging conditions.
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
Chriso_29er said:
DHF front and rear.
Actually read that dhf rolled better than dhr on the rear, but is a little heavier. Not sure if that is reality or not.

I don't find this a heap different to running HR2 front and rear, but do like the DHF up front.
Also running Dhf front with Hr2 rear which seems to go alright as well on a trail bike doing bigger km's.
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I tried DHF on rear. Did feel slower with no noticeable grip gain.
I tried it backwards, as a few people have recommended, can’t say I noticed anything.
Still prefer the DHR2 rear of the all round maxxis option.
 
johnny

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Halo1 said:
old school tight single track were there were not a lot of berms
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That accurately describes my local trails (Bruce Ridge)

Chriso_29er said:
I don't find this a heap different to running HR2 front and rear, but do like the DHF up front.
Also running Dhf front with Hr2 rear which seems to go alright as well on a trail bike doing bigger km's.

But honestly xc tyres like icon and ardent race are awesome in dry none challenging conditions.
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Yep, starting off with DHF up front and Ardent rear - will swap the Ardent out with an HRII for comparison. But I suspect that I'll prefer the Ardent for reduced rolling resistance.
 
D

Daniel Hale

She fid, he fid, I fidn't
Ackland said:
Over tyred is the new over biked
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you telling me these 55mm 360 thread count made by a 72 yr old french guy in his basement are unnecessary when heavy rain leave 3-4m of light gravel in my driveway on my ride to the local cafe on my track bike??....come on they are called rene #wortheverypenny
386298
 
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