All-around xc tyres

Georgeb

Could you recommend me some all around xc tyres?

They need to be grippy in both dry/dusty/chalky conditions, but still give grip in wet and light mud conditions. Also they need to be suitable for occasional road use.

I was thinking panaracer fire xc pro on the front and a panaracer razor on the back for speed. What do you think of this combination? Or should I keep the same front and rear?

thanks

Splasher

The Razer/XC Pro is an intelligent choice, keeping rolling resistance down and grip up where it's needed most - the front. However, in wet chalky conditions your rear will probably spin but that's the trade off.

Other combos worth a look in the same way are Maxxis Larsen TT rear, Ignitor front and Racing Ralph rear, Nobby Nic front.

Obviously in each case you can run the grippier tyre front and rear for a slower but safer pairing.

Georgeb

Yes, when i think about it the razer not grip in wet chalky conditions. And I ride around the south downs which are quite chalky.
I'll have a look at the larsens, ignitors,nn and rr to see what there like. I'll also look at the wieghts as i want them as light as possible.

Because of the recent wet/rainy weather, what do you think about running a mud specific tyre on the front( like a bontrager mud x), and a regular all-around tyre for the rear?

Splasher

To be honest, it depends how much you do each activity - dry off road, wet off road, road riding - because it makes sense to put tyres on for what you do most and tolerate their compromises on the others.

For example if you rode a mile to a wet trail, rode the trail for 10 miles and then rode a mile home again it doesn't make sense to use anything other than mud tyres.

If on the other hand you commute 10 miles a day on your bike and just ride round a resevoir at the weekends, you may as well put a hybrid on the rear and a cyclocross pattern on the front.

What proportions do you ride?

Georgeb

I usually ride a max. of 2/3miles to a trail, but the trail my include short road sections. But where I ride rarely has lots of bog/mud, so for all around use probably wont worthy a mud tyre.

Im probably gonna get a panaracer fire xc pro in 2.1 for the front. Probably a maxxis ignitor or larsen tt, or even anotherxc pro for the rear.

What do you think abou the panaracer cinders, they seem pretty similar?

Splasher

Cinders are good but I haven't used the 2.1s only 2.25s so I can't compare them directly with 2.1 XC Pros.

For what it's worth I use a Larsen TT on the rear for low resistance and an Ignitor on the front for grip and it works well in all but heavy slime (clay or chalk).