Cross Country Tyres

Mr bump

Hope this is in the right forum.
Ive just bought a new bike and would like to fit a some different tyres as the present ones dont seem too good.
Has anybody got any recomendations please.
Il be using the bike at places like Cannock chase and Thetford as well as the odd trip to wales and france.

Thanks.

Andy

What tires are you using currently?
What size do you want?

Panaracer Fire XC Pro's are the obvious choice and then theres Schwalbe Nobby Nic and Continental Explorers. All good all rounders at 26x 2.1

Mr bump

Currently got these fitted, Bontrager Jones XR, 26x2.2/2.25"; would like to keep the width about the same if possiable.

Andy

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=19166

Or

Panaracer Cinder 2.25

Mr bump

Thanks for your help mate

S_J_P

Bonty Jones' should be pretty decent tyres, and not the hard-plastic monstrosities seen on a lot of budget steeds!

I'll second the Cinder choice though, IMO better than the Fire XC Pro, but neither are that good at this time of year.

Bonty Mud X's for the muddier months, and Cinder's for the dryer periods would be my choice.

sebthebum

conti vapours

Dan67

For the drier months at thetford racing ralph. Expensive but nothings better.

ride_whenever

ralph on the back, nic on the front, with one spare of each, nic for v. wet and ralph for v. dry.

lvquestpaddler

I ordered a set of 2.1 panaracer trailrakers (winter tyres but that covers Scotland all year round) from Wiggle which arrived today. Except they were Maxxis 2.35 DHR 60a when i opened them. Back to the post office with them. Dearer tyres but not really suited to what I needed (never had wiggle cock up an order in 4 yrs, did this one big style tho... )

The Spiderman

Nobby Nics here too,with Ralph on the back for when things dry up.

Sikora

andrew156 wrote:

Panaracer Fire XC Pro's are the obvious choice

How do these react to wet/muddy conditions?

BlackSpur

Not too well.

S_J_P

BlackSpur wrote:

Not too well.

Understatement!!!!

endurojcb

There are so many different good quality tyres out there. It's really down to personal preference.

Do you want light weight tyres that you're more likely to puncture, or hearvier ones that you're unlikely to pucture?

It's always good to have at least a couple of sets of tyres. Mud, XC, and maybe ones for rockier conditions too.

I use Intense XC ones mainly: http://www.bikemagic.com/news/article/m ... 23/v/2/sp/

I've used them in France, Wales and Thetford. Haven't had a pucture yet. I gave a set of Specialized Enduro Tyres a go a couple of weeks ago, and punctured within 20 mins. They're just too thin for me. The Intense ones are thicker very hard wearing. But slightly heavier as a result.

I use these Intense ones for mud! http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... Fro%20Tyre

The only downside to the Intense ones, is that they take me AGES to put them on and take them off the rims because they're so stiff. God knows how many tyre leavers I've broken so far. Double figures though. My Specialized enduro ones took 10 mins to change! lol

Maxxix Minion's are great for rocky stuff, and priced very well too: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... ing%20Tyre

2008 epic

Well our little group has tried Continentals, maxxis etc but we have all changed to Panaracer trail raker 1.95 front and rear.

Go for the PR version too, great tyres.

I am running a non PR on the front and have had 7 thorns, not a problem as slime tubes installed but the PR on the rear has not had any thorns!

Old Holdie

sebthebum wrote:

conti vapours

I've just bought a pair of these - 2 punctures in 3 rides.
Otherwise fine but get the ones with reinforced sidewalls.

endurojcb

EnduroJCB wrote:

The only downside to the Intense ones, is that they take me AGES to put them on and take them off the rims because they're so stiff.

Just read another post that says that DT Swiss rims are a pain for getting tyres on and off. That could be why I have trouble with my Intense tyres!? Good job they don't pucture easily. Had them just over a year and not had one puncture in them yet.

The Big Cheese

Yep - I can vouch for DT rims being a bugger but just a little warm soapy water on the bead and the rims and they slip on.

I am running Continental RaceKing UCI Worldcups at the mo - very fast but very thin... waiting to see how long they last.

scale20

Mr bump wrote:

Currently got these fitted, Bontrager Jones XR, 26x2.2/2.25"; would like to keep the width about the same if possiable.

Funny you should say that about them tyres, I have them on my trek, they are total pants!! Used them in the wet and dry. I had bonty tyres on my Klein and I never had faith in them either. I too have been looking at changing my tyres but theres that many out there Im stumped!

endurojcb

"scale20 wrote:

I too have been looking at changing my tyres but theres that many out there Im stumped!

Take a leap of faith and try something completely new. MBUK had some reviews not too long ago in the mag!

streako

At this time of year I dont think you can beat Pana Fire XC pros in 2.1. Good all round grip, tough and safe in wet and mud. Maybe not the quickest rolling but worth it for reliabilty. Reasonably light too.

I have tried Bonty Muds, Pana Cinders, Bonty xr, spesh enduros, but Fires are my faves.

Maybe for summer I will get something a little more semi-slick.

streako

My mate Hamish had Nobby Nics in 2.25". They lasted not even 2 months in the spring before the side lugs had all but ripped off. I wouldnt waste money on them.

In response to earlier comments, I have found Fires are far better than Bonty Muds if there is anything like roots or rocks. Muds are good in pure mud, but crap for technical.

Just goes to show that tyres, like saddles and grips are pretty personal.

Jaba666

I second that emotion.....

Schwalbe Nobby Nic up front.... and a Schwalbe Racing Ralph on the rear...what a combo

peterfastlane

have used most tyres mentioned at cannock chase. never had a puncture there on any of them, but for sure grip maxxis advantage must be the tyre to beat there(62A compound) for increased speed high roller on the rear. racing ralph ok when dry, but i would not use one on the front to race there as there is not enuogh braking grip. just got some conti mountain king supersonics(2.4) very light and fast,and seem grippy enough in most situations.

Matteeboy

Spesh Fastrak Pros on three of our four MTBS.

Work well on both road and trail and seem to be pretty puncture resistant (they all have reinforcement) -light too.

cjw

Seeing as all the trails have been drying nicely around me. Just changed over to Racing Ralph fromt and back. Guess what the weather forecast is for the weekend..... bloody rain :evil: Stuff it... the Ralphs are staying on and I'll have fun slipping and sliding :roll:

KonaMike

I have a Conti Gravity 2.3 on the front (more like a 2.1) and a Conti Vapor 2.1 on the rear,seems to be working well in all conditions !

Chaka Ping

I've recently started running a Nobby Nic on the front and a Mud X on the back - and while the Bonty is great for traction and both tyres shed mud really well - I'm slightly disappointed with the Nic's cornering grip - especially in looser conditions.

Still looking for a reasonably lightweight, mud-shedding front tyre around 2.3 that bites better in the corners - if anyone can recommend one?

carbonfiend

Tyres are such a personal choice and it can take quite a while to finally settle on a pair that suits you how you ride. Take into consideration your weight are you heavy etc the sort of trails & conditions you ride and what you are looking for out of a tyre, speed or reliability. To give you an example I currently ride Conit Speed King supersonics. These are very lightweight tyres with extremely thin sides but I weight only 60kg and I race marathons so I am looking for speed & weight yet I am light enough that I don't feel I need a really strong puncture proof tyre (plus ride tubeless). Also where I ride in Epping Forest its still very shitty and it drains very poorly so these tyres give me excellent grip but I can keep them on to race at say Thetford Forest which is considerably drier but still has its patches. It really is a case of trial and error. I will echo what a lot of people have flagged up here though and thats Nobby Nics are a great all rounder fast light (ish) but tough enough without being bomb proof. Main draw back though is the cost.
Good Luck

Silverknapper

A mate recommended Maxxis high rollers to me - swears by them. Just about to go get them I think.