2.35" mud tyres - any recommendations?

sarkmeister

Hi

Im currently running Bontrager Jones XR 2.25 tyres on my Trek 6500, and to be honest they seem pretty rubbish, especially in the wet, very little grip. :shock:

Ive got a weekend of riding in North Wales coming up soon and would like to change them to something more suitable for the conditions (mud).

Can anyone suggest anything? Should I be moving up to 2.35" or 2.4".

MBR has a review this month of mud tyres, rating the Hutchinson Toro as 10/10, however, they are pretty expensive.....

Im pretty heavy (16 stone ish) if that makes any difference......

Cheers

Andy

ride_whenever

Generally I size down for mud, but then round here we have very sticky gloop!

I'm on trailrakers but the Bonty MudX ones are also very highly rated, as are nobby nics.

.blitz

Greasy mud with a solid bottom layer needs narrow tyres that will cut through the gloop and find something solid to hook up on. A wider tyre will tend to 'float' in these conditions and lose traction, but will be better in thick gooey mud.

Up until recently I've been using some Nobby Nics and although they have astonishing grip in mud I think this is more related to the compound and they are wearing out at an alarming rate. I got some 2.1" Maxxis Medusas at the weekend and first impressions are encouraging but they are narrow, low-volume tyres that need a fair bit of air in them.

If you prefer a wide tyre, some soft compound Swampthings would probably be better.

sarkmeister

Ah, so narrower tyres will be a good approach then.

Ill take a look at the prices of the Mud X....

Any other ideas?

ride_whenever

all the manufacturers have mud tyres in their range, but in order of popularity probably:

bonty mudx
nobby nic (as a lot of people run them up front in the summer as well)
the maxxis ones (wet scream, medusa, swampthing in various hardnesses)
trailrakers
the rest!

Steve_b77

I've been using Bonty Mud X's on my HT this winter and they're great.

You can pedal through mud that covers your rims with comparative ease :shock:

JE james have them for £19.99 each atm

robertpb

cyclexpress.co.uk are selling 2.1 Trailrakers for £16.99 with free delivery. In the MBR test these tyres came out as the tyre with the best grip.

I put one on the back wheel last week in place of a 2.35 minion, the traction in the mud was better and to my surprise I didn't notice any difference in cornering on the hardpack.

dmjb3

I'd not go too skinny, but make sure there is plenty of clearance in the frame or you will be walking anyway.

At Mountain Mayhem this year we started on 2.0 Mud-X's, but at 3am we switched to conti-cross country's - 1.5", even though it meant swapping wheels and cassettes after changeover as we only had two pairs between the five of us... Most people were walking the entire first half of the course, but on the conti's you only had to walk the technical sections.

dave_hill

If they have to be 2,35", then Maxxis Swampthings, no contest. 42a Super Tacky up front and 60a Maxxpro on the rear and off you go...

silly lily

robertpb wrote:

cyclexpress.co.uk are selling 2.1 Trailrakers for £16.99 with free delivery. .

Uh... no, they don't!

robertpb

Well silly lily

I have an invoice dated the 12/11/2008 No. 43754 for one trailraker 26 x 2.1
Net £14.46 VAT £2.53 Total £16.99.

That's what I paid.

silly lily

Which, of course, now is completely irrelevant... since the shop in question no longer has that price.

The Sam.Star

Halo Choir Boy Or Masters Are Great.. Spesh At Low Pressures..

batch78

Trailrakers, had no problem in various conditions, even when I forgot to reduce the pressure and rode for about 5 miles off road at 60psi!