which tyre combo?

noodleman

Hi guys. Having a bit of a quandry about which tyre combination to fit to my cannondale carbon rush. Being as its more of a marathon bike, i was pretty happy with the standard Hutchinson Pirranah tyres but as the winter came on i found i wasn't getting enough grip from the rear on hard pedal input so i bought a nobby nic. This helped loads but i read on lots of sites that people are using nics on the front and ralphs on the rear. Wont this put me back where i started with lack of grip, or are ralphs grippy enough for winter riding? Should i go nics front and rear or mix them? Anyone got ant experience of them?

Splasher

The idea of Nic front Ralph rear is to have high grip on the front and low rolling resistance on the rear. Probably the best thing you could do if you want to do tricky climbs in winter conditions is put a Nic on both ends and then swap the rear for a Ralph in the spring.

noodleman

Thanks Splasher, I reckon your probably right. Thanks for the advice. I will get another Nic next time im in town. Its a pain in the neck really as i love the low rolling resistance of my pirranah's and really notice how much worse the Nic's are on the smooth stuff. Oh well, cant have it all ways i suppose. Cheers.

Chaka Ping

Know what you mean about the Piranhas - I did one sloppy winter ride on mine and came off about three times due to lack of grip.

If you like the Nobby Nic on the front, a Speed King could be a good rear option that's still fast rolling but a bit more all weather than a Ralph.

Or even consider the Nic on the rear and something like a Mounatin King 2.2 on the front for even more grip. I don't really rate the Nic as a front tyre myself, seems to wash out too easily in loose conditions.

noodleman

Thanks for the advice Chaka Ping. Think i will stick with the Nic on the rear and look into the mountain king. Is that a fairly heavily treaded tire?

salsarider79

I run Racing Ralph 29er tyres on my Salsa. They run fine and grip okay, in that I've not come off much yet. I've not had enough chance to try them in the mud and wet yet but they seem fine.
However, I love the Conti Speed King Supersonic (of the two models, the Supersonic's weight less and cost twice the price!). I weighted them at 400g for the 2.1 and 430g for the 2.3's. They roll beautifully and kept me wanting to go faster. I rode these all year round on my 26er, without too many problems. Now I really want them in 29er flavour....

+1 Speed King Supersonic's

Chaka Ping

Mountain King is a lightweight full-treaded MTB tyre. I have the 2.4in version, but even that's very light.

Pretty good as a winter tyre too.

zero303

Try a 2.1 62a High Roller on the back - very grippy considering how astonishingly fast rolling it is and only 490g!! It's no mud tyre but better than a king or a nic and it doesn't clog.