Which tyres then?

ads4

Not very happy with the tyres that came on my Hifi, Bontrager XDX 2.2s. Grip is ok in the dry but not very confidence inspiring in the wet :shock:

I am currently hearing good things about the following and would like to hear peoples comments and experience on the following please, or others if they are recommended

1. Continental Mountain King Supersonic.
2. Kenda small block 8.
3. Panaracer Fire XC Pro.

Many thanks.

XxxBFGxxX

number 3 i have them on my marin susser brill grip and i find them fast rolling.

andrewjoseph

I couldn't get on with panaracer or continental tyres.

Best tyres I've ever had are michelin xtreme, but they aren't made anymore, though they do make some very similar tyres.

passout

If its grip you want (at the expense of speed) try a pair of Panaracer Cinders or Maxxis High Rollesr.

The cinder makes a great front tyre with the XC Pro on the back.

ratty2k

Trails are drying out, so what about Maxxis Minnions?

Northwind

Small Blocks, incredibly good (but you probably already read me say that, I say it a lot). In another league to both the other tyres you mention really. Not very good with mud, though fine with wet trails, it's actual standing mud they can struggle with

ads4

Hmmm...tracks are drying out nicely.

Had a quick look at the Weriwolfs but maybe at the end of the season.

Like the Maxxis Ignitors at the mo, nice tread pattern. Anyone using them at the moment?

yoohoo999

I'm currently running a Maxxis High Roller Super Tacky (2.35) up front and a Nobby Nic (2.25) behind.

Seems to be working very well.

I was running the Super Tacky's front and rear, but the rolling resistance was just a joke. Stuck the the trails like glue, but unfortunately stuck to everything like glue!!!

So the Nobby Nic has quickened things up considerably. It's quite a nice tyre actually. No where near as solid/burly as the high roller, but has a nice feel to it on the trails.

Graydawg

If I may hijack this thread for a moment, in the hope of a quick response.... what is the difference between a 62a and a 70a tyre? Is this the rubber compound which is used? Is 62a a softer rubber tan 70a?

I am not sure if this is an industry standard of if it purely relates to the Maxxis tyres. I'm looking at the High Roller tyre from CRC....

TIA!!

RallyBiker

Could anyone tell me how the Maxxis Minion would compare to the Kenda small block8. I'm at present doing Coed y Brenin/Gwydyr trails. Thanks

ratty2k

Graydawg wrote:

If I may hijack this thread for a moment, in the hope of a quick response.... what is the difference between a 62a and a 70a tyre? Is this the rubber compound which is used? Is 62a a softer rubber tan 70a?

I am not sure if this is an industry standard of if it purely relates to the Maxxis tyres. I'm looking at the High Roller tyre from CRC....

TIA!!

Shore rating IIRC... shoulkd be pretty standard across everyone's tyres... lower the number, the softer the rubber (had similar in my RC car racing days with various compounds of rubber and foam tyres.)

ads4

Hmmm...Maxxis Ignitors are winning me over

Stormtrooper

Im running A Maxxis Crossmark on the rear for fast rolling and a bit of a loose rear end :oops: and a Maxxis advantage on the fron for grip. So far this combo seems to be working well for me in all weather especially up afan.

couldashouldawoulda

I've got both:

1. Continental Mountain King Supersonic.
2. Kenda small block 8.

The used the Kenda for two weeks but then decided it;s best use was to prop up the short leg on my black and decker work bench!

For me all Continental Supersonic's are great! If its wet I run the Mountain King. If I'm doing a marathon - a speed King. And generally I use a Race King Supersonic on the rear.

I just dont get it with the Small Block 8 - to me its the most skittish skiidy tire I've ever had on the front or back - and it's heavy. Wet or dry it just lacks grip in trail centres and on the road it growls.

Northwind

Hmm, my own experience was completely the opposite :? I took the mountain king supersonics off after 2 rides, I found them pretty much completely hopeless at everything but rocks and hardpack, and no better than the Kendas at that, not to mention slower. I was pushing up stuff I've never had to push before. And in my highly scientific Roll Down The Big Hill test they proved slower than the small blocks, even though the Kendas were a bigger tyre and at slightly lower pressure. Really quite confused by this tbh...

Were you on the 2.1s or the 2.35s? Oh, and 2.2 or 2.4 Mountain kings? Just trying to figure why we're so different. I was 2.2 MK supersonics and I've run 2.1 and 2.35 small blocks but I reckon both were miles better than the MKs

I don't think the comment about weight is really fair tbh, the 2.1 Small Blocks come up wider than a 2.2 MK because of Conti's random sizing, and that tyre is 460g or so... But it's a lightweight carcass. The 2.1 Small Block is 520g, so a little heavier, but it's also got a heavier sidewall and thicker carcass. So it's a pretty close match.

Surf-Matt

Despite verging on MTB nerdness, I still struggle to find a decent allround fast rolling tyre.

Tubeless still hasn't quite grabbed me so that limits rubber choice and not many roll well on tarmac. Might try the Race Kings.

.blitz

Interesting to read what others have to say about MKs. LBS #1 has an Orange Blood with 2.4 MKs that appear to have the same volume as 2.25 Nobby Nics. They have another bike with 2.2 MKs and they look like 2.1 Nics, which for me at least were Puncture City.

Might just get a 2.25 Snakeskin Ralph for the back and forget about tyres :roll:

blister pus

Race Kings for me next, they're the nearest tread pattern to Traffic 09s and should roll really well on road and trail, not as aggressive a design as Traffics but the weight drop would be welcome. Then again, I've emailed Conti UK and inquired about lighter protection versions of Traffic 09s in the future. ...awaiting response.

Surf-Matt

Blister - I got quite a rapid reply from them when I emailed about when/if they might do Black Chilli SK Protections.

Erring on the side of Race Kings at the moment...

blister pus

I'll shoot them another email. If you look at the Traffic 09 and Race Kings side by side in tabs on CRC, the Traffics have the "endless edge" design down the centre which makes them superb silent road rollers and they have pretty aggressive outer knobbles to dig in mud (which they do surprisingly well). The RK's are slightly different down the centre and would shed mud better without losing too much of the road rolling ability. That's the way I've got it figured anyway :P ...I've got high hopes for them.