Best (UST) tyre for riding in the Ande's ?

Yeti_man
Yeti_man Posts: 72
edited September 2009 in MTB buying advice
Hi. I'm in the lucky position of being off to ride the Inca trails in Peru in a couple of weeks and am looking at getting the bike set up correctly for the (unknown) terrain. I'm looking for advice on (preferably tubeless) tyres suitable for the terrain and conditions. Can anyone advise me ?

Comments

  • RealMan
    RealMan Posts: 2,166
    inca_trail_peru_028.jpg

    inca_trail_peru_010.jpg

    Consider me extremely jealous, you lucky son of a b*tch :D


    Found this.

    Although Peru boasts 28 different climates, the weather is generally broken into the coastal strip (damp, humid and cloudy winter from June to September with average temperatures around 14 degrees Celsius, and 28 degrees Celsius during summer), the highlands (warm almost all year with consistently dry mornings but frequent chilly nights) and the Amazon jungle (tropically humid throughout the year with heavy afternoon rains from December to April).

    Inland Peru has warm to hot, dry days from April to October but the nights can be particularly cold in high altitudes and Atlantic cold fronts can occasionally make it chilly all day.

    Peru's inland wet season from November to mid-April is very rainy in January and February, the average daily temperature around 18 degrees Celsius. The mornings are usually clear with the clouds opening up in the afternoons.


    camino_inca1.jpg

    inca-trail.jpg

    Inca-Trail.jpg

    It looks just to be very rocky. But it might also be wet, so just go for something with tough sidewalls and very grippy - looks very steep as well. I'd be using conti rubber queens, like I always do, but maxxis high rollers might be a good choice as well.
  • Yeti_man
    Yeti_man Posts: 72
    Cheers RealMan, very helpful and interesting. The Rubber Queens were actually one of the tyres I'd looked at. Aswell as the Mountain Kings in 2.4.
  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    id go for a maxxis minion/ high roller mix tbh something tacky and grippy might be better than something which rolls well. have a look at intense tyres for something super grippy. id steer clear of mountain kings tho, i tryed at cannock chase and they were crap beyond belief
  • RealMan
    RealMan Posts: 2,166
    Yes, I'd stay away from mountain kings too. Good for going fast, but not too grippy. +1 for a minion as well, but it might be a bit slow on the ups. Depending on how you want to do the holiday - fast on the ups and the downs, or steady on the ups and smoking on the descents?

    Rubber queens are absolutely brilliant though. Make sure you've got the mud clearance if you get the 2.4s, they are massive. the 2.2s are a proper 2.2 across, but quite wide sidewalls. Lots of volume and grip. You also get black chilli if you get the 2.4s.
  • bomberesque
    bomberesque Posts: 1,701
    and whatever you do. take a spare. one ripped out tyre sidewall and the nearest QBC 500 miles away and your hol will be over rather abruptly

    I hate you btw :wink:
    Everything in moderation ... except beer
    Beer in moderation ... is a waste of beer

    If riding an XC race bike is like touching the trail,
    then riding a rigid singlespeed is like licking it
    ... or being punched by it, depending on the day
  • RealMan
    RealMan Posts: 2,166
    bomberesque wrote:
    and whatever you do. take a spare. one ripped out tyre sidewall and the nearest QBC 500 miles away and your hol will be over rather abruptly

    I hate you btw :wink:

    +1 every point there.

    :D
  • Yeti_man
    Yeti_man Posts: 72
    The tyres are going onto a Yeti 575 with Fox Talas 32's up front so clearance will/could be an issue for anything too big. I was only looking at the MK 2.4's as they are reguarly reported to come up small. So it would have to be 2.2 in the Rubber Quens I suspect. Which way round would you run maxxis minion/ high roller Lawman ? Although again may have clearance issues, don't the Minions only come in 2.5 ? (Plus I would like to ride some of the climbs) :wink:
  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    minion front on the front, high roller on the rear. the minions come in 2.35 but i dont they do a tubless 2.35 but you can get a 2.35 tubeless highroller. they will fit your forks fine, tho you might squeeze a 2.5 minion in your foxes. i had the same set up on my xc bike a while back and they were wicked and climbed fine, but they dragged too much on the road and singletrack, i still use them for gnarly stuff tho if i feel i need abit more protection. intenses system 4 is a great tyre if you dont mind using tubes.
  • Yeti_man
    Yeti_man Posts: 72
    Thanks for your input guys, all info duly noted. Anyone else have any further recommendations ?
  • RealMan
    RealMan Posts: 2,166
    Take me with you.
  • Yeti_man
    Yeti_man Posts: 72
    Your more than welcome mate, you simply have to phone these people and just sign over your credit card :wink:

    http://biking.skedaddle.co.uk/holiday/M ... view.rails
  • RealMan
    RealMan Posts: 2,166
    Looks pretty expensive (more then I can afford right now, anyway (which means over 50p)), think you can sneak me into your bike box? :D

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