Tyre Configuration

Rankles

Hi guys,

I've bought a couple of tyres recently as I've never experimented with different setups despite riding for years... but have probably done my usual and gone and bought something without really reading up enough. So I have as stock on my bike...

Specialized Fast Trak



So I figured for a bit more traction I'd get myself this...

Panaracer Fire Mud Pro



Which I got in pre emption of a muddy event that got surprisingly sunny so wasn't tested, and for racing/faster and drier rides...

Schwabe Sammy Slick



In terms of using the latter two, I imagine I'll generally be using them on the rear in combination with the Fast Trak on the front but would anyone have any other recommendations or other setups to try? Other tyre types and advice would be great too. I don't see this discussed a lot and have never really learnt much on it.

Would you ever have the conditions to use the mud pro on the front and the slick on the back for instance?

cooldad

I can't see anywhere I'd mix a mud tyre and a slick

Rankles

cooldad wrote:

I can't see anywhere I'd mix a mud tyre and a slick

Good, so I'm not miles off haha.

I was thinking standard and slick in dry conditions and standard and mud in wetter? Would you ever use either on the front?

Giraffoto

People that I've seen with mixed tyre sets seem to go for chunkier/grippier front tyres, although not to the extent of knobbly front/semi-slick rear

1mancity2

I would only use semi slicks for canal paths or the road.

rebel_brown

1mancity2 wrote:

I would only use semi slicks for canal paths or the road.

This. I wouldn't go anywhere near a trail with semi slicks on.

bennett_346

rebel_brown wrote:

1mancity2 wrote:

I would only use semi slicks for canal paths or the road.

This. I wouldn't go anywhere near a trail with semi slicks on.

Didn't steve peat win the fort bill wc on a high roller semi slick?

1mancity2

But if we tried it, you know the end result!

bennett_346

1mancity2 wrote:

But if we tried it, you know the end result!

njee20

I ride a Furious Fred on the back quite a lot, they're fine. Rarely on the front.

I'd always want the grippy tyre on the front. So if running a Fast Trak/Sammy Slick it'd be the Fast Trak on the front. If running the Fast Trak/Fire Mud it'd be the mud tyre on the front.

The Fast Trak is still a pretty 'summery' tyre, I'd sooner have something like a Racing Ralph or Nobby Nic as an all rounder, with the slicks and mud tyres for occasional use when conditions necessitated.

bluechair84

Rankles wrote:

Would you ever have the conditions to use the mud pro on the front and the slick on the back for instance?

If you plan on mix and matching, always put the knobblier tyre on the front for grip and lighter tyre on the rear for rolling efficiency. But it doesn't seem that your selection gives you the best of any worlds really...

jehosophat

I tried semi slicks a few years back on a hardtail. They were very, very sketchy and not that much faster - and modern trail tyres are a lot lighter and faster rolling than older tyres without sacrificing grip.

Personally I love Nobby Nic fronts and use them in 2.25 usually, 2.1 for mud. Riding style is a factor - I have a bit of an "all over the front of the bike" style from riding BMX's as a kid and tend not to get on with front tyres without big treaded sidewalls. It's a personal thing.

At the rear I like Nobby Nics, again 2.25 usually or 2.1 for mud, and I also like Rocket Rons in 2.25 for dryer conditions and where the route requires some longer road sections to link trails. I have seen mags recommend Rons at the front but I found them terrifying, especially in anything other than totally dry conditions, they were all over the place - for me, anyway.

So Nic/Nic or Nic/Ron gets my vote. Most of my pairs of wheels have one or the other presently.

I also have a pair of Intense System 1 2.0's that I basically bought heavily reduced for an older set of wheels and they were suprisingly OK front and rear for a relatively lighter treaded tyre - again best as a rear, with a Nic front.

Rankles

Cool yeah I guessed fast trak front an semi slick rear would be good in the dry, but I'm getting mixed responses on where to have the mud tyre. I assumed at the rear with a standard trail tyre on the front but what's the difference between having it kn the front or the back?

njee20

The back has the drive, the front has the steering.

So you can either spin the back a bit more, but stay upright, or be able to pedal, but crash.

cooldad

njee20 wrote:

The back has the drive, the front has the steering.

So you can either spin the back a bit more, but stay upright, or be able to pedal, but crash.

This.
If it's bad enough to need mud tyres, I'd have them on both ends.

njee20

Does depend on the type of mud, the problem is that you have a pretty extreme mud tyre.

Something like a Mud X or a Dirty Dan is far more versatile, and works well as a general 'wet weather' tyre - I'd not want to use a Fire Mud in anything but proper claggy mud. If you were riding somewhere (like most places) that are a mixture of mud with some roots, rocks, bit of road, etc then the Fire Muds are a bit sketchy.

I have some 1.5" Black Shark Muds, which I use twice a year at most, when they're necessary they're absolutely brilliant, but pretty useless otherwise, no grip at all on firm terrain. Conversely I've used Dans and Mud Xs on bone dry trails, and they're fine.

Rankles

Ah see I was hoping the mud was just something to stick on when it's a bit wet. I'll give it a go but I tend to avoid riding in thick mud unless I've signed up to an event or something so I guess it can be my emergency mud tyre.

cooldad

TBH I would not actually buy any of those three.

Rankles

cooldad wrote:

TBH I would not actually buy any of those three.

I suppose it depends on how, where and what you ride.

I have a variety of events, races and enduros all over the country this year and love the idea of experimenting with faster tyres.

cooldad

Fair enough, I just play.

njee20

The trouble (IMO) is that you've gone for slightly cheaper tyres, so you've ended up with more undesirable ones. The Sammy Slick has less tread than a Furious Fred, whilst weighing 20% more. It's only 40g lighter than a Rocket Ron, which is a proper knobbly tyre. It's really lacking tread on the shoulders, I'd not be at all keen to use that on the front. The Fire Mud is an old tyre, and as I said above, those narrow mud tyres are surpassed in all the the stickiest mud by more 'all round' winter tyres.

To be honest, if I was limited I'd be happy with a set of Racing Ralphs (or Rocket Rons) and a pair of Dirty Dans, that'd cover pretty well all eventualities!