Help finding an allround tyre for local rides?

Coolnick

Morning all, the time has come to replace the standard Conti MK2 tyres on my Boardman and I want to buy new set of tyres. I ride every Sunday with a Mtb club around Northampton on mixture of bridleways, woodland trails, canal paths, fields etc. Its often muddy on the trails we ride (like soup yesterday!) and the Conti MK2 just don't cut it in these conditions whatsoever....some of the other club riders run Bontrager Mud X 2.0 tyres or Conti Verticals which seem to provide much better grip but not sure how well these perform in less muddy conditions?

As I don't really want to buy more than one set of new tyres I'd welcome your feedback on these tyres for allround use, but feel free to recommend some alternatives that are worthy of consideration? Ideally I'd like to keep the budget around £30 per tyre.

PS. I ride the Peaks around Edale around 4 weekends a year also.

Cheers.

benpinnick

Ive been out on Bonty XR4s recently (the new team issue ones) and I'm finding them good in a range of conditions... this weekend threw a bit of everything at them and they coped admirably. I got them for £20 a pop too from all terrain cycles - happy days. Just FYI If you are considering them though, the 2.35 are big, so watch out for tyre clearance. I think the 2.2 will be ok for general use. The MudX is a great tyre (I do own some and often rave about their mud capability), but limited use in the drier conditions. I think the XR4 is probably nearly as good in the slop, but way better in the dry. A good evolution of the tyre from Bonty.

Giraffoto

Have a think about how much of the time you spend in mud - it may be that a tyre that goes through the gloop like it's hard ground won't be the best choice on real hard ground. For what little it's worth, I have Specialized Fast Track LK tyres that have next to no grip in sloppy mud but are great on the bridleways, canal paths and everything in the woods except wet roots: the challenge then becomes one of how to get round the mud. So I'd recommend them for all round use unless you're planning to do a lot of very muddy stuff.

rockmonkeysc

benpinnick wrote:

Ive been out on Bonty XR4s recently (the new team issue ones) and I'm finding them good in a range of conditions... this weekend threw a bit of everything at them and they coped admirably. I got them for £20 a pop too from all terrain cycles - happy days. Just FYI If you are considering them though, the 2.35 are big, so watch out for tyre clearance. I think the 2.2 will be ok for general use. The MudX is a great tyre (I do own some and often rave about their mud capability), but limited use in the drier conditions. I think the XR4 is probably nearly as good in the slop, but way better in the dry. A good evolution of the tyre from Bonty.

I used the XR4 for a year and a half. Works great in all conditions. The 2.2" is a good size for general xc & trail riding.
They are a little slow in dry conditions but good on roots & rocks, they actually have similar grip to the Mud X in boggy conditions but they don't cut through the slop as well so the drag a bit when it gets boggy. I also never had a single puncture in a years riding so they must be reasonably tough.

Coolnick

Well my Conti MK2 tyres are useless in anything other than hardpack and they seem more prone to punctures than previous tyres I have run. The only plus is they run relatively fast.

I don't mind having a tyre that's not specifically made for muddy conditions, but would like something that's light and can offer some level of grip in the mud but roll fast when its dry. The XR4 look like they could be worth a look, but anymore thoughts welcome? Cheers.

rapid_donkey

I use panaracer fire xc pro tyres all year round.
I find I can just fit and forget these tyres, theyre great in all conditions.
Chain reaction cycle have a sale on and you can get a pair for £43 delivered, I bought my third set yesterday.
Make sure you get the folding bead.

ilovedirt

You have the inequality sign in your sig the wrong way around by the way

The Rookie

+1 for XC Pro's, not outstanding in any condition, but not bad in any condition either.

allthegearnoidea

i used to run the panaracer cinders which were widely reported as fire xc's on steroids at the time But! they seem to have been significantly less successful!!!
guy at my LBS got me onto Hutchinson toro's, the difference between the toro's and the cinders was like night and day! - as was the price!! they arnt cheap but they are Fantastic tyres!
they do the Bulldog which is slightly narrower but the same tread pattern pretty much and cheaper on ebay, i use the toro's All year as i cant be done with changing tyres all the time, in the deepest mud they do clog up but, then so have the other guys on mud tyres, they clear quickly too, i love them as an all rounder but as said, they arnt overly cheap!!!

kevinharley

I also had the stock Conti MK2's on my Boardman, and didn't even wait till they wore out before replacing them; they were hopeless in mud / wet leaves, slippy rocks and roots, so I changed them after my second ride.

I use Panaracer Rampage's, folding bead, puncture resistant. I think they're a good all round tyre, and have had no punctures yet in 8 months of riding. In very sticky, clay-ey conditions, they clag up a bit (but what doesn't), and they perhaps roll on tarmac a little slower than the tyres my mates ride (but then, that is probably just me, and the aim is to ride on tarmac as little as possible!). The reviews I read were that they were a good all-rounder, and Evans were doing a deal at the time - £20 each, down from £37ish; that was the main reason why I got them.

I've had the Panaracer Fire XC's before as well - again, a good all-rounder, fit and forget.

Lots of treads on here about tyres - Maxiis seem to be recomended pretty regularly ...