What Tyres? (26")

balmybaldwin

Following on from an earlier thread (viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12872677) and a number of rides it has become obvious that the tyres on my bike are not great (Conti MK 2.2 front and a X-king 2.2 rear(not the Black CHilli ones).

I have UST rims and want to go tubeless (so ideally UST tyres).

I'm after recommendations for what to stick on the front and rear - do I just go with the same but BC compound?

Should I consider a fatter front tyre? what are the +s and -s?

Most of my riding is XC, on rooty forest trails, sandy/rockier bits, with the odd trip to trail centres like Bretfa, CwmCarn etc.

On my previous bike I ran Fire XC pros which were good, but don't come as USTs.

I'm hearing good things about Nobby Nick front, Racing Ralph rear. but would like to know what you're best combinations have been?

Thanks

oxocube1

A wider tyre on the front is a fairly common option for riders because it gives you more traction when going into and out of corners/berms and allows you to rely on the fact that it is not likely to slip out giving you more confidence to up the speed on the decents. Finally it allows for a slightly higher level of shock absorption than a thinner tyre.

A wider tyre on the rear will give you more traction whilst climbing, particularly if you are out of the seat as you will be applying more pressure to the drivetrain and generally a wider tyre will grip more. However it is possible that it could slow you down a little due to the higher rolling resistance and traction.

Most riders who have different tyre widths run with the former option. I personally have the same tyre front and rear in the same size. If you are considering different tyres for front and rear it might be worth looking for a front tyre that has directional tread and a rear tyre that works well for braking. This option works well for general trail raiding as you can pick up speed where necessary and brake easily when needed. From the type of riding you do an all rounder tyre will be most appropriate. A few personal favourites of mine are the Maxxis High Rollers, Ardents, and Conti Rubber Queens all of which are all rounder tyres as I appear to do similar riding to you.

A final thing to consider is tyre pressures as they are just as, if not more important than which tyres you have. When i go to Cwmcarn I tend to run around 32-35psi in my 2.35" Ignitors. However if I know im going to be doing primarily road/pavement riding, I will pump them up to 40-43psi. The lower the pressure, generally the more grip but higher rolling resistance and then vice versa for higher pressure.

I hope that's helped.

Dave_Lee

Ive gone for the Nobby Nic front and Racing Ralph back option both in 2.25. Its' a massive improvement to the Conti Kings I had on before. I generally just do XC stuff though.

balmybaldwin

Another vote for Nic & Ralph then... Thanks

omegas

balmybaldwin wrote:

On my previous bike I ran Fire XC pros which were good, but don't come as USTs.

They do ,they just don't have the same name .

symanoy

in terms of tubeless, UST isn't necessarily the best way to do it, UST tyres are far heavier than regular tyres as well as being more expensive, using a Stans or ghetto tubeless setup works with almost any tyre, and will probably work out cheaper.

Whatever you go for, dont buy the cheapest versions of the tyres, spend as much as you can, to get better tread compounds etc, however don't spend extra money on features you don't need/want e.g. race weight or whatever,

balmybaldwin

symanoy wrote:

in terms of tubeless, UST isn't necessarily the best way to do it, UST tyres are far heavier than regular tyres as well as being more expensive, using a Stans or ghetto tubeless setup works with almost any tyre, and will probably work out cheaper.

I have UST rims, and was told non-ust tyres don't seat well on these rims - is that not the case?

symanoy

As far as im aware the difference with UST rims is the lack of spoke holes in the rim to allow them to be air tight, and an added lip to allow tyres to seal better. Im pretty sure people are running UST rims with a stans or other tubeless setup without issues. having a UST rims means you don't have to worry about sealing the rim bed.

Don't take my word on this though as im not 100% certain but pretty sure it would be fine.