tires - am i asking for the moon on a stick?

mattl80

I currently have a pair of maxiss ignitor's on my kula which are coming to the end of thier life. I'm after replacing them with something with as much grip on the trials (chilterns mainly) but also something that dosnt feel as if im pulling a dead body along when im on tarmac! :?

I've had a lot of punctures with these current tires as well, so somthing less prone to flatys would be nice?

EVERY tire i look at has completely conflicting reviews! i know compromises need to be made as there's no one tire fits all but just finding a concensus about a good all rounder would be nice! thoughts guys?

supersonic

The perfect tyre does not exist unfortunately, all are a compromise. That said some are better than others...

Try the Conti Mountain King Mk2 with Black Chilli.

paul.skibum

I have these http://www.geax.com/en/products/?cat=3&prod=11 and they are a very good all rounder - decent grip on everythign I ride (including flat stone sections and roots)but it is quite dry here, I have ridden thme in mud but not proper English mud so I make no guarantees on wet weather rides, but ok on tarmac too, definitely not too draggy.

I have the folding 2.25.

Finding them in the UK may be a different issue.

YeehaaMcgee

Maxxis ignitors are a great all-rounder. Get one in a relatively soft compounds, and a roughly middling width like a 2.3", and it should do you fine for almost anything.
Mountain King 2s, in black chilli are fantastic in almost all conditions - but they have the caveat that the only places where they don't work... they REALLY don't work!

cooldad

I use soft Ignitors (Exceptions), 2.35 fairly soft - not a lot of rock in Surrey and surrounds, just nasty evil roots (but 2.1 are probably more sensible for what I do) and don't struggle on the road.
I also rarely get punctures - last one was a pinch over two years ago on some Welsh rock (which was probably karma for insulting the bumpkins whenever possible)
But I also avoid tar as much as possible, and if there's a skinny track I'll take it.

Trouble is what's good for grip is not so hot for tar, and the Chilterns can get very slippery.

The Rookie

I like 'good ol' Panaracer Fire XC Pro, they are not the best in any condition* but they never bad either, which for most my local riding is perfect as it involves mud, tarmac (link sections), leaf mould and roots, they cope with the rocks at Cannock just fine as well. They are pretty fast rolling (though not as fast on my Mitchelin summer tyres).

I run 2.1's (wired right now, will be replaced by folders)

*I guess they may be the best on a ride where the condition is a bit of everything!

YeehaaMcgee

You are the only person on earth who rates the panaracers though

rockmonkeysc

Fire XC's are ok but they drag on roads

The Rookie

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

You are the only person on earth who rates the panaracers though

Maybe I ride different places! On any group ride in my area I would estimate about 25% are on the XC's as they do work as a good alrounder, many have tried others and come back to the XC's for our local ride.....but like I say it is a big mix of surfaces we see.

Rockmonkey, they don't drag as much as others I've tried (Nobby Nics for example)....

allthegearnoidea

i love my Hutchinson Toro's as an out and out all rounder, Grippy, predictable, Fast rolling, good sidewalls in hardskin model, the only downside to them is the price!
im not one for changing tyres for different conditions, so like a tyre i can use all year, on my second set of these now, ran the panaracer cinders before which were supposed to be the fire xc's on steroids, found them okay but nothing compared to the toro's, like night and day difference!

YeehaaMcgee

The Beginner wrote:

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

You are the only person on earth who rates the panaracers though

Maybe I ride different places! On any group ride in my area I would estimate about 25% are on the XC's as they do work as a good alrounder, many have tried others and come back to the XC's for our local ride.....but like I say it is a big mix of surfaces we see.

Rockmonkey, they don't drag as much as others I've tried (Nobby Nics for example)....

I understand completely - I'm not knocking you.
it's very common for a particular tyre to work fantastically well for one area, or rider, and terrible in others.

ElliesDad

+1 for the Panaracers, and they don't drag in the road!

miss notax

I use Panaracers too on the Santa Cruz

I stick to Maxxis Minion / High Roller on the Orange and Kona - I find they grip better on the more techy stuff (but are not as fast rolling as the Panaracers).

Obviously this also enables me to blame everything on the tyres for being too slow / not grippy enough on each bike, which is always a bonus too

Penylope

FWIW i used to run Fire XC pros but have switched to Mountain King 2 chillis.

The Fires arent bad tires but i did find them a bit draggy on the road, until you pump a bit more air into them, but then they got a bit unpredictable OFF road.
The Mountain Kings are a lot better, i find that i can run a nice preasure where they dont hold you back TOO much on the road, but still give plenty of grip off road (where you should be :P ) I was pleasantly suprised round Cannock on sunday that they gripped so well (more so than the Pana's at the same preasure).

jairaj

Yes you are asking for the Moon on a stick.

I love my Ignitors, I think they have a very even balance between grip and rolling resistance. You could try something that rolls quicker but it'll have less grip.

Possibly try a narrower width or try something like the Aspen? It rolls better and won't cope as well in the mud as the Ingitor but copes much better than the shallow tread pattern would suggest.

mattl80

cheers guys, still have no idea lol. i may go for the mountain king 2's. I'm wondering if the 'protection' version is worth extra or is it aimed at people who want to go tubeless?

YeehaaMcgee

Protection version has tougher sidewalls, to reduce pinch flats and reduce the chance of rocks slashing the sidewalls - Conti tyres are often surprisingly thin!

felix.london

First ride today with the Rubber Queen & MK2. Very impressed;

http://thehairyrider.com/2012/09/11/new-rubber/

YeehaaMcgee

They're bloody good aren't they? Almost justifies the price tag!

lawman

Nobby nics work great for me not to draggy and light and grippy, best run tubed unless you go snakeskin or double defense sidewall. Look at the 4x gatestar version for an even grippier tyre, should stick like shite to a carpet!!

The Spiderman

I`m not too far from you and have ridden the Chilterns.Across a very mixed range of condtions,including lots of road sections,and fireroad/bridle ways I get on well with a Nobby Nic front,Racing Ralph rear combo.

Go for something grippier up front,faster rolling on the rear for the road.

Maybe other combos such as Conti MK 2 up front/Speed /X King rear,or Maxxis High roller front/Ignitor/Aspen rear might also work for you?

felix.london

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

They're bloody good aren't they? Almost justifies the price tag!

Yes they are!!

Just got in from the 3rd ride on this combo (BC RQ & BC MK2)...each ride they just seem to get better. If you really push into a loose, rocky, gravely corner you can feel the front tyre just searching for something hard to stick to..while it chucks all the loose stuff out the way. Most excellent

These with the SLX brakes have transformed the bike again.