Another tyre thread. Conti Vertical vs Baron vs Alternative?

Cookeh

Hello,

Was at FoD yesterday and had absolutely no grip whatsoever on rocks/roots or anything that was mildly damp with my Kenda Kharisma 2.1 tyres. As such, I'm looking for a new front tyre (at the least) at a reasonably low budget (£20 max).

CRC currently have the Conti Vertical and Baron for £12 and £15 respectively. I've heard good things about both, and the Baron has an excellent review on here. Would this be the best choice? Are there any other alternatives for all conditions riding?

Thanks guys,
Cookeh

ej2320

To be honest any tyre less that £20 is going to be poor, it will be a cheap compound and not provide decent grip
IMO tyres are the one thing you should spend money on

You can get the good schwalbe compounds (Pacestar, Trailstar...) for £30 from Germany, I doubt the black chilli compound would cost much more

Also bear in mind the review will normally be the expensive compound, so while the tread pattern may be the same the levels of grip will be noticeably different

Personally I'd recommend the Schwalbe Hans Dampf Trailstar for the front, I've taken it through very muddy DH tracks with a lot of root coverage and it's gripped well and even when it slips it's controllable.. Obviously that's a personal experience and some people don't like Hans Dampfs.. Which is fine, hence the wide range of tyres available

mcnultycop

That Baron in folding might be a bit heavy duty, these are pretty well regarded (I've ridden on a bike with one on and it was great).

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/TYOOSM26X22 ... 6x225-tyre

Cookeh

The Contis are the black chilli compounds and rrp at £32/35 - they are currently on sale.

I have heard a lot about the Hans Dampfs, but they seem to be decidedly expensive, even on sale - £25 on CRC, are they really worth a tenner more than the Barons?

McNulty, what do you mean by heavy duty?

supersonic

Have you got a link to those verticals?

Cookeh

supersonic wrote:

Have you got a link to those verticals?

Sure do, its here. Are they the way forward then?

supersonic

Ah that's the standard version, made of plastic from wheelie bins, I'd avoid it!

Cookeh

Ahhh okay, are the folding bead Barons equally trashy? And these Hans Dampfs here?

supersonic

The barons are as bad, the hans much better with the dual compound.

Cookeh

Any alternatives to the HDs worth considering, or are they my best bet?
Thanks for the advice so far guys.

rockmonkeysc

The Hans Dampfs are MASSIVE for a 2.3" tyre, make sure there's plenty of clearance in your forks and frame.
Black chilli rubber queens are a lot lighter, as grippy and a more sensible width.
If it's roots your struggling with no tyre grips on them, if you can't hop or manual over them then hit them fast and square and lift the front on to them.

Cookeh

Was hitting them square on but they were on a camber, front and rear wheels just kept washing out. I kept washing out whilst putting power down on anything remotely damp, even flat dirt, so had no confidence in the berms. Thanks for the advice with lifting/manualing them though, never thought about doing that. I'll have a look at Rubber Queens too. Our club bikes are specced with Mountain King IIs and I found them to be reasonable in mud, so if the Queens are better than that then it may be a good choice.
What about Maxxis High Rollers? Seem to be a good price, but I'm not overly clued up on which compound is best for an all rounder.

poah

Cookeh wrote:

Any alternatives to the HDs worth considering, or are they my best bet?
Thanks for the advice so far guys.

bontrager XR4

Cookeh

Some great reviews on that, don't suppose you know what its profile/volume is like? Think I have sufficient clearance, but would like to be sure

Cookeh

Done a bit more shopping around, spotted Maxxis Beavers and Specialised Purgatory Controls available for £25? Are these better than the XR4 @£19?

Thanks guys.

mcnultycop

I run Beavers (the EXC ones) on my hardtail, and I think they are great. Light, grippy, shed mud and allow you to make beaver double entendres.

Cookeh

How do you find they cope in forest environments? Damp/wet roots/rocks - seems to be the greatest downfall of my current tyres.

jairaj

I'm a fan of the Conti Vertical, I ride with a Maxxis Ignitor which is a very very similar tyre.

The problem is the option you chose has a wire bead and a hard compound rubber. Any tyre is going to perform badly if you get the cheap plasticy compound. What ever tyre you decide on try to go for folding beads and softer compounds.

cycleclinic

I was a long term user on vertical too, still have them and for the riding I do they are fab tyre. I am now on tubular tyres on the bike I had them on so they are a bit redundant but for the money they cost they are robust and give decent grip around thetford forest which I will admit os not the most demanding terrain you can ride one.

Pick a tyre that suit your terrain. For me that a sub £20 conti as most of what I do is bridle way riding now apart from races in which the expensive tubs come out.

felix.london

Cookeh wrote:

Done a bit more shopping around, spotted Maxxis Beavers and Specialised Purgatory Controls available for £25? Are these better than the XR4 @£19?

Thanks guys.

XR4's are great grip and size-wise but they have paper thin sidewalls - just had a weekend of racing and shredded both of mine. £19?...as said previously it's def better to spend the extra and get the folding versions that usually also have better compounds. Cheap tyres = no fun at all IMHO

If you're not smashing through rock gardens the XR4 Team Issue is a great tyre. But fast rocky descents make up a lot of my riding so thinking I'm going back to the Black Chili Conti's - possibly the 2.3 Baron or stick with Bonty and try they're new enduro version of the XR4 the SE4 as it's meant to be tougher...but does carry a fair bit more weight

poah

slight differences between the compound softness on the XR4 makes. the comp has a single durometer all over and a wire bead which makes it pretty heavy. the TE eversion has thinner sidewalls than the expert but should have better rolling resistance. the expert also has softer side nobs, both are folding and have next to no weight difference. I run the XR4 TE on the front of my bike.

XR4 team issue that you can get for £30 (I price matched at evans)

120tpi 62a/60 folding 760g

XR4 Expert

60tpi 60a/50a folding 770g

XR4 comp

60tpi 62a wire 861g

felix.london

Def interested in the Bonty SE4 but with delivery it's over £80 for a pair (from All Terrain Cycles)

Or I could put a 2.4 BC Trail King (RQ) with ProTection & Apex sidewalls on the front and a 2.3 Baron on the back and would come in 200g lighter and and £10 cheaper than the new Bonty's...just the 2.3 Bonty sizing is spot on for me.

poah

the XR4's come up as 2.3 on my 19mm rims


evans will price match from rutland cycling and they are 26.99 for the SE4 team issue

felix.london

POAH wrote:

the XR4's come up as 2.3 on my 19mm rims


evans will price match from rutland cycling and they are 26.99 for the SE4 team issue

Wow - that is cheap. Great find. On it

Rutland only showing the 2.2" but giving the Evan's price match a go anyway

felix.london

Evans will only price match the 2.2" SE4 as Rutland don't have the 2.35" in stock...shame