Alpine Tyres

ddraver

Hi Guys

Me and the BFF are off to the Alps next month. Neither of us are at all up to date with MTBing as we both live in flat places where FS bikes are overkill (S England for him, Holland for me) and so we have dropped behind the MTB times - something I noticed yesterday watching the XCO World Cup where even the old euro guys were on FS bikes with dropper posts.

I need to get some tyres that are suitable for more than advanced Cyclocross but everything has changed since I last bought something more aggressive than a semi slick. Are High Rollers still the go to tyre for Alpine Riding?

Any other (29er) suggestions? We will be riding up and down so big dual ply DH tyres will likely be overkill.

Thanks everyone

roger_merriman

something like hans dampf works well for downs and ups, blows up big isn't too heavy I don't find it that slow rolling once off road, though it does drag on tarmac.

But a number of other options

rockmonkeysc

I'd go for a Maxxis Minion Shorty rear and a High Roller II front. 2.35" front and rear. Either go tubeless or use fairly heavy duty tubes.
You'll want a fairly tough tyre to survive in the Alps.
Where are you riding? Places like Morzine and Les Gets will destroy tyres in a couple days while Val d'isare and Les Arcs aren't so bad.

ddraver

(obvious troll is obvious)

Thanks Rockmonkey - I run tubeless yep. We re starting in Zermatt but it ll be a road trip and we ve not pinned down exactly where we re going yet. We re taking the (whisper it) road bikes too but I think we'll probably end up around the Briancon/Bourg d'Oisans area in all likliehood

eric_draven

obviously don't go to light with the tyres,I'm keeping away from continentals on this years trip to the alps as last time my rubber queens had a tendency to split quite a few times,if you are going to Bourg d'Oisans area this might be worth a quick look for more xc type stuff http://bike-oisans.com/en/mountain-bike,
if you are camping there is a great campsite at La Grave up from Bourg d'Oisans,stunning views,you can also get the lift up to the glaciers

going down there myself in August taking both road and mountain bikes with me

poah

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I'd go for a Maxxis Minion Shorty rear and a High Roller II front. 2.35" front and rear. Either go tubeless or use fairly heavy duty tubes.
You'll want a fairly tough tyre to survive in the Alps.
Where are you riding? Places like Morzine and Les Gets will destroy tyres in a couple days while Val d'isare and Les Arcs aren't so bad.

shorty rear HR2 front :?

rockmonkeysc

POAH wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I'd go for a Maxxis Minion Shorty rear and a High Roller II front. 2.35" front and rear. Either go tubeless or use fairly heavy duty tubes.
You'll want a fairly tough tyre to survive in the Alps.
Where are you riding? Places like Morzine and Les Gets will destroy tyres in a couple days while Val d'isare and Les Arcs aren't so bad.

shorty rear HR2 front :?

Ever tried it on rocky, dusty alpine trails? It sounds like an odd combination but it's what I had left at the end of the holiday and it worked excellent.

ddraver

eric draven wrote:

obviously don't go to light with the tyres,I'm keeping away from continentals on this years trip to the alps as last time my rubber queens had a tendency to split quite a few times,if you are going to Bourg d'Oisans area this might be worth a quick look for more xc type stuff http://bike-oisans.com/en/mountain-bike,
if you are camping there is a great campsite at La Grave up from Bourg d'Oisans,stunning views,you can also get the lift up to the glaciers

going down there myself in August taking both road and mountain bikes with me

Good call, I think we might end up there as it ll just be easiest. I know the names quite well from a lot of family holidays when I was a nipper (and a ski season in Serre Chevalier) but that was pre-Explosion of MTBing

Thanks for the help guys