Which front tyre for when this get wet and slippy

Danieljephcott

Hello all, incredibly new to mountain biking and very quickly getting addicted.

Might be going to Cannock again at the weekend but looking at forecast it's going to be wet.

My voodoo hoodoo comes with a set of maxxis ardent which so far seem great but reading reviews they are not great when things get wet.

As I'm new my confidence is quite low and I'm trying to build this up, I really don't fancy hitting Cannock on a wet day knowing that the front tyre might be a nightmare.

So my question is which front tyre would you recommend when things get a bit wet and muddy?

I've seen lots of reviews saying that ardents on the rear are fine so happy to just swap the fronts out when I feel I need it.

Currently I have a 27.5" 2.25 on the front tubed

Your advice would be great.

Dan

poah

conti baron 2.4

Danieljephcott

Will check them out.

Would anyone recommend another maxxis tyre like the shorty? But also reading good reviews about minions.

I'm weird I know but nice to keep the same brands front to back

figbat

I use my Schwalbe Smart Sams in all conditions - they are not an ultimate mud-plugging tyre but are useful in a range of conditions including wet, rutted trails and the like. The 'plus' version also adds puncture protection (at the expense of some extra weight). Cost effective too.

The Rookie

At Cannock tread is pretty much irrelevant its the compound that gives you grip.

I wouldn't be putting a 2.4 on the front of a Hoodoo, its a bit big for the type of bike.

Nobby Nic in Evo compound (2.25") or a 2.2" Conti MKII would be a decent option.

If you want a Maxxis look at a High Roller, or just get an Ardent in a grippy (42a) compound as opposed to the OE hard 'plastic' variety.

Danieljephcott

The Rookie wrote:

At Cannock tread is pretty much irrelevant its the compound that gives you grip.

I wouldn't be putting a 2.4 on the front of a Hoodoo, its a bit big for the type of bike.

Nobby Nic in Evo compound (2.25") or a 2.2" Conti MKII would be a decent option.

If you want a Maxxis look at a High Roller, or just get an Ardent in a grippy (42a) compound as opposed to the OE hard 'plastic' variety.

Thanks for the info rookie.

So between the nobby nic, conti, high roller and aredent 42a which one would be your tyre of choice?

The Rookie

Well I use Nobby Nics so......or in 'summer' a Rocket Ron on the front. NOT performance compund though, has to be Pacestar/EVO

The HR will give a bit more grip but needs commitment as the slightly square carcass shape loses grip as you lean the bike over until you get on the side knobs, so for a novice it doesn't instil confidence.

A softer Ardent will work perfectly well at Cannock but as it gets muddier (elsewhere) will struggle, but then you could swap it to the rear and put another better tyre on the front.

Danieljephcott

The Rookie wrote:

Well I use Nobby Nics so......or in 'summer' a Rocket Ron on the front. NOT performance compund though, has to be Pacestar/EVO

The HR will give a bit more grip but needs commitment as the slightly square carcass shape loses grip as you lean the bike over until you get on the side knobs, so for a novice it doesn't instil confidence.

A softer Ardent will work perfectly well at Cannock but as it gets muddier (elsewhere) will struggle, but then you could swap it to the rear and put another better tyre on the front.

ok so to confirm the nobby nic will do me fine or as you have said the softer Ardent on the front will be good.

the HR doesnt sound good for me as im a complete, whimp/novice.

Who would ever think selecting a tyre was so difficult

The Rookie

Yup, that sums it up.

Oh tyres can get more confusing than that by a long way!

Danieljephcott

I'm almost there... promise.

im looking at tyres and still might try the Maxxis high rollers 11 which i can see tons of reviews with people having the ardents on the rear with the high rollers front

What i wanted to ask is if i do get the high rollers which one do i get. as said the 2.4 is going to be to wide, ive currently got 2.25. how about the 2.3? also they say tubeless ready does that mean they will take both tubes or tubeless?

if not ill go for the nobbly niks but it just seems to be a very popular combo of ardents rear and high rollers front.



dan

cooldad

Yes tubes are fine. I would avoid HRers. No idea why they became so popular, but most people I know who used them are changing. As Rookie said they can feel really sketchy until the bike is cranked over.
I would go for something rounder with evenly spaced knobs.

Bontrager XR4 Team Issue are excellent, maybe XR3 on the back. XR4/3 Expert are also very good - I'm currently using XR3 Experts both ends, but will replace Experts with TIs when they wear.

Maxxis Ignitors are another good all round tyre, in Exception compound, but quite pricy.

The Rookie

The first time I rode an HR I had a real 'WTF' moment as I started to lean it over, commitment is key.

BloggingFit

High Rollers and Minions tend to suffer a bit from grip, slide, grip as you lean the bike over. They need a bit of commitment and trust to hook up.

XR3 or 4 Team Issues would work well up front. Predictable, grip well and a reasonable weight.

rockmonkeysc

High rollers work great if you Corner aggressively.
Specialized Purgatory are another great all round tyre worth considering.

Danieljephcott

I went for the high roller in the end, issue is I'm a newbie so cornering aggressively is something I don't do, yet. Still got to be better in this weather than my ardent

poah

I wouldn't use HR2's in wet and slippy TBH

rockmonkeysc

HR2's are great in slippery conditions. Especially on sticky clay or chalk around here.

Danieljephcott

Well found out today they are great on mud etc but Cannock has loads of rocks/stones which were a nightmare but I don't think this is due to the tyres I just think it's a general issue.

The Rookie

Cannock grip is strange, you get less girl after a dry period than when there is some moisture in the soil to keep the sand 'glued' together. Also the first section from Swinnertons always feels sketchy and can harm your confidence to lean on the grip later on. You do have to get used to some 'slip before grip' in some sections just to add, takes a few times round to get a feel for it.

New tyres need the surfaced buffed to get grip and a dry Cannock isn't the best place for that.

Not sure of the weather there as I'm 4500 miles away right now.

Danieljephcott

Well it's rained for about a day and stopped about 6 hours before I got there but it wasn't that wet. Yep that first bit completely knocked me. I hated it, knocked my confidence so much that I reckon it slowed me down massively. It was only about half way through that I picked up the confidence again. I stopped after about 2 mins to let some pressure out my tyres. No idea what I reduced them to as I don't have a gauge on my carrier on pump. Got home and I was running 25 front and 30 rear. Didn't like the feel of it at all but it did grip much better.

Anyway good news is I improved my time and that was in the wet so quite happy with that. Defo fitter after my 3 weeks of riding and a. I'm also a good bit lighter as well .

Ps: if your on holiday then stop replying to my annoying threads and enjoy yourself

Really enjoyed the last half and actually caught up with some one at one point .

The Rookie

Holiday - I wish, working in India! Got a nice ride in on Saturday but 3000m of climbing meant it wasn't an easy day.

It takes a while to get used to Cannock, the first bit would have felt doubly bad on a fresh unbuffed tyre, you will learn to get used to some squirm in the tyre to the benefit of grip, I run 26 at Cannock (tubeless).