26" Tyres for BPW

Cliveyp

Hey all. I've recently committed myself to a trip to Bike Park Wales in January.....i'm quite looking forward to it!

Having a severe lack of experience in the off-road department (i'm generally a road rider but am desperate to find excuses to do more off-road), i'm guaranteed to be sticking myself to blue runs on my aging Cube Ltd hardtail and mastering as much as I can. Trouble is, with it's lack of use so far, the Cube is still sat on it's original Schwalbe Rapid Rob tyres which from experience aren't the grippiest on loose surfaces or claggy mud - or anything bar towpaths from what i've found!

I've been recommended the investment of some new rubber, probably looking towards Maxxis HRII or DHF/DHR2. Being a complete novice in this, i'd like to at least know that I have some grip under my wheels, so what can you recommend?

doomanic

Schwalbe Magic Mary front and rear.

Angus Young

Cliveyp wrote:

the Cube is still sat on it's original Schwalbe Rapid Rob tyres which from experience aren't the grippiest on loose surfaces or claggy mud

Not too many loose surfaces and no claggy mud on the blues at BPW.

Cliveyp

Angus Young wrote:

Cliveyp wrote:

the Cube is still sat on it's original Schwalbe Rapid Rob tyres which from experience aren't the grippiest on loose surfaces or claggy mud

Not too many loose surfaces and no claggy mud on the blues at BPW.

Well no, but the Robs are pathetic on anything beyond grass or a towpath from what I’ve felt so far, so I’d prefer to start the day knowing that I’ve got something worthwhile under me - and also something that gives me a bit more confidence to use it more often anyway!

rockmonkeysc

Anything is fine at bpw. It's nearly all hard packed surfaces so doesn't get muddy.

Long_Time_Lurker

I have a Cube myself and despite what everyone says about BPW, you are right about those tyres - they are no good on anything except tarmac and deadly on anything slightly wet or grassy/mossy.
I went with Racing Ralphs - an all-rounder if you are using it as a XC/off-road commuter. Fast rolling and grippy enough for blue runs.

Angus Young

Cliveyp wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

Cliveyp wrote:

the Cube is still sat on it's original Schwalbe Rapid Rob tyres which from experience aren't the grippiest on loose surfaces or claggy mud

Not too many loose surfaces and no claggy mud on the blues at BPW.

Well no, but the Robs are pathetic on anything beyond grass or a towpath from what I’ve felt so far, so I’d prefer to start the day knowing that I’ve got something worthwhile under me - and also something that gives me a bit more confidence to use it more often anyway!

Sure, not saying you don't need a change of tyre, just that BPW is well built so it's not a swamp, even after a lot of rain.

Cliveyp

Angus Young wrote:

Sure, not saying you don't need a change of tyre, just that BPW is well built so it's not a swamp, even after a lot of rain.

So what can you recommend?

Angus Young

Cliveyp wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

Sure, not saying you don't need a change of tyre, just that BPW is well built so it's not a swamp, even after a lot of rain.

So what can you recommend?

Well, I'm not sure I'm the right person to make recommendations, but I'm tubeless with a MAXXIS High Roller II at the front and a MAXXIS Ardent Race at the back. I ride the blues and reds at BPW and that combo seems to work well. While I've had plenty of full-on crashes it doesn't feel like any of them were the tyres letting go, it's always me being a bit rubbish.

The Rookie

Tread isn't that important due to the surface, you just need a grippy rubber, so Schwalbe Trailstar or Gatestar compound on almost any of the tread patterns would work well.

JBA

If your Rapid Robs are 'Performance' flavour then they will be awful in the wet, slippery stuff.

Maxxis DHF / DHR are very good tyres but get the 3C compound.

If you can find them on offer Specialized Purgatory front and Ground Control rear, both in Grid compound if you're running tubeless or Control if using tubes, is a good combination.

Cliveyp

Cheers all, i'm liking the suggestions.

Although the thought of having the perfect tyre underneath me is there, the thought of spending the best part of £90 for a pair of DHF/DHR2's is mildly concerning. The Magic Mary's in 26" flavour are slightly cheaper (as long as i'm getting the right compound), but the Purgatory/Ground Control combination above is much much cheaper.

Is it really a case of getting what you pay for, or am i looking at diminishing returns if I go much more than this? Consider the bike, but current lack of skills (although willingness to 'want' to do better) and therefore speed, would I find the Spesh combination good enough, or is it really better to throw the extra £10 at MM's (or significantly more on the Maxxis combo)?

Angus Young

Cliveyp wrote:

Cheers all, i'm liking the suggestions.

Although the thought of having the perfect tyre underneath me is there, the thought of spending the best part of £90 for a pair of DHF/DHR2's is mildly concerning. The Magic Mary's in 26" flavour are slightly cheaper (as long as i'm getting the right compound), but the Purgatory/Ground Control combination above is much much cheaper.

Is it really a case of getting what you pay for, or am i looking at diminishing returns if I go much more than this? Consider the bike, but current lack of skills (although willingness to 'want' to do better) and therefore speed, would I find the Spesh combination good enough, or is it really better to throw the extra £10 at MM's (or significantly more on the Maxxis combo)?

Well, it's your only point of contact with the ground, and a small one at that, so I decided that would be a place I wouldn't skimp. I have the same philosophy with cars, I don't buy tyres on price.

Cliveyp

Angus Young wrote:

Well, it's your only point of contact with the ground, and a small one at that, so I decided that would be a place I wouldn't skimp. I have the same philosophy with cars, I don't buy tyres on price.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out NOT to be my only point of contact with that ground over that day....

The Rookie

As you don't need tread, scan ebay for some used tyres in the right compounds from whichever manufacturer you like.

I recently picked up a pair of Nobyy Nic Gatesar for next to nothing, quite roughed up but perfectly useable.

Angus Young

Cliveyp wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

Well, it's your only point of contact with the ground, and a small one at that, so I decided that would be a place I wouldn't skimp. I have the same philosophy with cars, I don't buy tyres on price.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out NOT to be my only point of contact with that ground over that day....

Cliveyp

The Rookie wrote:

As you don't need tread, scan ebay for some used tyres in the right compounds from whichever manufacturer you like.

I recently picked up a pair of Nobyy Nic Gatesar for next to nothing, quite roughed up but perfectly useable.

The eBay route has thrown up a few used Magic Mary's in various compounds. There is a single Vertstar, but also a few 'Bike Park' ones. Are the Bike Parks' worth avoiding, or could I get away with that on the rear with the Vertstar on the front? I'm assuming the Vertstar is the softer compound so would be better up front.....

The Rookie

The Bikepark is the performance compound, avoid!

Cliveyp

The Rookie wrote:

The Bikepark is the performance compound, avoid!

Avoided, cheers. Will keep an eye on the other one though.