CHOOSING THE RIGHT TYRES!

Brandonsfd

I’m really new to mountain biking so this may sound a bit dumb to some people but I’m thinking of buying a pair of Schwalbe magic Mary’s for both the front and rear of my bike I tend to do quite a bit of riding on and off road and when I’ve looked I’ve noticed ppl have a smaller thinner back tyre will it affect the ride much with two of these tyres on? Thanks in advance

JGTR

A smaller rear tyre is fitted as it offers less rolling resistance but most people run same size front and rear.

Magic Mary’s are good for front tyres as they offer good grip, people usually fit a faster rolling tyre on the rear as you don’t need as much grip.

mattyfez

What he said, but if you 50/50 on and off road the magic Mary to me would be too much of a compromise on road as they are quite an aggressive trail tyre.

May be a smaller blocked cross country type tyre would be better. I run a racing ralph on the back and a slightly bigger rocket ron on the front, it generally suits me.

JBA

Magic Mary is a horrible tyre for road use.

Mattyfez's suggestion is good if you ride on dryish trails. The Racing Ralph is rubbish in mud though.

Schwalbe Nobby Nic aren't too bad if you choose the right compounds - 2.35" sticky front, 2.25" fast rear. Used to be called TrailStar and PaceStar but Schwalbe have changed the names now.

Specialized Purgatory front and rear or Purgatory front with Ground Control rear is a good combo that works in most situations.

swod1

or maybe a high roller front and ardent rear?

how much road riding are you doing is it just to the local places you ride?

slc123

I think it's going to really depend on the amount of road vs. off road and how light or gnarly the off road is going to be. To me most of the tyres mentioned are still all pretty grippy. I ride ardents on my XC bike and given the choice if I was riding more road I would change. Magic Mary's would definitely be overkill if you are doing quite a bit of road riding.

figbat

I ran Smart Sams for a while on 26er and 29er - they were a decent enough multipurpose tyre. I’m on the Ardent/HR II combo now, which suits my mostly mixed off-road activities well, especially run tubeless at lower pressures this time of year.

Jam29

The Magic Mary is an awesome tyre. I have run it front and back on a dh bike and enduro bike. I would only use this combo for riding 100% off road. The Magic Mary is really a DH/enduro/bike park tyre so if you your not riding this I wouldn't recommend it front or back. If your mainly riding XC / trail I would look at the Nobby Nic and run the Addix orange compound on the front and the Addix blue compound on the rear. This will give you a compromise of grip on the front and rolling resistance. You could also add a Racing Ralph on the rear in the summer when its dry and dusty and put the rear Nobby Nic on the front for a faster rolling set up.

moxey63

Oh, god, think I'm out of my depth on here! First post... err... I want to replace my 27.5x2.10 tyres and go to the wider 27.5x2.35 type. Could I do this or will they just come off when I hit a bump?

jamski

moxey63 wrote:

Oh, god, think I'm out of my depth on here! First post... err... I want to replace my 27.5x2.10 tyres and go to the wider 27.5x2.35 type. Could I do this or will they just come off when I hit a bump?

Depends how wide your rims are. 2.1 is pretty narrow these days. Do you know the rim width, or what rims you have, or failing that, what bike is it?

jamski

I run a 2.6 triple compound Minion DHF on the front and a 2.4 dual compound Ardent on the rear. Both tubeless, 20psi front, 28psi rear. Find it a good balance at the moment. Took a while to get it to how I like, but seems grippy enough but rolls fine.

billycool

moxey63 wrote:

Oh, god, think I'm out of my depth on here! First post... err... I want to replace my 27.5x2.10 tyres and go to the wider 27.5x2.35 type. Could I do this or will they just come off when I hit a bump?

Welcome to the forum.

Tyres don't just `fall off` but your rims will need to support a wider tyre. You need to know the inner rim size and that will allow you to know the maximum tyre width that they take.

You'll also need to check that your frame has the clearance for the wider tyres.

Would help to know what bike you have.

steve_sordy

moxey63 wrote:

Oh, god, think I'm out of my depth on here! First post... err... I want to replace my 27.5x2.10 tyres and go to the wider 27.5x2.35 type. Could I do this or will they just come off when I hit a bump?

I'm sure that you will be fine going from 2.1 to 2.35, but to be sure, you need to know the inner rim width. What is that?

You can see the outer rim width, it is the bit that the spokes go into, the bit that the tyres touch that as the stickers on it. But the rim material has a thickness and a form that reduces the inner rim width. To be sure you need to remove enough of the tyre to measure the gap between the rim walls. Typically is is 1.5 to 2.0 mm wall thickness. But best be sure.

Then use this guide from Schwalbe:
https://www.schwalbe.com/en-GB/reifenmasse.html

When the link opens you will be faced with four choices, click on "which tyre fits which rim?" and scroll down a bit until you get to the table.

Lets assume that your inner rim width is 19mm. Your tyres are 2.1" which is 53.3mm wide. Run your finger down the 19C column until you get to 52 or 534. It is close enough to 53. You can see that you have plenty of scope on your 19mm rim width. You could go up to 62mm (2.44").

Your problem will begin if your rim width is 18mm, because there are no figures for that. You could assume it will be half way between those for 17 and 19, ie 57mm tyre width (2.24", lets say 2.25" as that is a common width).

I had an 18mm internal rim width and chose to put a 2.4" tyre on (61mm). It looked like a balloon and it felt a bit bouncy. I should have put more air pressure in, but I didn't know any of this stuff, so I didn't, I put less in (it was a wider tyre right?) The tyre rolled off on the first hard corner. I went down, hard!

Whichever tyre width you opt for, you must check that it will fit your frame. You will usually be OK on the front, it is the rear where you need to take care. A rubbing tyre will wear through your frame very quickly. Also, don't forget that the bike flexes and so does the wheel. Your wider tyre may be OK in the workstand, but once you get moving, not! Also, the tyre tread picks up stones and will carry them round and bash them into your seat stay brace (yes! It happened to me!)

moxey63

Thanks for the replies. I am slightly red-faced to say it's only a basic bike, a Carrera (don't laugh). I can't measure the wheels at the moment as it's currently in the shop (Halfords) being serviced. What a nightmare that's been. It's a good bike for me though, just to keep fit. I'll measure the wheels before I buy the much-needed new tyres. Thanks for the info, and any more that's added. I'll leave the room now. You can laugh and snigger among yourselves.

steve_sordy

moxey63 wrote:

Thanks for the replies. I am slightly red-faced ............ I'll leave the room now. You can laugh and snigger among yourselves.

I'm not laughing or sniggering at all. If I was, I would be demonstrating what a poor memory I had. For I too once was new to all this. I can clearly remember descending at speed my first slope that wasn't smooth. My arse was firmly on the saddle and the first hole kicked me clean off. I did a full superman and my elbows and knees still bear the scars. My first year was a pursuit of speed and I just could not understand why everyone else was so much faster than me. At first I blamed my fitness, then I blamed my bike, then the fact it was a hardtail. No-one, and I mean not a single person, even all those I asked for advice, ever suggested that lower tyre pressure might be the answer. Then I found this PinkBike video on the subject of tyre pressure and it changed my life!

Click on this link, read the words, watch the video. Then go do it!

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tues ... -2011.html

moxey63

Thanks, Steve, for the info and the links. Think they could help me decide. Now, all I need is for Halfords to step up their game and sort out my bike! Never again.

898kor

moxey63 wrote:

Thanks for the replies. I am slightly red-faced to say it's only a basic bike, a Carrera (don't laugh).

No laughing here - the Carrera's allowed my boys and I to get into this trail riding and made it quite affordable as they were out growing bikes every 18 months.

Its only in the last 12 months that I feel I have up-skilled enough to justify a bigger spend and the kids growth has slowed down allowing for longer term investments.

The Rookie

My first MTB (well if you discont the rigid bike I used to hoon round the woods in when I was about 10) was a Carrera Kraken, Ok it was completely rebuilt and was a super lightweight hardtail but it was still a Carrera, only idiots turn up there noses at anyone out riding (as opposed to not) and bigger idiots suggests you pay £500 for a brand name bike that’s no better (or often worse) than a £300 Carrera.

moxey63

Thanks fellas! I can ride proudly now. To be honest, I only began riding about three years ago aged 52 and bought the bike new. Perhaps I'm a mard so-and-so, but I only tend to venture out on in the summer months and have done approx 8,000 miles since then in three summers. And what's more, although you won't recommend it, have only just had my first new chain fitted and about to bang on two new tyres. I don't do any mountains or that sort of stuff, just roads, and only recently had my first puncture. Been a good bike my Carrera Vulcan, and just had new gear cogs fitted front and back. Was going to upgrade but I am happy as I am for now.

The Rookie

Riding is riding, we all look for different things in life (Trails will be dead quiet tonight for some reason I'm assured....)
52 later this month and still like scaring myself witless occasionally!

billycool

The `quality` of your bike is irrelevant, as long as you are enjoying it - remember "smiles per miles".

I see plenty of FKW's with very posh bikes but not very clued up on how to ride them. It's their choice to buy them, but it doesn't make them a better rider.

I've also seen old school HT's and/or fully rigids blast past FS bikes before because most of us are over-biked for what we actually ride.

Go out, have fun and enjoy.

FYI - I run 2.10's (Panaracer Fire XC Pro) on my HT and 2.25 (Conti Trail King `Black Chilli`) on my FS. I've never felt I've needed anything wider and my ability has depleted well before the tyres feel like they will let go.

moxey63

Just picked my bike up from Halfords - the wheels have details on themDB28, 584-19 - or is it best to take the tyre off and measure them where the tyre fits?

billycool

moxey63 wrote:

Just picked my bike up from Halfords - the wheels have details on themDB28, 584-19 - or is it best to take the tyre off and measure them where the tyre fits?

The 19 means that rim should have an internal diameter of 19mm.

You can now work out the max tyre size the rim can take but also be aware of whether you have the frame clearance as well.

The Rookie

BillyCool wrote:

The 19 means that rim should have an internal diameter of 19mm.

No, no it doesn't mean that at all, be a darn small wheel!

Internal WIDTH of 19mm.

584mm is the ETRTO rim diameter - that's a 27.5/650B size.

jamski

I ran 2.35" in my old 19mm rims. I personally wouldn't go any wider.

moxey63

jamski wrote:

I ran 2.35" in my old 19mm rims. I personally wouldn't go any wider.

Thank you.

I quite like the look of the Schwalbe Magic Mary tyres, 2.35 ones. I know they are off-roaders but I have been using nobbly tyres on the road since I picked up riding again. With the 2.10s on, I have measured and there is a one-centimetre gap each side of the tyre and the two back frame stems, a much wider one on the fork end. I wouldn't go wider than 2.35..

billycool

The Rookie wrote:

BillyCool wrote:

The 19 means that rim should have an internal diameter of 19mm.

No, no it doesn't mean that at all, be a darn small wheel!

Internal WIDTH of 19mm.

584mm is the ETRTO rim diameter - that's a 27.5/650B size.

Sorry - I wrote that in a hurry. I think the OP got the gist of it though...

moxey63

The well-known bike stores near to me don't do Schwalbe Magic Mary tyres (27.5 x 2.35), so it looks like it'll have to be a process of buying off-line. Before I do so, can anyone be kind and confirm if they'll fit my 584-19 wheels. I have had a dialogue with the website selling them, that said as long as there's roughly one cm each side of the frame with the 2.10s on that I currently have, they should fit. I have my heart set on these Magic Mary's now, just need a bit of (hopefully) a final push in the direction of ordering or whatever. Thank you!

steve_sordy

moxey63 wrote:

T............. I don't do any mountains or that sort of stuff, just roads, and only recently had my first puncture. ............

The Magic Mary tyres you are intent on buying are completely the wrong tyre for the road. You will regret buying them every mile you ride.

cooldad

Wot he said. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

They'll be horrible.

JGTR

Meh, they will work on the road....totally pointless, but still will work. But if it’s looks you’re after then what ever floats your boat, it’s your bike.

Schwalbes blow up really big so I’d go for a smaller width tyre if you only have 1cm clearance.