Muddy/intermediate XC tyres

jamlala

Hi all

My apologies if this question has been answered elsewhere, I have searched briefly but it found a lot.

I did Beastway last night and had a horrible DNF in the claggy mud of Hog Hill. I’m after some recommendations for a good XC muddy/intermediate tyre that hopefully doesn’t block as badly as mine did last night!

Any suggestions? Tubeless/folding ideally....
Thank you!

whyamihere

What tyres do you have now? I like the Schwalbe Rocket Ron for the front, preferably Addix Speed Grip compound. It would be fine on both ends, but I tend to run a Racing Ralph on the back, but I don't ride much in clay.

jamlala

Well here’s the thing. I have a brand new Scott Scale that I haven’t ridden yet, and last nights mid-fest wasn’t going to be the night!
The tyres on that are WTB Rangers, the ones that got bogged last night were Schalbe Smart Sams...

The Rookie

The old Smart Sam with the diamonds along the centreline or the new one?
The former is rubbish in mud, the latter a bit better but the near continuous centre tread band is not conducive to mud grip. Ron Front, Ralph rear for me also. The Ranger may just about do on the rear to save money!

swod1

what about x-king or a trail king tyre?

What's on the bike now?

It is really muddy all the way around that place as you might be better with a proper mud tyre on the bike?

jamlala

The Rookie wrote:

The old Smart Sam with the diamonds along the centreline or the new one?
The former is rubbish in mud, the latter a bit better but the near continuous centre tread band is not conducive to mud grip. Ron Front, Ralph rear for me also. The Ranger may just about do on the rear to save money!

I'm not sure, I'll check when I get home. The bike is a 2017 model. Good info though, and thank you for your help!

jamlala

swod1 wrote:

what about x-king or a trail king tyre?

What's on the bike now?

It is really muddy all the way around that place as you might be better with a proper mud tyre on the bike?

Smart Sams are on the bike that got bogged, and WTB Ranchers on the new bike, which I'm not sure about mud performance on? What are 'proper' mud tyres?

swod1

JamLala wrote:

swod1 wrote:

what about x-king or a trail king tyre?

What's on the bike now?

It is really muddy all the way around that place as you might be better with a proper mud tyre on the bike?

Smart Sams are on the bike that got bogged, and WTB Ranchers on the new bike, which I'm not sure about mud performance on? What are 'proper' mud tyres?

mud tyres maxxis shorty, medusa are examples of mud tyres. The latter medusa may be an option for you as its more a smaller profile mud tyre and available in 2.1 widths etc.

Only issue is they don't roll well on hard pack obviously.

billycool

From my own personal experience, I've never found a good `all round` XC tyre that can cope well with sticky/claggy mud. They just fill up with sticky goo and become pretty ineffective.

A specific mud tyre usually has wider and deeper tread to bite through the mud and also shed it better. Almost like tractor or 4x4 tyres. The trade off is that they don't roll so well and less effective in non-muddy conditions.

There is always a trade off and I'm happy that my tyres work 95% of the time.

Have a read of this:

https://www.mbr.co.uk/buyers_guide/moun ... res-332535

mattyfez

Ron's tend to shed mud pretty easily as the knobs are wider spaced but they are still a light xc tyre.
Possibly run a ron on both ends, I have a ralph rear, and it tends to wheelspin easily in mud if you're trying to go uphill slightly.

Aren't smart Sam's Shwalbes kinda cheaper version of a ralph, mainly fitted to new bikes to keep cost down?

david7m

I can confirm the Maxxis Beavers are totally pants, glad they don't feature in that link

steve_sordy

Maxxis Medusa tyres are marketed as an XC tyre for mud. I've run them at 2.1", but you can go up to 2.35" I believe. They are very good in mud but are not big heavy things. The knobs dig deep and they clear well. But the knobs don't half ping off rocks. If you are looking for a dedicated XC mud tyre then that would be a strong candidate. If you are looking for an all year round tyre that is better in mud than you would expect (but not as good as the Medusa in mud) then consider the Continental Trail King (like Billy Cool has).

I rode Conti TKs all year round for years, great tyre. Currently I ride Maxxis High Roller II. I'd put a 3C (Maxx Terra) on the front and a 1C (Maxx Pro) on the back. They grip very well in all sorts of conditions. But again, not as good in the mud as a dedicated mud tyre. But then dedicated mud tyres are not good on hardpack, rocky trails, roots and in fact anything that isn't mud or snow. So how much of your riding is mud?

skiffy

Previously I had Hans Dampf front and rear. Only any good when really wet and boggy, but clogged up horribly when even remotely sticky, and draggy the rest of the time! (good for Afan though). Now run Nobby Nic front, Racing Ralph rear, Addix/Evo/TL all year. Brilliant, never clogs, fast, sacrifice a little grip on slippy climbs but rarely an issue.

mark_fogel

I used to run Vittoria Gato on my 29er and I was very impressed in the wet and mud.
Now I have Maxxis Forekaster which are also pretty good although a quite noise on tarmac.

These do not roll as well in dry conditions as say race king/xking or racing ralph or rons but I ride all year around and tend to just leave them on and not worry about losing grip.