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What kind of bike/tires are you guys using?

11K views 119 replies 57 participants last post by  Dirt or Die 
#1 · (Edited)
Trek Superfly 100 Pro with Conti X-King 29x2.2 set up tubeless.

Mostly riding in Auburn or XC trails in Sacramento.
 
#33 ·
Racer X 26" - Specialized Captain 2.3 Tubeless Front / 2.1 Capital UST rear. I like the rolling resistance / grip trade-off of these tires. Won't be changing anytime soon.

Tallboy LTc - High Rollers UST 2.2 front & rear. Very grippy, but heavy and not fast rolling. Will save for Downieville shuttling. Probably more tire than I would ever need though.

2.2 Ardent UST front and 2.2 Ardent Race UST ordered and should be delivered by early next week. Ardent Race coming from Australia as I couldn't find any supply in the U.S. These will be replacing the High Rollers.
 
#38 ·
I've been using Nevegal's front and rear for quite some time. I have a 5" travel bike and ride Auburn all the time. In my opinion one of the best tires I've ridden in terms of hooking up. But really slow rollers. I tried doing something with a smaller block but it just broke loose too much. I'm a big guy though 250 w/o gear. I've been really thinking about trying something new though. It's just tough to spend $120 just to see if I like a tire.
 
#41 ·
Yeah, I still feel like it really sucks when I replace a set of tires and don't like the new ones at all. When I bought the slant six set I could say they rolled a hell of a lot faster, however didn't hook up at all when I was bombing. I felt like I was going to injure myself with them so I ended up just buying another set of Nevegals.
 
#42 · (Edited)
I ride the shall not be named "S" brand Rockhopper Expert 29er (got it used) with a rigid Salsa fork. Running Geax Saguaro 2.2 F/R right now (tubeless). I am switching to a Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.35 front and a Maxxis High Roller II Tire 29x2.30 rear. Looking for a little more squish and just something a little different. The Saguros have been really durable. They were a pain in the a$$ to mount up but have been trouble free since.

I ride Rockville, Pena Adobe/Lagoon Valley and Annadel in my area.
 
#43 ·
I ride the shall not be named "S" brand Rockhopper Expert 29er (got it used) with a rigid Salsa fork. Running Geax Saguro 2.2 F/R right now (tubeless). I am switching to a Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.35 front and a Maxxis High Roller II Tire 29x2.30 rear. Looking for a little more squish and just something a little different. The Saguros have been really durable. They were a pain in the a$$ to mount up but have been trouble free since.

I ride Rockville, Pena Adobe/Lagoon Valley and Annadel in my area.
That's a really aggressive combo!

I've completely signed off from using Schwalbe tires because of how expensive and fast wearing they are, but I'd be interested in hearing how the High Roller is.
 
#48 ·
Huffy SuPrChunk 900 with HanzDampf argon charged rear shock with 34.565" rear travel.
ChangLei VeriRound VelcroMatic front tire (4.243) at 34.3 psi.
HipsterTard 1.25 (700C) on the back usually at 145 psi.

Light blue tassles on the ends of both bars...:thumbsup:
 
#51 ·
Huffy SuPrChunk 900 with HanzDampf argon charged rear shock with 34.565" rear travel.
Dude. I read on page 417 of the latest comment thread on pinkbike that the first production run shox on the SuPrChunk 900 really isn't compatible with argon, unless you cross pre-filter it with redbull. But if you scored the dynamite promodel SuPrChunk we've all been searching for, then it's all good.
 
#50 ·
Ibis Mojo with Conti Trail King 2.2 in the back and Kenda Excavator in the front. The Trail King is my fave rear tire right now and I'm not planning on swapping this on my trail bike. Still looking for a better front though. Love the Conti Der Kaiser on my dh bike so I'm kind of a Conti whore right now.

I will never ever buy Schwalbe again...3 pairs of Fat Alberts (they sent me 2 more after I showed them the first) and all of them had ripped knobs after a few rides. Lame and the ride wasn't anything great.
 
#53 ·
I've done a lot of experimenting. I weigh about 210 fully laden and put a premium on traction on technical terrain. I thought the Ardents were good, but a nasty crash at Downieville due to a washout on the front tire made me want more.

So for the full suspension bike (Santa Cruz Tallboy LTc) I have been running Hans Dampf 2.35 front and rear since September. I very rarely slip or skid, even when slowing down on a steep descent. Climbing is not so great; I may switch out the rear to a Nobby Nic or Ground Control 2.3. The wear is very fast; the rear tire is fraying after only about 350 miles.

On the hardtail (Stumpjumer 29er) I am running Mountain King 2.2 front and X-King 2.2 rear. Previously tried Nobby Nic 2.35 (nice traction but sloow tire, overkill for fire roads and buff trails) and Fast Trak 2.1 front and rear (not quite enough traction for me). I am reasonably satisfied with the current Continental setup. They are not showing much wear and roll uphill very nicely, while hooking up when I need it.
 
#56 ·
Kenda Nevegal front, Hutchinson Spider rear, both tubeless 2.10 x 26 on an Ellsworth Epiphany.
My first experience with tubeless, so far a bit finicky. The experience reminds me a bit of the "sew ups" i had on a Schwinn Paramount in the 60s. The rear burped on me once and the front had a micro leak that took a couple of days to seal. I'm still pumping them before I ride just like my old 120 psi sew ups.
These tires are like velcro (just perfect) in the current conditions in the Sierra Azul, bring on the mud please!!!
The Nevegal's a bit noisy on the street, but the ride is fine on dry streets, so far.
 
#57 ·
Intense Spider Comp with 2.4 Ardent front, and 2.25 out back. I've been happy with this combo for our pine needle duff in Boggs, although I'd like to try the Nobby Nic/Hans Dampf combo some day.
Santa Cruz Highball C with 2.25 Ardent up front, Crossmark rear. This has been a fairly predictable combo, fast rolling with enough bite up front to keep me upright.
Salsa Mukluk Fatbike with 45north Husker Du 4.0 27tpi F/R. Lots of grip in all conditions, crappy sidewalls are cracked and look like they are rotting. Going for the surly Lou/Nate combo next.
 
#58 ·
Love Ikons or most the hardpack, light and fast with good traction. Due find they wear fairly quick.
Currently running a Trail King 2.4 up front as it was a freebee from a friend and although a little heavy for my taste the grip on downhill runs and turns is fantastic.
 
#59 ·
For trail riding I have a Reign X. My standard summer tires are Minion DHFs. This year I mostly used Michelin Wild Grip'r 2 Advanced 2.35s. Nice tire, not as much outright grip but even more predictable drifting. When it starts getting muddy I switch to a Dirty Dan/Muddy Mary combo.

For DH I ride a Yeti 303 RDH. Summer tires are Minion DHFs, when it gets muddy I switch to Swampthings.
 
#67 ·
810 is way off from advertising, maybe the worst I have heard about. I will assume your scale is correct, as I don't have a need for one. I guess switching from Gato to Neuron in front is not as much of a weight penalty as I thought, maybe I stick with the Neuron TNT 2.5, it is new favorite (same tread pattern as Maxxis Minion DHF). I was at an Auburn bike shop talking to locals ( I live in Oakland ), and they were saying the Schwalbe offerings get pretty torn up around that area. I had no problems at all with GATO anywhere around Sierra Nevada. Trying out some Big Betty 2.4 soft rubber tires this winter (still waiting for wet conditions before installing), but I am taking them right off when things dry out. I don't want to tear them up with aggressive summer riding. We will see.
On a side note, the GEAX Mezcal TNT is a really fun tire in summer. Micro knobs, but same side lugs as GATO. Very fast tire, and fun on stuff like Connector. I think it's the same kind of deal as Kenda Small block 8, or Maxxis Larson. Fun tires for summer, but it's just too expensive for me to run different tires all the time. Now I just run summer or winter. I have to admit those micro knobs are super fun though.
 
#68 ·
I'm a clyde so I tend to like bigger tires. My riding style has changed this last year, as my son discovered downhilling, so we spent about 15 days as Northstar. As a result, I have moved from easing tires over to their side, to being more aggressive and laying the bike over harder. Part of the change was because in the powdery west sierra dirt, you have to get the edges planted to get traction. All of my bikes are the ancient 26" size, so my choices may be biased based on that size. All that said:

Hardtail- Specialized Ground Control 2.3- I haven't liked these as much as I thought I would. They are light, roll well, and have a decent casing volume. Mostly they are fine, but in loose over hardback (ala China Camp), they will let go when partially leaned over and then catch. Previously I was running the WTB Wolverine's in 2.2. The Wolverines have as much traction and roll just as well, but weigh nearly 200 grams a tire more.

Turner Spot- Hans Dampf 2.35- These are the first Schwalbe tires I haven't been happy with. Within 2 rides I started tearing knobs off. More importantly, in the West Sierra dust, they do not hook up well (Downieville and Northstar). You lean them in and they just never bite like other tires (even with the pressure down at 28 psi). They work great everywhere else. I am replacing these with the WTB Vigilante.

Norco Shore- Maxxis Minion 2.5 DHF- There is a reason so many people use these downhilling. At first I didn't like them. One I learned to trust them, I found you can throw them in a corner and they hook up wonderfully. I am going to go tubeless next year (I run tubeless on all the other bikes), so will be trying the Schwalbe Magic Mary.

Other Bikes- My son has had great luck with the Michelin Wild Gripper 2. We first ran the advanced versions on his Santa Cruz Nickle. They hooked up wonderfully and lasted 10 days at Northstar until he finally tore the sidewall on one on a rock. I replaced them with a Specialized Butcher on the front and Ground Control on the rear and he has been asking me to put another set of the Wild Grippers back on. I have a set on his hardtail (in the non-advanced), which gets ridden for everything from the BMX jump park, to trails, to pavement. They hook up well and are showing virtually no wear after 2 months (unlike the Schwalbe Rocket Rons which were a great tire but wore out in 3 months; no complaining about them as this was not what they were meant for).
 
#69 ·
Cary, I like the Neuron 2.5 TNT better than DHF. Check out Geax website about technology. Same tread pattern. I will have to try a DHF next summer to qualify this opinion. Last month I rode Hans Damf 2.35 up in Seattle in slimy roots and torrential rain and was impressed in wet conditions. But the side knobs are too squirmy in dry (1 st day up there was dry ), as you point out. Also, the owner of Bronson I was riding had snipped off all of the transition knobs, ala Minion/Neuron. But I am trying schwalbe Big Betty 2.4 this winter instead of my go to GATO. Will add to MTBR reviews in spring. I hope side knobs don't let me down.
 
#70 ·
Bike: 9:zero:7 fatbike
Tires: 26"x3.8" Surly Nate up front, 26"x3.8" On-One Floater out in back

Other bike: Santa Cruz Tallboy carbon
Tires: 29"x2.35" Panaracer Rampage up front, 29"x2.2" Kenda Nevegal out in back

OTher other bike: 2009 Surly 1x1 11th Anniversary "Rat Ride" Limited Edition
Tires: 24"x3.45" 3G Bikes "Hoggy-G" front and back (when it's dry); 24"x3" Nokian Gazzaloddi when conditions are muddy
 
#71 ·
Rode skeggs today with those tires on TallboyC. Conditions were as good as dirt gets, 1% drier than perfect. Smooth, moist and sticky.

Nobby nic 2.25 front: Good traction when you lean with the bike, super when you lean the bike more and keep the body upright. The weird thing is that it does not feel like there is more traction, it just feels like the bike is planted and rails when you lean it deep. Maybe it's the frame geometry, who knows.

Saguaro 2.2 rear: Good cornering. I didn't really notice it was there, I was focused on the front in corners. Easily match the NN as a rear in turns. Climbing and breaking, different story. Very easy to lock the rear on downhills where nevegal, nobby nic or mountain king would still hook and have plenty of margin beyond that. Span on climbs a few times as well. I don't think I would spin a NN rear. In both climbing and descending loss of traction is docile, unlike other tires which loose traction abruptly. I think this tire is at its limit in skeggs, which is actually easy cross country for the most part. If you like to bomb I would not use that tire. I think big part of its good nature is the 29" wheel size, not the tire. I would guess it will not be as nice on a 26. Probably spin more and lock even quicker.

Rolling resistance of this combo is excellent. Feels like riding one higher gear.
 
#73 ·
I'm running Maxxis Highroller 2.35's on my Heckler. They are awesome but I'm wondering if there is something better (there almost always is). I ride in Redding where we have a large variety of terrain.

I'm still bummed they got rid of the Mobster, these were my favorite tires. They were similar to the highrollers but they did everything a little better, I miss them so...
 
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