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Best tire for So Cals dry dusty conditions?

58K views 345 replies 107 participants last post by  kragu 
#1 ·
Hey guys. I've noticed that the factory tires that came on my Rocky Mountain Vertex 29er seem to be somewhat lacking in the traction department at times and I'm looking for some suggestions for So Cals dry, dusty trails.
 
#212 ·
I just put the new Kenda Honey Badger's on my Sir9 fully rigid SS. I have to say, OMG! these tires not only have amazing traction in this SoCal sandy covered rocks condition. It also gives me a nice cushy feel. I run them at 28psi but that's because I haven't gone tubeless with them yet. The high volume tire with durable sidewalls are begging to be Stanzed.
 
#221 ·
What are ya'lls opinion on this tire setup I'm thinking about going with.

Front: Maxxis Ardent/Minion DHF/ DHR 2

Rear: Maxxis Ignitor

It's going on an all mountain bike and I race super d and DH with it in socal. I need something that rolls good (or at least better than Nevegals) yet has the stability I need at higher speeds.

I ride all over from your typical socal trails to the softer mountain soil.

Anyone have any experience or thoughts on how this setup would work. I'm running cut nevegals in the front (which I do like) and 2.35 nevegals in the rear (which I cant stand).
 
#222 ·
I would choose the Minion DHF over the Ardent for sure! Actually in my area Rocky and Dry, you couldnt pay me to run the Ardent on the front.. well maybe you could but it would have to be alot. The way they go from the center knob to the side knobs is way too sketchy for my taste!

DHF!
 
#224 ·
Can someone tell me why everyone seems to run such narrow tires in the back here in So Cal?

I understand the benefit of a wider tire in the front generally, my Yeti SB66c has a 2.4 upfront, and a 2.35 in the back. But that was my setup for East Coast riding... and now I have a feeling that I should change since the conditions are so drastically different here in So Cal, where I now live and ride.

But 2.1 seems awfully narrow for this East Coaster. Is it to cut down through the loose surface dirt to get to a more stable layer of dirt?
 
#227 ·
Can someone tell me why everyone seems to run such narrow tires in the back here in So Cal?

I understand the benefit of a wider tire in the front generally, my Yeti SB66c has a 2.4 upfront, and a 2.35 in the back. But that was my setup for East Coast riding... and now I have a feeling that I should change since the conditions are so drastically different here in So Cal, where I now live and ride.

But 2.1 seems awfully narrow for this East Coaster. Is it to cut down through the loose surface dirt to get to a more stable layer of dirt?
kinda.

I would go with something like the Hans Dampf in 2.35 or Conti Trail King in a 2.2 on the rear. you want something to cut through the dust and cling to the underneath but I wouldn't go narrow because its nice to have some cushion & extra contact area on rocks and other SoCal conditions.
 
#225 ·
They're doing it wrong. I need to find a happy medium, as I went so far as to pick up a magic mary for a front, and on my first ride was ripping side knobs off :/ Expensive mistake. The knobs are simply too tall for some of the more challenging laguna-area riding (steeps, rocks, etc). I was hoping they'd be the special sauce with all the dust, but they just get shredded extra fast instead.

I've got a DHR2 on the rear, it's nice, but I won't ever recommend anyone getting soft compound rear tires - they're great for traction, but race-day-only. They blow up fast, just not quite as fast as the Magic Mary's up front. Too bad that's all some local shops sell (soft tires).

Next set will be back to a HR2 rear and DHF on the front, unless someone wants to hook me up with some onza's - would be happy to try them. ;)
 
#233 ·
I ride out of OC...

On my Megatrail (27.5) for Summit I run HR II exo 2.4 rear and Hans Damf 2.35 Trailstar front. I've only got about 15 hours on the Hans Damf but so far it's been good. For everyday use I run a Nobby Nic 2.25 in the rear.

On my Reign (26") for everyday use rear I run Ardent 2.25 rear and Conti Mountain King Black Chili 2.4 in the front.

I love the Ardent as a rear tire...I'm running 33mm rims on my 27.5 and the Nobby Nic feels squirmy...I'll probably replace it with an Ardent when it wears down.
 
#234 ·
you have a megatrail? what size? I'm in the market for a new bike and that's one i'm considering so really interested in hearing your thoughts.

I really like the maxxis exo 2.5 minion fr and 2.4 highroller or ardent rr for the full suspension and larsen tt rr for the hardtail.
 
#236 ·
awesome, thanks for the info. I think it's down to this or the knolly warden, doesn't sound like either are a bad bike. did you have an angleset on the reign? i would think the slacker HT angle on the GG alone would make it hands down a better descender but it's good to hear about the traction going uphill. i had a short shocked bullit with a z1 about 10 years ago, 65HA and 12.5bb and that thing could go anywhere, it was a true mini DH bike, the megatrail kind of reminds me of that bike but modern.
 
#238 ·
I was a HD user until I tried Minions and now I don't miss the HD at all, and the minions cornering are much better and more predictable. HD just wear out to quick and knobs break apart to easy. Running 2.3 Exo 3c TR Minion DHF in the front and 2.3 Exo DC TR Minion DHR2 in the rear. Love this combo, if I wanted less rolling resistance I would try an Ardent but I'd rather sacrifice and have the better braking especially with the trail conditions now with no rain.
 
#242 ·
Recently I replaced my front and rear tires. Based on the reviews of the fellow forum members. I decided to try a Minion DHR II EXO in the rear. Previously I was running a Mountain King. Which by the way, I did not like. I've paired the Minion with a Trail King 2.4 out front. So far I am very pleased with this setup.
 
#244 ·
DHR's are just bad rolling, but good cornering / braking tires.

If cornering and braking are 'less' important to you, don't bother ;) People generally run slightly 'thinner' rears b/c if you're going to initiate a slide, you want the rear breaking loose first.

Nobody here is going to be able to tell you what's good / bad for you. Ride your bike and figure it out for yourself. If you don't want to hear what's worked for us, don't ask :p
 
#245 ·
DHR's are just bad rolling, but good cornering / braking tires.

If cornering and braking are 'less' important to you, don't bother ;) People generally run slightly 'thinner' rears b/c if you're going to initiate a slide, you want the rear breaking loose first.

Nobody here is going to be able to tell you what's good / bad for you. Ride your bike and figure it out for yourself. If you don't want to hear what's worked for us, don't ask :p
1.) I've ran DHR's on my downhill bike, but that was all on hard pack. The do brake amazingly well. But pedaling them up hill? Never had the opportunity!

2.) Actually, I'm not concerned with cornering and braking at the moment. For the time being, I'm more concerned with how well the tires will track in a straight line and with light steering input.

3.) I assumed (and was told by someone earlier in the thread) that people ran narrower tires in the back to decrease flotation. Basically so the tire can "cut" down through the sand to get to the grippier layer of dirt. Wider tires will essentially "float" more readily in loose conditions, an attribute I'd like to experience less.
 
#246 ·
Of all the tires I've tried recently (probably 5-7 different types) I haven't ever noticed 'weird' behavior with straight line tracking that wasn't otherwise attributable to trail conditions. Honestly, with the loose stuff we have here there's not a tire that's going to be able to help given our lack of rain. Interestingly enough I'd equate unwanted squirm more to taller blocks than anything else.

To that point: I went to the extreme end (thinking taller blocks would help) and have been running a magic mary front (almost a spike tire) and found it doesn't help when the soil gets really loose. In fact, the opposite is true, I just started ripping knobs off on the first ride b/c (I presume) the side knobs were too tall, and flexed too much. Then they get squirrel-y when the side knobs have no structure/integrity.

If you want a trial by fire to just get used to poor trail conditions, "ride" sewer drop in aliso during the summer. :X Not much will bother you if you can run that whole trail out.

Also shouldn't leaning vs. turning help eliminate that steering input issue, along with more weight over the front? Alternatively, if you have a specific trail in mind (w/r/t steering input issues) we might be able to suss out a helper/fix.
 
#247 ·
Of all the tires I've tried recently (probably 5-7 different types) I haven't ever noticed 'weird' behavior with straight line tracking that wasn't otherwise attributable to trail conditions. Honestly, with the loose stuff we have here there's not a tire that's going to be able to help given our lack of rain. Interestingly enough I'd equate unwanted squirm more to taller blocks than anything else.

To that point: I went to the extreme end (thinking taller blocks would help) and have been running a magic mary front (almost a spike tire) and found it doesn't help when the soil gets really loose. In fact, the opposite is true, I just started ripping knobs off on the first ride b/c (I presume) the side knobs were too tall, and flexed too much. Then they get squirrel-y when the side knobs have no structure/integrity.

If you want a trial by fire to just get used to poor trail conditions, "ride" sewer drop in aliso during the summer. :X Not much will bother you if you can run that whole trail out.

Also shouldn't leaning vs. turning help eliminate that steering input issue, along with more weight over the front? Alternatively, if you have a specific trail in mind (w/r/t steering input issues) we might be able to suss out a helper/fix.
Well... the Conti Mountain Kings I ordered should be a good experiment nontheless

Yeah, I'm still getting used to the dirt here. The steering and weighting/unweighting the front is much different from what I've been riding for the last couple years.
 
#252 ·
Yes, that's what I'm running now. Tire was great in the grippy dirt of the North East. Out here, not so much. It's prob a godsend on those fire road climbs. But since I'm new to these trail conditions, I'm about to mount a Trail King in the back, and we'll see just how much of a difference that makes.
 
#249 ·
I've run 4 sets of tires here:
29er/100mm travel XC bike:
Rocket Rons: Came with one of my bikes, got tore up fast. Quickly replaced.
Purgatory front / Captain Rear: Big upgrade from Rocket Rons, better grip, better wear.

160mm travel all-mountain bike:
high roller 2.35 UST: Low volume casing for a 2.35 tire. I felt like I had a lot of rim strikes and "pinging" around between rocks in baseball to softball sized chunk.
Trail King 2.4 UST front / rear: Current set up, very heavy. Very high volume. Feels great in chunk, can run at low pressures (20-24 psi @ 170 lbs), corners better than all the above for me. Handles well in sand and decomposed granite where smaller volume tires get stuck. I may try the mountain king 2.4 or trail king 2.2 rear when the rear tire wears out.
 
#251 ·
I rode Chunky Monkeys front and rear 'til it just became too much of a burden on the climbs. Really good grip in our conditions, but just too slow. Switched out to a fat XC tire - a 2.35 Ikon. Rolls a TON better, is lighter, and is predictable in terms of grip.
 
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