Big Bear: tires

[atomic50]

im heading up to big bear next weekend and i was wondering the tire setup i should fun. right now on my jamis xlt 1.0 2003, in the front i have a Panaracer FR 2.4 and in the rear a panaracer XC 2.1. i was thinking of swtiching out the rear for my year old mutanos 2.4. i have an extra mutano 2.24 also. i was wondering what your opinions on this is. should i keep with this or is it worth investing in better tires because i might be heading to jenson this weeked

thx in advance for ur help

ps. i have regular tubes on the bike and have two spare thorn(thicker and heavier) tubes, should i switch for those two or would it be best to stay

[SScheetz]

im heading up to big bear next weekend and i was wondering the tire setup i should fun. right now on my jamis xlt 1.0 2003, in the front i have a Panaracer FR 2.4 and in the rear a panaracer XC 2.1. i was thinking of swtiching out the rear for my year old mutanos 2.4. i have an extra mutano 2.24 also. i was wondering what your opinions on this is. should i keep with this or is it worth investing in better tires because i might be heading to jenson this weeked

thx in advance for ur help

ps. i have regular tubes on the bike and have two spare thorn(thicker and heavier) tubes, should i switch for those two or would it be best to stay

You didn’t mention what type of riding you’re doing in Big Bear. Your bike is sort of an all mountain type, which means you could be riding up the lift and trail riding down, or XC riding up and down. Big Bear has several fire roads and trails with several combo options. The conditions are dry, dusty and some sand. Some downhill trails are very rocky. I’ll be up there for the weekend on my rigid single speed which limits me to the XC terrain. You will probably want a tire that does well in sand. The 2.4 mutano has a thin sidewall, it is prone to tearing if you hammer through the rocky sections.

I have never had a problem with thorns in Big Bear. Does anyone else out there have some better insight?

[DaFireMedic]

im heading up to big bear next weekend and i was wondering the tire setup i should fun. right now on my jamis xlt 1.0 2003, in the front i have a Panaracer FR 2.4 and in the rear a panaracer XC 2.1. i was thinking of swtiching out the rear for my year old mutanos 2.4. i have an extra mutano 2.24 also. i was wondering what your opinions on this is. should i keep with this or is it worth investing in better tires because i might be heading to jenson this weeked

thx in advance for ur help

ps. i have regular tubes on the bike and have two spare thorn(thicker and heavier) tubes, should i switch for those two or would it be best to stay

The Panaracers should be fine. Good all around tires for that area.

[atomic50]

im going to be lifting up and riding down the trails and fireroads. i have the mutano 2.4 on right now, but would it be better with the panaracer XC 2.1(or maybe mutano 2.24?). wouldn't the larger tire be better?

[SScheetz]

im going to be lifting up and riding down the trails and fireroads. i have the mutano 2.4 on right now, but would it be better with the panaracer XC 2.1(or maybe mutano 2.24?). wouldn't the larger tire be better?

go big and heavy. Do you have panaracer 2.4? If you like riding on the rocky (baby head type) trails, go with the tire with the stiffest sidewall to avoid pinch flats. Have fun!

[DaFireMedic]

im going to be lifting up and riding down the trails and fireroads. i have the mutano 2.4 on right now, but would it be better with the panaracer XC 2.1(or maybe mutano 2.24?). wouldn't the larger tire be better?

I've never ridden the Mutano's, but if all things are equal (grip, etc), sure, go with the bigger tire. Have fun......

[bm_stark]

for most of the xc trails the panaracers should be fine. you should have fun on them.

the downhill stuff is pretty hardcore. on stuff like westridge i'd worry more about the bike than the tires. It will take a real beating.

My 40 lb haro x3 (6" travel with the spring unwound for max absorbtion) with 2.5 maxis minion tires was able to make it (slipping and sliding most of the way) down everything, but those trails are really designed for 50+lb downhill sleds.

[atomic50]

well, it looks like i'm going to be running the panaracer 2.4s in front and mutano 2.4s in the rear. also i put two thick thorn resistant tubes in them. i hope this will prevent pinch flats, but we'll c.

once again thx for all the help and suggestions

[dirtpaws]

I had a good time up in Big Bear on my Tioga Factory DH tires. Ran a 2.3 on the front and a 2.1 on the rear. They are cheap too, most places have then for $19 each.

I don't a think a Mutano 2.4 will do well up there. You need a tire that can dig in. It's pretty loose up there, even on many of the XC trails.

[RED5]

the 2 most important things I've found when it comes to tires for Big Bear is 1) size; bigger is better and 2) deep spiky tread works best.

For myself, I've had the best luck running Kenda Nevegals(see pic). Since BB consists mainly of powdery, dusty dirt deeper treads help you to stick to the terrain better, as opposed to flatter knobbed tires that tend to float through/over the powder offering little to no traction. This is especially important in corners, where in BB it seems to be the worst. Anyhow, good luck.

Kenda Nevegal:

[EBasil]

I don't a think a Mutano 2.4 will do well up there. You need a tire that can dig in. It's pretty loose up there, even on many of the XC trails.

I ride Mutano 2.4's, and I was thinking the same thing: if you're riding the trails "in the park", the silt and DG are deep enough that the Mutano will come up "short on lugs". Still, as I think about riding across 5 *****es and then up and out to Champion Lodgepole Pine, I've been thinking I'd like to stick with the Mutano's floatation over sand and whatnot.

Never had a thorn flat in Big Bear, but pinch flats are a good reason to air up a little.

[dirtpaws]

the 2 most important things I've found when it comes to tires for Big Bear is 1) size; bigger is better and 2) deep spiky tread works best.

Very true indeed.

As mentioned earlier, I ran the Factory DH 2.3/2.1 combo and they dug in just fine.
It's pretty loose up there and I was glad I bought those tires just for Big Bear. The tall knobbies will dig in and help with braking.

[mtnbikerdude87]

Yeah I was up there last fri. And I rented a Kona Stintky Dee-lux with tthe stock tires(nokian I think). They were big but with the very loose conditons, it wouldnt stick. Although my confidence level was boosted with the stinky, I was afraid I was gonna slide out in the corners. My bro (who is atomic50) said that his front tires stuck to the ground. But the rear kept sliding everywhere. We tried putting on a Mutano 2.24 since it had bigger knobs, but no use. I gotta agree with the theory that bigger tires and knobbies work well. Gonna be up there next wed and thurs

[will8250]

I've had good luck running a 2.7 Minion and a 2.6 Gazz on my hardtail up there. No problems on Westridge or any other stuff. If you're going to ride up and down, I'd say stick with what you got.

[fantom1]

Anybody run Blue Grooves up there? I'll be riding XC up and down this Tuesday, and getting some BGs, but might as well keep on the 2.3s I've got on my bike now if the BGs aren't doing it in the dust.

[RED5]

Anybody run Blue Grooves up there? I'll be riding XC up and down this Tuesday, and getting some BGs, but might as well keep on the 2.3s I've got on my bike now if the BGs aren't doing it in the dust.

Yeah, I've run one on the front(2.7). It worked well, but I attribute that mostly to it's size and side lugs. Didn't have much forward driving bite in dust on the straights, but it did well in the corners which is the biggest issue. You should be fine, but if you can fit it get a 2.5. Enjoy.

[Stinky Wiz]

We're planning on heading up to BB in about a month. I just got a 2.5 WTB Timberwolf for the front, but since I can't run a 2.5 in the back of my Heckler, I was thinking about running a 2.35 IRC Tamashi. Both tires look like they have deep lugs for plowing through the BB dust.

Anyone have any experience with either of these to give advice? Since I don't have the Tamashi yet, I would definitely consider another alternative, like the Nevegal.

I'm currently running Stan's goop so no worries about pinchflats.

[RED5]

We're planning on heading up to BB in about a month. I just got a 2.5 WTB Timberwolf for the front, but since I can't run a 2.5 in the back of my Heckler, I was thinking about running a 2.35 IRC Tamashi. Both tires look like they have deep lugs for plowing through the BB dust.

Anyone have any experience with either of these to give advice? Since I don't have the Tamashi yet, I would definitely consider another alternative, like the Nevegal.

I'm currently running Stan's goop so no worries about pinchflats.

Having seem the Tomashi, I'd be willing to bet it would work well. However, I am more partial to the Nevegal because if the rubber compound and design with the ramped knobs. But, either or you should be OK. Have fun, BB is good times.