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Best tires for Austin trails


woomie

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Since I'm not racing these days, I'm looking for more of an all-around tire. Right now, I run what I brung: a Maxxis Ikon 29x2.2 on the rear and a Maxxis Ardent Race 2.2 on the front. I recently bought a Nobby Nic 2.25 that I was going to install on the rear, but also want to replace the front with something a little more beefy. I'm just getting back into MTB after mostly road riding the last 10 years so I have been riding what I know best, Walnut Creek. Just about any tire setup seems to work there, but when I rode the South Austin Trails yesterday, I was reminded of our more typically perilous traction situations. And yes, I searched the previous threads for this topic as y'all must have hashed this over before, but couldn't find what I'm looking for, so let's go, tell me what you ride and why. TIA!

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Tires are personal, specific to both the rider and the bike. Good luck getting a straight answer on this. It is more likely that you will end up more confused than enlightened.

I would argue that it is going to be less about the actual tire (i.e. tread pattern) and more about the width. 

For the most part people are running 2.3" - 2.4" tires on their bikes. A 2.2" or even a 2.25" tire probably won't give you what you are looking for here. I ride 2.4s and find them to be a significant upgrade from the 2.25's that I used to run. Personally I believe that moving beyond 2.4" to 2.5" (or larger) does give you an even better experience, but the cost is significantly higher. This makes 2.4" the price performer for today's rider. 10 years ago 2.2" was the price performer and 2.4's were too expensive to justify for most.

Tires are a moving target and highly specific. But not knowing what bike it is on and the rider (along with the true issues you are facing now), it will be impossible to hone in on the single best tire for your needs.

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6 hours ago, woomie said:

Since I'm not racing these days, I'm looking for more of an all-around tire. Right now, I run what I brung: a Maxxis Ikon 29x2.2 on the rear and a Maxxis Ardent Race 2.2 on the front. I recently bought a Nobby Nic 2.25 that I was going to install on the rear, but also want to replace the front with something a little more beefy. I'm just getting back into MTB after mostly road riding the last 10 years so I have been riding what I know best, Walnut Creek. Just about any tire setup seems to work there, but when I rode the South Austin Trails yesterday, I was reminded of our more typically perilous traction situations. And yes, I searched the previous threads for this topic as y'all must have hashed this over before, but couldn't find what I'm looking for, so let's go, tell me what you ride and why. TIA!

You could pair that Nic with another one at 2.35 in front and do pretty well around here. Personally I like the 2.35 Nic (Speed Compound) in back with a 2.35 Magic Mary (Soft Compound) in front, both with the SnakeSkin casing. Probably more rubber than what's really needed, but I'm not trying to win medals and don't like dealing with flats. Those MMs with the soft compound seem to last forever and hit their sweet spot after a few months of riding on them. 

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7 minutes ago, TheX said:

I have Ardent and Ikon on my XC bike, and they SUCKED doing the Banduro. I'm buying an entirely new bike for that stuff. it won't have Ardent on it.

This times a thousand.  I run Ardent race on all of my bikes and they work really well at Brushy, Walnut, Warda, RPR, etc but at Bandera it felt like I was running slicks.  Now to find an old 26er DH bike. 🙂

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Schwalbe Magic Mary or Nobby Nic front and Nobby Nic or Rock Razor for rear are great combos. I also have a wheelset with a DHF 2.5 and Ardent 2.3 and it works well. I think the Magic Mary holds better when you lean the bike over.. 

Jenson has the Vittoria Morsa and Mota on sale(29 version) I picked up a few to try on my harduro tail. 

 

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Schwalbe Magic Mary or Nobby Nic front and Nobby Nic or Rock Razor for rear are great combos. I also have a wheelset with a DHF 2.5 and Ardent 2.3 and it works well. I think the Magic Mary holds better when you lean the bike over.. 
Jenson has the Vittoria Morsa and Mota on sale(29 version) I picked up a few to try on my harduro tail. 
 
I run the Rock Razor out back and it is crazy good..except in anything wetter than hero dirt. But surprisingly nice.


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3 hours ago, bestbike85 said:

I’m done a number of combinations on the last few bikes. Austin trails only I’ve not found much better than a DHF/Rekon combo. 
 

If it’s wet the Rekon will be a little less reliable to lock up. 

Ditto this setup. I look for light with the most rubber to rock for the wheel I'm spinning, reliable/predictable in drops/dust/scree in a front tire. The Rekon is near a semi-slick like an Ikon for sticking to rocks on climbs but has a decent amount of side lugs for turns. The DHF is heavy AF but it bites great on drops/turns so I'll pay the penalty and in a plus tire its a heavy penalty!  

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I ran Panaracer Rampage 2.35 on various bikes for years.  Then I went to Tubeless and those wouldnt work so I switched to Panaracer Fire Pro.  They are similar tires, held up well in all conditions seemed to last a decent amount of miles.  That tire was right for the bikes I had them on (still on one bike).

Now riding Maxis Recon 2.6 because thats what came on this bike.  Seems like a decent tire, havent had long enough to give true commentary.

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I have been rather enjoying the Maxxis Rekons - I have 27.5 x 2.8 on my Tallboy, and 29 x 2.6 on my Chumba Stella. Solid grip on the local chunk, and no sliding on cornering. Short-cutting on the road. or some EB 360 riding? Oooph, that's a bit of a workout.

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