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Best tires for Austin trails


woomie

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OK I'll play.

Years ago I tried a lot of different tires. Things may be different now but this is what I found works for me. YMMV.

I LOVED the traction of the Nevegal. Even on cross sloped damp rocks like Elephant Butt or near the entrance to Thumper - Nevegals maintained traction. I put Nevegals on front and rear (29" is all I ride).

DeBlurBlur saw that at a race and told me that the rolling resistance was too high. He was right. Nevegals have a very high rolling resistance. That is part of how they maintain the great traction. He suggested (and was riding) Ardents. He said even if you want to maintain the traction on the front, switch to a lower resistance rear.

I kept the front Nevegal and changed to an Ardent rear. Huge improvement. I had the traction up front where it counts more and much lower rolling resistance.

Since then (8 years?) I have generally kept the front Nevegal and swapped the rear many many times. At times I tried different front tires, like Ardent on both. I generally come back to the Nevegal on front. I have not found anything that gives me a better grip when a slip could be a major problem.

There are some tires I won't even try. I ride heavy rocks. Where sharp pointy rocks like Cheese Grater are everywhere. I don't want to ride a tire that gets cut up in the sharp pointy rocks on trail I like to ride. Flat tires are one thing. Cut sidewalls that Stan's can't seal are a non-starter for me.

On the back, I have tried all kinds of tires other people have recommended. I could not tell much difference. I have even tried 'give away' tires. (Samples, raffles, and something somebody tried and didn't like). I have not found many rear tires I could not live with. Some I could tell small differences but nothing I could not live with. But coming from a motocross background might have something to do with my perception. When you are use to riding with the rear wheel spinning constantly and never really hooking up - a little slippage on the rear tire doesn't upset me much. And yes it has bit me when the rear tire let go on a slick cross slope and never caught traction again. Come to think of it, I think that tire is still on my rear wheel.

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My Ripmo came with Maxxis Assegai 2.5 WTs on it.   I know they're heavy as hell and slow rolling, and I keep meaning to swap them out, but the grip is absolutely amazing, so I keep putting it off.  At this point, I'll probably just wait until they wear out before I go back to something like a Minion F / Rekon R, though I may stick with an Assegai F.

Ardents are one tire I never liked.  Maybe they've improved it over the years (I think they've went to Ardent Race and trail, with the race being like the older tires) - they hooked up great on loose stuff until all of the sudden they didn't.  There was like no transition/recovery from being upright to being on the ground.

Edit: For XC, I usually go with Ikons.  May try a different front tire this year with a little more grip since I seem to be getting more cautious in my cornering on XC tires.

Edited by fontarin
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5 minutes ago, cxagent said:

...when the rear tire let go on a slick cross slope and never caught traction again. 

^^^

This and rolling resistance are the key performance characteristics on a rear tire for me.  The WTB Nano Raptor has very low rolling resistance, but once it slips on loose-over-hardpack it never catches again.  I found the Aspen, Ikons, and the Specialized GC can recover allowing you to keep climbing.  There are only a few trails and spots where this is key for me though.  Thumper will expose bad characteristics in a rear tire in no time with the narrow and off-camber sections then the steep switchbacks.

As far as front tire, I hadn't considered something like elephant butt which I avoid when it has dew on it, but for sure I've experimented with different front tires and I find they make a huge difference for me on flat and loose corners (corners are my weak point).

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I'm sticking with the Maxxis Minions (DD EXO) on the front for now, and was just as happy with them on the rear until I went to replace the rear and all the shop had at the time was the Aggressor. I honestly couldn't tell the difference, so I just ordered another set.

The only thing I'll note for the Minions, is that I've noticed that the side knobs started tearing off. Both front and back. With the my weak-ass riding style, I wouldn't ever expect that from a tire. It happened on the rear earlier this year after I returned from El Paso, and just blamed it on El Paso, but recently I've noticed the same happening on the front.

I'll be curious if it happens with the Aggressor too.

Never the less, I just order another set from the Jenson Black Friday sale.

Maybe I should go back to the Ardents 🙂

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My newest bike came with Assegais front and rear. I thought I would hate them for the rolling resistance and weight, but man I love this tire. I did not think I would find a tire I like more than a minion, but this is a solid competitor at this point. I certainly would not want it for anything remotely flat, but techy climbing and steep descents are amazing on it. 

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54 minutes ago, csmceuen said:

My newest bike came with Assegais front and rear. I thought I would hate them for the rolling resistance and weight, but man I love this tire. I did not think I would find a tire I like more than a minion, but this is a solid competitor at this point. I certainly would not want it for anything remotely flat, but techy climbing and steep descents are amazing on it. 

Yeah, riding to trails on those is definitely a drag (pun intended).  Anything technical or loose is awesome though.

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