New Season, New Tires, New Thread

Gotta do some figuring on the tire setup heading into this season for myself. Have been running cushcore front/rear with a butcher trail in front and gravity rear. It’s a pig of a setup for big trail riding days but been riding so much park with no issues I’m hesitant to change things up.

Specialized doesn’t make a true DH casing correct? The gravity casing is kind of like a Maxxis DD equivalent?

Only way I’d ditch cushcore in the rear is if I put a try DH tire on, and at that point there probably wouldn’t be too much weight savings. Same deal in the front. If I ditch CC and move to a gravity/DD casing I’m not really gaining anything. Fack I’m stuck.

Thanks SJG and toast. I think I'll try to make my current setup last until Enduro Soft Kryptotals are back in stock, then try them without inserts. If I find I'm dinging my rear I'll throw an insert back in.

I'm 135lbs running 21-23 psi rear with EXO+.

Looking for some lighter, better rolling tires for my 2022 Tallboy. Currently running Assegai 2.5 WT Exo TR front and Dissector 2.4 WT 3C Max Terra Exo TR rear. I'm after the best rolling, lightest option without giving up too much downhill and cornering. On the short list are:

-ethirteen Optimus Trail front and rear
-Vittoria Barzo XC Trail front, maybe rear
-Vittoria Mezcal XC Trail rear
-Vittoria Syerra front and rear
-Maxxis Forecaster Dual Exo TR

I've had Bonty XR4's and liked them but want to try something different. Not interested in Specialized. Schwalbe Wicked Will maybe? Mostly ride around Chaffee County.

I have a good amount of time on all those vittorias, would probably lean toward the syerras or that new forekaster if you're not like, actually trying to race XC.

Mezcals are the fastest rolling out of all those, and have pretty good all around grip for an xc tire. The barzos with the even knob spacing are a little better in the looser and softer stuff but seem like maybe not as grabby all the way leaned over so i stopped doing the mezcal rear, barzo front combo and just run mezcals front and rear.

Syerras still roll pretty well, but are a little heavier and a little bigger and have slightly bigger side knobs. The little center knobs do wear down pretty quick if you're doing a lot of riding on roads to/from trailheads and such like I do. I have those on my hei hei right now but will swap to something a little lighter and faster pretty soon. Probably either mezcals or racing ray/ralphs.

Dual compound forekaster might last a little longer, and does have a little bigger knobs through the center. Wicked will looks pretty similar. Haven't tried either though.

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Originally Posted by natebob

Looking for some lighter, better rolling tires for my 2022 Tallboy. Currently running Assegai 2.5 WT Exo TR front and Dissector 2.4 WT 3C Max Terra Exo TR rear. I'm after the best rolling, lightest option without giving up too much downhill and cornering. On the short list are:

-ethirteen Optimus Trail front and rear
-Vittoria Barzo XC Trail front, maybe rear
-Vittoria Mezcal XC Trail rear
-Vittoria Syerra front and rear
-Maxxis Forecaster Dual Exo TR

I've had Bonty XR4's and liked them but want to try something different. Not interested in Specialized. Schwalbe Wicked Will maybe? Mostly ride around Chaffee County.

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The assegai is the anchor. Keep the dissector and put something faster on the front. Maybe another dissector?

I've been running the Barzo/Mezcal on my XC bikes, but your trading fast for downhill performance for sure.
In the Maxi line you could look at the Rekon.
My son is running a Minnion SS on the rear of his bike and is pretty happy with it. It's a shaved down DHF that rolls pretty well.

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Originally Posted by natebob

Looking for some lighter, better rolling tires for my 2022 Tallboy. Currently running Assegai 2.5 WT Exo TR front and Dissector 2.4 WT 3C Max Terra Exo TR rear.

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How big of boy are you?

Honestly coming from Assguy/Dissector, most combos will be much faster.

For a more trail character I’d rec Continental Xynotal rear with Kryptotal front. This will roll much better than your current combo but have toughly the same traction. When Conti comes out with Trail casing Soft rubber I’d run dual Xynotals in Trail Soft front and Enduro Soft rear honestly. It’s a great tire and perfect for “downcountry” duty. I’ve got 300 miles on an enduro soft Xynotal rear tire and it looks brand new.

Who’s running an eliminator or xynotal rear on a big bike in steeps? I have a Mary front butcher rear on now and it’s slow so thinking of a faster rear. Will I regret this when I drop into a steep loamy chute or be happy from all the drag I save on the slog up?
Bike is a gnarvana and Seattle area i90 terrain that is steep and often loose.

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Originally Posted by carlh

Who’s running an eliminator or xynotal rear on a big bike in steeps? I have a Mary front butcher rear on now and it’s slow so thinking of a faster rear. Will I regret this when I drop into a steep loamy chute or be happy from all the drag I save on the slog up?
Bike is a gnarvana and Seattle area i90 terrain that is steep and often loose.

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I ran a T7 Eliminator on the rear early last summer. After that was done, I put the T9 Butcher on the back that I was running up front. As expected, the Butcher brakes much better but feels slow. A fresh Eliminator should perform pretty well for you in the loam before the knobs start to round off. They’re cheap enough that I say give it a try. That said, there’s no free lunch, so keep expectations in check. There’s a reason I didn’t immediately replace it with the same thing. We were riding steeper stuff late summer and I was happy to have a little extra assurance.

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Originally Posted by jamal

I have a good amount of time on all those vittorias, would probably lean toward the syerras or that new forekaster if you're not like, actually trying to race XC.

Mezcals are the fastest rolling out of all those, and have pretty good all around grip for an xc tire. The barzos with the even knob spacing are a little better in the looser and softer stuff but seem like maybe not as grabby all the way leaned over so i stopped doing the mezcal rear, barzo front combo and just run mezcals front and rear.

Syerras still roll pretty well, but are a little heavier and a little bigger and have slightly bigger side knobs. The little center knobs do wear down pretty quick if you're doing a lot of riding on roads to/from trailheads and such like I do. I have those on my hei hei right now but will swap to something a little lighter and faster pretty soon. Probably either mezcals or racing ray/ralphs.

Dual compound forekaster might last a little longer, and does have a little bigger knobs through the center. Wicked will looks pretty similar. Haven't tried either though.

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Good info. on the Vittorias, thanks. Part of the motivation to get faster tires is a race coming up, buy I'm definitely not wanting anything too racy. Something faster for the race, but something I'll want to ride in general. Sounds like Syerra or Forekaster might be good.

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Originally Posted by Falcon3

How big of boy are you?

Honestly coming from Assguy/Dissector, most combos will be much faster.

For a more trail character I’d rec Continental Xynotal rear with Kryptotal front. This will roll much better than your current combo but have toughly the same traction. When Conti comes out with Trail casing Soft rubber I’d run dual Xynotals in Trail Soft front and Enduro Soft rear honestly. It’s a great tire and perfect for “downcountry” duty. I’ve got 300 miles on an enduro soft Xynotal rear tire and it looks brand new.

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175 ish with kitted up. The Conti's are getting a lot of love around here, which is a good sign. Might go that way if I decide to go for something more on the grippy side.

Toast, that does make sense. I've liked the Dissector fine on the rear, usually like a more filled in shoulder for the front.

Sfotex, thanks for the suggestion on the Minion SS, hadn't considered that one.

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Originally Posted by carlh

Who’s running an eliminator or xynotal rear on a big bike in steeps? I have a Mary front butcher rear on now and it’s slow so thinking of a faster rear. Will I regret this when I drop into a steep loamy chute or be happy from all the drag I save on the slog up?
Bike is a gnarvana and Seattle area i90 terrain that is steep and often loose.

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I've run the eliminator in the rear on the big bike a bit. It's fine for fast stuff, but in legit steeps, I found it lacking. And by lacking, I mean I wanted to slow down more than the eliminator would allow me to. Noticeably worse at braking than a dhr2.

That’s what I’m worried about. I had a solid crash trying to run a rock razor rear and not having any braking traction that has scared me into running knobby rear tires. The butcher t9 is slow but I still coast faster than my friends who are mostly on some combo of conti or maxxis. I should probably just focus on getting in shape, there is one really big climb we do a few times a summer that would kick my ass right now even on the hardtail and the descent calls for a big boy bike.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

I've run the eliminator in the rear on the big bike a bit. It's fine for fast stuff, but in legit steeps, I found it lacking. And by lacking, I mean I wanted to slow down more than the eliminator would allow me to. Noticeably worse at braking than a dhr2.

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Originally Posted by carlh

That’s what I’m worried about. I had a solid crash trying to run a rock razor rear and not having any braking traction that has scared me into running knobby rear tires. The butcher t9 is slow but I still coast faster than my friends who are mostly on some combo of conti or maxxis. I should probably just focus on getting in shape, there is one really big climb we do a few times a summer that would kick my ass right now even on the hardtail and the descent calls for a big boy bike.

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In fairness to the eliminator, it brakes much better than something like a rock razor. I'm mostly OK with the eliminator - it rolls pretty well, it lasts a pretty long time, and (considering the first two traits) it grips decently. And it's relatively cheap.

But when you really need to grab the brakes and throw an anchor off the back of the bike on a fall line skidder, the eliminator doesn't have the straight line deceleration on tap like a proper dh rear tire.

Anyone measured the depth of Xynotal tread blocks yet? They look taller than the Eliminator in pictures. Carl I suspect that might be a sweet spot rear tire for you.

The Dissector can brake pretty well in my experience, though the 3CMT version crumbles apart if you are regularly shutting things down from high speeds (and it gets Maxxis wobble if you case a huck to flat, something I have yet to do to a Spesh tire). I haven’t tried a DC Dissector yet … was going to get a Xynotal Enduro Soft over the winter but those $30 OE 3CMT Dissectors that Planet Cyclery and Jenson were blowing out delayed my plan by a year or two!

I've been running Maxxis DHF/Aggressor in CO Front range for years, but feel like the DHF has been washing out. Thinking about switching to an assegai or dissector in the front. Sounds like the assegai is the way to go, but curious if any front rangers running dissector 2.60 in front and how it behaves? Reviews are pretty mixed. This is for my enduro bike. Lots of longhorn and chimpex days.

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Originally Posted by slcdawg

I've been running Maxxis DHF/Aggressor in CO Front range for years, but feel like the DHF has been washing out. Thinking about switching to an assegai or dissector in the front. Sounds like the assegai is the way to go, but curious if any front rangers running dissector 2.60 in front and how it behaves? Reviews are pretty mixed. This is for my enduro bike. Lots of longhorn and chimpex days.

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Personally, Im a fan of a Butcher, Conti Kryptotal Rear, or a Conti Xynotal for the rear. Xynotal is a Dissector clone but actually holds up unlike the Dissector. Also riding the same rides as you.

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Originally Posted by Jtlange

Personally, Im a fan of a Butcher, Conti Kryptotal Rear, or a Conti Xynotal for the rear. Xynotal is a Dissector clone but actually holds up unlike the Dissector. Also riding the same rides as you.

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Looks like Butchers are on sale at Peak Cycles in Golden. I don't know Spec that well - go for the GRID TRAIL 2BLISS READY T7?

EDIT - Looks like the T9 is the grippier version

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Originally Posted by slcdawg

Looks like Butchers are on sale at Peak Cycles in Golden. I don't know Spec that well - go for the GRID TRAIL 2BLISS READY T7?

EDIT - Looks like the T9 is the grippier version

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T9 is grippier. It lands somewhere between maxxis maxxterra and maxxgrip.

Butcher is a fine tire, but it's basically a dhf clone that's slightly worse (it's cheaper though, so the marginal trade off in grip is worth it if you're trying to save some bucks).

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Originally Posted by toast2266

T9 is grippier. It lands somewhere between maxxis maxxterra and maxxgrip.

Butcher is a fine tire, but it's basically a dhf clone that's slightly worse (it's cheaper though, so the marginal trade off in grip is worth it if you're trying to save some bucks).

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I want grippier - any thoughts on assegai or Dissector up front? Or DHRII?

Attachment 492187

Are you talking grippier tread patterns, or rubber compounds?
I run a Dissector 2.6 up front. All else being equal, it is less grippy than a DHF, which is less grippy than Assegai. Haven't ridden the DHRII, but it is marketed as being more fast rolling than the DHF, and less grippy.

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Originally Posted by slcdawg

I want grippier - any thoughts on assegai or Dissector up front? Or DHRII?

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Assegai is definitely grippiest all around. Dhf has more cornering grip at its limits in good dirt than the assegai, but assegai has more easily accessible grip in most situations. Dhr2 is better at braking, worse at cornering than a dhf. Between the assegai, dhf, and dhr2, dissector is the fastest rolling and least grippy. Assegai is slowest rolling.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

Assegai is definitely grippiest all around. Dhf has more cornering grip at its limits in good dirt than the assegai, but assegai has more easily accessible grip in most situations. Dhr2 is better at braking, worse at cornering than a dhf. Between the assegai, dhf, and dhr2, dissector is the fastest rolling and least grippy. Assegai is slowest rolling.

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I spend a disordinate amount of time agreeing with toast but I agree.

Fwiw I really like the Butcher as a good all around tire with decent rolling ability + good grip, cornering etc

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Originally Posted by toast2266

Assegai is definitely grippiest all around. Dhf has more cornering grip at its limits in good dirt than the assegai, but assegai has more easily accessible grip in most situations. Dhr2 is better at braking, worse at cornering than a dhf. Between the assegai, dhf, and dhr2, dissector is the fastest rolling and least grippy. Assegai is slowest rolling.

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Good info, thanks. I haven't had an issue with the DHF until recently. Not sure I got a bad tire or what but its been sliding out a lot, even at lower pressure (~22lbs).