New Season, New Tires, New Thread

Disagree, he's definitely gonna die.


Honestly though, Aggressor seems like a huge improvement over the Forekaster traction-wise. Forekaster looks like it does nothing well--knobs are too far apart to really roll fast, no proper cornering knobs, etc. It's like they combined the worst aspects of the Ardent, Ikon and Rekon into one tire. Also, being concerned about rolling resistance with regard to long, grinding Wasatch climbs seems misguided. I highly doubt an Ikon gets you up Puke Hill any faster than a DHR2, and I'm damn happy to have the DHR2 on any descent where the grade gets steeper than -10%. Flat fast terrain is where the fast-rolling tires shine, IMHO.

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

Disagree, he's definitely gonna die.

Honestly though, Aggressor seems like a huge improvement over the Forekaster traction-wise. Forekaster looks like it does nothing well--knobs are too far apart to really roll fast, no proper cornering knobs, etc. It's like they combined the worst aspects of the Ardent, Ikon and Rekon into one tire. Also, being concerned about rolling resistance with regard to long, grinding Wasatch climbs seems misguided. I highly doubt an Ikon gets you up Puke Hill any faster than a DHR2, I'm damn happy to have the DHR2 on any descent where the grade gets steeper than -10%. Flat fast terrain is where the fast-rolling tires shine, IMHO.

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Good to hear there will be death involved, wouldn't have it any other way!

Honestly, I tend to adapt fairly easily to whatever I'm riding, be it skis or bikes, as long as they're not ridiculously shitty. I know there's always room for improvement with gear but whenever I make a change I tend to notice the difference on day 1 then forget all about it until the next change. I'm sure the Aggressor will work well and when I get on a DHR2 it will work well also. I doubt I'd be able to elaborate on their differences though.
Point taken on the rolling resistance around here, it shouldn't be a factor when going 2.3 mph on hardpack and there isn't enough flatish flowy stuff to notice the difference. Unless Strava says it does and then I'm buying a fucking road tire for the back!

I've been pretty happy with the Aggressor other than durability. Similar to an Ardent in that regard (durability). Contributed to the first torn sidewall I've had in years, but the trail and the way I was riding (I was running really late) were pretty conducive to sidewall tears, so I'm kinda not faulting the tire for that particular failure. The casing was already well on its way to fucked, though.

Been running a tube in it for the past few weeks, which was a great reminder that as much as tubeless sucks, tubes suck way, way worse.

The aggressor isn’t actually terrible, it just doesn’t hook up as well as a dhr2...but it’s all a compromise. I’m going to run mine until it truly assplodes (fixed mine easily with a patch and gorilla tape).

I went from Forekaster to Aggressor as well and thought it was a huge improvement, especially on Tahoe moondust. Mine are holding up fine though I tend to not kill tires (my last sidewall tear was years ago on a non-EXO Crossmark).

Ordered a set of Michelin Enduros. Rear Gumi and front magic. Couldn't get myself to put a rocker2 on the front that was skinnier than the rear.

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Originally Posted by Whiteroom_Guardian

Ordered a set of Michelin Enduros. Rear Gumi and front magic. Couldn't get myself to put a rocker2 on the front that was skinnier than the rear.

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Well theyre still good rubber. The difference in width is indistinguishable though and youre missing the true gem.

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was nerding out on the Specialized site over the new Enduro and it looks like they have sorted out their Butcher tires. gone are the 'stair-stepped' cornering knobs and back are the original nobs. maybe even slightly larger than the previous version. spacing through the braking knobs also seems opened up a bit. also looks like a new casing in 'Grid Trail'. presumably to fill the gap between BLCK DMND and the new shitty/weepy Grid. excited.

I've been running EXO Assegai and DHR for 2 months in dusty blown out NorCal, and really liking this combo. The only thing I'd really fault them for is the Assegai is pretty heavy (1.15kg on my hanging scale). But it digs down through dust and grabs on hard pack below like crazy, and with the transition knobs, there's no vagueness, ever. That said, I like experimenting with new things, and wondering if there's another matched pair that people would recommend for these conditions.

I've looked at Michelins several times and have hesitated because they seem slightly off of what I want. I never, ever flat EXOs, so I don't need their sturdier casing. The Wild Enduro Rear looks like the center knobs are kind of short and might lose braking ability. Is this accurate? How would this tire work up front?
The Wild Enduro Front looks like a brawler of a tire, like the Assegai, but it's no lighter than my current Assegai so I'm not really gaining anything. The Wild Rock'r is again heavy (1.15kg 29) and appears to have a transition zone like the DHF. How does the Wild AM compare to the WER? To me, it looks like the knobs are even smaller/shorter.

I've got a pair of Magic Marys on my second bike that I really liked in the wet months, but I hear they're not as good for dry. I was planning on giving them a try for myself once I wear out my current DHR.

What tire for a front 35mm internal rim? My magic Mary is 2.35 and seems a little too skinny. I’m not really sure I needed the 35mm rim but the wheel is badass and I’m stuck with it. I’ve been loving HR2 and magic Mary as front tires.

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Originally Posted by Andeh

I've been running EXO Assegai and DHR for 2 months in dusty blown out NorCal, and really liking this combo. The only thing I'd really fault them for is the Assegai is pretty heavy (1.15kg on my hanging scale). But it digs down through dust and grabs on hard pack below like crazy, and with the transition knobs, there's no vagueness, ever. That said, I like experimenting with new things, and wondering if there's another matched pair that people would recommend for these conditions.

I've looked at Michelins several times and have hesitated because they seem slightly off of what I want. I never, ever flat EXOs, so I don't need their sturdier casing. The Wild Enduro Rear looks like the center knobs are kind of short and might lose braking ability. Is this accurate? How would this tire work up front?
The Wild Enduro Front looks like a brawler of a tire, like the Assegai, but it's no lighter than my current Assegai so I'm not really gaining anything. The Wild Rock'r is again heavy (1.15kg 29) and appears to have a transition zone like the DHF. How does the Wild AM compare to the WER? To me, it looks like the knobs are even smaller/shorter.

I've got a pair of Magic Marys on my second bike that I really liked in the wet months, but I hear they're not as good for dry. I was planning on giving them a try for myself once I wear out my current DHR.

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I just got a wild am. Knobs are close to wild enduro rear just the center knobs are more square , rectangle on the am as opposed to rounder on the wer. Theyre both taller knobs than a rock razor or speshs or e13's fast rolling rear. Definitwly more braking. Looks like tge rectangular center knobs on tge am will brake a bit better than the wer. Wild am is lighter than wer. I havent tried the am yet but was thinking wer wuth an am on the front. Sidewall feels more substantial than an exo to the touch and weight is similar. Wild am had a high rating on chain reaction. Thats all ive got. Should be similar width as your mm, guessing itll wear better and offer better puncture protection in similar weight tires. Yes wef stacks up in the similar category as an assguy

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Originally Posted by Chugachjed

What tire for a front 35mm internal rim? My magic Mary is 2.35 and seems a little too skinny. I’m not really sure I needed the 35mm rim but the wheel is badass and I’m stuck with it. I’ve been loving HR2 and magic Mary as front tires.

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Personal preference thing. Personally i preferred my 35mm inner with my 2.35 rockr2. Michelin widths measure similar to scwalbe. 35mm inner straightens the tire sidewall and makes it more edgy. I like the narrower inner on the rear to allow the sidewall to flex . You always have your body weight on tge rear so its harder to feather the rear end through rock gardens or ruts and staggered bumps. The flex in tge sidewall helps it not get deflected. On the front with a straighter sidewall you can pressure and feather the front end much easier because its not slways weighted. You can be unweighted and then in an instant push the edge knobs and sidewall into a corner/berm/dirt at will and decide how much weight. Harder to do that on the rear so sidewall compliance helps. They do something similar with edge knobs kind of. Rear edge knobs can be a touch softer because the rear wheel is going to drift more often than the front. Softer edge knob will keep it predictable. Front has a touch stiffer edge knob for ripping it in and you dont want it to drift or atleast far less

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Anyone using tubeless rim strips instead of tape? I tried clear Gorilla Tape on my current DT Swiss EX511/XM481 when I got them two years ago with good success, but didn't have enough left when I retaped the rear at the start of this summer so used regular 25mm Gorilla Tape (too narrow for my 30mm rims). The rear tape was leaking slowly for the past few weeks I think so I went to retape it last night - I'd forgotten how much of a pain in the ass cleaning regular Gorilla residue is and nothing would stick at all after cleaning, even with good scrubbing & cleaning with isopropyl. Ended up putting two layers of stretched electrical tape down then wall-to-wall regular Gorilla and a tube is currently in there to try to stick it well - worked on my previous Spank rims when nothing else would. I'll see how it seals up tomorrow.

Anyway... rim strips? Good/bad experiences? Specialized had some a while ago, seen some Caffelatex ones, anyone else? If they work they seem like a less-hassle approach and no more cutting/retaping when replacing nipples. And probably similar weight to regular Gorilla Tape. BMX presta tube cut to internal rim width worth a shot?

I stuck with the Wild Enduro Rear until now so that I could have fresh rubber for a trip this week - very drifty and terrible straightline braking past half life, side knobs all tearing off but it was predictable at least. Back to a Wild Rock'R2 rear and trying an Enduro Front for the first time instead of a Magic Mary.

^^^ I've used rim strips on some wheels that came with them. No complaints. I've heard generally positive reviews of the specialized ones. I imagine it'd depend somewhat on how perfectly they mesh with whatever rim you're putting them on.

Boring AF, but running DHF 2.5 exo up front and DHF 2.3 rear and liking it. Nice combo of grip n roll. If i rode more bike park or shuttles, I might want a DHRII rear for the braking. DHF 2.3 rear can get a little slidey

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Originally Posted by LC

Anyone using tubeless rim strips instead of tape? I tried clear Gorilla Tape on my current DT Swiss EX511/XM481 when I got them two years ago with good success, but didn't have enough left when I retaped the rear at the start of this summer so used regular 25mm Gorilla Tape (too narrow for my 30mm rims). The rear tape was leaking slowly for the past few weeks I think so I went to retape it last night - I'd forgotten how much of a pain in the ass cleaning regular Gorilla residue is and nothing would stick at all after cleaning, even with good scrubbing & cleaning with isopropyl. Ended up putting two layers of stretched electrical tape down then wall-to-wall regular Gorilla and a tube is currently in there to try to stick it well - worked on my previous Spank rims when nothing else would. I'll see how it seals up tomorrow.

Anyway... rim strips? Good/bad experiences? Specialized had some a while ago, seen some Caffelatex ones, anyone else? If they work they seem like a less-hassle approach and no more cutting/retaping when replacing nipples. And probably similar weight to regular Gorilla Tape. BMX presta tube cut to internal rim width worth a shot?

I stuck with the Wild Enduro Rear until now so that I could have fresh rubber for a trip this week - very drifty and terrible straightline braking past half life, side knobs all tearing off but it was predictable at least. Back to a Wild Rock'R2 rear and trying an Enduro Front for the first time instead of a Magic Mary.

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Tried my getto setup with some ewilds and dt swiss 35mm inner and a nukeproof liner. Holy fkn mother of heyzeus. Didnt go so well. Major struggle to get on. Split tube took up to much diameter above the rim. Bead was crazy tight to pop over the rim sidewall, compounded by the bulky relatively stiff np liner. Damaged the rim a bit with the moto lever and shredded the split tube. Sucks, getto seals the best for both spoke holes and burping at thd bead. Should have tried it first with the dt strip that was on there. Supplied/applied dt swiss tape is working on the front so now i have similar tape on the rear. Its e-13 stuff. Mechanics are digging it . Good stick and a bit more flex than the stans stuff helps it stay put when the glue sticks. Michelins seal well but major tight bead.
Be cool to hear your thoughts on the wef. I havent tried one yet. I agree on the wer. Its not the best for straightline braking. Sounds like my wer is in the same state as yours. Great tire for what its designed for.
You may even want to try your wef on the back and the rockr2 on the front for comparison. Similar tread to my ewild and the ewild looks like itll roll fairly fast with the ramped center knobs despite being fairly aggressive. Just a thought. Im curious how that combo works either way. Ewild looks sweet

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Any more recommendations for a relatively fast rolling, but grippy front tire for generally loose on hard CO conditions? Is the DHF really the best option?

I prefer the Hans Dampf. The newer one. Very predictable cornering and no harsh edge. Super gravity is a great feeling casing and it still rolls fast. It is availability that makes Maxxis the leader. Not all shops stock Schwalbe.

FWIW I abandoned Schwalbe not because of how they rode, but because I had to replace them every 400miles and they were really expensive. In the USA you could get them cheapER than anywhere at tiremaniacs.com but they are a lot less $ in Europe. Between the 400mi tire life and actual tire cost, Maxxis were 1/4-1/3 the cost.

Front tires will last more than rear. Rears are disposable no matter what the brand. I've got Schwalbe front tires that are going even after 6 or 7 years of occasional riding.

I trade off between Dampf and Mary tires but Mary is for race only. Too gnarly for regular riding.

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Originally Posted by funkendrenchman

Any more recommendations for a relatively fast rolling, but grippy front tire for generally loose on hard CO conditions? Is the DHF really the best option?

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If you like how a DHF rides, then yeah, pretty much. There are tires with similar tread designs that grip better (but roll slower). There are tires with different tread designs that roll faster (but don't grip as well, or at least grip differently). But if you like the feel of a tire without transitional knobs (i.e. drifty at partial lean, but great grip when you commit to the lean), the DHF is a solid bet.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

If you like how a DHF rides, then yeah, pretty much. There are tires with similar tread designs that grip better (but roll slower). There are tires with different tread designs that roll faster (but don't grip as well, or at least grip differently). But if you like the feel of a tire without transitional knobs (i.e. drifty at partial lean, but great grip when you commit to the lean), the DHF is a solid bet.

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I'm gonna try a Dissector F and R.

Anyone have any exp with a Maxxis WT on a thinner rim (like low 20’s mm internal)? Not anything huge, just a 2.4 or maybe 2.5 tops

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Originally Posted by eskido

Anyone have any exp with a Maxxis WT on a thinner rim (like low 20’s mm internal)? Not anything huge, just a 2.4 or maybe 2.5 tops

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Yes. I run them on original Light Bicycle rims, not sure exactly how wide they are but definitely mid to low 20s. Tread comes out slightly more rounded. That is negated when you sit on the bike.


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Originally Posted by nickwm21

Yes. I run them on original Light Bicycle rims, not sure exactly how wide they are but definitely mid to low 20s. Tread comes out slightly more rounded. That is negated when you sit on the bike.


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That is great to hear, thanks! I had kinda heard that but was a little worried it might not be the best idea, feel much better about my options now.