New Season, New Tires, New Thread

[Roxtar]

Haven't considered a Tioga tire in, well, ever.
Very impressed with the Edge22 up front.

[grskier]

Mentioned it over on the MTBR Conti thread a bit ago: per the (WWC) MTB Podcast, Conti is coming out with Trail casing Super Soft (at least) Kryptotal tires. Current breakdown is SuperSoft/Soft in DH, Soft in Enduro, Endurance in Trail. They were talking about Jeff's new bike (don't remember/care) and how they put some hush-hush unreleased tires on it. Real brief, few details, but the tires exist (allegedly).

I have been looking for a competitor to the EXO+ MaxxGrip Assegai and it doesn't sound like I'll have to wait much longer. Assegai is good, but doesn't last long on rocks. Conti also cheaper (when ordered from Germany).

Availability will be an issue again probably, but hopefully not. Last year I waited as long as I could for Conti to be back in stock anywhere in the us... I really wanted to try the fourth moon of tattooine, aka the kryptotal. Checked a lot of boxes... they weren't available forever in a casing/compound I'd use. Then I ordered the maxxis setup again. of course murphy's law applies and they were available about 2 weeks later.

[skaredshtles]

Haven't considered a Tioga tire in, well, ever.
Very impressed with the Edge22 up front.

That would be hilarious if Tioga became relevant again.

[Roxtar]

That would be hilarious if Tioga became relevant again.

Got Onza?

[smmokan]

Specialized tire guys... I'm looking for a little advice for a grippy setup: it'll be mostly for my BC trips (Whistler/Squamish and Rossland/Nelson) and the occasional wet CO high country day. I usually run Magic Mary / Big Betty in the Super Trail "soft" compound from Schwalbe, but now that I've swapped over to Specialized for our demo fleet, I'm going to switch tires as well. What's the closest S equivalent to that setup?

In looking at options, I'm thinking to just go Butcher / Eliminator in the T9 Grid Trail compound... but should I look at something like the Hillbilly? The tread pattern looks a little like the MM to me, but I'm not sure if it would be overkill since I'm not racing.

[zlatham]

Butcher T9 grid trail front / Butcher T7 grid trail rear worked well for me this past fall In Rossland. I’m Hillbilly curious for wet and or blown out dust. Love that butcher combo here in ID as well. Im about 150lbs, so pretty light fwiw.


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[Eluder]

Check out the Cannibal for the front. Gravity Grid only so may be too heavy for some, but those seem close to Schwalbe real world weights.

[SchralphMacchio]

I’ve been out of the loop for a minute - the new Cannibal looks awesome! Basically looks like Butcher and Assegai had a baby. I need to get some time on that. If you look at it, it looks like the shoulder L blocks and diagonal blocks are now spaced more adjacent to the clearings between the center knobs and more effectively block them off - while the Butcher has a little more of a continuous diagonal open space between the center blocks and off to the side. Years ago some mag here in this thread complained that they felt the Butcher gave up some transitional cornering grip and they suspected that the continuous clearing was the culprit; but I also suspect this clearing is one of the reasons that the Butcher sheds wet clay better than the DHF, which is why I’ve adopted the Butcher for shoulder season use here in the Willamette Valley.

Smmokan, I love that Hillbilly but it is much more open than the MM, and as a half spike it is noticeably slower on dry packed soil, but hot damn it bites into the wet stuff so well, even wet roots. I ran Hillbilly front Butcher rear on my hardtail as my winter setup for a couple of seasons (this predates T9) and the T7 Butcher rear couldn’t hang on when there were a lot of roots or I was opening the throttle in the grease, so I got another Hillbilly to run them front and back. I feel like the weak point of the Butcher really is wet roots. Anyways with taking care of my little kids and skiing on the weekends I never even mounted my Hillbillies and haven’t gotten on my bike since October, sigh. Since I’ve never run the HB on the rear, it’s hard for me to say if that would give up braking grip in faster conditions, I’m just assuming it would based on how the blocks look.

Anyways it sounds like you can pick where you want to be, on the spectrum of most grip and slowest to least grip and fastest - these seem like the most reasonable f/r combos in the rubber of your choice:
-Hillbilly / Butcher
-Cannibal / Butcher
-Butcher / Butcher
-Butcher / Eliminator

[XtrPickels]

I never got along with the Butcher because the side knobs are not offset from the center knobs. This creates a clear horizontal channel and I found they unpredictably lost traction.

The Cannibal looks to have fixed this.

[SchralphMacchio]

I never got along with the Butcher because the side knobs are not offset from the center knobs. This creates a clear horizontal channel and I found they unpredictably lost traction.

The Cannibal looks to have fixed this.

Heh, I referenced that above, I just couldn’t remember whose complaint it was!

[XtrPickels]

Heh, I referenced that above, I just couldn’t remember whose complaint it was!

It's a soap box I'm going to die on.
But, I'll concede that in different soil conditions it may be helpful

[toast2266]

I never got along with the Butcher because the side knobs are not offset from the center knobs. This creates a clear horizontal channel and I found they unpredictably lost traction.

The Cannibal looks to have fixed this.

Agreed.

I don't hate the Butcher, but it's worse than a DHF. And if I'm riding in mud that's bad enough that a DHF won't clear, then I want a proper mud spike.

[D(C)]

How’s the size of a 2.6 Butcher compared to a 2.5 DHF? Is it comparable, or does the 2.6 Specialized end up more like a small plus tire?

I went with a 2.3 Butcher T9 for the front on my Chromag hardtail. While the Specialized 2.3 tire has been described as a big 2.3, and some reviews I’ve seen suggest it’s not much narrower than the 2.6, it ends up quite square in profile on a 30 mm rim. I find this makes them roll over into corners not quite as nicely as a 2.5 Minion, and they feel more vague on edge.

[Andeh]

How’s the size of a 2.6 Butcher compared to a 2.5 DHF? Is it comparable, or does the 2.6 Specialized end up more like a small plus tire?

I went with a 2.3 Butcher T9 for the front on my Chromag hardtail. While the Specialized 2.3 tire has been described as a big 2.3, and some reviews I’ve seen suggest it’s not much narrower than the 2.6, it ends up quite square in profile on a 30 mm rim. I find this makes them roll over into corners not quite as nicely as a 2.5 Minion, and they feel more vague on edge.

The Spec 2.6s are definitely close to a true 2.6, a small plus tire. The 2.3s are close to a 2.4.

I personally hate the Butcher. It's like a vague-er version of the DHF, and is super easy to wash out if you lean it over on loose over hard. 2.6 version only makes this worse.

The Eliminator is a pretty decent rear trail tire, kind of somewhere in between DHR and Dissector.

[Eluder]

I agree with all the talk on the Butcher. As I alluded to I have a cannibal on one bike and have been very happy with Eliminators front and rear in mid season conditions on the trail bike.

[SchralphMacchio]

I’ve found the Spec 2.6s work nicely on 35mm and I tried them on 29mm for shits and giggles and it’s too balloon like with 29mm.

Shoulder season here (usually end of April to Father’s Day or maybe 4th or July, then between mid September and early Nov) is more like you just don’t know on any given day on any given trail if you will find saturated areas or if the 3 days without rain have set up hero conditions. Outside of that is basically guaranteed grease (Hillbilly front/rear) or mostly velcro loam-fir needles / clay-loam (anything of your choice).

[sf]

Mentioned it over on the MTBR Conti thread a bit ago: per the (WWC) MTB Podcast, Conti is coming out with Trail casing Super Soft (at least) Kryptotal tires. Current breakdown is SuperSoft/Soft in DH, Soft in Enduro, Endurance in Trail. They were talking about Jeff's new bike (don't remember/care) and how they put some hush-hush unreleased tires on it. Real brief, few details, but the tires exist (allegedly).

I have been looking for a competitor to the EXO+ MaxxGrip Assegai and it doesn't sound like I'll have to wait much longer. Assegai is good, but doesn't last long on rocks. Conti also cheaper (when ordered from Germany).

Excellent info!

Haven’t touched the bike forums all winter, and thought I’d dip my toe to see if anybody knew something about supersoft-versions of the E/T casings

[D(C)]

I’ve been trying faster rear tires on my Chromag Primer and have found that the 2.4 Rekon hits the sweet spot for rolling fast while not noticeably holding the bike back. In front, I’ve been running various EXO Minions (DHF Maxx Grip last year, DHR II Maxx Grip currently). I want the bike to be efficient but, living in North Vancouver, it inevitably sees some proper descents.

If I wanted to find something faster rolling up front that can still be pushed reasonably hard in corners, what should I consider? A Maxx Terra Minion would roll faster for sure, but is it worth considering something like a Dissector or new Forekaster? Or would those neuter the bike?

[SchralphMacchio]

I like the Dissector in dry midseason conditions but I really don’t like it in wet conditions. It’s pretty dang fast though. I have a buddy who runs Dissector front Rekon rear and loves it.

[Roxtar]

I’ve been trying faster rear tires on my Chromag Primer and have found that the 2.4 Rekon hits the sweet spot for rolling fast while not noticeably holding the bike back. In front, I’ve been running various EXO Minions (DHF Maxx Grip last year, DHR II Maxx Grip currently). I want the bike to be efficient but, living in North Vancouver, it inevitably sees some proper descents.

If I wanted to find something faster rolling up front that can still be pushed reasonably hard in corners, what should I consider? A Maxx Terra Minion would roll faster for sure, but is it worth considering something like a Dissector or new Forekaster? Or would those neuter the bike?

On a strong recommendation from a friend I trust, I tried the new Tioga (yes, Tioga) Edge 22.
It was a revelation.
Weird looking with the missing center tread but fast rolling and great traction. The second you lean into it it just grabs on hardpack. Took it to Sedona and Salida and it's even better in actual dirt.
Nice low weight yet holding up well in NM rocks.

[rpearce1475]

I've frequently used and enjoyed the Bontrager version of the Dissector, the XR4/SE4, for the front of my hardtail for a while now. 2.6 is pretty large volume, 2.4 similar in size to the 2.4 Maxxis DHR2. XR4 for a little less grip/support and SE4 for more supportive/durable casing and grippier tread. Pretty good wear life. I've had SE4 front/SE2 rear, both 2.6, on my hardtail all winter (I'm in the desert, mostly rocks and sand) riding one-two times a week since I put them on in November and they're about 2/3 worn. No flats/tears.

[summit]

I like the Dissector in dry midseason conditions but I really don’t like it in wet conditions. It’s pretty dang fast though. I have a buddy who runs Dissector front Rekon rear and loves it.

Yea I agree with this, although I use Dissector as a rear

Real trick is making it last vs a longer lived DHR2. But it is quite a bit faster than the DHR2 (which I like as a front)

[Canada1]

I need some lighter low resistance tires to swap out with my Enduro’s. My best options are Ikon, Recon, or any of the specialized tires. Any of you go down this cross country hole and have any thoughts on durability and rolling resistance?

[jamal]

Vittoria Mezcal has been my go to xc tire the last few years. Like it more than ikon, rekon, ardent race, racing ralph, and it's cheaper. Also tried the vittoria syerra last fall and liked it- pretty fast still but a little better grip and durability.


I'm trying pirelli XCRCs on my hardtail, seems ok so far. Very light and low profile, kind of similar design to an aspen. 700g for a 2.4.

[XtrPickels]

I need some lighter low resistance tires to swap out with my Enduro’s. My best options are Ikon, Recon, or any of the specialized tires. Any of you go down this cross country hole and have any thoughts on durability and rolling resistance?

Do you have a Durability vs. Rolling vs. Grip preference?

I have 3 sets based on what I'm trying to achieve

1. All-out Speed on non-technical trail // High Speed, Low Grip and Durability // Continental Race King OR Schwalbe Racing Raph + Thunder Burt
2. Fast on technical trail // Mix of Speed, Grip, Durability // Maxxis Rekon + Rekon Race
3. "Downcountry" // Fun, grippy, and Durable, but not necessarily xc fast // : Specialized Eliminator + Purgatory