New Season, New Tires, New Thread

[SchralphMacchio]

You are asking for an all season tire setup? Still for Seattle or another region now?

[SkiLyft]

Why not assguy in MT? Little less grippy compound but find the traction pattern makes up for it.


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[BigHerm]

Conti Kryptotal Front or Rear in DH SuperSoft. Got that Black Chili sticky-icky that rolls decently. Conti DH casing has comparable weight to an EXO+ MG Assegai, don't know about DHF. Front looks like an Assegai, rear like a DHR2.

[volklpowdermaniac]

You are asking for an all season tire setup? Still for Seattle or another region now?

Seattle/PNW. (Tho will be moving to SLC in a year but for now yea) Correct. Yeah ideally all season. I guess like yeah wish I could get something that’s essentially between a maxi terra and a max grip while having decent sidewalls

[Andeh]

Conti Kryptotal Front or Rear in DH SuperSoft. Got that Black Chili sticky-icky that rolls decently. Conti DH casing has comparable weight to an EXO+ MG Assegai, don't know about DHF. Front looks like an Assegai, rear like a DHR2.

I was going to recommend the Contis also. By my measurements, a set of the Conti DHs weighs just under a DD Assegai / DH DHR.

The Conti Super Soft rubber lasts WAY longer than MG. I've got a set of them on my ebike and have probably put a good 300-400 miles on them and they barely look worn at all. None of the chunking of the brake edge that Maxxis gets. The whole top of the knob just gradually rounds out.

[toast2266]

At height of spring wet season I switched to a DD MG DHF on the status. I’m pretty addicted to the grip, it’s kind been relevatory. But now that things have dried up, it’s piggy. I’m just wondering of the tire players - who’s soft / grippiest compound has a bit less resistance? Any thing out there that gives up maybe 15% of the grip for 15% better roll, would just losing thr DD casing (although EXo+\MG leaves only the assegai) make a big difference in the draggy feel? I realize some of this is just par for the course when you get to these soft compounds so yeah….Ideally looking to not have to change tires because I’m lazy

You running MG's front and rear?

I can't really deal with a MG on the rear for any bike that I'm pedaling - they're too slow on climbs. But I don't find that a MG on the front is *that* bad. So I'll do MG front, MT rear a lot of the time.

[mildbill.]

Well, this thread inspired another tire purchase (LBS had a hillbilly gravity t9 for $35) so I think i'm gonna go:
EC: MG DH DHF / Roasted rekon (throw in trash when I am done with it)
EU: HB T9 Gravity / MG DH DHF

Limit the number of new tires I buy, and limit the number of tires I carry around with me...

Found an Eliminator BLK DMND for cheap that could sub in for the MG DH DHF....

Ended up going with:
EC: 2.6 T9 Butcher GT / roasted rekon exo (throw in trash when done)
EU: Leave the 2.6 T9 Butcher GT on the front / put the 2.3 HB T9 Gravity on the rear / Keep the MG DH DHF in reserve in case I cut a tire.

Update: on the east coast now - riding wet /sandy / always turning / always climbing / no vert stuff - loving the grippy butcher front / fast rekon rear. So far so good.

Will be a little wonky having the spike on the rear / butcher front in EU but it's only for a few weeks. Definitely gonna stick with the butcher front / throw an eliminator on the rear when I get back to norcal.

[volklpowdermaniac]

You running MG's front and rear?

I can't really deal with a MG on the rear for any bike that I'm pedaling - they're too slow on climbs. But I don't find that a MG on the front is *that* bad. So I'll do MG front, MT rear a lot of the time.

DHR2 DD MT rear
DHF DD MG front

[toast2266]

DHR2 DD MT rear
DHF DD MG front

You could just do more wheelies.

[XtrPickels]

Is cushcore worth the premium over tannus? I’ve been rolling a tannus in the rear of my big bike for a while and contemplating adding something to the back of my hardtail too. Big bike is a gnarvana and it’s not too rocky here so medium tire plus insert works better than a heavy tire. I like to keep the hardtail more xc trail not enduro but want some more damping in the back tire.
Debating another tannus vs cushcore at all the levels and which to put on which bike.

It.... depends.

I think Tannus is better on a trail bike because of the weight and that it offers good protection. It adds sidewall support and a linear impact damping. This is because the Tannus insert is much taller and always engaged with the tire tread and sidewall, so it's always affecting the tire. If I was looking to take the edge off rocks and roots while retaining a more lively ride, I'd go Tannus Tubeless.

I think Cushcore has more bottom-out protection and sidewall / bead support - you can run lower pressures and feels more muted on the trail. Because Cushcore is lower profile and only really interacts with the sidewall aside from bottom-out hits, I don't notice the impact protection most of the time - it feels like a normal tire on non-bottom out impacts, when you do bottom out it has the edge taken off it. If I was bashing through rock gardens and looking to protect my rim and mute feedback, I'd go with Cushcore

I've gotten 1 ride in on Rimpact Pro and I think I like them. They have a similar feel to Cushcore in most instances because the insert is not in contact with the tread, however, because they're taller and softer than Cushcore they do engage the tread sooner and so they have a softer and more linear feel, rather than a harder stop. They do not, however, have the same sidewall support and I found that I was squirming at pressures that I could run in the Cushcore. Because Rimpact is light, the bike still had a lively ride, but had good muting due to the sheer amount of foam.

[volklpowdermaniac]

You could just do more wheelies.

Respect

[SchralphMacchio]

EU: Leave the 2.6 T9 Butcher GT on the front / put the 2.3 HB T9 Gravity on the rear / Keep the MG DH DHF in reserve in case I cut a tire.

…

Will be a little wonky having the spike on the rear / butcher front in EU but it's only for a few weeks.

That will be interesting! The rear probably won’t want to slide from corner to corner on shaped S turns! And the width mismatch might also add to those dynamics. I liked your original plan of pairing the HB front with DH DHF rear better, but hey the new plan is also one less tire swap to worry about which is one less chance to have to fuck with rim tape on the road. Report back from the Eurozone please!

I tried pairing a 2.6 Butcher front with a 2.3 Butcher rear for shoulder season riding here, and for the most part it works pretty well but I realized I like the front and rear to be close to the same width for hard cornering. I also just found I like the sidewall feel of the 2.3 better on a 28-30mm rim and the feel of a 2.6 better on a 35mm rim.

[toast2266]

I tried pairing a 2.6 Butcher front with a 2.3 Butcher rear for shoulder season riding here, and for the most part it works pretty well but I realized I like the front and rear to be close to the same width for hard cornering. I also just found I like the sidewall feel of the 2.3 better on a 28-30mm rim and the feel of a 2.6 better on a 35mm rim.

I think a big width disparity worked better on older bikes where you had to make a much more conscious effort to stay over the front to make the bike turn correctly. Modern geometry lets you ride much more centered, so the benefits of having a rear tire that wants to break loose way sooner than the front are kind of lost.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Other factors being equal-ish, isn't the skinnier tire faster?

[simple]

Other factors being equal-ish, isn't the skinnier tire faster?

Faster at what?

[XtrPickels]

Flatting

[volklpowdermaniac]

How much does tire pressure play in drag? Why I ask - I’ve always run around 18-22 front, 22-24 back, never inserts, and only til last year have I gone from EXO+ to DD. Even 30 lbs heavier at 205 riding weight Ive never had much issue with flats, maybe 3 in 10 years of riding more aggressively. I really only went to DD for a little more sidewall support. With all that said most people I see are more like 24-28-30 psi…maybe I should be running higher pressure just for better rolling characteristics? Is there any other reason for me to run higher pressures if I’m happy with my flat/rim protection at these PSI?

[simple]

Are you looking to race or improve your Strava times? If not, then why bother? Try 1 or 2 psi and see if the clock or your feeling changes

[climberevan]

Higher pressures will usually cause higher rolling resitance, assuming you're not starting at some absurdly low pressure.

It's really dependent on your weight, riding style, and terrain. I (145#, smooth) can get away with 18 psi in 2.4" tires on pretty much anything short of just absolutely blasting through rock gardens. Heavier people will definitely bottom their rims at that pressure.

Sidewalls folding is a different issue that you've probably eliminated by going to the thicker tires. I can actually use 15 psi on a smooth trail, but the sidewalls fold on corners, so I put a few more psi in. My GF, who weighs the same but doesn't go as fast, can use 16-17 psi without any problems. Others use inserts to get that sidewall support and rim protection, but I think that's more relevant for heavy people who are pretty smashy (or who ride in areas where traction is not a total myth and where the tire will fold rather than sliding). Here around Tahoe tires lose grip before they fold most of the time.

[El Chupacabra]

Tire width and rim width makes a big difference in what pressure works for me. Also on whether it's a hardtail or full suspension bike.

On a FS with i30 rims and 2.3" tires, I'll use 20 F / 25-26 R, and no problem with tire squirm, bottoming out, etc. On a hardtail without a rear tire insert, I have to use 28-29 psi for that size rear tire to prevent bottoming out, and it gets bouncy and I lose traction more. With a rear tire insert, I can use 25ish psi and it rides much better.

With bigger tires, like 2.5-2.6, same i30 rim width, I'll use 17-18 F, 22-24 R, depending again on FS vs HT with insert.

All on Exo or Exo+ type tires. I don't seem to have issues with tire sidewall cuts.

[volklpowdermaniac]

Higher pressures will usually cause higher rolling resitance, assuming you're not starting at some absurdly low pressure.

It's really dependent on your weight, riding style, and terrain. I (145#, smooth) can get away with 18 psi in 2.4" tires on pretty much anything short of just absolutely blasting through rock gardens. Heavier people will definitely bottom their rims at that pressure.

Sidewalls folding is a different issue that you've probably eliminated by going to the thicker tires. I can actually use 15 psi on a smooth trail, but the sidewalls fold on corners, so I put a few more psi in. My GF, who weighs the same but doesn't go as fast, can use 16-17 psi without any problems. Others use inserts to get that sidewall support and rim protection, but I think that's more relevant for heavy people who are pretty smashy (or who ride in areas where traction is not a total myth and where the tire will fold rather than sliding). Here around Tahoe tires lose grip before they fold most of the time.

Good food for thought. Thx!

[jamal]

bicyclerollingresistance.com does a lot of testing of different width tires and different pressures and such and yeah there's not really a difference between widths when you're at appropriate pressures. More pressure does go faster on very smooth surfaces but when you're on a trail having less grip and getting bounced around is going to counteract that. I do wish they did more mtb stuff- there are some on there but it's mostly road and gravel tires.

I generally go for as soft as I can without losing too much support, which depends on the tires and trails i'm on too. Grippy hardpack and berms I have to go up a bit over like, loose and dry.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Faster at what?

Yes

[jdadour]

I think a big width disparity worked better on older bikes where you had to make a much more conscious effort to stay over the front to make the bike turn correctly. Modern geometry lets you ride much more centered, so the benefits of having a rear tire that wants to break loose way sooner than the front are kind of lost.

I've been thinking about this lately, and your post has really sparked me wanting to try a wider rear tire. For my Sentinel which sees bike park use only, I've got the tried and trued Front DHF 2.5 DD and Rear DHRII 2.4 DD. Its great, but id like to try a 2.5 rear tire to see if there is any gain in traction/balance. I just measured my current setup, DHF is spot on 2.5 and the DHRii is closer to 2.35, both on 30mm inner width rims. And now that I've measure them, Im even more motivated to go wider in the rear.

What 2.5 rear tire would work well with my setup? I was thinking about just running DHF front and rear. (I actually have a DHF 2.5 Exo+ 120tpi version i could run up front and then move the DHF DD to the rear.) What are the pros and cons of running a DHF on the rear as opposed to a DHRII?

[SkiLyft]

^^ I can confirm, I don’t run DHFs on the front (I like the predictable traction of Assy), but a DHF on the rear is a fucking riot!


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