Hi ,i am running a Bontrager 29-3 on the front of my Trek 29er. i am looking for something grippier as todays ride was slippery to say the least.Can anyone suggest a good alternative? Something 2.25 to 2.4″ would be good. many thanks.

Continental der baron or maxis shorty

Shwalbe Magic Mary

magic mary isn’t so good in the mud imo, I have been running one through summer but am going to swap over to der baron for winter.

I’ve tried 2.25 Maxxis Beaver and 2.3 Spec Butcher, beaver more xc orientated.

Hans dampf trailstar is my favourite so far. Just put a spesh butcher on tho which is smaller than the hans dampf and a bit lighter. Seems good but only 2 rides in. Wasn’t at all impressed with purgatory.

Chunky Monkey tubeless 18ish psi, all you need.

+1 for Hans Dampf on the front although i run the Pacestar

Tell us more about where you ride.

Hans Dampf – absolutely crap in Cotswold clagg , great most other places tho .

Continental der baron or maxis shorty

Have you used the der Baron much? Think they are quite hard to get hold of as a 29er tyre.

Chunky Monkey is the dogs bollocks at the price

Chunky Monkey tubeless 18ish psi, all you need.

Copy that.

29er Der Baron due soon in Black Chili with Apex sidewall. Seen a sample – looks good!

Another Chunky Monkey evangelist here. My all year round front tyre now.

Anyone using Maxxis HighRoller 2 on a rigid bike?

Have done – yes. Works well, though I prefer the Minion and Shorty depending on conditions.

I love the hr2 on a full sus 29er

Got a couple of hans dampf pacestar for sale if you’re interested

Maxxis Minion until it’s really soggy out, then a Shorty.

Hans Dampfs are fine if you only ride rock hard trail centres, but they just don’t offer any kind of bite on more natural trails, and by god they clog up in the mud!

High Roller 2’s are a love/hate affair. Personally I find them even more will they/won’t they than the originals, some people love them though.

WTB Vigilante is a good front tyre in the softer conditions too…

Stick a bontrager XR4 2.35, or even the SE4

Chunky monkey here, does the job in all conditions, thought I’d want a shorty or similar in the slop but the chunkys excelled itself.

I found the Chunky monkey clogs much sooner than a hr2 or minion – knobs are pretty low profile.

Has led to a few unplanned sideways dismounts.

Maxxis Minion DHF 2.3 3C here. No complaints.

Anyone tried the Bontrager XR Muds? They were recommended to me yesterday, one of the comments was that they didn’t clog – Yorkshire mud if that makes any difference.

mboy is on the money – HD is more of a dry conditions all-rounder.

I am a massive fan of the HD but in thick mud it clears poorly.

Depends on your conditions – if wet rock, go super tacky – if mud, a lot of the other suggestions (Baron / Vigilante / Shorty) sound good.

If it were my money though…

Michelin Wild Gripr

Can not beat it.

Thanks for the replies , in answer to an earlier question, i ride on Dartmoor and the woods and valleys of South Devon so roots, rocks and mud with grit in it, or Dartmoor grinding paste as we like to call it.

Bonty Mud is nice but too small in volume for the front (for me on rigid forks generally).

I’ve also got a Trek 29er and run a Specialized Butcher on the front. It’s nice and grippy – definitely an improvement over the stock Bontrager.

Thanks for the replies , in answer to an earlier question, i ride on Dartmoor and the woods and valleys of South Devon so roots, rocks and mud with grit in it, or Dartmoor grinding paste as we like to call it.

If I was use I’d try a Butcher. £35 isn’t a bad price.

If you’re riding on a mix of rocks and mud I’d avoid the Shorty or other “cut spike” style tyres.

The Magic Mary seems a good all rounder that copes well in mud, but still feels stable on rocks. The trade-off may be it’s just a bit more draggy than a HR2 or Minion/Butcher kinda tyre.

The Maxxis (HR/Minion) and clones are good if you like to really hoon it over.

It you prefer a more rounded profile your might not enjoy – depends on riding style.

Given your local conditions it is a pretty tricky fix. I think I would go Magic Mary actually – doesn’t sound like sticky filth, so you could get away with a slightly less open tread.

Used to use the HD trailstar/MM but found the front end always wanting to wash out more so on the HD when it starts to get clarty so now changed it to the Butcher and for a cheapish tyre is does the job nicely

Found the MM terrible in the mud

As OP similar predictiment using bonty 3 ( tis geeting on a bit )and lots of loss of traction today and yesterday in the nort west of england york dales So any suggestion for the regional variation of rock grit mud moors and fells?