I need the wisdom of the forum, and I need it bad.

Summer tyres on my 29er hard tail. I put on a pair of Conti Trail King Race Sport (they have the black chilli compound) on my Arch EX rims, running tubeless.

They roll quickly, but they are absolutely useless on hardpack, particularly the stone-filled hardpack of Swinley forest. The front slips around making every corner a bit of a lottery (i’m only running it at 30psi). The rear bounces me around like a pogo stick (weak-ass sidewalls, I’m guessing) no matter what pressure I run it at.

Suggestions? And please, don’t waste any pixels on “buy a 26er/run tubes” comments.

I’ve been running bontrager 29-3’s as an all rounder since early this year, they cope with everything really well (bar full on mud). Ran tubeless on Crests with a tendency to run 25psi in the front.

I found a front rear combo of Chunky Monkey/ Smorgasbord excellent at Swinley.

..in 26″ I might add. I highly rate them. Cheap too compared to others.

Going to be trying a front Maxxis Ardent 29 2.4 in dual-compound when the lbs gets them in.

I have switched to using spesh tyres and really impressed from butcher to purgatory to ground control, easy for tubeless set up last well, good side walls and usually £30 each so a lot cheaper than schwelbe and conti

I’m not that impressed with the Butcher & Purgatory on my Enduro 29. They’re not as good as the CM/ Smorgasbord.

Rocket Rons are on all my 29ers all year round. Never found the need to change to anything else.
Would never have got away with them 26 stylee

Recently switched to 29×2.25 Maxxis Ardents (from racing Ralph’s) and have to say I’m very impressed with them, goog grip, good rolling & strong sidewalls, I would recommend!

Ardent Exo rear and Ignitor Exo front.

I’m a bit of a tyre bore it’s been said. Tried most of them, and found weaknesses in pretty much all of them.

I’ve got the following for sale if you wanted to try any of them… Nearly new Maxxis High Roller 2 EXO Tubeless Ready 29×2.3″, 10 ride old Spesh Purgatory 29×2.3 control casing (tubeless ready again), and a brand new Bontrager 29-4 29×2.35″ tyre (again tubeless ready). I know people that love each of those tyres, and for good reason… But I found something better…

The Geax Goma.

It’s quite simply the best front tyre I’ve ever used, and I’m including tyres such as Maxxis Minions and Black Chilli Rubber Queens in that too. It grips tenaciously, it rolls soooooo much quicker than it looks like it will, wear rate is almost non existent, pricing isn’t too silly and they setup tubeless remarkably easily (so much so, if you’re running Stans rims, don’t buy the TNT version as they’re too tight, buy the normal folding version instead). I’ve not actually tried one on the rear yet (currently running the also “way better than it looks like it should be” Geax Saguaro on the back) but come the Autumn will give one a try.

EDIT: If anybody wants a Goma, I’ve got a couple of brand new ones spare at the moment too, can’t justify an extra bike right now…

I’ve only used the UST and Protection Trail Kings but if you’re struggling with grip then I’d say you’re running too much pressure. I’d recommend running twice your weight in stone in psi, slightly less front, slightly more rear. Used right the only tyre listed above with more cornering grip is the Chunky Monkey. Needs leaning!

Thanks for all the suggestions, chaps.

@mboy: what do you run on the rear to partner your Goma?

@johnny rocket boy: what combination are you running now?

Racing Ralph or Rocket Ron. I’ve only got the latter, only ridden Swinley twice, very wet both times, and they’ve been fine.

I run a Nic on the front and a ron on the back which is fine, even on the pebbles of deatch at Cannock.

Rolls quickly and grips everything I’ve thrown at it.

Funny as I’ve found both the purgatory and butcher excellent, currently running a butcher on the front and a fastrak on the rear. Must admit though, until very recently I’ve been running ardent 2.4’s front and rear until recently and they also performed very well. I just think for the money specialized tyres offer excellent value.

WTB Vigilante 2.3. Absolute grip, predictable in all conditions, great tubeless.

How much for the purg and a goma mboy?

Back mboy’s recommendation on this one that combination of Geax tyres is ace, good for everything from enduros & racing ( proper enduros, not the gravity ones;-) ) to bike park wales
Front tyre so grippy and predictable

I have Michelin Wild Race R 2.1 on for the drier months and use Michelin Wild Grip R 2.25 front 2.1 rear rest of the year. Both sets run very well on my 29er, great grip and rolling. Both sets used tubeless on standard rims went up and stayed up with no fuss. They are a very under rated tyre and can be had for very cheap online. I previously have used Ralph and Ikons (which I liked but too pricey).

I have used Maxxis Ardents both front and rear, 29 x 2.25, for the past couple of months and they’ve been spot on in the conditions we’ve had. I’ve done lots of varied riding and surfaces recently too. High Roller SS front and Knobby Nics rear on my 26, although I have a feeling that combination might not work as well on the 29…

Conti x king black chilli is my default 29 rear tyre on the 29 all year round. I ride swinley, but also gloopier stuff, South Downs and gorricks. Copes well and fast rolling.

I’m surprised you’re having issues with the trail king though. I’ve always loved mine. To me it sounds like you may be running it a little firm up front. Drop a few psi and see if it still pings around. Although granted you don’t want it so soft that it rolls!

My riding is mainly swinley or local muddy singletrack. I tend not to change tyres often but have tried a few now, currently running a Hans Dampf front and nic rear, both tlr snakeskin versions. For swinley, a nic front and Ralph rear work well, but I find they struggle with my local stuff.

The rear bounces me around like a pogo stick (weak-ass sidewalls, I’m guessing) no matter what pressure I run it at.

Out of interest, why does sidewall strength make a difference?

@mboy: what do you run on the rear to partner your Goma?

Geax Saguaro 2.2. Again, way better tyre than you might expect! Faster and significantly grippier than a Racing Ralph IMO, and also crucially (for me cos I think Schwalbe MTB tyres are way too fragile in general) it’s much sturdier. A Geax Goma/Saguaro combo will cost you probably 300g overall compared to a Nobby Nic/Racing Ralph combo, but IMO it’s worth it every single time.

How much for the purg and a goma mboy?

Do the used Purg for £15 posted and the new Goma for £30 (they’re £40 RRP)…

Back mboy’s recommendation on this one that combination of Geax tyres is ace, good for everything from enduros & racing ( proper enduros, not the gravity ones;-) ) to bike park wales
Front tyre so grippy and predictable

Nice to know you agree! Ralph’s/Nic’s/Ron’s are fast and light, fine for XC race whippets on fairly non techy trails, but for those of us less careful and/or like to push the boundaries of grip a bit, something grippier and heavier is preferable.

Where’s the best place to buy the Geax tyres from?

How does a Goma compare to a Dampf as a front?

@ratherbeintobago.
I’m thinking a more sturdy sidewall would stop the tyre deforming so much, so it wouldn’t ‘bounce’ quite so much… Just a theory. But I’ve never had a tyre perform like this, and the Conti has got very thin sidewalls (that’s why it’s so light and supple). Perhaps too light for my chunky frame. Maybe I wouldn’t feel it as much on a FS bike? Dunno… And I haven’t got a FS bike at the moment to check.

I’ve got ProTection MK2’s on my 29er; the previous bike (also a HT but 26″) had the same tyres – only other difference is a swap from DT XR400’s to Arches. For reasons I can’t follow, the new bike seems bouncier, especially at speed on cobbles – not sure this is the tyres.

@_saveR Try Fatbirds….from £13..