Some advice please!

I have a new set of wheels arriving soon with wide (stans flow) rims for my hardtail 29er (Yeti Big Top). My personal challenge at the moment is to get more confidence cornering at speed.

Most of my riding is a mix of freeflow singletrack with a fair amount of off camber, rooty climbs and corners. Will use this bike at Mayhem, 24/12, Torq Torq…

I know there isn’t such a thing as a perfect tyre for all conditions, but if my challenge is getting better at cornering at speed, what would you recommend that would help build confidence?

Thanks!

About 1 pint in my experience.

26″ wheels! There, said it before anyone else 🙂 Nothing constructive to say apart from that the test ride on a Big Top I had at Llandegla was a real eye opener. Brilliant bike and it was a first go with SRAM 2×10 which was also fantastic.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I would you jammy bugger 😉

Add one part body shape to two parts Maxxis Ignitors. Shake and stir and off you go.

Done me fine so far.

Ok, serious answer. Tyres that drift or break grip in a predictable way would be my suggestion but in reality it’ll be about practice not kit, tempting as it is to think that you can spend your way better.

Coaching maybe? Jedi is well regarded.

I like my 29er Maxxis Ignitors btw

Hi Tracker1972 – would love to put 2×10 on it – been single speeding it over winter and do feel very lucky… First going to set up with my existing 3×9 – maybe 2×10 when I have the cash – it’s definitely the way to go!

Clubber / Stoner – problem is I do like the odd pint / might help if I had a smaller body – do these go together?

I do some of my best* riding whilst 5 pints to the wind.

*drunkards bounce

Thanks Clubber – getting some coaching – just so many tyre to choose from, so looking for an angle to help make the choice easier! That’s two votes for Ignitors…

I would recommend a visit to leelikesbikes for technique pointers, a mastering mountain bike skills purchase, and a visit to bikejames.com as well for a db combo program. build confidence to corner on any tyre!

Try riding a road bike on 23mm tyres for a bit

My previously ‘treacherous’ 29er feels like a monster truck now!

I got a Maxxis Ardent on the front of the 29er and have been loving it so far.

Tyre pressures can make alot of difference to.

Try experimenting with bar and stem, position and shape too? If you’re weighted right the tyre will matter less, or if you find the best tyre for you you’ll be railing. Even saddle position can help bias your weight to the right spot for natural transition into a good ordering poise. Fork set up can help too if you’ve not tried that, more compression and less rebound to keep the front up.

I’ve not ridden a lot of different tyres recently, mainly cos I really like conti black chilli tyres. New mk and rq are good, race kings are great for cornering on hardpack too.

I’ve got Michelin XC AT on my big top, they seem great although like others say, they wont get you out of everything 😆

mainly cos I really like conti black chilli tyres. New mk and rq are good, race kings are great for cornering on hardpack too

But aren’t the 29er versions non-chilli compound??

Ive still got some Bonty mud X on mine up front, there still great in the dry to be honest, Ardent on the rear.

Find a corner you like, pref with a bit of berm to it. Ride it faster and faster, shifting more weight to the front and adopting a more ludicrous body position each time. You’ll soon get it.

I would recommend a visit to leelikesbikes for technique pointers, a mastering mountain bike skills purchase…

Ditto. And get some tyres with big side knobs and minimal gap between the side and centre knobs (ie round not square profile). In other words more like Bontrager XR4 than High Rollers.

Yeah the 29s are std compound for now, been riding the 26 bc versions and enjoying that bike a lot recently. Got Ardents and race kings on my 29. But I think tread is tread, you just get a bit more of it on the ground with a bigger wheel. That last confusing post was brought to you by a cracking headache.. )

As Clubber (how are you big man?) says, Jedi/Tony can sort you out. I had a similar fear about tyres breaking away and went to a ukbikeskills singletrack session to try and fix it.

Tony has some good, solid advice to give on all subject. His advice about going round corners is to imagine that you need to use your nipples as eyes (OK, this bit of advice was a bit leftfield but it does stick as an image). This forces you to turn your body when going through a corner and also look up – key to success (at least for me) is accepting that one remembers a corner once seen and one can then look ahead to what is coming next on the trail.

It takes a bit of doing to break old habits but once achieved the bike will track through without problem.

Also, ignore what the recommended tyre pressure on the side of the tyre says as they’re normally way too high for the front.Start low 20-25 psi & adjust a bit either way till you find what you prefer…