Went to swinley yesterday and whilst my Bonty mud x’s didn’t fail me they did not inspire as much confidence whilst cornering as I possibly could have had.

The guys I rode with use maxxis high rollers?

Are these the best? Any good deals. Oh and tacky vs standard ?? Jeez whole new world for me this.

Mud Xs are very mud specific imo, they’re great for that one job but pretty bad the rest of the time. I always feel like if the conditions are crap enough that a mud x is the right tyre, I’d rather just ride somewhere else!

But it’s always a tradeoff, I’m really liking Specialized’s Butcher on the front and Purgatory on the back as an all-conditions thing but that’s a pretty slow combo, lots of people wouldn’t like it much. Highrollers are good allrounders but struggle in bad mud so you might find a big loss from the bontys. No one perfect tyre for everything sadly.

TBH I disagree, the Mud-x aren’t a specific mud tyre, just a wet conditions tyre that are pretty good in the mud (I’d say that trailrakers are a mud tyre). That said they’re very narrow & I’d never rush to fit one on the front.
29er wise I’m enjoying the Maxxis Beaver 2.25 up front (wasn’t happy fitting a 2.0), its inspiring lots of confidence with it’s abilities in the mud. Again it’s not what I’d call a specific mud tyre though.

I love continue baron’s at this time of the year. Loads of grip and clear pretty well.

The black Chilli versions are expensive but wear well so pretty good value. If I could get them to inflate tubeless they would be perfect!

I really fancy the Barons now it comes to new tyre time.

However, I don’t swap and change and favour just leaving the same tyres on til they wear out.

Anyone comment on how well the Barons do in the dry/summer/rocks etc., assuming we get one this year.

I used one on the front most of last summer and it was fine. Still gripped well. I’m like you and don’t really change my tyres so the baron’s stay on pretty much all the time

The conti black chilli baron is the best front tyre I’ve used.

I used to run it all year round and it’s quality.

Barons ftw!! Barons will be staying for a long time. Did you give the insides a clean before trying tubeless?

Yep, and it was a brand new tyre. I’m gonna try with a compressor when I can get my hands on one. Can’t fault the tyre in use though

I currently run Ardent EXO front and rear after trying many combos.

Once I get a little fitter, I’m going to try a High Roller II on the front.

I don’t see any reason (apart from cost maybe) to move from the Maxxis brand – All the ones I’ve used have been great.

Barons are ace. A lot of tyre though. Not that keen on them in the back in the dry mind but fine on the front- not as good as say a minion but a good balance. And like voodoo when riding harder in mud and wet!

Only downer is that the sidewalls don’t seem to last, one of mine still has probably 9/10ths of its tread but the carcass is shedding threads.

Bugger regarding the sidewalls, that’s the bit I tend to wear on the back being clumsy and all. Tend to steer the front through and let the back wheel hit everything.

I thought they were supposed to have tough sidewall as well.

Maxxis again at this rate.

Maxxis High Roller II up front and a Beaver on the back, perfect for me, will switch the Beaver for an Ikon when summer finally arrives.

Spesh Purgatory’s also aren’t bad in my experience.

@beans- they’ve never done anything untoward, cut or pinched or anything, they just started showing white very quickly and now they look like a really old jumper 😆 They’ve had some very rocky use mind but they’re wearing faster than any non-schwalbe tyre I’ve ever used, I think. Not to be a downer- I still love them, and the Der, I couldn’t even guess how many times they’ve saved my arse tbh!

vert pros.

😉

Never used Maxxis before and need new tyre’s. I can’t continue not to take take notice of the good reviews.

Just ordered a High Roller II 60A EXO 2.4 for the front and an Ardent 60A 2.25 for the back.

Mud X or storm control in the mud
(BTW I also disagree that mud x isn’t good when its not muddy, I think its good all round, slow rolling obvs).

Nobby nic rear hans dampf front works very well in most conditions, perfect trail centre setup.

Racing ralph good for summer hard pack and again works well in trail centres.

All run tubeless.

Purgatory’s all round, almost as good as a mud tyre, but actualy inspire some confidence on dryer trails too. Pretty much the only tyre I use once it starts getting wet at the end of the summer untill it dries out again.

Onza Ibex. the best tyre i have ever used. Ever.

So that’s us all in agreement then 😆

😀

Its got to be pretty nasty for the mud x’s to go on. I do like them though and find them confidence inspiring in mucky conditions.
Usually though, I tend to run summer tyres for most things and put up with a bit of slip n’slide. Saguaro rear and ground control front seem ok at the moment.

I’ve ran Mud x’s all round for ages ( 11/2 of the 2 ive been riding)but as I’m getting a little bit better and I suppose faster I’m noticing that they are not so hot on the front but still great on the back……took off the front and fitted Hutchinson Toro 2.35 …..so far seem much more confidence inspiring and less likely to wash out…..kept the mud x’s as spares for the rear

Onza Ibex. the best tyre i have ever used. Ever.

This. 2.4 up front, 2.25 rear. Insane grip, lightish, cheap too.

If it gets really wet, pop the new Greina up front.

Now that Onza are with Silverfish, I reckon they will get a real presence in the UK. Awesome tyres.

Ive had a pair of Mud X for the last 2 winters, at xmas I changed to a butcher front and purg rear as per Northwind’s recommendations. I’m very pleased, I wanted something with stronger sidewalls that was more of an all rounder, I couldn’t be happier and actually don’t find them that slow, they’re definitely not much slower than Rubber Queens, they also shed mud well as the tread spacing on both if quite wide. For less than £60 a pair I can see me using them for a long time.

Still wish they made a supertacky-style Butcher Control though, teh DH version is the same size and tread but stacks grippier on wet rock etc.

You listening Mr Specialized? No? OK I am going to name my icecream shop Epic Ice Cream, now are you listening?

I’m currently running HDs which are very good for the riding I’m doing around the chase. However I ran On-One Chunky Monkeys F&R for 6 months these have way more grip, work better at lower pressures and are very tough but they are heavy and have higher rolling resistance.

I Think Chunky Monkey Front and Smorgasbord rear would be a nice heavy duty option.

I would also be tempted to try.

Minion front Ardent Rear

Trail King front Mountain king rear

Also that Spesh Butcher Purgatory combo looks very good for the weight

Ive run rq front and mk2 rear. its a very good cross country combo. I do fint that the MK rear tears up at low pressures though. ive torn the nobs off a few when running 25psi or less!!

WTB Vigilantes are very popular with Innerleithen locals. Or maybe I-Cycles just have a lot of them in the shop.

I’ve changed to Purgatory up front and The Captain out back as I got a good deal. Shouldn’t work in these conditions but have been very impressed so far. The Captain deals with thick mud as well as the Rubber Queen it replaced and rolls really well.

Been running a Purgatory on the back for a few months & really like it.

Just fitted one on the front tonight, so looking forward to trying it out soon!:-)

Not one for swapping tyres depending on conditions, so these will be all rounders.

I’ve been using Fat Alberts for a while now, I can’t be arsed changing tyres to suit conditions and they seem a good compromise, very good in the mud without being too draggy uphill or in the dry. Recommended by I-Cycles, I didn’t realise the fashion had moved on to WTBs!
Will look at Onzas after hearing about them for the 1st time in this thread, the quick search I did for them seems to be very positive.

Yes op, high rollers is the best tyre.

Given that Swinley (boggy fireroads in the current inclement weather aside) is mainly armoured trail anything with really tall / hard knobs is going to feel a bit skittish. A decent rolling all round tyre in a softer compound should suit well in this weather. Nobby Nic, Hans Dampf, Ardent, Mountain King 2 are popular round there.

totally depends on where you’re riding as to favourite tyre for the conditions. I’ve been running Mud X’s F/R on my 26 HT. That’s my default winter hack for muddy XC loops. As per Razorrazoo’s comments – would probably not be the best choice for Swinley due to the armoured trail. But – around the corner at Crowthorne’s Gorrick this weekend, it would be perfect (although on my race bike I am running an X King rear and Mud X front).

Trail bike – Rubber Queen on the front all year and whatever I have knocking around in the garage on the rear. At the moment, a 4 season old Mountain King which has seen way better days.

I find I am way less particular these days. I’m just glad to find a gap in the rain to get out on the bike.

WTB Vigilante as a front, Moto or Weirwolf as a rear (Mud/Wet rock). WTB seem to have great side-wall support, and the rebound properties just seem better than other tyres I have tried. Grip has always been excellent, and they blow up bigger than expected. Not the lightest, but then I’m not either.

oh glad I’ve found this thread. I put some Rubber Queens on 2.4….First proper ride last night on trails that I ride a fair bit….couldn’t get over the grip in the mud..fantastic.
Dealt with the snow and ice too. They are the cheaper version ones, so don’t know if the more expensive ones handle tree roots better.
But they get the big thumbs up from me.

Rubber Queens on 2.4…….couldn’t get over the grip in the mud..fantastic. They are the cheaper version ones.

I changed from a set of cheaper Rubber Queens to those mentioned above. The Specialized are miles better although I thought the RQ’s were not as bad as people make out.

I find Rubber Queens lethal in proper sticky mud, once they clog up they stay that way until you get on the road imo.

High rollers are the best but there just too much if you need to do any road at all, a lot of drag.
I’ve been running Onza Canis and i’ve been impressed so far 🙂