So tyres with a shallower tread should be faster rolling on the hardpack obviously, but should a tyre with a bigger nobs find more grip in pockets of dust? Or doesn’t anything really grip that well when the dust gets as thick as it is?

I was out last Tuesday with a group of riders, some with fast traks/Renegades, some with Nobby nics,pugs,butchers and all sorts in between. There was quite a few slipping around in the dust (including me with a Purg/Ralph combo. It got me wondering whether technique aside, what should work best during this amazing weather we’re having.

Also doing the QECP this weekend so thinking about that too!

I have changed my tyres recently from the very nobbly Conti Vertical to a summer set-up of Maxxis Monorail up top and a Conti Race King on the back.

Before the change the Verti was skidding massively from under me in turns on hard dusty trail and now the much smaller in both tread and surface area Monorail is gripping nicely.

I did the final decent at Marshbrook last weekend and the summer tyres ate it up, I think I may have died on the Verts.

Will change straight back to my Verticals when the rain comes though.

Don’t they say that the size of your nob doesn’t matter, it’s how you use it that counts? 😉

Guess it depends on how deep the dusty bit is – a thin dusty cap on hard trails would be very different to deep talcum powder dry sand. I just put up with whatever’s on the bike at the mo, but I’d expect a semi slick with tiny nobbles to be the quickest thing until it gets damp again.

Depends on the dust tbh, my smallblocks are kind of uncanny on marbly gravel, I think they just spread their pressure further but they grip at times that they shouldn’t. But on sandy dirt they don’t dig in as much.

Also doing the QECP this weekend so thinking about that too!

I was trimming my bush up there last night and every rider I spoke to was saying how loose it was. I have never seen it like that before, it’s like sand but so much finer. I reckon that some of the comers are slipperier than when it is muddy. 😯 i think if i was racing i would go Minon DHF/Larson TT combo with about 25 psi.

A couple of summers ago I ran Smallblock Eights front and back. Astonishingly good on hard pack, fast too.
A big change of season crash when the front let go, in part due to SB8 although largely down to talent deficit, put paid to those. Although as arear tyre right now, I’d say they would be spot on, I’m considering a slant 6 for the back at the moment as my current Mountain King is rather thin on the rolling tread and starting to bulge alarmingly. That said, Mountain King has worked well in both mud and dry .
Truthfully, I really think tyres are a personal thing and there’s only so many variations on a theme.

That’s it – it’s like super fine dust which builds up in the corners (I guess from all the late braking) and is really slippy. So it’s like that up at QCEP too 8O, it’ll be fun… or something…

So scottfitz, you’d plum for the big nobs and shaved bush.. interesting..

So scottfitz, you’d plum for the big nobs and shaved bush.. interesting..

Big nobs on the front never round the back!!