Was out last night, struggling through mud, pounds of claggy crap stuck to the bike.

Thinking I might switch tyres to something that clears a bit better – anyone running Conti Barons? Do they clear the clag reasonably well?

grip in clag + clear very well

Nice one, Mr Fuzzhead, Sir.

grip in clag + clear very well

+1
Also good in harder conditions and roots rocks etc. Only real draw back is slightly draggy and a wee bit heavy. Seem strong though.

How do they come up in size? Are they like the rubber queens ie a 2.2 is actually 2.2, not 2.0 as with schwalbes?

How do they come up in size? Are they like the rubber queens ie a 2.2 is actually 2.2, not 2.0 as with schwalbes?

I’m interested in this as well, also, whats the best deal anyones seen on black chilli ones?

I’ve just got some BC RQ 2.2’s for £29 each from bike discount.de 🙂

How do they come up in size? Are they like the rubber queens ie a 2.2 is actually 2.2, not 2.0 as with schwalbes?

Deeper tread and smaller casing than the RQ to give a simlar overall size but if anything a little smaller both in width and sidwall depth than a 2.2 RQ.

what are the regular ones like? ie if i run one on the back for longevity (and cheapscatedness)will i die? happy to run a grippier BC version up front.

Also found this which is pretty comprehensive

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/conti-baron-23-how-big-are-they-general-reviews-too

what are the regular ones like? ie if i run one on the back for longevity (and cheapscatedness)will i die? happy to run a grippier BC version up front

Probably fine but the cheap ones are very heavy, i.e 1100g per tyre rather than 850g for the BCs (which is already at the top end of acceptable for trail riding).

They are good trail tyres but are not XC tyres, I’d say they have a definate downhill bias. They are heavy but not as draggy as you would imagine for their knobbles and grip. They are still a bigish tyre so don’t cut in as well as a proper mud tyre in claggy gloop but for wet conditions on softer ground they are great.

Been running std wire bead Baron for most of the year, yes its a little heavier than I’d like. But its yet to scare me or let me down. Climbs well, corners well and clears well too.
Would like a lighter version, but too pricy at the mo.
I ride XC and its perfectly acceptable as an XC tyre.

My pics are missing for some reason but my measurements are in that other thread >>> 2.28 across for the 2.3.

And yes, in black chili they are brilliant tyres. Not the fastest, inevitably, but they’re faster than anything else I’ve used that can do the same job.

So basically, if you want a pure xc mud tyre, you might want to consider it but it’ll be heavy and a little slow. A bit like doing XC on a supertacky minion 2.35 or something, not impossible but occasionally irritating. But if you want a trailbike mud tyre, then get these.

(it’ll depend a lot on what your idea of XC is tbh!)