So. After my other half bought me a subscription to Singletrackmind for Christmas, I find myself spending far too much time on here. Next year I'll ask for crack cocaine on the grounds it's less addictive, but anyhoo…

I'm a newby biker, and have been reading all the ridiculous interesting tyre threads thinking "surely it doesn't make any difference". Then last week plodding at very low speed through thick, sticky muddy clay I finally came to a halt due to the drag of the stuff clogged up around the front tyre/forks with the rear wheel still spinning. Gracefully fell over thanks to the new spd shoes, also courtesy of Mrs Santa. Was forced to admit – may be time for some new tyres.

An hour of interweb research later and a pair of Bontrager Mud X are winging their way to sunny Hertfordshire for fitting this very day…

So – first ride this morning. Was it really different? Yes – but not life changing. Definitely more grip – was spinning out and losing traction far less, and didn't get stuck going up muddy climbs even once. The front did seem to have less accurate steering, with it tending to slide sideways a bit more than my old tyre. Best bit was an almost spooky resistance to clogging up with mud – no matter what I rode through they seemed to stay clear – very impressive.

The bottom line? I still think the endless tyre debates are a bit OTT, but I can confirm that it really does make a difference. So – if you're a newby like me struggling in the current mudfest conditions and are debating whether to splash out your hard earned on a new pair of tyres, I'd say if you can afford it then seems like could be a good bet.. And I can recommend the Mud Xs.

Does that mean I can now join in with the cool kids in the "what tyres are best for" debates? Thought not.

it's like pixel peeping on camera forums mate… just measurbating 🙂

You should have bought Panaracer Trailrakers.

Sorry.

Or Maxxis Swampthings (single ply 2.35s super tacky up front 60a out back)

Not that I pay much attention to tires…. Nooo, not me.

you'll get some tit on here in a bit telling you all you need is conti vert's

All you need is conti vert's.

Whyte 1 – when you type stud, it shows up as ****.

??

Do tyres REALLY make a difference?

Try riding without them.

Yes tyres make a diference. I've been running 2.35 Super Tacky High Rollers for the last 2 months.

On the flat it's like cycling through treacle
On the ups it's like cycling through a brick wall
On the downs it's like heaven

Far superior to the Fire XC Pros I had on before

I thought the abuse was based on the fact that tyres are way too personal choice for any kind of advice to be of any value 🙂

I have only had 4 pairs of tyres and they have all ridden extremely different so I agree. Never tried mud specific tyres but I think I should. Herts is mudfest all over at the moment.

FAIW I like Intense DH Mud 1.8 (or is it 1.9?) on my SS Marin.

""Yes – but not life changing"
In fairness the bonty Mud X was designed as a predictable (24hr?) mud race tyre, so they aren't all out grippy everywhere, just suitable enough for mud, sort of as a result roll reasonably well and still work on roots, rocks and tarmac unlike some draggy sparsely spread tall flexy treaded mud specific tyres

"the Fire XC Pros I had on before "
2.1" Fire XCs to 2.35" 42a high rollers? Thats some jump in tyre performance. Theres a wealth of tyres sitting in between those 2 with a more middleground compromise of grip/rolling resistance/etc..
I hope you don't have supertacky HRs front AND rear? That'd be murder ..

I think it depends on how you ride as well. A lot of people ride off-road as if they were on road, just pootling round corners and not really testing the limits of traction. If you are rad to the power of gnar you probably find tyres more important than if you are corduroy to the power of beige.

Have been riding in Cotswold mud with some tioga mud tyres on, and the guy I was riding with had something more normal. We swapped bikes at one point as he couldn't believe how much better off I was in the mud… So for me, mud tyres in the winter for sure.
Normal riding – meh, not really noticed a great deal of difference between tyres other than going max with some high rollers – they were just too fat and sticky for me.
Nowadays I stick with 2.1's, not so big these days but more than capable. Have a range of tyres on bikes in that size.

I run HR supertacky front and rear, not in the mud though. Its hell on the climbs, but then I hate climbs anyway and I only go up so I can hammer it on the way down.
On the downhills supertacky's are sweet.

For muddy I run swampthings,

O and yes tyres do make a difference, infact they make the biggest difference, just like in any sport that uses tyres. they are the only thing in contact with the ground so therefore they are ultimatly the one thing that directly affects speed, grip, power transfer etc etc etc
Look at any other sport with tryes if you wish to confirm this, take F1 millions are spent gaining 0.01sec per lap yet the tyre is worth 4 seconds plus per lap.

^^^Look what you've started^^^
Just the most innocent mention of tyres will set them off.

I hope you don't have supertacky HRs front AND rear? That'd be murder

It's more like sadism than murder. At least if it was murder I know I wouldn't have to endure them again.

I don't believe that Herts is EVER going to dry out again. It's been saturated too much.

Racing Ralphs all year round.

Now where's the salt for my eyes and Beech whip?

Racing Ralphs all year round.

Now where's the salt for my eyes and Beech whip?

Lol. And hair shirt, don't forget your hair shirt.

I'm a lazy mofo when it comes to swapping tyres over but even I have winter pairs. I tip my hat to your single mindedness.

There are two key issues though, tyres and pressure.

I run tyres (all tubeless) with anything from 20psi to 40psi (mostly around 30psi), depending on the tyre and the condition of the trail.

And there is no way you could run RR's around here (Chilterns) all year, and still ride off-road.

Sir I beg to differ.

I am Chliterns'ish….Woburn, Ashridge Wendover etc. When I rode s/s I did need mud tyres, but now I run gears all year round and when I hit mud I just think CHARGE!
Plus do a season of cross on tyres that make no effort to grip and you'll see that you can get away with anything.

RR's and granny ring + Ivinghoe Beacon in snow and ice = No problem

I think the key point here is that you are a newbie.

If you are just pootling along, you will not be pushing any tyre to anywhere near it's limits. As you get better/faster tyres will make a much bigger difference to your rides.

Hmmm
Or carry a lot of speed and you'll clear mud easilly. If youre going slow you need grip to claw yourself out i.e I'd use mud tyres doing a solo event.
Then again go to slow and the tyre wont clear.

Onza Porcupines are the solution

haha, welome to the never ending quest for the perfect tyre, I added up what I'd paid for my part worn tyre pile the other day, there's nearly £500's worth of rubber!

Summary:

Continental – fast but slippery
Maxxis – not as fast but grippy
panaracer – faultless sometimes?
Specialized – hit'n'miss the enduro is superfast and grippy in a straight line, but they appear to have forgotten that bikes go round corners? storm is a top notch mud tire, though takes a while to get used to.
Tioga – why do they not make a 2.3 version of their old f+r XC tyre? I know there was a DH version, but a bring back a lightweight version of that and I'd buy several pairs! They were a bargain too at something like £15 a pair.

Onza Porcupines LOL from the days when you just got on with it.

1976 I asked some old fella at a cross race if he thought my tyres would be grippy enough. He didn't even look at them, 'just ride fast' he said, that's always stuck.

Try riding without them.

I did that when the farmer cut the hawthorn hedges… Fixed that problem with some Dr Sludge tubes. As I said, I'm a newby.

Re. speed clearing the tyres, I found going uphill that didn't work, and going down it got splattered so badly on my beer goggles I couldn't see where I was going.

Anyway – thanks everyone for the relatively modest amount of abuse. The post was really aimed at fellow newbies who may be wondering, like I was, whether to splash out, but of course I knew no mention of tyres could be ignored.

Maybe it is an age thing…. I ride RRs all year round as well. Does that mean oldgit and I can claim a new uber niche?

singletrackmind?

Oldgit

While I ran an RR front and Crossmark rear through to late October, I'm really not convinced that RR's are workable in the Chilterns – especially not in the gloop over the last few weeks – but happy to be convinced otherwise are you old enough for mid-week rides?

Email in profile.

everbodies wrong… apart from me – medusa's are the answer 😉

TBH b r it's so wet at the moment nothing is clagging up. Problems arrise when it starts to dry up.
I ride Tuesday nights and sometimes Wednesday and Thursday nights. Mainly Woburn.
RRs are much better than they should be, and work better on cambers than most mud specific tyres.
The best mud tyres I've ever used weren't mud specific, they were Skinny Jimmys.
Loathed to buy anything else other than RRs now.