I’ve got 4.0″ Jumbo Jim’s on my fattie at the moment, set up tubeless. They’re great at everything I’ve come across bar deep wet mud.

Is there a viable tubeless ready 4.0″ alternative that doesn’t weigh a ton??

120tpi Nates have long been the favoured option. I’ve not tried them tubeless though.

I’ve not used them (and don’t even know if they are available yet) but the Maxxis Minion FBF and FBR should be good. However based on my 2.5 Minions you can expect rolling resistance to be “significant” 😆

Is the 4 inch minion in the wild yet? TBH the 4.8 is like a normal minion- it deals with mud pretty well, definitely better than a JJ 4.0, but it’s not a mud tyre.

I’ve only used the cheapo Nate and wasn’t that impressed but it did shovel mud like a good ‘un.

Does anyone have an opinion on the Specialized Ground Control fat, or are they just like the JJ’s?

GC is a capable tyre, however it’s not a good as a Nate, I use a BFL/GC combo for summer / Autumn the Nates/Nate for the rest of the year

They’re great at everything I’ve come across bar deep wet mud.

Is anything bar a mud tyre (tall, thin and spiky) any good in that?

Depends on your mud. A tall, thin, spiky tyre might be able to cut through a thin layer to a harder base but if that base is too far down (or there isn’t one) then it’s better to try to float across the top of it. In that case, you want as wide a tyre as possible. Then there’s the traction issue. Many wider tyres are great at floatation but have no/little tread depth meaning they won’t steer or they give up on a slope. Have a look at the original Endomondos to see an extreme example.

Nate is 4″ wide AND has larger, widely-spaced knobbles so excels in the “right” mud conditions.

If you want ultimate traction then the answer is Lou front and back. If you want 4″ of grrrr then van Helga’s are better than nates. Grip better but also manage to be nowhere near as dragg. Bloody expensive though. On a budget, then the Nate is a still a hands down winner

All fat tyres will float over mud, so it’s down to the tread pattern to try to find some grip.

I like Buds, the long tall linear traed cuts into the mud better than any other I’ve tried and helps hold a line.

Nate is good too, but much draggier and obviously much too skinny. Bud is a great all rounder.

Is bud doable in the rear of an OO fatty?

Is bud doable in the rear of an OO fatty?

Sadly not. Not tubeless on an 80mm rim anyway.

Tubed on a 65 rim would probably be okay.

Pick almost any tyre and it’ll be better than Jumbo Jim in mud. It just unfortunate that there aren’t many tyres out there that are as light.