I have sold my old wheel set due to upgrading and I am looking for advice on a tyre combination.

I ride a bit of everything on my five from xc,to heavy trails and in pretty much all conditions. I will say that atleast on the five I only want 1 setup that is the best overall for what I’m looking for.

I think I’d emphasize faster down hill than up hill, also weight is not something I am concerned about or care about.

Ideally I’d like something with better grip on the front and faster rolling on the back especially on this bike as I love making the back end drift round the bends.

I now only run tubeless since switching a couple months back.

Any advice on this?

WTB Vigilante Tough/High Grip front, and WTB Trailboss Tough/Fast Rolling rear.
Best all round combo I’ve used, if a little heavy. Bomb proof, easy tubeless setup, and very predictable grip in all conditions.

WTB Vigilante Tough/High Grip front, and WTB Trailboss Tough/Fast Rolling rear.
Best all round combo I’ve used, if a little heavy. Bomb proof, easy tubeless setup, and very predictable grip in all conditions.

Thanks I’ve heard good things about wtbs tyres and I’ve used there saddles for years so I will check that out.

Trouble with these threads is you very rarely get a consensus of opinion. You will have as many different recommendations as there are posts.

So to help out in that respect I recommend

Specialized Butcher Grid front, Purgatory rear.

Maxxis HR2 3c front and DHR2 60a rear would be good all-rounders.

Exo carcass should be fine if it’s not too rocky where you ride.

The WTB Convict is also a great front (winter) tyre.

Magic Mary 2.35 Front
Ardent 2.4 Rear
All year round as I cant be bothered to change tubeless tyres over on 3 bikes and this combo works well enough in all conditions

I value tyre volume and weight over all out grip and these two tyres come up huge.

The Mary gives me plenty of grip on the front for winter – probably a bit more than I need in Summer but can you ever have too much grip on the front wheel?

The Ardent on the back is really light and fast rolling but also surprisingly durable over rocks if you pump it up and surprisingly grippy (enough) in the mud if you run low pressure.

Last week I thought Id try a Minion DHR2 2.4 on the back for the grottiest months. Its massive and super grippy. I had a lot more grip on our steep wet local trails…but it felt like I was dragging a dead horse around on the climbs. The noise on tarmac was insane – I sounded like a tractor.

In the end I decided it was fun but not essential and just too much of a compromise to bother with – Iv gone back to my Ardent 🙂

All round? Fit and forget?

https://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/components-c9/tyres-c125/xr4-expert-tlr-tyre-p16111

I always trust in Maxxis tyres because they have many different type of carcasses and compound options.

My favourite setup is:

Front: Maxxis High Roller 2 DH 27´5×2,4 SuperTacky (1,270gr)
Rear: Maxxis Minion DHR 2 27’5×2’40 60a (1,280gr)

It is not the most rolling efficient setup but it is for sure a bulletproof setup. If you are not an aggressive rider you could go for the EXO carcass instead of the DH carcass. Sidewalls are a bit weaker but tyres are not as heavy (965gr) and have better rolling efficiency.

The SuperTacky compound is softer than the 60a compound. Has an excellent grip but doesn’t last much in the rear wheel.

The Maxxis High Roller has a better grip in wet conditions but lasts less than the Minion, that is why I like using the Minion with a harder compound on the rear wheel. Anyway, if you mostly ride in wet conditions I would also mount the Maxxis High Roller in the rear wheel.

Magic Mary 2.35 Front
Ardent 2.4 Rear
All year round as I cant be bothered to change tubeless tyres over on 3 bikes and this combo works well enough in all conditions

I value tyre volume and weight over all out grip and these two tyres come up huge.

The Mary gives me plenty of grip on the front for winter – probably a bit more than I need in Summer but can you ever have too much grip on the front wheel?

The Ardent on the back is really light and fast rolling but also surprisingly durable over rocks if you pump it up and surprisingly grippy (enough) in the mud if you run low pressure.

Last week I thought Id try a Minion DHR2 2.4 on the back for the grottiest months. Its massive and super grippy. I had a lot more grip on our steep wet local trails…but it felt like I was dragging a dead horse around on the climbs. The noise on tarmac was insane – I sounded like a tractor.

In the end I decided it was fun but not essential and just too much of a compromise to bother with – Iv gone back to my Ardent

Very helpful I used to only run schalwbe tyres on my old anthem and they were brilliant. Only thing with scwalbe from using nobbys, Ron’s and Ralph’s is I found they don’t live as long as other alternatives. Never used a meatier trail tyre of them so I may try with the Mary.

I don’t know what it is with scwalbe stuff but no matter what type of there tyre I’ve used it seems to feel better it’s hard to put my finger on it why or how.

Maxxis Minion dhf EXO TR Maxx terra 2.3 front and Maxxis Agressor 2.3 exp TR rear great combo in most conditions good grip up front plenty of traction and drift rear.

MAXXIS HRII 27.5*2.35 exo – tyre of choice front and rear. Though I do like the look of a muddy mary… currently have a Nobby Nic on the rear but only cause I need to repair my other HRII.

Did run WTB Trail boss and Vigilante for a while but the Trail boss wore out quite quick with the Vigilante not too far behind. Side walls were too thin for me and my riding.

Side walls were too thin for me and my riding

In the “tough” version? I’ve never seen thicker sidewalls than the tough/high grip Vigilante!

WTB Vigilante Tough/High Grip front, and WTB Trailboss Tough/Fast Rolling rear.

I really like these, athough mine were the light versions, i’d go tough on the rear next time (HT). Only downside of tough is the weight.

Currently looking at Spesh Hillybilly (finally available in 27.5 x 2.3) & Ground Control, both in Grid.

The Spesh pair in Grid would be 480g lighter than a pair of WTB toughs.

Very helpful I used to only run schalwbe tyres on my old anthem and they were brilliant. Only thing with scwalbe from using nobbys, Ron’s and Ralph’s is I found they don’t live as long as other alternatives. Never used a meatier trail tyre of them so I may try with the Mary.

I used to use Nics and Ralphs and my hardtail. Super lightweight but as you say very delicate. The Mary is much more Maxxis like in its durability. A bit heavier obviously but not massively so.

At the end of the day its always a compromise. When it comes to protection…I don’t bother with all the complicated jargon they write on the sidewall. All you need to look at is weight. Heavier tyre = more rubber in it = slower but more durable. simples

You’d have to be riding World Cup DH to think the WTB tough carcass was too thin.

Found stock of Magic Marys in the old Trailstar compound if anyone interested – all 3 wheel sizes too – https://www.tiso.com/s:mary/?search=mary

I used to use Nics and Ralphs and my hardtail. Super lightweight but as you say very delicate. The Mary is much more Maxxis like in its durability. A bit heavier obviously but not massively so.

At the end of the day its always a compromise. When it comes to protection…I don’t bother with all the complicated jargon they write on the sidewall. All you need to look at is weight. Heavier tyre = more

Yeah agree with that completely, do you run your Mary tubeless? I was going to ask from researching it I’ve heard a lot of cases of the mary splitting, snake bytes etc. Have you had any of these issues since you been running yours?

I think I’m going to run one on front but still not sure what to get for the rear yet

I’ve decided to go with the mary up top I was wondering if anyone can tell me more ideas for the rest, maybe that will work well with a mary.

I’m currently running a DHR2 rear with a Mary front. I like the DHR2 as a winter (well autumn-winter-spring) rear tyre. Seems to work well where you’d want a Mary up front.

I’m currently running a DHR2 rear with a Mary front. I like the DHR2 as a winter (well autumn-winter-spring) rear tyre. Seems to work well where you’d want a Mary up front.

+1 on this combo its fantastic

I’m currently running a DHR2 rear with a Mary front. I like the DHR2 as a winter (well autumn-winter-spring) rear tyre. Seems to work well where you’d want a Mary up front.

1 on this combo its fantastic

Thanks I’ll take this onboard.

Front = Michelin 2.4 Rock R2 Advanced Gum Compound
Rear = Michelin 2.4 Rock R Advanced (the old one) cheap, hefty with too hard a compound for front usage.

Great summer/drier combo is Bontrager XR4 Expert front and SE4 rear. Both the same tread just a tougher carcass for the rear. Reasonably light and fast rolling but still capable of handling some wet mud. The 2.2 is as big as most other brands 2.3’s.

I don’t turn my nose up at a Spec Butcher Grid, Hutchinson Squale Hardskin or Conti Baron Apex BC front.

Talking of thick side walls are WTB Tough thicker than Schwalbe Super Gravity? they are pretty meaty and some of thickest I’ve put my fingers on!