Currently running DHF front HRII rear. both in 27.5×2.3 3C EXO TR versions, but have read people reckon the DHF is actually the faster rolling tyre of the two so wondering whether to go DHF front and rear? Thoughts?

Having tried all 3 I would say (fastest 1st) it’s:
DFH
DHR2
HR2

Grip-wise:
DHR2
DHF
HR2

I’ve got 2.4 EXO HR2s and they certainly don’t feel that fast rolling.

Seem very balanced all round though, no real complaints.*

*I genuinely have nothing modern to compare them to. Last time I bought tyres was in 2001, I’ve only just got back into riding…

Run a DHF rear ,much quicker than the HR2 great tyre

I haven’t tried the 650b variants but I went right off the HR2, I don’t think it’s especially good at anything. I’d sooner have a DHF on the front, which is in the same ballpark for rolling speed but way grippier and copes with different conditions better. And I’d rather have a DHR2 on the back, which is a little draggier but a shitload grippier, or a Minion SS whe it’s dryer which is a bit less straightline grippy but tons faster. It’s always a compromise but the HR2 was just never the compromise I wanted.

(I still don’t know what I think about DHR2 vs DHF on the front, I flipflop on that…)

Also, ymmv but I don’t like the DHF on the rear much- it’s great while it grips but when it slides it just really goes.

Worth just buying one and experimenting. Both are good tyres, I’ve got both, not quite sure which is fastest as so much depends on terrain, riding style etc. Lots of people have different recommendations, I reckon you will just have to do a back to back test.

DHF front
HR2 rear

got an HR2 and I don’t think its particularly good at anything front or rear. Currently running the HR2 2.4 3C front and slaughter rear but looking at getting a new tyre to replace the HR2. Got a baron projekt for stickier times so probably going to get an aggressor for the rear and a DHF2 for the front for most other times.

I really didn’t like the aggressor, it’s basically a draggy ardent. It might make sense for some jobs- they call it an aggressive xc tyre iirc, and I’m not really sure what that means- but I wanted it for a rear on a #enduro bike and it just didn’t really work

HR2 – the tyre that’s mediocre at everything.

DHF & DHR2’s are much better. Chop & change between both, along with Shorty’s & Minion SS’s.

That pretty much covers all riding bases. The HR2 belong in the bin 🙂

HR2 – the tyre that’s mediocre at everything.

No no, you’ve missed the point of the HR2
It’s designed in collaboration with bike manufacturers to sell E-Bikes by convincing riders that hills are too hard due to the incredible drag they create.
It’s most certainly not mediocre at that, its excellent.

Hob Nob – Member

DHF & DHR2’s are much better

But which way round? It annoys me that I can’t decide which is draggier, which is grippier, which works better in mud or dry, usually I find it pretty obvious but for some reason I can’t get my tyre nerd on for these 😆

I really didn’t like the aggressor, it’s basically a draggy ardent

I want something that’s more aggressive than the slaughter which TBH does most of what I want but for au natural or actual mountains its not got enough grip particularly for braking. So I want something that’s more aggressive than the slaughter but not as meaty as my baron 2.4.

Fifandy that’s quite funny.

But in all seriousness, can you actually have a grippy tyre that isn’t draggy ?

But which way round? It annoys me that I can’t decide which is draggier, which is grippier, which works better in mud or dry, usually I find it pretty obvious but for some reason I can’t get my tyre nerd on for these

I think the DHF’s roll faster – and don’t break down as fast (not got such a square back edge to break down) but the DHR2 grips a bit better on most stuff.

I quite like the Shorty/DHR2 combo, it does drag though, but in soft, dry loamy stuff, they rock.

DHF/SS is speed central.

Front – Dhf, unless it’s shorty conditions
Rear – Dhr II unless it’s minion ss conditions

For me, all in exo casing, 3c versions front, harder versions rear

IMHO

that being said…. I’ve just picked up WTB convict & vigilante in tough high grip flavours in preparation for the alps this year

I haven’t tried the 650b variants but I went right off the HR2, I don’t think it’s especially good at anything. I’d sooner have a DHF on the front, which is in the same ballpark for rolling speed but way grippier and copes with different conditions better. And I’d rather have a DHR2 on the back, which is a little draggier but a shitload grippier, or a Minion SS whe it’s dryer which is a bit less straightline grippy but tons faster. It’s always a compromise but the HR2 was just never the compromise I wanted.

Pretty much this. Minions are now my default tyre choice. DHF all year round then a DHR II on the rear for the wetter months, changing to a SS for the summer.

I run DHF / DHR II on my DH bike all year round.

They seem to deal with most conditions really well. I used to hate Minions but I realised that it was the original DHR that I hated. A pair of DHF’s is a pretty good combo and quick too.

There’s more to it than just grip or rolling resistance. It’s the layout of the knobblies how it grips or rolls. DHF and HRII are very different in their grip. To me the DHF is a straight line cutter and side grip, great on the front. HRII has similar side grip but ramps designed to roll in the middle but also hook and grip if you power through crud. Or at least in my experience. Suits me well on the rear. I wouldn’t consider it on the front.

However the HRII is also draggy on the smooth and flat. Which is why for my more trail and XC bikes I run an Ardent on the back instead, which I see as a HR-lite. Similar arrangement but just smaller knobblies.

Minion SS not sure. It’s like a worn out DHF 😉 . Problem I have in the summer is trails aren’t all bone dry and solid. Firstly it still rains in the UK, and secondly many of the places I ride are loose conditions, loamy and sandy. I still find the regular DHF is ideal for me to cut a straight line through instead of drifting about when I don’t want it to.

Dhf F&R front is 3c,rear is not reversed getting on well with them, Normaly run 3c hr2 front ardent rear,Never really noticed drag on hr2’s, I’m too slow i guess

I used to be a maxxis fan but fell out of love with them after a few years in Morzine, moved onto magic marys which are pretty damn good but a fair chunk of tyre to cart around (the new ones are lighter).

Currently very very happy with the predictable and fun nature of the butcher grid up front and slaughter grid on the back. If more rear grip is desired then just running a pair of butchers seems great too.. and when it gets uncomfortably horrid then a hillbilly on the front.

Super cheap tyres that seem to work well and take a pounding.

From reading this I think I’ve decided on my perfect tyre combos:

Winter/Big mud:
Shorty
DHR2

Spring:
DHF
Ardent (Been using most of the winter – really impressed)

Summer
DHF
SS

So, who on earth actually uses an HR2?

2.4 ardent, the back is for moving the bike, I’d you want it to move fast it’s because you have the grip.

So, who on earth actually uses an HR2?

I do! But I don’t use the HR2 2.3 (which has rather poxy little knobs). I use the HR2 2.4 Exo 3C, which comes out of the same mould as the dual ply downhill version and is thus far more knobbly.

I haven’t tried the DHF but I’ve been using the DHR2 2.3 for a while and the HR2 2.4 brakes about as well, rolls slower and grips much better in the turns when it’s loose. If you don’t lean it over then it doesn’t turn well but when you do it rails. But the strange thing about it, that I find makes it very forgiving, is that when the centre tread doesn’t bite and it slips out, the side knobs then grab before the bike goes over. So it basically gives you a shock, tells you to ride properly, but doesn’t actually punish you seriously. And then you tip the bike into the turns and it’s great.

The DHR2 2.3 dual (harder compound than 3C) is a very good rear tyre – doesn’t roll much slower than the Minion SS. The 3C rolls quite a lot slower. I like the DHR2 3C as a front tyre but it doesn’t always have enough bite in looser conditions.

A recent addition to my tyre mountain is the Shorty 2.5 – that is a really great front tyre for pretty much anything, if you can live with the drag. I wouldn’t want it on the back but it’s not too slow up front.

I had a look at some of the new WT Minions on the uplift trailer at BMCC last week – the DHR2 2.4 and the DHF 2.5. Both are knobblier than the 2.3 versions, not just bigger. I suspect the DHF 2.5 is a pretty awesome front tyre except in very sticky or loose conditions.

Currently my front tyres are:
Shorty 2.5 / High Roller 2 2.4 / DHR2 2.3 (all 3C Exo)

And my rear tyres are:
Shorty 2.3 3C / DHR2 2.3 Dual / Minion SS 2.3 (all Exo)

Mix and match depending on conditions. I rode Afan last week with HR2 2.4 and DHR2 2.3 and then did the uplift days at BMCC and BPW with Shorty 2.5 front and still the DHR2 2.3 on the back.

I think I got lucky and got some WT’s direct from Maxxis last year – ran a 2.5 DHF MaxxGrip in the Alps on the front – simply amazing tyre. I also ran a 2.4WT DHR2 in the rear and again very impressed.

Interesting what you say about the Shorty – I’ve got a 2.5 WT that I also took to the alps – I used it this winter when it was really gloopy and again a fantastic tyre – not really thought about using it in any other conditions though.

Totally agree re DHR2 as a front in looser conditions – I had an OTB moment on Sunday as a result of the DHR2 washing out on me in loose over hard conditions.. Got a DHF going on imminently as a result!

I supersized mine this year- went from a 2.3 shorty/dhr2 to a 2.5/2.4, on the 29er. More drag and weight obviously but zamofaguh, teh grips! Finally fills in that wee gap of wet manky rock where the 2.3 shorty isn’t the best.

I’d like a 2.5 SS while we’re at it

Wet screams in proper wet

Will and do ride highrollers but not my favourite

DHF with a cut on the front for me!

Currently very very happy with the predictable and fun nature of the butcher grid up front and slaughter grid on the back. If more rear grip is desired then just running a pair of butchers seems great too.. and when it gets uncomfortably horrid then a hillbilly on the front.

Hows the Butcher work as a rear tyre? I have been considering one for a while as I liked how a purgatory rolled but wanted a bit more grip, Cheers

short answer:
Looking at the purgatory you’ll probably find a little more grip with the butchers and not too much if any noticeable drag. I recommend the grids and tubeless.

long answer:
Butcher is fine on the back – I like the 2.3’s as they come up fairly wide. I ran the dh casing in the Lakes for a year as a matching pair in all conditions with no issues.. slower on the ups but not by enough to care when you’re smashing the downs.

The grids are much lighter though so they are staying on after my NZ trip. I wasn’t tubeless before but they’ve been fairly effortless so I would highly recommend going tubeless and going for the grids.

If you live somewhere that has little rocks the lightest version of the butcher is silly thin but my mate who rides very hard had no problems with one on the front for 6 weeks in NZ which is literally amazing considering the sidewall looked like toilet paper.

I loved the butcher as a 26er rear tyre (and got away with a control, not entirely sure how) But for some reason I didn’t get on with it in 29er, some change in angle of approach or something? I don’t know. The 26er one was awesome- surprisingly quick, decent on pretty much any surfaces, and like the dhr2 when it slid it was predictable and getting grip back was easy, it really helped get me more relaxed about losing traction, actually had a lasting effect on my riding.

Not much slower than a Purg and better at everything imo, it’s a weirdly pointless tyre that.

I use spesh butcher grid on the front, and slaughter grid on the back.

Slaughter grid is fine for grip on rocks, and nicely fast rolling, and havent had a puncture since I fitted them a year ago. but they are quite heavy , and has no grip at all on mud.

Butcher grid on the front is fine, nice and grippy, no punctures, again a bit heavy, but thats the price you pay for no punctures.

If I could get more grip on the rear without a corresponding increase in drag, that’d be welcome, was toying with switching to maxxis DHF, but I really like how I’ve had no punctures at all with the grid tyres, so I dont really want to lose that bombproof feel. Before I started using these tyres I’d be getting punctures quite frequently on schwalbe hans dampfs

The DHR SS has a bit more grip than the slaughter and slides better (I hated the way the slaughter just spits away grip when you’re pedalling). Apparently the rockrazor is better too. But the only way to get that sort of mad speed is low grip really.

Generally HR2 with an EXO casing front and rear for me – 3C compound up front. Also been trying an aggressor at the back with a double-down casing.

There doesn’t seem to be much difference between the 2.4 and 2.3 HR2 either in width or tread pattern when you look at them side by side.

Tried all sorts of combinations in the past – to me a couple of PSI pressure either way seems to make more difference to grip and rolling rather than HR2 vs. Minion …

There doesn’t seem to be much difference between the 2.4 and 2.3 HR2 either in width or tread pattern when you look at them side by side.

Look again – there’s a huge difference in the tread height!

agreed hr2 is much better tyre in 2.4 than 2.3

for me its the perfect lazy mans all round tyre, I can get away with it anywhere!

the shorty/vigilante combo only come out if its really muddy

(actually I have an onza ibex sticky something which is an HR2 copy and a an ardent on the back)

NSMB link

If you scroll down to the bottom of the article there is a sort of answer to the question from Maxxis..

But subjectively:
Fast
Griffin
Aggressor
DHF
DHRII
HR2
Slow

DHF are good, but in the clag they get do clogged up a lot worse than a HR.

HR seem to work a lot better if you get a skinny one and mount on a wide rim so the edge knobs hook up more.

Oh, and to answer the OP, DHF’s roll wwaaaaaaaayyyy faster.

Front – Dhf, unless it’s shorty conditions
Rear – Dhr II unless it’s minion ss conditions

works for me

I’m running DHR2 both front and rear. Front is Super Tacky, rear 3C. The DHR2 is a better front tyre than the DHF, in my opinion and for what I ride anyway.

Anyone know if a DHR II 2.4 WT Double Down in maxx terra is ever going to be made? That would make a great rear tyre.

Guys

I need some new tyres, the Wild GripR2s are wearing down especially on the rear. I do a lot of general natural trail riding in Scotland, mostly along the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Dumgoyne. Also a trip to Glentress from time to time.

Was considering DHF pairing or DHF/R2 pairing for a bit more grip. Will they be too draggy for general trail riding? I felt like the Wild GripR2s were slightly sketchy at Glentress but that’s not my main trail location.