I know this has been done n+1 times, but Im at work and hungover, so please help!
Currently running a 26″ 2.35″ Hans Dampf on the rear of my Giant Trance(Mavic EN521 rim). Its a little too high and wide to have enough room for the mud in winter. So im looking for something similar but a little smaller.
My riding is on natural trails (rarely trail centres) so Im looking for something with a reasonable compromise on grip in mud, roots and rocks and has good climbing grip with a rounded rather than a square profile. A tyre which doesnt cut its sidewalls easily would be a bonus too.
What would the hive recommend please?

I was going to say specialized butcher control til you said about cut resistance, they have pretty thin sidewalls. Never been a problem for me but I’m not hard on rear tyres for whatever reason. Maybe the Grid version would do the job, haven’t used it myself though so don’t really want to recommend…

Maxxis DHR2 is good but fairly square, how wide are the rims?

Cheers NW, arent they more DH type tyres though? Im not really looking a big heavy duty DH tyre, more sort of hardcore XC type of tyre.
TBH the cut sidewall thing is a “feature” of most Schwalbe tyres I’ve used.
Rim width (outer) is 28mm, so I’d guess at inner width being a little less than 25mm.

Maxxis EXO beaver, in the spirit of recommend what you use. Nicely rounded, seems reasonably tough for a (claimed) 700g tyre, and clears pretty well to boot. Go for the 2.25 version.

Spesh Captain Control
Advantage EXO

bigyinn – Member

Cheers NW, arent they more DH type tyres though? Im not really looking a big heavy duty DH tyre, more sort of hardcore XC type of tyre.

Nah, it’s the trailbike version- kind of like with a minion or whatever, there’s a DH, then the SX tough ply-and-a-half, then the Grid puncture protected one, and the Control lightweight carcass right at the bottom. Superb allrounder on the back, not fast but not superdraggy, and can deal with pretty much anything reasonably well. But, fairly thin sidewalls.

Ah ok.
How about a Spesh Purgatory 2.3? Seems reasonable for traction and mud clearing.

Barely any quicker than the Butcher, similiar toughness and a lot less grip (especially on offcambers) and cloggier. Not a bad tyre but not on the same level imo and kind of pointless.

Aah, ok. There do seem to be a few out there running butcher up front with a Purgatory on the back.

Are the new Nobby Nics any good, or too fragile?

Maxxis Ardent.