This has been asked before – but maybe not for a year or so and things may have changed.

I’m after some tough 29er tyres for a week in Morzine. I’ll be mostly lift assisted.

Currently I have a dual ply 60a high roller 1 for the rear (has been lying around at home for a while), which I was going to run regardless of conditions. I’ve also got an SG Magic Mary Trailstar. I wanted something for the front that’ll be a bit more suited to the dry/hardpacked stuff in case the week goes that way.

Ideally that’d be a dual ply 3c 2.5 minion – but in 29er flavour these appear to be like hens teeth. Anyone know where I could get one of these?

Failing that – what would your suggestions be for an alternative intermediate, tough 29er tyre for pretty hard use?

The choices are so slim, I’d just stick with the Mary TBH. Especially given Morzine’s potential for rain.

Faced a similar choice myself and even in 650b there is very little choice in tough carcass front tyres. So I’m going with the Mary I already have.

Cheers for that. So there really is a limited choice – not just my poor google skills. Not to worry!

Anyone else any ideas?

Butcher Grid is tough, WTB Tough casings are tough. Both are pretty heavy (over 1kg) but good, and tough enough for pros to race on.

My Conti apex protection held up fine in chatel this last weekend, mix of park riding and some off piste guided super rocky footpath stuff. The der baron projekt in 2.4 handled the variety of conditions pretty well too, only clogging where anything but a full on mud spike is required.

Next day tyres have the 2.5 3c maxxterra minion dhf in stock and was what our guide was using in 29er flavour on his remedy if that’s any help.

That’s interesting, I normally use a single ply dhf so maybe they’ll be ok.

Do the butchers and wtbs fit ok onto mk2 flow rims? Stan’s themselves seem to suggest maybe not.

I have the same question. My 26″ ust rubber queens have been more than tough enough but the 650b protection apex trail king has been a crashing disappointment on more than one occasion. I’ve never had so many tyres split.

Butchers and wtbs will fit those rims, but I’m not sure the butcher grid is as tough as you want.

Not as stiff as shwalbe snakeskin carcass, let alone the SG, in my experience.

Wtb vigilante could be alright in tough/high grip, but not tried it myself.

ehrob – have PM’d you via your PB profile.

WTB tough fast casing. Bloody solid.

It’s still early days but I’m really liking the new E13 dual compound, which I’m running on the rear. 975g on the kitchen scales, so a good fighting weight for this kind of tyre, and with slightly thicker sidewalls than the replaced EXO DHR2 I’m hoping it will be more resistant to cuts.

I use a Hutchinson Toro RR in Wales, never had it go down, very grippy and goes up tubeless easily

Butchers and wtbs will fit those rims, but I’m not sure the butcher grid is as tough as you want.

Not as stiff as shwalbe snakeskin carcass, let alone the SG, in my experience.

the butcher and slaughter have a different tougher grid casing than the others, there’s a big thread about it on mtbr with the spesh tyre guy explaining it if you want to geek out, basically their race team needed them tougher. My 29 butcher grid stands up by itself it’s that stiff. Snakeskin is thin in comparison.

The grid casing on my slaughter is noticeably beefier than the hill billy grid on the front.

Did they beef them up at some point?

Not had them for a while but I didn’t find them that stiff, put a snakeskin Mary on after and I’d say it was stiffer.