Can anyone recommend a good all round mtb tyre for a 27.5 hardtail. I do a lot of singletrack/XC riding, am looking at around the £25 mark.

I would say a 2.25 ardent but….

Singletrack/xc bike I tend to use either a conti race king 2.0 or x king 2.2 depending on conditions, black chili compound.

I was going to post on your other thread to ignore the size and try the ardent, it’s a good tyre. Width isn’t that important. My x-kings come up just under 2.2 and that’s on 30mm internal rims….

I’m really not keen on them Nick, they look almost like hybrid tyres. I am trying to decide weather to spend a little more and go for Nobby nics or go the other way and return to Mountain kings, which I have really enjoyed riding and have had no trouble with…..what do you think?

Spesh or wtb do some very good tyres, should be able to get them for your price point.

Conti Mountain King 2.4 21.99
X king on the back preferably, but that’s 38quid on crc and the mk2 is still a great rear.

I wouldn’t stick anything smaller than a 2.4 Conti on a hardtail.. or any other bike tbh. the higher volume of the 2.4 isn’t just width, its significantly bigger casing height too which gives you the ability to run lower pressures .

Nothing wrong with conti, I thought you just meant a back tyre, I wouldn’t run an ardent on the front.

As long as you stick to black chili protection versions the ones made in Germany I don’t think there’s much out there to beat conti for xc bikes, personal preference though. Mountain kings probably my least favourite tyre though.

I do currently have a mk 2.4 on the front of one bike though. Currently on CRC for £22, you could pair that or a trail king on the front with an x king or a mk 2.2 on the rear for about £35 so you’d be sub £30 per tyre.

I’m not really up with conti tyres these days, but isn’t protection the cheap ‘will kill you on wet rock’ version?.

Forgive my lack of knowledge, I am just a relative learner to this sport….run a 2.4 on the front and a 2.2 on the back?

The Vittoria Morsa is going cheap on Wiggle and should make a good rear tyre for the money.

In the spirit of recommending more or less what I run:

Bontrager XR4 Team Issue (front) 2.35 if possible, 2.20 if not. (These are a proper bargain price).
XR3 Team Issue rear, again 2.35 or 2.20.

https://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/

It says those XR4 tyres are wire bead?

Team issue are tubeless. Comp are wire bead.

Chunky monkey/ smorg are pretty good

No 27.5 option on those.

WTB in TCS:

Front: Vigilante light/high grip, 2.3″

Rear: Trail Boss, light/fast 2.25″

Bontrager XR series tyres are great but I wouldn’t run a 3 for wetter parts of the year.
I’d also go for an SE on the back of you are prone to slicing up tyres.

My go to tyres for general XC/Trail are a Schwalbe Nobby Nic pacestar (rear) and Hans Dampf trailstar (front). Both 2.25.

Not as grippy as my Maxxis DHF and Aggressor but much lighter and good in both wet and dry.

Very impressed with the Bontrager XR4s on my hardtail, got them silly cheap a few months back. I’m tough on tyres and have had no issues tubeless yet. I have put an SE5 on the front as I wanted something a bit chunkier. But both are great tyres.

Nobeerinthefridge – Member
I’m not really up with conti tyres these days, but isn’t protection the cheap ‘will kill you on wet rock’ version?.

Nope, it’s the flash reinforced, made in Germany from Black Chilli rubber version! 😆

X-Kings are great.

I’ve got a Vittora Barzo in the classifieds which would make a good fast rear…

I’m using 2.3 Specialised Purgatory Grids in the front of my 27+, 29 and 27.5. I good balance between grip and roll. I ride xc and trail center blues and reds.

Are XR4s better as a front or rear or do both well?