I’m thinking of going to Antur Stiniog and was wondering if my tyres would cope or whether I’d have to get a new set of tyres before visiting here.

I’ve got Butcher Grid front and Slaughter Grid at the rear and it’s a 29er with Tubes.
I’ve heard that this place is a lot more hardcore than anywhere I’ve ever ridden so far.
For one are those tyres grippy enough to cope, and for two would they be getting endless punctures ?

Antur can be pretty hard on tyres, it is Welsh slate after all. I wouldn’t worry about it really, it’s pretty much luck of draw if you puncture or not, take a few tubes JIC? you can roll straight into the CP and be back in the lift queue in a few mins so you won’t miss out on much. The upside is that’s it’s pretty grippy regardless of weather.

Whatever you do increase your tyre pressures.

Yes I’ll take a lot of tubes and increase tyre pressure. My main worry was that it might be slippy so I’m glad to hear it’s grippy.

Wot nickc sed!
Have fun!
😀

If you don’t mind changing tyres, you could just get some cheap wired DH tyres. I’m willing to bet you puncture that Slaughter.

Something like this?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/schwalbe-magic-mary-bikepark-mtb-tyre/rp-prod128951?gs=1&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Chain+Reaction-UK-PLA-PLA-All-DT-SE-Shopping+QLB+Generic+Desktop&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid|sFsOxbuX3_dc|pcrid|161846550664|pkw||pmt||prd|462209UK

I use the same tyres, butcher and slaughter grid, ive had no puncture at antur with those tyres. Have had plenty of puncture with other tyres,but none with those.

I think youll be ok

Oops ,just realised you use tubes not tubeless, in which case switch to downhill tubes amd youll be fine

Yours are pretty much perfect tbh- you could add some grip on the back since the slaighter’s no real advantage at an uplift, but if it’s what you’re used to then no stress. You might want to squeeze in a little more air though, it is pretty quick and pretty rocky/slatey, some harsh edges and that.

(tbh I think the main difference is, it has some pretty sustained sections where each individual step or rock or whatever is no worse than what you get on red routes, but there’s one after the other and people end up just getting a bit overwhelmed and smack into stuff they’d usually just ride over if they weren’t a step behind)

How tough are grid tyres? I’d wouldn’t go lighter than Schwalbe Supergravity or WTB tough/fast myself – especially on the rear.

I’d also see it as the perfect incentive to go tubeless.

It’s all good at Antur, by that I mean it’s a hard packed quarry type surface so I’ve used HR2s, Magic Marys, Nobby Nics, DHR2s, Minion DHFs etc and never had issues with grip unless it’s very wet.

Mud isn’t an issue, the most important thing is confidence in the rubber.
Pick a decent soft compound, I tend to run my front tyre at 25psi at Antur and the rear at 30psi (28 if it’s wet), take a few tubes and enjoy…actually saying that I’ve never flatted there and I’m still running tubes, my last flat was at BPW and that’s supposedly more forgiving so work that out?!

last time there i punctured:

1No butcher grid on the rear; 1No conti baron black chilli on the front; 1No purg control back.

i went and bought 2 extortionately priced DH tyres.

the previous year i ran the same Baron and Butcher combo with no punctures and i was riding much much faster.

my conclusion – dont brake and dont use old tyres.

i love antur. mainly for the stiniog burger at lunch to be fair but i do like the trails too.

Should be fine although there’s a rocky section near the bottom of Drafft (Red) that’s claimed a fair few rear tyres…

Magic Mary snakeskin tubeless front and back ,DH Tyre on the rear does help.
Exceptional tyre,the small cuts in the tread knobs,act like mini suction pads on wet slate.
Most of the top pros are on MM when they visit.
Other tyre,Minions,Conti Der kaiser,HR2 which i run on the rear in dry conditions.
Not really tubes friendly,dh tube on the back is recommended.One chap had 6 runs and 6 punctures,went home after that.Not a nice place to change tubes in the wind and rain as there is zero shelter.
Take breaks,now and then,it’s a demanding environment but most of all have fun,it’s a brilliant venue!

If you are travelling any distance I would bite the bullet and get a DH tyre for the rear, ideally tubeless, getting punctures sucks and it can ruin your day.

Grid casing is fine for Antur IME. Have ridden those exact tryes on both a HT and FS there with no problems (90kg and clumsy line choice rider). If you’re not running tubeless just (as already said) get some DH tubes – the weight won’t be an issue on an uplift.

Anyone know where I can get DH Tubes ? They all seem to be 26 or 27.5 where I’m after 29

I was battering the crap out of a Slaughter Grid on repeated runs down the likes of Wibbly Wobbly and Rim Dinger at BPW on Friday at low 20s tubeless with no issues. Even when I’d accidentally left the climb switch on 😮 Used the same at Ard Rock as well, when my rear shock failed and I was doing most of it at 50% sag, bottoming out all over the shop. Both pretty hard on tyres. I always throw a spare tyre in the car just in case, but I’ve never needed it.

Any reason you’re not tubeless? I’d spend a tenner on some fluid, tenner on some valves, put a wrap of Big Monkey tape on, maybe a tube of pink glitter for security and teh lulz, get A5 quid pack of tubeless repair anchovies, and go smash some welsh rocks.

Any reason you’re not tubeless?

Just didn’t want any faff and left the bike as it came, although I’m going to get some faff one day if I get a puncture.

A Magic Mary is pretty much only a better idea than putting a full on mud spike on for Antur Stiniog.

Its pretty much 90 percent riding on slate, you want to run tacky tyres designed for rock. eg Minions, E thirteen TSRs or Michelin Wild Rock’r 2s.

The pros running Marys there are a bit mental imo, you get better feeling with shorter knobs.

I thought the one place my Butchers were really suited to was Stiniog tbh.

I’ve just done two days at Antur Stiniog and got no punctures, did a total of 29 descents, so it seems like the Butcher Grid and Slaughter Grid with normal tubes was OK for this place after all, at least with higher pressures

When I did Antur I had a Hans Dampf up front and Nobby Nick out back, both Evo versions, and apart from a couple of punctures despite putting a bit more air in the tyres they held up fine. It might be hard on tyres but you’re only going to be doing somewhere between 10 – 20 runs in total so not a huge mileage so it’s not really an issue. If you lived nearby and was hammering it regularly it would be more of an issue.

My spokes seemed to take more of a battering than my tyres – I bust 2 of them on my rear wheel. Carried on riding, it was a burly wheel set – didn’t even buckle, but a more lightweight wheel set would have suffered more I think.