I’m after some DH tyres for sloppy mud rather than clay.
Any recommendations please?

Spikes. Maxxis Wetscreams.

Super tacky Wetscreams. /thread

As it happens I have a brand new pair for sale…

In propper mud, swampthings or wet screams.

Both crap on hardpack though.

how much do you want for the wet screams? relatively speaking, are they any good on roots?

whats the difference between swampthing and wetscream?

£55 posted or £50 collected from Harrogate (they really are brand new, still got the labels on) grip wise, if these won’t grip the surface underneath, nothing will. Swampthings are a round profile and *could* be used as an all rounder, if a little sluggish. The wetscreams are square edged mud spikes. Iirc swampthings are discontinued?

I do a bit of DH racing. I used to own both Swampies and Wet Screams. Now they sit gathering cobwebs in the back of the garage.
A set of Dirty Dans. So good they almost feel like cheating. Huge spikes dig in like a wet scream, but are thick enough to work on roots without getting all squirmy.

whats the difference between swampthing and wetscream?

Swampthings for when the mud sticks to your frame
Wet Screams for when it falls off again by itself

What Dan said.

TBH a lot of racers are riding muddy marys now as a dry to “so wet you cant stay upright” tyre. Only then swap for spikes

cheers fellas. Schwalbe tyres are pricey, is there a german website that is cheaper for them?

Specialized Hillbilly and Conti Der Baron are another 2 to look at.

Hillbilly is basically a pre-cut spike. Wetscreams etc are generally excessive, and are horrible on hard stuff which is why cutting them down’s so popular, these are designed for that job. Not many times on UK tracks you’ll want more (at which point, probably Dans).

(also worth noting that full spikes can rip the arse out of tracks- Maxxis recommend the wetscream only for professionally maintained tracks for this reason. may or may not bother you)

Der Baron is the tyre that made the Swampthing irrelevant- does the same job, better. Works massively better on hard stuff, while rolling faster and lasting better. And not even that expensive if you shop around. If I could only have one set of dh tyres, it’d be these.

Op asked what tyres in SLOPPY mud.
Dirty Dan’s or wet screams. Aka full spikes.

When nothing else can get any climbing traction (slop/snow), I put my “special reserve” 2.35″ maxxpro dual-ply Swampthing at 25 psi on the back. The downside is it’s draggy, heavy and squirms terribly on the road. So it comes off again as soon as possible.

neallyman – Member

Op asked what tyres in SLOPPY mud.
Dirty Dan’s or wet screams. Aka full spikes.

Doesn’t follow tbh. If anything watery sloppy mud is where I’m more likely to go for the Barons- don’t need to worry as much about clogging up or floating.

Schwalbe Dirty Dan
Maxxis Wet Scream
Specialized Storm DH
Michelin Mud (gotta be good/brave for this one)

Take your pick.

Northwind speaks the truth about the effect these tyres can have. They can either be very useful for marking out a new trail, or do a fair bit of damage to an older one.

Wet Screams when its like soup
Swampthings for claggy mud
Der Barrons for everything

cheers again, all really useful info, thank you

Anyone recommend a cheap website for tyres? Or is there not one particularly?

Doesn’t tend to be much in it these days, but I tend to give my money to http://www.nextdaytyres.co.uk

Sometimes worth checking the euro stores as well.

dirty dans ftw

Clogging up in watery mud sounds a bit contradictory… 🙂

It is a bit, but underneath watery mud tends to be harder mud. So spikes slice through the thin stuff and get stuck right into whatever’s underneath.

In the right conditions the grip that comes from a full mud tyre is nothing short of staggering!

Got some swamp things here you can buy if you want. 2.5 super tacky ust tubeless brand new still got the labels on.

Amazing tyres. Yours for 45 quid posted the pair or 40 quid collected from telford.

Email havinalaff at hotmail dot com if you’re interested.

Rich.

I would have said Screams but not ridden in slop with the new bread of tyres.
Superdan does like his dirty dans though…. (resisting the urge to swap words round)

Hated DIrty Dan’s loved Wet Screams. Der Barons are also good but Wet Screams always for when it gets sloppy.

OK, so I’m going to get some Barons.

Is it worth paying for the black chilli?

Or are the cheap versions good?

Cut down Wetscream.

Swampthings are usually being cursed at most of the muddy DH races I have done for being universally crap.

I found they offered me next to bugger all more grip than a Minion in the wet.

bikediscount.de for cheap Schwalbes

I’m going to get Conti Barons.

Just wondering, is it really worth paying extra for the black chilli?

theendisnigh

I’m going to get Conti Barons.

Just wondering, is it really worth paying extra for the black chilli?

Yes. It’s the only baron that will have the grip that you’re looking for. The DH black chilli is an ultra soft tyre on a conventional durometer scale, this is what makes it so grippy. The baron isn’t a full on mud tyre, it’s a wet conditions tyre, the mud king is conti’s full mud spike. Also bare in mind that the 2.3 and dh tyres are different durometer ratings also, so for full on mud you’ll want the DH as opposed to the 2.3 trail black chilli.

You might want to take a note of the weight though. It’s 1.5kg on shop scales.

cheers, I’ll get the black chilli DH then. Its a big price difference so thought I’d better get a confirmation that its worth it. Thanks.

I’m also considering some full on spikes for the odd occasion that I need them. (I’m thinking of when I’ve been sliding on my face down the track at Revolution bike park)

Der baron is pretty hard to find in the non-chili tbh. Remember Baron is the trail tyre, Der Baron is the dh tyre. (Rain King is the same tyre)

FWIW my 2.5 Der is a hair under 1250g- not bad for a dualply and it feels tough as old boots, stiffer sidewalls than most.

Bikediscount.de was cheapest for my black chilli der barons – £35 each as opposed to £50 plus from uk, £5 delivered in a few days last time I ordered.

theendisnigh

I’m also considering some full on spikes for the odd occasion that I need them. (I’m thinking of when I’ve been sliding on my face down the track at Revolution bike park)

Then get some wet screams and have done with it. There’s a bit of misinformation in the above posts. Firstly, the dirty dan is no grippier than the wet scream, but it is much more expensive and lasts about five rides before it starts to fold, roll and generally rip apart.

It’s true that the wet scream isn’t a great tyre on wet roots, but that is true of every. single. tyre. If you can’t ride a section off the brakes then you’ll have issues regardless of the tyre.

Some have said they are overkill, and to cut them. Well, how can you have too much grip on a wet DH track, and furthermore it’s quite easy to ruin the tyre by over judicious cutting. Not to mention it’s bloody tedious. Save the cutting for the pros who can sacrifice grip for rolling resistance, and get free tyres. A bit of a trim to rejuvenate them after 7 or 8 rides is all they need.

Also, some have said they are crap on anything other than wet stuff. Again, not true. Crap riders blaming their tyres maybe. Witness Fabien Barel’s 6th place in South Africa on a bone dry hard packed trail on wet screams. Yes, on rock a full brand new set of Wet Screams will rumble, but that’s it.

Northwind –

FWIW my 2.5 Der is a hair under 1250g- not bad for a dualply and it feels tough as old boots, stiffer sidewalls than most.

I guess they really are hand made as the brand new one I weighed on park shop scales was 1400 grams. They are incredibly tough though.

cheers fellas, great info once again

And if you do want a cut wetscream, the Specialized hillbilly comes pretty close to one without the tedious hours spent cutting down a perfectly good tyre.

why would you cut a wet scream?

theendisnigh – Member

why would you cut a wet scream?

Because the pros do. See my second post. Elite DH racers get them for free, don’t need “all that grip” and have mechanics who will give them specific cuts depending on the track.

This has led to a school of thought among weekend warriors and i.t consultants that wet screams are overkill, and they need to cut them too.

Because the pros do it 🙄
I think the idea is a faster rolling tyre that cuts through stuff and with a tread pattern that still clears well and digs in but not quite as deep so for slightly less sloppy conditions. Not for me, der baron does me as a jack of all trades tyre but I don’t race and even if I did I’m not in a position where marginal gains are going to make a difference.