MIGHT be straying into 29er territory and would like to change the ardents that come with the bike I’m looking at for something with more grip, traction and volume. What would those of you with experience suggest?

Specialised butcher/ purgatory

Minion DHF/DHR2

2.5 3C front and a 2.3 dual compound rear

Perfect…

What kinda trails? If mixed dirt and rock I’d say Magic Mary Trailstar Snakeskin front – possibly with Hans Dampf Pacestar or Trailstar 2.35 rear.

More aggressive than an ardent, WTB Trailboss 2.4. More rad still, pop a Vigilante on the front. The Trailbosses are great tyres though.

Hans dampf trailstar front, pacestar rear

Conti 2.4’s are big.

More aggressive than an ardent, WTB Trailboss 2.4.

Ooh yes, currently got one on the rear with a Mary on the front. Nice tyre, rolls well but still bites OK.

+1 for Dampfs

Just mounted up a Vittoria Morsa 2.3 (front) and Mezcal 2.25 (rear) and both plumped up nicely. Each is wider than the Maxxis they replaced (Ardent 2.4 / Ardent Race 2.2). Have the Barzo 2.25 on my singlespeed and have been very impressed.

Chunky Monkey comes up nice and big.

Just got 2 spesh purgatorys for £45..

I’d put a Minion on the front and leave the Ardent on the rear. It will spin up quick with smaller tyre on the rear but will offer more grip on the front, which is where you need it.

2.4 Chunky Monkey in dual compound, I’m really impressed with how much grip it offers. It’s a big 2.4 too.

2.5 minion 3C is fantastic… Doesn’t really roll much slower than narrower versions but sticks like spunk in the bath. Wee bit heavy though.

If you want a Hans Dampf I have a trailstar 2.35 you can have for free, or for the price of postage. It is that good.

Bontrager Xr4

I like my new Onza Ibex 2.4 FRC. It’s a touch bigger than a HD on a wide rim.and much more useful.

Nobby nic 2.35 is big

I run Bontrager XR4 2.35 on the front and XR3 2.2 on the rear. Plenty of volume, grip, and reasonably low rolling resistance and a bit lighter than the Ardent.

Just got 2 spesh purgatorys for £45..

Where from?

Geax Goma are well worth a punt

Chunky monkey front/smorgasboard rear for summer, minion dhf 3c 2.5 front/2.3 dhf rear for winter, job done. Love the on one tyres though, alot of people rate them so worth a try at the price.

In fact I actually paid under £40..

http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/specialized-purgatory-control-2bliss-29inch-tyre.html

My preference:
2.4 X-Kings for summer, 2.3 Purgatory/Butcher for winter.

I love XR4s, but only tried them in 26″ size, so can’t compare.

Minion 2.5 3C front if you want proper grippy, Minion DHR II 2.3 front and back, WAY better than the old DHR’s have been great so far. Ardent 2.4 rear, Hans Dampf trailstar front in “summer”. XR 4’s seem a good general compromise tyre.

Minion 2.5 and HR/minion on the back.

Mate has been messing with loads including the magical Hans and is back to minions. Honestly they just work.

Panararacer 29 x 3 Fat B Nimbles on a 38mm rim actually measure 2.5″.

Do the On One and Specialized tyres mentioned work well tubeless?

Not keen to put dhf minions on as they’re a bit vague fore/aft in the wet. My head’s going to explode, I’m almost deciding to just ride the ardents until they die but they look sooo skinny!

Specialized are certainly fine tubeless. That said, I can’t remember which models I’ve got…

My 2p…

My current set ups are:
Depths of Winter:
F: On-one Chunky Monkey R: On-One Smorgasboard Rear
Most of the time:
F Maxxis Minion 2.5 R: Maxxis Ardent 2.4
Dust/need a fast rolling combo:
F: Ardent 2.4 R: Maxxis Crossmark 2.25

All set up tubeless.

Have used Conti X-kings before and they are nice and fast rolling but lack shoulder bite, also the cheaper ones seem to be particularly susceptible to cuts.

I’m running spesh purgatory and butcher both tubeless with no problems.

No problems with the On One going up tubeless.

The CM is confidence inspiring when bashing through rocks.

Dan – on one and spesh tyres work great tubeless. Chunky monkey isn’t great for my local stuff (which as you know, is similar to yours) – it’s not really what it’s designed for so I replaced it on the front of the 29er with a shorty (not big, but plenty bite) however the smorgasbord on the back is a good tyre, fast running and grippy enough to climb in sh1tty conditions too.

Chunky monkey on the front for big rocky stuff is ace, gives a nice feeling of reassurance when ye look down at it, and as said, great tubeless.

I used butcher and purg combo for years, I’d still go back to a purg (pearticularly the grid version) but the Butcher is a bit sketchy at times, it could do with a softer compound (which maybe exists now, I dunno).

Craig gave me a pair of tyres – purg and butcher – in 29, yer welcome to try them if ye want.

The CM is confidence inspiring when bashing through rocks.

Yes, but somehow seems to ‘skate’ on the mud we get around here, Dan.

My experience too b r

I got a cm rear and a wtb vigilante front. Did the steep wild stuff at aberfoyle and it was good, though clearance at the back was v tight and qhen i got home i decided to swap as the vigil is 4mm narrower. I didn’t have any rubbing or issues but it just seemed too close for comfort.

It’s a fun hardtail and I’m happy to learn to ping around at speed. Measures exactly 2,4″ on a 20mm internal rim. Got them tubeless and I’ll see how soft i can get away running them.

Cheers.

Surprised no one has mentioned the Specialized Hillbilly. A really good tyre for this time of the year, grips on pretty much anything. I was running the Butcher/Purgatory combo which is great but the Hillbilly up front just adds another element of grip in the winter slop.