pretty much as the title says, using the ralphs in stanmer is getting to be a challenge of mind over matter (the roots dont mind, so it doesnt matter).

(used to use mud-x tubed, any idea how they are as tubeless?)

What sort of mud/riding? Traditional XC muds or big beefy modern ones? Mud X works really well tubeless ime, but I’d not have one on the front again… Maxxis Beaver is supposed to be good, still haven’t tried mine.

It’s less an XC tyre but Conti’s Baron is like voodoo in winter. Totally worth the drag for me but ymmv of course.

Found the dirty dans to be fantastic on a 29er, loads of grip, and the bead locks very tightly onto a mavic crossmax, so well that when punctured still managed to ride 2 miles without dislodging them.

tried loads over the last few years. settled on spec butcher on the front and a purgatory on the back

That’s my set up ^ but having trouble with keeping air in the butcher up front, tubeless with stans rim strip on mavic 521…….., burps at the slightest whiff of front brake on anything steep/rough

I went with Spec Storms. They’re OK, cheap enough new and go one tubeless easily enough. Draggy as hell but I’m not expecting light speed through winter really.

One of the ultimate Stanmer-gnar winter combos is a Baron on the front and an XR-Mud (aka Mud-X) on the back, both tubeless. Beaver and Storm are a good bet for the back too. Rubber Queen / Trail King is freakishly good on the back in the local dirt (from bone dry to slop and all in between) but you need a frame with huge clearance. It’s so much rootier than it used to be that you definitely want a fairly big tyre up front and the back depends on how confident you are with it fishtailing about…

Beaver, 2.25 version is great for a more all-round tyre (pure mud tyre are/should be 2.0 or less), aren’t especially draggy & run fine tubeless.

Mud X for me, work a treat tubeless, Purgs are also good for a more ‘all rounder that do well in mud’

Mud x all year. Grippy and fast.

Mud x all year. Grippy and fast.

They’re not though, are they? They’re not very grippy for cornering in any conditions – in moderate mud they’re at their best but still don’t corner better than something like a Minion or High Roller. In moderate mud they’re about as fast as a tyre can be but there are much quicker tyres in drier conditions. If you’re not so bothered about corners I can see why you’d call them grippy though because they perform very well for braking/driving for a fairly quick tyre.

They’re not great on wet roots – last winter I found that the key to rooty corners was to get my weight up on the front tyre (Baron) and try to ignore the wayward XR Mud on the back! I preferred the handling of the Rubber Queen on the back but it was harder work to drag uphill or along the flat in the mud.

Saying that, I think they’re a great rear tyre in the winter for muddy woods and hills (but not rocky places) and a good front tyre if straight-line speed matters more than corner speed!

Dirty Dans are fantastic in super sloppy conditions tracks so well. Just dont expect to go anywhere fast on landrover tracks etc, bit like pedaling a tractor.

Purg> Butcher fwiw super easy tubeless and a good amount of grip in any condition.

chiefgrooveguru – Member

They’re not though, are they? They’re not very grippy for cornering in any conditions – in moderate mud they’re at their best but still don’t corner better than something like a Minion or High Roller. In moderate mud they’re about as fast as a tyre can be but there are much quicker tyres in drier conditions. If you’re not so bothered about corners I can see why you’d call them grippy though because they perform very well for braking/driving for a fairly quick tyre.

<endorses this> One of the only times I’ve ever turned back from a ride, was discovering how shite a Mud X on the front was at dealing with anything that’s not just plain mud. A classic mud XC tyre basically but can’t do anything else even a little bit.

Storm control 2bliss.

Last winter in the south was pure filth. Where the slop was soft and deep they cut in just fine. Greasy wet chalk rather less good…something softer and a bit more all round for that.

Mud x all year. Grippy and fast.

Not my experience either. Fine in the slop but an occasionally terrifying lack of grip elsewhere.

Sooooo what’s as good as a mud x in the mud but better everywhere else?
Every other tyre (apart from cx) I’ve tried goes all wishy washy on entering a mud patch. Mud x stays on course with no sliding out at all.
We have no rocks at all around our way so can’t comment on mud x in that situation.
Something that sticks better to roots would be good.

tried the Panaracer Trailraker? no good in grass though!

Sooooo what’s as good as a mud x in the mud but better everywhere else?

Everything I’ve found with similar/better mud grip and more grip elsewhere rolls slower in mud. As about 2/3 of your rolling resistance comes from the rear tyre I’ve found a bigger knobblier front tyre gives the cornering grip without becoming too draggy. Baron is the best I’ve found for the front in the mud but is a pain to get tubelessed…

They’re not great on wet roots

Nothing is

Nothing is

True, but there are degrees of lethality.

Geax Gato. I like them in 2.3. Cheap on Sport Pursuit just now too. Otherwise beaver. I still have sweampthings for my 26ers. They rock.

rOcKeTdOg – Member

Nothing is

Try a Conti Der Baron. Tubeless it and put as little air in it as you can deal with. Rolls like a motorbike tyre but zomfg, the gripz! It’s actually pretty hard to adjust back to sane tyres afterwards (til you have to ride up a fire road)

Beavers for me

thanks chaps, good discussion and food for thought. I’ve got some mud x tubeless knocking around, so thats the back sorted at least 🙂

But what about wet rocks?

I have fallen in love with a pair of 29er tyres… I put them on, rode for a bit, took them off and I missed them!
They go up with a track pump on Stan’s Flow EX. They don’t hold mud especially at the pressures I use.
I can go over wet rocks, roots and through mud, loam, sand and loose over hardpack.
Front: Maxxis Minion DHF 29 x 2.5 Maxx Grip EXO TR DH casing at 15 psi
Rear: Maxxis Minion DHF 29 x 2.3 Maxx Grip EXO TR at 20 psi
The 3C tread blocks are weird! They feel as if they’re made by Haribo!
A fantastic fun general riding or training tyre, if I was racing I’d probably put something lighter on but for everything that the North East of Scotland has got, it does the job. (I must point out that we don’t really have clay up here…)

i just run minions all year. i used to go swampthing (very similar to the baron) in the winter but i cant be arsed now you cant get them.

to be honest the slimmer the tyre the better in the mud. front and back. dont understand the trend for tractor tyres – if you are going fast they just float on the sludge and get super sketch??

nothing is good on roots except confidence, luck and skills. and maybe a super tacky compound to help.

i went from a wide soft compond tyre to my missus fire xc pro last winter as an emergency and was staggered how much better the xcpro was! slim.

I ripped 2 tubeless mud X in the tiny little rock garden at Bedgebury. They do drive well in the winter mud, but I’ve gone to GEAX Datura UST now.

Mark, I have a set of barely used Swampthings (42a/60a) that need a new home!

Personally I’ve found that there’s a huge different between how a skinny harder tyre like a Mud-X and a wider stickier tyre like a ST Swampthing or Baron or even Rubber Queen handles wet roots. I think a big part of it is the lower pressure causing lower lateral deflection forces.

I love Mud-X front and rear have and found them useable most of the year when the ground is fairly damp and soft. They are indeed sketchy on rocks and very lightweight and low volume. Mine inflate easily on tubeless flows.

I’ve been using a Baron on the front with various rear tyres (from Ardents and Larsens to High Rollers and Minions) since I put the Baron on for a wet, rocky, rooty race last winter. Tbh, I don’t think I’ll ever take it off until I absolutely have to put on a new one. It rolls far better than it has any right to and is still all-round better than any super-tacky Maxxis I’ve used (and limited use of some of the more gnar-core Schwalbes).

I usually stick with wider summer tyres until I’m properly struggling, then on with the mud-x’s. Tbh -they probably get about 5 days use a year and then in those conditions, I run them tubeless and fairly soft as I’m not going to be crashing into any rocks, so grip over roots is ok.

OP – try them tubeless and as soft as you can, and then they will be a bit better over roots.

Van Halen – Member

i just run minions all year. i used to go swampthing (very similar to the baron) in the winter but i cant be arsed now you cant get them.

I tend to describe the Baron as “a swampthing that works”, they’re similiar in role but not very similar in performance, the difference in dryer conditions/harder surfaces is massive- miles faster, and grippier.

Magic mary, I love them and am actually looking forward to the mud of the wyre returning so i can put them back on and ride past people cackling as I go!

I’ve got a pair of Geax Datura TNT at home waiting for the right opportunity; the standard folding are only £8 each at Planet X now – so could be worth a punt to see if they work tubeless..?

They are a no-mercy mud tyre, mind… not the lightest!

Hans Dampf front, Beaver rear

or

Beaver front, Beaver rear

❓

Hans Dampf front, Baron rear.

I use the Geax Datura TNT, easy set up tubeless, roll a lot quicker than previous mud tyres when conditions are not filthy and work well in the mud too, cheap at Planet X at the mo too.

I’ve just taken my Mud-X off my 69er and replaced with Hutchinson Toro.
I found the Mud-X fine on this bike as an all round tyre, but I wanted a change as they were on the slow side and the low volume meant you had constant rim whacks on the rocks of Dartmoor where I tend to use this bike (run at 25psi)

Wont know if I made the right decision for a few months yet. Its baking in Devon at the moment 🙂