Any recommendations for decent winter tyres not too fat or dragging
Running a specialized hillbilly on the front and a Michelin Wild AM on the back.
Cope with mud, clear well and not too bad on harder trails. Best combo I’ve found yet but I reckon winter tyres are really dependent on your local trails and the type of mud.
Soft Mary and a Minion SS for me.
Mud, but, lots of rocks/roots so puncture avoidance is mega important.
Tubeless obviously.
I used to run a pair of 2.2” Maxxis Beavers on my HT, and really liked them - not too draggy on hard surfaces, but pretty good on wet and muddy trails. The only downside was that they were not best suited to rough rocky natural trails.
Currently using wild enduro front, spesh eliminator rear. Tyre pressure is critical. Running insert in rear and low pressure. Front is very low, but no insert. Seems good so far, have a hill Billy on a spare front wheel if needed
I like Maxxis Forekasters on mine, fast rolling, wide enough tread spacing that most mud clears easily. But this is all local stuff, nothing too rocky.
Ditched my forekasters a few weeks ago as they are a bit too sketchy in the Chiltern mud. Running a butcher/hillbilly 2.6 combo now. Loadsa grip in the mud and not too draggy (I don’t run them particularly soft).
Butcher front purgatory rear.
I've a shorty if it gets super grim, but it sucks the life right out of my legs
I’ve run Bontrager Xr4 all year round on both my hardtail and full Suss bikes never let me down. But I suppose a lot depends on the terrain you ride.
Gritstone and limestone mud round here - some clay clag if I head east. Also looking for something similar (mud clearing and not draggy as hell) as my Stanton frame is taking so long to arrive the Ardents I ordered for it aren’t going to be any use now.
My local trails are an equal mix of stony, rooty and mud. Narrow mud cutters dont offer much advantage in mixed terrain like this, and have as many downsides. I've gravitated to a 2.5 Maxxis shorty 3c on the front and a 2.4 dhr2 3c on the rear with slightly lower pressure than summer.
Same as Scienceofficer.
Beavers were great XC mud options, but Forekasters (which seem to be the replacements) are awful. Horrible compound and a really feeble carcass.
Ran 2.6 Forekaster and 2.6 Rekon last winter (rocky trails with a thin layer of slop on top mostly) but have switched the Forekaster to the rear and put a 2.5 DHF up front for more cornering grip.
No issues with the Forekaster here, quite like it's taken some abuse. Just goes to show there is no consensus on what's good and what's not!
Butcher front purgatory rear
The WildAM 2.35 on the back of mine replaces a purgatory 2.3. Always hard to tell as winter conditions vary so much but seems to hold a line much better.