[Closed] Autumnal tyres?

I like my friends Bontrager XR4

Is the right answer.

I take you're using these up in Scotland, which will be a fair bit harsher than swinley/wakerly. Have you ran them over winter?

I've taken **** it option this yr and  bought michelin wild enduro gum tyres F&R.

I take you’re using these up in Scotland, which will be a fair bit harsher than swinley/wakerly. Have you ran them over winter?

I have them on my Ragley as my "all-year" tyres, though Winter normally involves a fair bit of fatbiking too. (More than) decent grip, don't clog, no noticeable additional rolling resistance, went up tubeless easy on WTB KOM i25 rims with just a trackpump. It's the Team version I have.

I'm thinking of putting a pair on my Occam too.

Vigilante is a great front tyre, Trail Boss rear works well with it (although not in deep mud). Light Grippy front / Light / fast rear. WTBs tough carcass are definitely tough, but weighty too.

Only hear good things about the Bonty tyres. XR5 front / XR4 rear?*

mebbe not = you'll end up with a 2.3 front & 2.4 rear............

Minion DHF/Agressor

Seems to work for me in all firm conditions, even sticks to wet leaves - though we leaves don't seem to be stuck to the ground that well 😉

I've got WTB Vigilantes on my Mega and don't rate them in the wet. Fine in conditions up to damp but in the wet I found them unpredictable, especially on the front.

scotroutes - do you have xr4's on the front and back ?  which width, 2.35 ?  I got a set of the expert 2.35 ones a while back but haven't ever fitted them - may pop them on the Bird...

I've just put a Minion DHF on the front of the Bronson, I'll be swapping back to the Magic Mary sharpish, not quite the same levels of grip on my slithery local stuff. Though I actually fancy a look at the Spesh Hillbilly 2.6 (yes, I know in reality it's  2.4) as it looks a meaty bastard.

Trail/enduro bike: Minion up front year round, unless its proper shitty, then the shorty goes on. Minion DHR out back all the time, have a semi slick on the wall, but rarely use it, its braking performance is a bit shit.

What I really want is an aggressor with DHF/DHR side knobs in 3c compound.

I like my friends Bontrager XR4

+1 here

I have just been using all sorts from back of shed/came on bikes this year. So far I have rejected NobbyNics (unnerving ability to just let go at times, especially on front), Butcher and Slaughter (too draggy) and HR2 (they wore fast/tore) and Trail Kings (uber stiff sidewall and wooden feel, then the knobs just tore off).

I have had a pair of Saguaro's that have done a sterling turn all summer in the dry - brilliant fast things on dry hill tracks. 'Exciting' in the damp...

Nothing has come close to the balance of grip vs draggy vs supple that an XR4 does/did. I have Team Version in 26x2.35 and 27.5x2.2 and 2.35, Mk1 and mk2. IMO a near perfect year rounder.

what the difference between the Team and the Expert ones ?

I got a set of the expert 2.35 ones a while back but haven’t ever fitted them – may pop them on the Bird…

or may sell them if anyone wants them ?

Last year I ran 2.5wt dhf’s in 3c exp form all of autumn / winter and they’re still on now. Although I rode quite a bit of trail centre. They’d be fine all year at Swinley.

This year I’ve got a Magic Mary to try (2.35” snakeskin addix soft) but I haven’t put it on yet. I’m holding out hope that perhaps the summer hasn’t finished yet and the trails will stay harder for a bit longer - The dhf is still fine at the moment.

what the difference between the Team and the Expert ones ?

IIRC the Expert are lighter/potentially less robust.

^^^^ ah, so maybe not ideal for my clattery bangy HT then 🙂

And I'm using 2.35" in the Ragley

Slaughter (too draggy)

Eh?

I too am liking the XR4 Teams f&r on my hardtail. Ran them from last autumn, through winter into this summer.

Good all round performance and grip, seem pretty tough for the weight.

However, I managed to rip the rear sidewall on a rock earlier this month and replaced with a tough/fast WTB Trailboss. It's sturdier, but I don't like how it rides as much.

I've been using various combinations of XR2/3/4 and really like Bonty tyres

Probably going over old ground but what are the hive minds thoughts on Maxxis Forekasters?

Okay great, I'll get some xr4 in 2.6 flavour.

Nope that's not right for the old XR4's, it has changed for the new ones! The Team Issues were the lighter 120 TPI casing and the Expert 60 TPI more durable casing. The Expert was the better tyre or two for non XC riders back then.

Bontrager tyres are now in discipline categories. So you buy G (dual ply DH casing), SE (60TPI Enduro) and XR (120 TPI XC).

A new XR4 will not be robust enough as a back tyre! You need an SE4 (minimum for a back tyre IMO) to get 60TPI casing with puncture protection!

You can run them backward on the rear for more braking grip off the square edges, as opposed to the normal direction with the ramped edges!

Autumn time I run my summer tyres and keep my wits about me.  Life's too short to change more than once a year.

Summer tyres? In scotland? Pah!

It's always drier on the eastern side.

XR4s are my summer tyres 😉

I run ground controls all year round, but my plus wheels are sporting some bonty xr4 team edition in 2.8’s looking forward to trying these out.

So I need the SE4 not the XR4, God tires are confusing! I've just had a look on the Schwalbe website, it's a complete minefield everyone develops their own system.

If you're buying 2018 tyres then yes. You could push your luck on the front and go with the lighter XR, if weight is more important than puncture resistance, but I wouldn't!

TBH the SE4/XR4 tyres are summer tyres for me.