[Closed] Best All Rounder XC Tyre for Rear?

maxxis ignitor or maxxis crossmark.

choose your level of toughness from eXCeption, standard, exo and UST.

Dave

Maxxis Ardent best all rounder, fast as a runaway bride , grips like a divorcee in alimoney court.

Rocket Ron or Racing Ralph.

Bit subjective, will be difficult to find a tyre that works on everything too and is still quick. Conti 2.2" Rubber Queen in Black Chilli Flavour is about the best all round tyre going currently (if you're not racing) IMO, but whilst it's not the slowest tyre in the world, it's not the quickest either, and is better suited to front use.

I get on really well with the 2.25" 60a Maxxis Crossmark on the back. Light, fast and grippy in everything except deep mud, but even then it's nicely predictable. Schwalbe Racing Ralph's are pretty similar if a bit more fragile and don't last as long.

But there are hundreds of tyres out there, and everyone will have their own opinions. Just buy one, and if you don't like it, sling it on the classifieds on here and buy a different one... I've come to the conclusion that personal trial and error is the only way with tyres.

I've got a Racing Ralph by my desk here, and I'm going to replace it before I head to the Alps in a week. I've been running a Nobby Nic front and rear for almost 2 years now, and although good in the winter for all-round grip, I think in the limited summer months the RR will give me a little more speed. Plus, it won't wear down as quick as the Nobby Nic.

If you don't mixing your brands from front to rear, a Maxxis Advantage is also a good option. I used one of these through the winter a year or so ago, and although it washed out from time to time, it was good. But, which tyre doesn't?

Avoid anything super-tacky, if you want to avoid disappointment of your tyre being next to useless in under a week...

Are ardents still stupid expensive? £40+ a tyre.

I'm quite liking my new Conti Mountain King 11's, much faster than I expected given the tread pattern.

Didn't like Crossmarks personally, super fast when dry but absolute rubbish when damp or even slightly muddy, just picks up mud and then doesn't release it.

On the back of the hardtail that gets used for XC duties, I've been happy with ADvantage UST and Larssen TT UST.
Whilst the TT is a dry conditions tyre, it's better than you might expect in the mud too.

Crossmarks is only of use for quick draining stuff like say a trail centre

Pretty much useless when it gets wet on anything that is not rock or hardpacked

Still slowly wearing it down on the rear but it is not going near mey front wheel

I once ran it in the wrong direction up front ....it was no more or less grippy like this

Larsen or Ardent if not so hardpack.

I've got a set of Nobby Nics and a set of Crossmarks (just happened to be on the bike when I bought it)

Nobby Nics are by far the better all rounder in terms of grip, but much slower than the Crossmark which are skethy to say the least in the wet.

The crossmarks let go much more predictably than the NN's

Bonty XR4. They come up reasonably narrow, so fairly fast even in 2.2, and they cope well with mud and stuff.

Not too pricey, either.

Bonty XR4. They come up reasonably narrow, so fairly fast even in 2.2

I'm guessing that's the new ones because the old ones are huge (but fast for their size)!

Just got a Continental X-King 2.4 black chili to try as a fast rear for XC and more. Similar pattern to the old XR4 but lower knobs and should be a quicker (but equally grippy compound). Will report back...

rewski - Member

Are ardents still stupid expensive? £40+ a tyre.

Posted 5 hours ago #Report-Post

Yeah, just looked on nextday tyres, start at 23 quid upto £40 for fancy folding lust.

I'd try a 2.4" Fat Albert. I've swapped to them from the standard RR/NN combo and am very impressed.

EDIT: Also dirt cheap at on-one, or they were...

All the XR4's I've seen look to be about right for there size? Unlike Schwalbes which are about 10% smaller than stated (however, I just bought slightly bigger versions so still happy with my Nics and Ralfs)

Ardents are really good, but at the rate they've increased in price since they turned up in the marketplace I'd expect them to grip wet sandstone, handle greasy chalk and rustle you up a nice battenburg for your post ride snack.

It depends on the frame to some extent. Some suspension platforms can be very "spitty" when climbing, so you by going for a fast rolling tyre you wind up with something that makes you work hard to stay on the damn thing when climbing.

Maxxis Minon Super Tacky Dual Ply. 2.7 preferably.

Mountain King II 2.2 protection in Black Chilli.
The MK II in 2.4 is almost the same carcass width as a 2.2 RQ but with shorter faster knobs.
As a result the MK has less braking traction than a RQ, but great tyre.
I'll be running 2.4 front and rear on my trail/race/epic ride Spark.

Eskar Control is pretty good at everything, though not brilliant at anything.

I'm really liking the Kenda Slant 6 just now- [i]very[/i] fast, but surprisingly grippy. Even in mud it provides a reasonable amount of traction- probably because it doesn't clog. Can't, really, doesn't have enough tread 😉 It's not one for folks with a lot of mud to deal with though.

The best descripton I've ever read for a tyre and I agree wholeheartedly!!

"Maxxis Ardent best all rounder, fast as a runaway bride , grips like a divorcee in alimoney court."

29er Ardents are good but pretty rubbish cornering in deep summer mud but only MudX is good for that, dry conditions a crossmark is excellent but will only last 2k miles before becoming semi slick

Maxxis advantage are great all rounders.

only MudX is good for that,