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Thinking of fitting them to replace the HR2 on the back for a SDW trip I'm making soon. I remember tearing through the tread on the SDW years back on a Conti Vert. Remember them? 🙂
So, the SS, made of cheese or not too bad?
The reduced drag will be a big help but not at the expense of being stranded with a ripped tyre.
As always, thanks for the info guys.
They aren't tooooo bad, but the carcass is a lot closer to the flint than with more heavily-treaded tyres.
The main thing for me was that the reduction in drag wasn't anywhere near as much as I expected. YMMV.
It may depend on rim width and pressure (I ran 22psi), but it didn't have that livelier feel that I get with an Ardent. (But then it didn't seem have much less grip than a HR2 either).
Difficult tyre to judge really.
I ride the South Downs every week, I only live a couple of miles from them so have a lot of experience of flint. I've no idea what maxxis tyres are like on it though so I can only tell you what works for me. I use specialized tyres in the grid compound on the HT and a mix of schwalbe tyres on my other bikes, all with snakeskin.
A schwalbe rock razor is pretty decent in the dry. Not much use on the dreaded green chalk but then again not much else is either.
I avoid using EXO casings on rocky/flint on the rear tbh.
I use the Specialized Slaughter Grid (same pattern as a rock razor or minion SS) on the rear and echo what AlexSimon said, because of the small knobs the carcass is closer to the deck and has more scores in it then the snakeskin Hans Dampft it replaced which I ran throughout the winter. But its the grid casing so I trust it...Def get the thicker casing.
I disagree with the comment re rolling resistence, going from a Hans Dampft to the Slaughter was noticeable!
I think the Slaughter is a better tyre (maybe the rock razor too but I haven't any experience of that). For me, the Minion SS side knobs are in contact with the ground too often. I don't even have that wide a rim.I disagree with the comment re rolling resistence, going from a Hans Dampft to the Slaughter was noticeable!
Maybe consider the Crossmark II in Exo as well.
Would be great for the South Downs I reckon...
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the minion ss is a great dry tyre but not exactly fast
don,t overlook the ignitor or the forekaster
Exo just isn't all that tough against cuts. Slaughter Grid might do better? I didn't like it that much, I found it way down on pedally traction on wet rock and the like compared to the minion, but then I'm not harsh on rears so i don't value the cut resistance as highly as some would.
Forekaster is lighter and felt way less sidewally to me as a result (I didn't like it at all though so maybe I'm biased.
Bonty SE3 (bit more edge grip than an Ardent) or SE2 on the rear with an SE5 (HR2 but gripper and faster rolling) up the front seem so far to survive the Downs, including the infamous Flint Terror Descent in Lullington Heath.
I'm not sure any carcass is flint proof - your best bet is tall enough knobs to keep the flint from cutting the bit that matters.
Saying that, I've been running a Minion SS in the back of the hardtail for about half the year and live and ride on the flinty South Downs - it's the Exo and Silkworm version. It does develop a lot of wet or bubbly patches on the outside, which I don't believe I've had with my other Maxxis Exo tyre.