* better - used in Oxfordshire chalk and mud xc on rights of way
grip wise I’m happy and most of the time it’s fine, I suspect it’s the conditions but a few times now ( usually wet, freezing temperatures but ground not frozen) I’ve been getting ‘big tyres’ , just on certain chalk and mud sections but the 2.5 tyres end up a lot wider and sort of turn into square section tyres with a huge, cloying mud build up that hangs on with a depressing determination. (Probably not helped as I run full mudguards which seem to help shape and form the mud )
anything around that will grip as well but clog less, ta
Wetscreams. Also have the added advantage of making you much fitter, what with all the drag on anything other than the sloppiest of slop, but you’ll wear through them pretty quick 😀
*not entirely serious response
You need to reduce the friction of your tyres to stop the mud sticking. Maybe wipe the side walls with olive oil or some chain lube. If it is sticking to the tread, then put the oil on the carcass of the tyre not on the knobbles. That should see you right
(Caution: following this advice may result in an unrecoverable loss of traction - good luck)
A narrower tyre like the 29x2.0 Dirty Dan might work better
I think you need something narrower and more XC oriented - I had the same problem running 2.5 & 2.3 Shorty’s on clay and chalk on an XC ride. I ride in the woods a lot so the wider modern cut spikes work well with all the greasy roots but they’re not ideal for bridleway mileage.
What’s the modern version of a Mud-X?
The Shorty was made as an off the shelf cut spike style tyre i.e. not a full mud tyre. Skinnier mud tyres should shed mud better but won't be as good of an all rounder.
I’ve always found the specialized Hillbilly is great in mud. I think the latest T9 version has gone more allrounder - but the previous T7 version was epic. If you can find one of those older grid trail ones it’s worth a go.
For XC riding, Dirty Dan, Maxxis Severe, Vittoria Torrente are all aimed at muddy conditions.
I've had good luck with Maxxis beavers but they aren't available anymore.
I'm not aware of anything which grips wet chalk though.
Michelin Wild Mud Tyre 29 x 2.00"
better - used in Oxfordshire chalk and mud xc on rights of way
My mate was a keen mtber. He moved to Oxford and stopped riding mtb because he said it was awful riding in the winter.
I didn't believe him and we went riding in the depths of winter.
- After having to pedal full gas down a massive downhill I believed him. It was unbelievable.
He's given up and now rides road.
If you find better answer please drop me a line as I'd love to pass it on. His MTB is still 26 inch wheels as that's when he gave up 😭
So my unhelpful suggestions are
-Ask some locals who do actually ride in winter
-Give up and ride road bikes
-Move.
- specialized Hillbilly are a better all-rounder and less soul destroying than shorties. No idea on how they would cope in Oxford as I haven't ridden that stuff in 10 years. Not the grid gravity versions, but grid trail.
HTH
If the muds that bad then I don’t think it matters what tyre you’ve got on, all you can do is try to go faster so it clears the mud off. Or maybe try some xc tyres with minimal tread so there’s nothing for the mud to stick to, you’ll have minimal grip either way but at least your bike will be lighter
Another for the specialized hillbilly, in the sales often on 50% off, picked my last ones up for £22 each..
But has anyone who is recommending a Hillbilly ridden a Shorty, I have both and would never say the Hillbilly is the better tyre
I haven’t ridden the latest Shorty, just the previous version. And the last and current versions of the Hillbilly. I don’t any of them are great XC mud tyres (even though I have the Hillbilly as my front tyre for that - and everything else!)
Those 2” wide choices make more sense for dragging through wet clay, especially on the back!
I agree, a proper wet/mud conditions tyre needs to be skinny. WTB used to make some very good ones, maybe a Verdict or similar
If its clay, IMO, theres nothing you can do other than avoid it.
Here on the south downs, I just mix in more roads or cycle paths in the winter. I still cycle the tops of the downs, they tend to be clear, but the bridleways on the way up sometimes become impassable even on foot.
WTB Verdict Wet.
Just expect lots of rolling resistance.
Why did I not know about that Verdict Wet! The normal Verdict high grip works so well all year around... but I've just swapped one out for a High Roller 3 MaxxGrip for winter... and I'm undecided whether it's any better. Well, to be precise it feels like you have more grip 98% of the time... but have WTF sudden total loss of grip 2% of the time. Haven't worked out why yet. Would have jumped straight to a taller knob Verdict Wet if I'd known it existed. Another winter...
Oh, it's now only in the super heavy tough casing... pointlessly slow for me.
I'm going to second Benji's recommendation of Michelin Wild Mud. It's ridiculous what it'll find traction in. Narrow carcass, tall soft knobbles, absolutely no consideration given to rolling resistance at all. Due to how soft the tread is, it actually works pretty well on occasional rocks and roots too.
Road commuting to trails, even with them on the eeb, is like riding through soft tarmac. horrific. Also, I get about 300kms out of a rear tire, but at least they are cheap!
Cx bike with skinny mud tyres on it. Job done 😀
Cheers guys. As I’ve found 2 more shortys in my tyre box I’ll probably still be on shorties, but better informed now, will try narrower next purchase. Cheers
+1 for everyone saying that this sort of #enduro spike or cut spike can be counterproductive with sticky mud and XC, the depth of the spikes means they can hold onto it a little and it's hard to get the speed up to make it shed. So a less spiky tyre that sheds better can end up working better, unintuitively.
Skinny XC muds can be pretty horrible to ride on in anything except pure mud, since they really only do one thing well, but they do that one thing REALLY well. Sadly most of the really good inbetweeners like the 2.25 Beaver which'd totally have been my choice seem to have died off.
I haven't tried it in this sort of conditions but I wonder about the Highroller 3 and similiar? It's a brilliant allrounder, less spiky and outright mud grippy than the shorty but I've never made it clog yet. It's basically just an even short spike and it turns out, that's a really great idea. Still slow though.
the 2.25 Beaver which'd totally have been my choice
Seconded.
On the front I’m currently running a fresh Hillbilly on my ebike and a rather worn one on my hardtail, and am amazed how well it’s working with lower more rounded centre knobs (the side knobs are still pretty present).
It’s ages since I’ve run a proper mud tyre on the back, a DHR2 or Butcher or (new) Eliminator at a low enough pressure seems to work enough of the time.