I've just ordered a new bike and it's coming with Shortys front and rear. I suspect I won't love this (it might be fun on slippery off piste but my riding is more varied than that).
What's good in tyres nowadays? I've been using 26" Butcher / Purgatory on my Rocket for ages, but I want to make the most of the new toy and if that means spending a few quid then so be it.
I'm thinking maybe keep the Shorty on the front for winter with something faster on the back, then switch to something more all round for summer...
Riding is everything from Dalby off piste (thanks @el_boufador, you are at least partly responsible for the new bike 🤣), rocky Peaks, Moors and Swaledale singletrack to local woods and trail centres with the MiniMonkey.
Bike is an Aether 9.
Cheers!
Shorty is a decent tyre, but like pedalling a 50p piece. No way on earth I'd live with one on the back.
DHR2 out back a decent pairing,but not quick
Yeah that's a lot of tyre. I love hte shorty but I've never felt the need for one on the rear even in the worst conditions. (is it the maxxgrip version? It's the good one imo, also the slowest but having so much tread and a midrange rubber on the maxxterra doesn't work anything like as well)
I love the dhr2 as a rear, but they don't really do a full range of carcasses and compounds- what I want, is a doubledown rear in dual, but that doesn't exist. But if you can get away with exo or exo+ that makes a great tyre. It's not fast, but it's fast for how good it is, if that makes sense?
Before I moved to Conti my chosen pairing was a DHF and Assegai. When it got sloppy, then a Shorty up front.
Now I'm on Conti with Kryptotal F&R with an Argotal up front in the slop. Grip and rolling speed are fantastic. The only compromise is with speed if you opt for heavier casing. This is the way.
All have served me well at Dalby, Kilburn, Wharny and various forays to the Welsh bike parks.
I'm a fan of Schwalbe these days ...
I like the Magic Mary (up front), Tacky Chan (front or rear), and the Big Betty is OK as a rear tyre. Supertrail Ultrasoft (purple) up front, and Supertrail soft (orange) on the rear work for me in the kinds of places you describe.
Start with using the front 'till it's worn (if it's the MaxxGrip version), pair with a DH2 MaxxTerra on the rear, don't over think it 'till you've hit some trails.
Generally get on well with Schwalbe tyres - MM's and Eddy Currents on one ebike
But just switched to Conti Kryptotals from the Specialized tyres on the other ebike and they are soooo much better than the Spesh
If you've liked Specialized tyres before then I'd swap out the rear shorty for a Purgatory or Eliminator. They're nothing special but they do the job and they're not silly money.
On my various wheels, I currently have Tacky Chan for fr and rr, although mainly on the rear nowadays, Kryptotal I now only run on the rear, and Assegai Maxx Grip fr paired with DHR II MaxxTerra Exo+ rear. My favourite do it all pairing is the last… although for some fast bike park laps in not too grotty conditions, the Tacky Chans are really good. I found the contis very good (in various other flavours too) but not quite as good as do it all tyres! I’m not sure you can go too far wrong with lots of modern tyres, I’d happily trust mine in lots of quite extreme conditions and my fave pairing has worked oddly well in the snow considering. 😆
So in conclusion, STW recommends every tyre that has ever been made 🙂
I used to change tires fairly regularly to try new things but these days the cost is way to high for that so I end up with specialized as they seem to end up at half price at some point .
I had an assegai which I didn't find as confidence inspiring as you might think considering the effort required to propel it forward. The one Tyre I always felt good on and was something I could leave on all year round was a magic Mary so I'm quite keen to give a radial version a go .
I have some Vittoria Barzos on my more xc bike and I've been really impressed with them and it's made me question how much tyre I really need on my bigger bike . Could I get away with a less aggressive tire and reduce rolling resistance a bit and make the climbs a bit easier ?
so I end up with specialized as they seem to end up at half price at some point
I'd rather spend double and have something that helps keep my bike upright
I'd rather spend double and have something that helps keep my bike upright
I take your point but the butcher is a good all round front tyre if you're looking for something that's good for 3/4 of the year . I'm as confident on my butcher as I was on my assegai .
started off loving Maxxis, then discovered Bontrager, but found them a little lacking for some of my riding (pre naming rejig) and inadvertently realised id been putting Vittoria tyres on a selection of bikes. Seem to be overlooked but so far loving what ive tried, have rubino's on my road bike, had a gravel tyre on my old gravel bike, and just put Mota's on my EEB, they seem to do everything pretty well that is required of a tyre at a good price
Haha cheers all, plenty to think about there! Reckon I'll keep the Shorty on the front for winter and get mebbe a DHRII for the back, then switch to a slightly less chunky front if/when it dries up. Now there's a thought...
thats a good combo, that was my go to which covered enduro type riding, either double dhr, dhf/dhr (frowned upon nowadays), few of my mates are now HR3/dhr, or hte previous king - Assagai/DHR
Schwalbe radials, I have a Magic Mary on the front of the ebike and it's bloody brilliant.
Vittoria Mazzas are brilliant tyres. Pedal well and handle anything I've thrown at them
Not going to lie - I actually LOVE the shorty on the rear of my hardtail, it stops that annoying squirming you get. But I've never got on with them on the front.
Like many others on here, I'm also a big Schwalbe fan - Magic Mary front/ Albert on the rear. The new Radial tyres are absolutely unreal
I might well try Schwalbes at some point (what's the equivalent rear to a DHRII? Hans Dampf?) but I reckon I'm deffo gonna stick with the Shorty front for now. Quite a few riding buddies run Magic Marys on the front and rave about them to be fair.
Dalby local(ish). Assegai up front (3C MaxxGrip EXO+) and Minion rear (DHR II 3C MaxxTerra) - same setup I've been running for years now. Had a Shorty hanging in the garage for ages now and its still got the stickers on - never seen the need to use it with the above setup.
I ride similar stuff to you and have found the Magic Mary in a sticky compound by far the best front tyre with no real downsides. Hans Dampf out back is okay but draggy. Swapped to a Nobby Nic and they roll really well and grip more than you'd think but they are no where near as tough as the heavier stuff.
My new bike came with a DHF/R combo and they seem decent enough although the DHF makes you realise just how much grip the MM grips in corners!
+1 for DHR II.
Iv'e got an Aether 9c, although I live in the south east, far away from the terrain you're riding. Down here, it's smaller hills, bridleways over farm land and lots of woodland singletrack, of both prepped and natural surface.
I really rate the latest design Purgatorys and Butchers for my needs on this bike. Double Purgatory T9F/T7R for fast rolling in the warmer months, then a Butcher T9 up front when the seasons change. The old T7 Butcher was also fine on the back. I guess the Eliminator is the current substitute for that, but I've yet to try them.
Of course there's much grippier options out there, but I get fed up of dragging them round. Admittedly though, I'm middle aged and far from mountains.
Schwalbe radials, I have a Magic Mary on the front of the ebike and it's bloody brilliant.
If you're replacing both, then this, 100%, Mary Ultra Soft front, Albert Soft rear, fantastic setup
Interesting... I'm definitely curious to have a try of radial tyres.
Haha cheers all, plenty to think about there! Reckon I'll keep the Shorty on the front for winter and get mebbe a DHRII for the back, then switch to a slightly less chunky front if/when it dries up. Now there's a thought...
I think for this time of year just throwing a dhr2 on the back is a good option - just make it the 2.4 not the 2.3 as it’s a lot grippier. I’d always now go for a 3c maxxtera dhr2 in the back in whatever casing you need. I find that compound grips over rocks better than the dual compound but isn’t too draggy.
Of all the other tyres mentioned I haven’t tried a tacky chan - but the magic Mary is a decent all rounder on the front. The Hans Dampf is a bit crap in my experience - the Big Betty is more of a DHR2 alternative but they can be quite heavy.
Specialized tyres I like the Hillbilly on the front in T9 compound for the slop (it’s broadly equivalent to the shorty I reckon) but was underwhelmed with the Butcher T9 I tried - it was grippy until the point when it gave up and would just wipe out with no warning.
Continental - I really rate the Kryptotal front and rears. I run the front 3/4 of the year on my big bike and switch to a Hillbilly for the gloop. Run the kryptotal rear about 3/4 the year or so with the Xynotal the other 1/4 when it’s drier.
Following Northwind's recommendation, I think, I'm a few rides in with a Shredda rear up front to replace the Butcher T9 ,which was scary once it got slick. Wow, what a great tyre. No idea how much of that is tread pattern, ultra soft or the radial bit but it's very confidence inspiring, especially across roots.
It took some wrestling on though. It was one of those tyres that insists on getting off as fast as you are trying to put it on!
I did by one for the rear too but I'm still using the Eliminator at the moment.
re the Tacky Chans, i couldn't gel with mine in the current conditions (super soft front? supertrail, soft rear gravity?) the rear offered me absolutely no control for cautious steep descents, and was often trying to overtake the front...I have no doubt they are great tyres for confident riders/ none winter conditions. They did work when leant over slightly.. which led to many moments of panic shortly followed by a decent amount of side nob grip
I’d always now go for a 3c maxxtera dhr2 in the back in whatever casing you need. I find that compound grips over rocks better than the dual compound but isn’t too draggy.
Agreed. I'm running the dual compound on one bike, MaxxTerra on the other... and there have been quite a few WTF moments with the dual compound... and it doesn't feel like it rolls any faster than the MaxxTerra. Might last longer I suppose, but I won't bother getting another one.
I've been running Schwalbe Magic Mary super trail addix soft on the front front and Big Betty super gravity addix soft on the rear rear year round now for about 3 years, haven't felt the need to change or swap tyres mid season, when ones worn out I've been getting a replacement of the same kind.
Only had one shredded sidewall, no punctures that I know about, they've been cracking, most of my riding is Guisborough, Errington Woods and Hamsterley and they've been great tyres, enough give for traction in the dry, enough meat for decent traction in the wet especially on the sandy clay like mud up Errington woods, I like them enough that I'm speccing them on my new 29er ebike too, though super gravity casing both ends on the eeb.
I did find at first rolling resistance was, not as good as my previous specialized tyres I got off a mate in a pinch, but my legs soon strengthened up in 3 or 4 rides, and the lack of punctures and way better grip made up for it.
I've just got an Bird Aether 7 and that came with DHRII up front and Dissector rear, seems to be a great combination for front end grip without being too draggy. Double Shorty out the box is aggressive!
I reckon at some point I'll swap the DHRII to the rear and stick an Assegai or similar up front if I ride some chunkier trails/head to the Alps in the summer. I really like the traction of a DHR on the back with the big square treadblocks usually.
I've just ordered a DHRII for the back in 2.4"/MaxTerra/Exo+ flavour. I'll leave the Shorty on the front, then stick something like an Assegai on the front for summer I reckon, because we're going to get another glorious dry and dusty one, right?
Assuming I'll need to set it up tubeless, so it makes sense to switch now.
Big Betty rear. as long as its not South Downs clay.
I did try a rear 27.5 Specialized Hillbilly (softest, DH casing) at 15 psi (thx to Cam McRae NSMB) with a Tannus Tubeless insert, even on the Kenevo SL it was hard to pedal - grippy tho. Shorty rear is OK in comparison!
I've just ordered a DHRII for the back in 2.4"/MaxTerra/Exo+ flavour. I'll leave the Shorty on the front, then stick something like an Assegai on the front for summer I reckon, because we're going to get another glorious dry and dusty one, right?
Assuming I'll need to set it up tubeless, so it makes sense to switch now.
Mine came set up Tubeless with sealant etc. already in there so didn't even have to pump the tyres up. I just had to bolt back on the rear hanger (shipped with mech etc. already attached but tucked between the rear triangle) and the bars, and nip up the seatpost and off I went.
Oh nice! Well that would be a bonus.
Haha cheers all, plenty to think about there! Reckon I'll keep the Shorty on the front for winter and get mebbe a DHRII for the back, then switch to a slightly less chunky front if/when it dries up. Now there's a thought...
From Minging and slippery to fast and summery I'd go
Fr / Rr:
Shorty/Shorty
Shorty/DHR2
DHR2/Forekaster Gen2
That gives you loads of options with the minimum amount of new tyre buying.
Nowadays I run a T9 Hillbilly on the front of both bikes all year - I don't think the Shorty is much different, MaxxGrip a bit stickier and slower, MaxxTerra a bit less grippy and a bit faster. If you have less annoying local dirt and/or more confidence in the steeps then you might want something more moderate in the hero dirt times, but here it turns from wet loose to dry loose rather fast!
DHR2 is a great rear for most conditions - new Eliminator is similar, it's got a similarly friendly slip/grip thing in the turns (is that a paddle centre knob thing?)
Hah my confidence is at an all time low tbh, hardly ridden MTB for the last few years. So more grip is definitely a benefit.
Think I'll be rocking a MaxTerra Shorty front 'cos that's what it's coming with... Will mebbe switch to an Assegai in summer.