Summer trail tyres recommendations

I've got a Maxxis Dissector/Rekon combo that is pretty rapid. Both can be had in Exo+ which is the minimum casing I want to run. No complaints so far but I've only used them in dryish conditions on mostly hardpack trail centre style stuff. The edges of the Dissector dig in just as well as a Minion.

Not the kind of tyres I'd usually buy so don't have anything else to recommend.

Sticking with Schwalbe, I get on well with Rocket Rons front & back. This is on a 130/120mm full-susser around the midlands & Brecon Beacons.

Just picked up a Nobby Nic + Rocket Ron combo for my summer build, orange front, red back.

I love the Rock Razor on the rear- super fast but still makes a surprising amount of grip when things do get softer, that combo of super fast in the middle but with effective edge knobs is unbeatable imo. Other companies did semislicks but the schwalble was the best I ever used.

On the front I still like to have a good lot of grip, especially for the inevitable summer wets or for taking on harder stuff, I reckon the dhr2 in maxxgrip works great- it's only a little bit slower than the maxxterra but it's a lot more effective. Maxxterra is a good option too, but especially if you're dealing with wet rock, smooth slippery surfaces etc the stickier rubber can really pay off, I basically never regret the extra drag. Going super fast on the back lets you make less compromises on the front and it's great fun basicalyl riding the front hard and letting the rear just try and follow

Put my Rocket Rons back on the hardtail this week. On an old-school hardtail that's used for XC on sunny days.

Liking the suggestions. Of course I've now looked at the schwalbe suggestions and got totally confused by the variants (super trail addix Evo speed etc etc)

I’ve had a Minion Semi Slick on my bike all last summer (and winter. Cause I couldn’t be bothered to change it) and it’s been great, rolls fast and corners really well. My 2.5 DHF on the front probably isn’t what you’re after though. 

Magic Mary orange up front for steering accuracy. Rock Razor blue on the back for speed and looseness.  That’s a great combo. 

I love the Wicked Wills on my Jeffsy. Decent grip, not heavy, and ridiculously quick

Mary Ultra Super Trail 2.6 up front all year for me and just vary the rear between a Betty DH (Morzine), Hans Super Trail (most of winter) and Razor Suer Trail (summer UK) that about covers all eventualities.

Great replies thanks. Going to try leaving the Mary up front, love that tyre, and a Rock Razor out back to replace the Nobby Nik which feels really draggy. Bonus of this strategy is I only need to buy one £50 tyre

I run a Rock Razor out back and, generally a DHF on the front, but Maxxis for reasons best known to itself, doesn't make a 2.4" x 29" Minion DHF. I find the 2.5 and 2.6 too big and draggy for my tastes. I have run a DHR II on the front, but it somehow lacks directional confidence, brilliant grip, but somehow just not quite right.

I've been using a Tacky Chan, but that's kind fo the opposite, kind of scalpel-like precision,  but grumpy if you don't put it in exactly the right place and also not very damped, so it pings a bit - the two are probably connected.

So, I've just fitted a 2.4 V2 Forekaster and so far it's hitting the spot, deceptively grippy, quite fast rolling, quite damped. It's a really nice tyre and punches harder than it looks like it ought to.

A lot of folk seem to be using what are essentially DH tyres on trails, but riding at trail speeds, which is fine on an e-bike, but can suck the life out of a conventional trailie. 

I have a second set of lightweight wheels with a Wolfpack Cross (?) or maybe Trail on the front and a Racing Ralph, both 2.25 on the back, proper fast, surprising grip, a bit pingy though. I should have gone 2.4.

Posted by: imnotamused

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Liking the suggestions. Of course I've now looked at the schwalbe suggestions and got totally confused by the variants (super trail addix Evo speed etc etc)

The old Snakeskin Rock Razor was ace, but slightly fragile. The Super Trail is actually pretty robust and one of those not downhill, but not XC casings. It's not quite as zingy as the old Snakeskin version, but still fast. They are brilliant rear trail tyres and find grip in unlikely situations, but not the best under hard braking, so you need something grippier up front ime. 

I like Hutchinson Griffus in the summer - but then I like tan walls.

Don't make the mistake I made and (against reccommendations) stick a 2.5 on the back, it drags. 2.4 is much better (2.5 up front)  . They are great on hardpack and loose stuff.

Shockingly bad in winter though

Posted by: imnotamused

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Great replies thanks. Going to try leaving the Mary up front, love that tyre, and a Rock Razor out back to replace the Nobby Nik which feels really draggy. Bonus of this strategy is I only need to buy one £50 tyre

Try the Nobby Nic on the front. NN & Rock Razor is a good summer combination.

(Avoid any Performance line tyre from Schwalbe. They are ok in the dry but awful in anything more than slightly damp.)

Posted by: imnotamused

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Great replies thanks. Going to try leaving the Mary up front, love that tyre, and a Rock Razor out back to replace the Nobby Nik which feels really draggy. Bonus of this strategy is I only need to buy one £50 tyre

Following on from my response above I run this combo on my hard tail as it's a jack of all trades. MM is just such a great tyre and I got the RR last year for summer riding and never got round to changing it back to the HD for winter. It has been my most used bike for the last six months and the RR has coped with everything.

Much as I have to eat my own words, as a true set of good trail tyres, the new Specialized Purgatory is really quite good. They have a  more ‘blocky’ one which is great on the front, and a more shallow rear, which looks not unlike a Rekon. 

Also manage to make the front one in a T9 compound, which does roll a bit slower, but for those true summer conditions, when it does get dusty, it isn’t quite as terrifying when it starts to let go.

I may even prefer them to my usual Forecaster V2/Rekon setup.

think i'm gonna try a dissector and minion ss semislick mainly because thats what the bike had on (and i have a spare ss) before i stuck on a 2 year old assegai /dhr2  on it. that said the assegai tread pattern works pretty well on the road between offroad sections as the central lumps make it like a 38-40mm tyre. 

i tried the minion ss up back

it was just useless, it seemed no quicker than a dhr yet would just slide everywhere, and was a total one trick pony, what, you want to go off piste here? well don't.. you'll die. 

I started running Vittoria Mazza trail F&R a couple of years back.

I find them really quite good. Very predictable, roll pretty well and ample grip.

I also like the fact they don't have 27 different options per tyre.

Forekaster/Rekon or Nobby Nic/Wicked Will here. Really happy with both set-ups. I prefer 2.6" if available, and run low pressures.

Try the Nobby Nic on the front. NN & Rock Razor is a good summer combination.

Nice idea 👍 

I’ve been running a 2.4 Michelin Wild enduro front / 2.6” Rock razor rear in the summer. But the wild enduro looks a bit small so I’m going to change it and try a 2.6 Assegai exo / maxx terra instead front. I was thinking I’d try a Tacky Chan (for the brand match) but they don’t make a 2.6.

This is on the hardtail that rides mostly flat stuff but is a bit slippery with gravel and occasionally does some steeper tech. I like the volume of 2.6” tyres to add some more cushioning.

On the full suss I run 2.4” Kryptotal front enduro / soft and 2.4” Xynotal rear enduro / soft for the summer. That sees a lot more hammer so gets tougher casings. I have got a DH casing Xynotal for a trip to Dyfi Forest / bike park as I ripped an enduro casing Xynotal last time I went (on Tony the Tiger at Climach X - was gutted as it was near the start and it looked like a really fun flow trail).

Wolfpack Cross 29 x 2.4 if you can find them. Far better than the 3C they have replaced for the use you're describing.

Posted by: imnotamused

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Liking the suggestions. Of course I've now looked at the schwalbe suggestions and got totally confused by the variants (super trail addix Evo speed etc etc)

You can always tell when you're dealing with a real tyre company, all of the options will be utterly incomprehensible. Ever tried the Michelin website? You leave with less understanding than you went in. You're no longer even sure if tyres are round. What are they full of, air? Aether? Who knows.

Real quick Schwalbe's quality range has 5 carcass options which is the "super" bit. You want Super Trail probably, it's the middle one, as the name suggests it's a trail tyre, moderately tough with slightly but usefully reinforced sidewalls, sensible everyday stuff. Super Ground is similiar but with less tough sidewalls and not honestly much lighter, supertrail still isn't super tough but it's a pretty good balance for most trailbike use. And Supergravity is pretty much a dh tyre.

(IMO if you want a bit tougher than Supertrail, ie you live somewhere really puncturey with lots of sharps or you weigh a ton, probably just don't get schwalbe, there's a big ol gap between Supertrail and Supergravity which other brands cover better. It's not a fault exactly, their range is just uneven at this point, just as Maxxis's range tends towards the heavy duty but it's quite easy to fall in the gap)

"Addix" is their fancier compound options and for any sort of "real" mountain biking is what you want, Performance or non-Addix is a  false economy except for really light duty. Addix Soft for most people is probably the sensible everyday front trail tyre, ultrasoft is not as soft or as slow as you might think and is still a really good pic for a trailbike front if you want more grip, imo it's worth it and the knobblier tyres don't make any sense except in ultrasoft but for this thread Soft is still a goer.

(Addix Speed is super fast and Speedgrip is fast with a little more grip, most people won't want that for a trailbike front tyre but it can work well on the back, it's proper XC/XC race stuff and usually only comes on lighter carcasses. All have their place)

Evo means absolutely nothing as far as I can tell, it used to be kind of their badge of quality, if it said Evo then it was a higher end range. But everything you're likely to put on a mountain bike says Evo I think, and if it's got the addix or super stuff on it then it's decent regardless.

As above, avoid Performance except for canal path stuff, commuters or really oldschool milemunching XC, which they're excellent options for, longlasting and adequate, I put some Performance somethings on my brother's bike and I was quite impressed. But for trailcentre stuff or above they can hold you back.

What is the 29*2.3 like in real terms for width?  I can't see the 2.6 in stock but I might try the 2.3 if it's not too skinny.

I've gone 2.6 Forekaster/Reckon for my summer hardtail/bikepacking/XC hardtail, fingers crossed, still at the build stage.

Forekaster v2 front and either ardent or recon race on the back for the xc bike.

Dhf and disector or ardent (depends on what is in the xc bike) on the big hardtail

Assegai and hr2 on the scout

Thanks @Northwind, that was all making a load of sense, then I got lost again as the info stacked up 😅

minion SS is a fun tyre, especially on wet grass, all over the place sliding then the side tread grip, that said not way for a wet steep woodland .

i rode ardrock in the summer of 2018 with one, probably the dustiest warmest event. it worked perfectly, till i leaned my bike agaisnt a picnic bench outside the dales bike centre and the tyre went bang and sealant ouzed out everywhere.

I run the same tyre combo all year around, an ultra soft Magic Mary front & Addix soft Big Betty rear. I only swap them when either they are worm out or I damage them beyond repair. When the front wears out I'll be swapping it for a MM radial. The Big Betty will get swapped for an Albert. Tyres always run faster in the summer anyway.

Got mine from Alpinetrek.co.uk as they were the cheapest I could find for what I wanted (NN/RR).

Obviously based abroad but all duties are included in the price so maybe they have a warehouse in the UK? Anyway, the shipped price is what I paid in total.

Anyone have an opinion on the Vittoria Mezcals? Thinking of these for my Cascade. Are they true to size?