I lived for years somewhere with a great deal of mud. So all I know tyre wise are Trailrakers or Bonty Mud Xs. But I've gone and moved to Fort William, so now I need a tyre with a leaning towards trail centre riding (i.e. the Witches Trail) and mountain biking. As in biking in mountains, rocks peat and what have you.
Cost not an issue. For a 26 inch wheel. Thanks.
(Sorry for such a boring thread. I did a cursory search of the forum, honest).
What are the local riders using?
Needs to be rocky proof up there, and good in wet, but not sticky mud.
What flavour of riding do you plan to be doing? Uplifts in your future? There's every sort of riding you could want, up there, but some of it will want bigger tougher tyres, some of it not so much.
Uplifts?! I believe in exercise! Cross country, old military roads, MOUNTAIN biking.
I don't know any locals a) I just moved here b) I'm old, antisocial and grumpy.
Start with a Maxxis Minion.
Waderider - MemberUplifts?! I believe in exercise! Cross country, old military roads, MOUNTAIN biking.
Some of the best riding in your area is only accessible by lifts, and is definitely mountain biking 😉 (also, the physically hardest days I've ever had on a bike were on the world cup route...)
But OK, away from the gondola, does your riding include more technical/harder stuff, outwith traditional xc? You've got some brilliant playgrounds, offmap stuff at nevis range, kinlochleven within easy distance, which have similiar needs to the uplift stuff- big, tough, sticky no nonsense rubber. But that sort of thing'll be overkill for the tamer stuff in the area where more speed will make sense, so no point in going there if you don't plan on doing that sort of riding.
Suppose what I'm really saying is, what matters isn't so much where you live, it's you.
I run a Chunky Monkey 2.4 soft front and an Ardent 2.35 rear on my HT, tubeless; Scottish Borders so plenty of rocks here too.
Pretty fast rolling.
Northwind, get to the point i.e. a tyre. Wish I'd never asked 😆
Thanks Mary, clear and concise.
High Rollers / HR2s for everything. Stand up to most things, including my fat ass riding a Soul over Dartmoor and Haldon (so think lots of granite, roots and flint).
Chunky Monkeys are great for the price and not too heavy
What jruk said. High rollers and hr2 fine for most things. Draggy, but now worse than a trailraker and will grip well. New 2.4 massive though, so check it fits your frame/ fork.
If you want slightly easier rolling, you could always combine with a cross mark or ardent rear tyre.
Specialized purgatory or ground control (or both purg on front)
Waderider - MemberNorthwind, get to the point i.e. a tyre. Wish I'd never asked
OH I recommend you a Baron for the front and a Butcher for the rear, which is what works for me around that area, but might not work at all for you because I have absolutely no idea what you plan to ride. Hope that helps 😉
Bont XR4's all day long.
In the best tradition of STW and recommending what you've got yourself, Mountain King 2's? RQ on the front if you want something a bit more aggressive?
Go to local shop.
Ask them.
Come away with warm glow of supporting local business, and correct tyres.
winner winner chicken dinner
I have tried a few tyre combos for North Wales riding. So like Scotland; rocks and water.
I keep coming back to High Roller 2's with the EXO casing. Grip is good. They seem strong against spiky rocks. Set up tubeless really easily.
Mud king with cut down centre spikes is good on the rear for summer if its dusty.
Stans Crow, if you believe in exercise 😀
Thanks for answers all, including Northwind 😉
Off shopping. I'll see if a local shop can source what I want.
Maxxis advantage front and rear. for me peaks and lakes.