So, I'm doing a long-ish (for me at least) bike tour and I want a slightly faster tyre for the back. Being a Nancy, I like to have the same tyre manufacturer front and back, and I'm pretty happy to put the Ardent that's currently on the back on the front wheel and put something a little less aggressive on the back. I'm now faced with the tyranny of choice that is the Maxxis tyre range. my options appear to be (in no particular order)
Ardent Race
Rekon
Ikon
Aspen
and probably others that I haven't stumbled across. Has anyone got a strong opinion (hahaha) about which of these is the obvious choice? or is really fast, and will make me look good? Terrible?
Cheers
This is the (superb) link your looking for:
WORLDWIDECYCLERY.COM I've used a lot of the tyres you mention and on my hardtail I generally settle for Forekaster Front, Rekon Race rear.
That's ace, thanks for digging that out
I find the ikon very fast on the rear but not much help if it's wet. Paired with an old forekaster up front in summer.
I’ve used the reckon in 29x2.6 and 27.5x2.6. The 29er one was an exo+ and with a rimpact I ran it last summer with no dramas. Quite a bit of off piste tech stuff - the rekon doesn’t have great braking grip but better than the other faster again tyres you mention. As a trail tyre it alright though.
The 27.5” one was just exo and it’s the first tubeless tyre I’ve ever put a hole in. Only in the local woods on the hardtail - either I was unlucky and caught a rock at a bad angle, or it’s made of tissue paper. I’m going to fox and sell this one as it’s clearly too flimsy for my riding. Was fast - but not as fast as the Super Trail Rock Razor that has replaced it. The Super Trail casing feels a chunk stronger than the Rekon one.
The Rekon Race is very fast and the Pace even faster
In order of nobbliness it's prob this:
Rekon & Ardent Race
Ikon
Rekon Race & Aspen
Pace
The other thing to look at is obviously durability -- Rekon are available in Exo and Exo+, the others in only Exo I think
There is also 120 and 60 tpi versions -- not all those models come in both
There is this slighted dated page that's worth a look:
MARATHONMTB.COM Rekon are available in Exo and Exo+
Thanks, That may just be the bit of info that swings it or me 👍
They’re all better tyres than ardents IMO.
Ardents are neither grippy or fast, ardent races OTOH are a much better tyre. Much faster than an ardent and don’t seem to give up much/any grip (which is somewhat damning with faint praise mind, but more grip than an ikon).
I have the ardent races on my hardtail and they are much faster rolling than the dhr and assegai I had on there but also seem to have decent grip (if it's not too muddy). They seem a good compromise.
