Just slapped a pair of 2.1 trailrakers on and I think I need to adapt my riding style. Either that, or I haven't got the bottle to run the front a fair bit softer yet.
I have previously been running a supertacky 2.35 high roller on the front - so I am aware that I have made an 'apples and pears' change!
The pros to the trailrakers are that they fit the bill perfectly as a 'cutter' typeof mud tyre - a few places on my ride today usually have me grinding to a halt as you hit deep clag (uphill and downhill). The trailrakers just went 'shtum!' through the crap to the firm ground underneath and momentum was regaines quickly.
On the con side, I notice that I need to be [u]very[/u] careful where I put the front wheel - if you hit the side of the tyre on a root or rock, it pings off with all the control and safety of a ricocheting bullet! The supertacky highroller obviously smothers poor line choices better than a narrow tyre, but the trailraker seems to have its sidewall nearly out past the edge of the tread.
What pressures do people run these at - I've got about 30 psi in the front?
It feels like the trailrakers are a straight line grip tyre, but not at home being cranked over like you have to with highrollers to pick up the side knobs.
God yes! Never had one on the front, and never will, but I found I got used to it pretty quickly on the rear.
I think you've pretty much answered your own question in a mud-tyre-not-really-ideal-for-wet-rocks-and-roots kind of way 😯
I think you've pretty much answered your own question in a mud-tyre-not-really-ideal-for-wet-rocks-and-roots kind of way
Yes - to some extent. Although recent blurb in MBR did say they were the ultimate in grip for wet roots.
Don't get me wrong - I wasn't expecting a change of tyres to have me riding like Danny Hart - I was just a bit shocked at how much they ricochet.
I might try sticking the high roller back on the front as a compromise - will make the bike slacker than a slack thing, though!
"pingy" - as in "lethal" ?
Yes
great for almost all the riding round my way for the next 3 months (but, ON THE [b]FRONT[/b] ?? 😯 )
I run them (2.1F/1.95R) through the winter for XC riding in FoD/Wye Valley/Black Mountains on a HT and they are definitely sketchy on wet roots - luckily(?) so am I, so tend to avoid mega rooty trails. They are pretty damn good in the wet mucky conditions we get here though.
Yep, hated them on the front, and to be honest, I've pretty much abandoned them to the floor of the garage. I may give'em a go on the back in place of the WTB Raijin that I'm currently fighting.
Rode them as a pair a few years back and thought the same as what you're thinking. I remember a rocky climb with roots one wet day and the bike was skating all over the place compared to what I was using on my own bike. I remember sliding a bit on one root then a bit further on the back end span around 90 degrees. Amazing in mud but I was having a mare on the rest of it.
I just read that piece in MBR too and thought 'who the hell considers those good on roots?!'
I wondered where I went wrong after reading that. Not being a great rider I half put it down to my skill and confidence on wet roots but now that you've brought it up, it makes me a feel a little better!
That comment in MBR is a top piece of ****wittery. Trailrakers are awesome in mud and gloop, but are terrifying on any other wet surface. Ran them front and rear last winter, but have put off switching this year (from a Rubber Queen / X-King combo) to avoid the unpredictable sketchiness on our local muddy root ridden trails. Toying with trying some Storm Controls but the Contis are holding up well as an all year, all condition pairing so far (even if the X- King on the rear is a little slidey in the damp, at least it's predictable).
I miss IRC Mud Mads
Grip on wet roots and rocks?
Ye mud mads were awesome winter flyers!!... but gotta love the raker tubeless 2.1!?.....grips everything!.... big mechanical grip front & rear.....dependable in corners,i love em.....nothing gunna grip on wet roots mate....face it......trailrakers are king in mud....
I used the always go to trailrakers when the mud appeared but after a couple of sketchy rude would often abandon then to the garage floor, I almost prefer to run a tyre that grips a bit better on wet roots (and isn't slow on the firmer ground) but is predictable in the mud, spesh 2.1 ground control for example
Although recent blurb in MBR did say they were the ultimate in grip for wet roots.
K'off. An out and out mud tyre, and for wet mud only IMO. When it starts to clag up they become very draggy. Also the very open light carcass is prone to punctures.
Grip on wet roots and rocks?
Not so much 'grip' as 'not finding the front wheel a foot to the side of where it had been a millisecond earlier!
Anyhow - got a pass for the Peaks on Thursday, so back to the highroller front and Ardent rear - grip never much of an issue on the grit.
Will prob leave the 'roller on the front and put a trailraker on the back.
I'm not totally naive either - obviously wet roots and rocks are a bit sketchy full stop.
I once went into 18 bikes in Hope looking for some tyres. The (not overly friendly) guy behind the counter asked what I was looking for in a tyre. I said "grippy, but fast rolling, light but tough and less than £25 each" (with a silly grin on my face). The joke was lost.
I realise that if trailrakers had side-knobs they wouldn't cut through to the firm stuff - I'm not completely thick, y'know!