I've been running Maxxis Advantages front & rear on my SC Butcher since new. Main use is trail centres during the drier months of the year. It's taken me a while to realise that the Advantage probably isn't the grippiest of front tyres I could be using.
Recommendations for more front grip puleez.
D.
Chunky Monkey (That's a suggestion not an accusation 🙂 )
You're just going to get hundreds of replies with people saying 'my tyres are awesome, buy them' etc.. 😉
I don't even know if my front tyres grip well or not. On various bikes, I've got High Rollers, Mountain Kings, Big Bettys....I think tyre pressure and suppleness of suspension have a lot to play in this...
I guess you could buy a tyre that wasn't marketed as 'XC' like your Advantage is and presumably it'll have bigger knobs on it ?
Scroll most of the way to the bottom of this page for some (at least partly) scientific data on tyres. Guessing you'll want something in the all mountain category - conti MK2 (in the good rubber); nobby nic/hans dampf; maxxis high roller etc.
edit: i forgot the linky...
http://forums.mtbr.com/wheels-tires/tire-test-results-german-bike-magazine-419392-12.html
Specialized Butcher Control
Butcher Control's my do-anything now. Could do with a choice of compounds, possibly could do with a bit more sidewall... Not fast but not horribly slow. Not even expensive. Just a better Minion really.
I find the Advantage on the Front pretty grippy. Run it with a less grippy Ardent at the rear
Better than the MountainKings it replaced, and higher volume.
Would possibly swap for a Rubber Queen, but not until it's on its last legs!
I've been a big fan of the ADvantage front and back for the type of riding you describe, on a 140mm FS. If it got really dry stuck a Small Block 8 on the back which also worked really well.
It has quite a high volume, and a pregressive feel, which gives confidence - no 'zone of uncertainty'
Before you start splashing the cash, presumably you've experimented with tyre pressures - made a big difference to me. I ran 28psi on the 2.25 front which took out all the high frequency vibrations, and felt stable and predictable in the corners.
Well, my current choice of tyre for similar riding on my [s]skill compensator[/s] gnarpoon is Rubber Queens. 2.4" front, 2.2" rear, in Black Chilli flavah. (I'm so street sometimes)
Lovely and grippy, and the key for me is that they are really predictable. They don't suddenly snap away from grip on a corner, but give me a little warning when I'm [s]about to tumble in a horrible mess of limbs and bike on the floor[/s] shredding teh gnat a little too much.
Thanks for the replies. It's given me a bit to think about. I'll get myself a pressure gauge & do a bit of experimenting. I've always run my tyres so that they run with a slight deformation at the contact patch. I'll get a bit more scientific & see how that goes.
Mucho thanks for assist 😀
D.
PS - think I had a brain fudge in previous post. Was 24 PSI on front, 28+ on the back. Soz...
Dave yer to old for that gnarly Santa Cruz , what you need a Steel CX bike with fudguards , map holders and panniers. 😀
That said I've always found Nobby Nics to be good and Specialised Eskars though there sidewalls aren't the strongest.
The Chunky Monkey trail extreme version on my front wheel is very good for where I ride in the Lakes.
I wouldn't touch anything that didn't have some meat to the sidewalls, so no Nobby NICs and Eskars for me.
Hi Dave
I've just bought some of these ... not tried them yet but Bikeradar scored them 4/5
and at £14 ish each an absolute bargain
http://www.fawkes-cycles.co.uk/1541844/products/panaracer-rampage-26x2-35-folding-bead-tyre.aspx
steve
Another vote for the Butcher here.
Someone has to say it, Hans Dampfs?
I've just got a Maxxis High Roller II 26x 2.3 exo for the front from next day tyres, £28 delivered.
Had 2.35 HR & 2.4 HR II on the front in the past, always liked them myself!
I wouldn't touch anything that didn't have some meat to the sidewalls, so no Nobby NICs and Eskars for me.
Out of interest does that include nobby nic in the snakeskin variant? I went through the sidewalls on non-snakeskin ralphs in no time but hold out more hope for my snakeskin nics.