Having another dabble with plus tyres after not digging it last time, and it's going much better, mostly because of better tyres- I went with a Wild Enduro 2.8 (comp, gumx3d) front and Force AM rear and really liking them. Great front grip but the carcasses are so much better than the skwabblys I used before, good substance, no pinginess, nicely damped... Good stuff.
Except, the Wild Enduro rolls like a brick. And that's fair enough, it's a beast, but I want something with a little more speed now things are drying out. I'd like to stick with Michelin, but their tyre range is just... like some sort of social science experiment. I think the Wild AM is probably what I want but it makes my head hurt. They have all these tables of stars and facts and tech and tbh a lot of it just looks like bollocks.
(frinstance the website says the Force AM is 2 stars out of 3 for fastness- and what sort of child murdering maniac rates things out of three stars? But the Wild Enduro gets 2 and a half stars for speed, despite being a much knobbier tyre. And they both have the same 2 and a half star rating for grip which is absolute horseshit. Just total numberwang...)
Their website is an impediment to learning about their tyres. You know less and less the more time you spend on there.
You won't like the wild am if you like the cases on the enduros. They are made of paper and fold under even moderate cornering so need a shed load of pressure to be stable, or ride slower.
The force enduro is good though, same casing as the enduro, but much faster. Grips well for such a low profile tread.
Also interested in this after enduring a local XC ride with some road thrown in for good measure on Wild Enduro's today. I don't think I have every felt the need to pedal going down hill on a road before 🙂
Well I've just bought another 2.4 Magi-X2 front and I'm not even sorry. Really rate them.
nedrapier
Full MemberTheir website is an impediment to learning about their tyres. You know less and less the more time you spend on there.
That's it! I literally looked at the photos- not the weird CGI things that don't quite look like the real tyres- and understood the range pretty well. Then I read about 2 paragraphs and looked at a graph and I didn't even really understand what a tyre is any more.
I really rate the 2.4 wild enduro.... but even in a 2.4 it rolls like a brick compared to a dhf or similar. The 2.8 must be a proper beast.
So for me the wild enduro is ideal for winter or super steep terrain. Now it's drier I am back on a dhf.
I like the Wild AM 2.8 on the rear.
Running on Stan's Baron rims, and at about 16psi.
Not had any issues with pinch flats, and the carcass feels relatively solid.
Used on some pretty heavy trails (Quantocks DH/Enduro stuff) + longer distance xc stuff.
Last year I ran it on the front for a bit, along with the Wild am 2.6 on the rear.
I prefer it at the back though with a proper 3.0 tyre up front.
The new AM2's (Wild and Force) have the same casings as the Wild Enduro front. I don't know if they are available in 2.8 though.
EDIT: I checked, and apparently not.
I've got the 2.4 Wild Enduros. They're great at most off road riding but they're a drag on local stuff and the long ride out from home.
I'm not sure what else to get as tyres are the most confusing product in mtb. I want something that will roll faster but without fragile sidewalls.
Love wild enduros
came back to this as I was looking for info on Michelin AM2s
I want something that will roll faster but without fragile sidewalls.
Seen the Bontrager SE tyres? https://nsmb.com/articles/surprising-bontrager-se2-29x26-team-issue-tlr-tire/
even in a 2.4 it rolls like a brick compared to a dhf or similar. The 2.8 must be a proper beast.
So the reason I'm blowing out my @rse after fitting a 2.8" WE and a High Roller might be the tyres rather the metric sh!t ton of biscuits I've eaten in lockdown v3?
Off to look in spare tyre cupboard...
just bought another 2.4 Magi-X2
How do the Magi-x last for you? My son's is disintegrating at a rather rapid rate. My GumX is lasting fine.
The Magi-X2 lasted about 10-11 months, but I put a few road miles on it as well (and knew about it, too!). Cracking around the base of centre and shoulder knobe, and the centre knobs have worn with a square profile, rather than just rounding like the shoulder ones.
I had a Gum-X previously which lasted longer, but the grip of the Magi-X2 is way better, so it's worth it.
SO in the end I basically went with first instinct and got a Wild AM in the same compound, the carcass feels a little lighter but still in the same ballpark. Haven't ridden it enough to know for sure how it'll work out but first quick spin says a lot faster on tarmac and still usefully grippy, I'll post back once i've done a little more. Things are pretty dry so might be a little while before I can compare that.
No magi-x available in these tyres thank god, that's the last thing I needed was more choice.