[Closed] Which Tyres for Trail Tracks? - I have no hair left!!!

Go on then, I'll ask it.

What's a 'trail track'?

🙂

ok, so I miss out "HARD" 😕

Still none the wiser.

Oh my God! Tyre choice is a nightmare. Whatever you get will be wrong. You'll get a million different answers. Last year I got bored of the game after a month on-line, and admitted defeat by popping into my LBS. It got that bad for me. Bonty Mud-X they said. I've left them on for a year now as I'm so happy - great here in the Surrey mud, but I used them on Snowdon and they were fine, as was two laps at Coed-Y-Brenin. Even did a two day skills course on the things and they were fine.

To be honest the guys at the course said most tyres are actually fine, it's the rider that's at fault......

Tyres really are a trial & error thing,what I love to use someone else will hate....Take yesterday's Dyfi,so many people will say they had the correct tyres for the job(me included)& yet there was all manner of different tyre on show ....... 😕

do u mean train track?
[img] [/img]
problem solved

Thanks for help chaps 🙄

Seriously, no-one really knows what you mean by "Trail Tracks", and your clarification didn't clarify it.

Describe the trail conditions a bit more clearly and I'm sure folk will help, although you'll still get plenty of different recommendations.

Maxxis Advantage, can't go wrong with them.

lol... HARD PACKED... No

Thanks for suggestion SKYWALKER... Sure if most read the FULL post they could guess... Sorry for missing out the odd word or making all the qualified techies here really confused.

Maxxis Ardents as long as its not muddy if it is say bye bye to front wheel grip.
There is no such thing as a tyre for all seasons/trails and so you just have to pick your preference-my current one is grip in all conditions with big volume tubeless but can be draggy on hardpack aka 2.2 black chilli rubber queens.
The Ardents are going on the spare bike (rigid geared) with inner tubes for dry trails days.

Kenda Nevegal, 2.35 stick-e on the front, 2.1 DTC on the rear, works for everything so will be suitable for whatever the hell it is you're trying to say.

black ones made of rubber are best for all conditions !!

If YOU had read my post you would also see there's no real answer to your question,as you'll see by the list of different tyres that people will recommend...............

charge spalshback

you should get these. they look good.

[url= ]trail track tyres[/url]

Has anyone tried Michelin XC Dry 2?, look fine for HARD PACKED conditions, I suspect terrible in Muddy conditions

ok, taken on board, thanks emac

Think your right emac 😕 💡 🙄 😥

Go for the big names. for hardpack trail conditions i'd recommend Maxxis Aspens, Schwalbe Rocket rons or Racing Ralphs.

or for intermediate tyres such you wont go wrong with Maxxis Ardents, Schwalbe NobbyNics.

what / where do you ride?

[quote=996ttstevo said]Has anyone tried Michelin XC Dry 2?, look fine for HARD PACKED conditions, I suspect terrible in Muddy conditions

Got those on currently. Really quick in the dry! Really sketchy in the wet 🙂

Mostly Glentress Janesy... thanks for reply, appreciate it!

I suspected that Pies, Thanks anyway 🙂

It's an impossible question really. I like my mud x's in the gloop, and then nobby nics when it dries out a bit. In my mind, the nobby nics roll faster then the mud x's and work better on hard corners.

(the reality is, that last night, 3 bikes with mud x's on, and me with the nobby nics and there was no difference in rolling speed on the roads at all, and they seemed to go uphill quicker!!)

I guess what I'm saying is that nothing is right, nothing is wrond. For hardpack only (and assuming rolling trails and nothing too steep), I'd get something with little tread in the middles (faster rolling) and decent side lugs for cutting in on the corners. I have no idea what fits that description though!

Tyre choice for mountain biking is such a giggle; it's just another excuse for poor riding.

I know they get slated by a lot of people/mags, but I always find myself coming back to Kenda Nevegals. Not the fastest or the grippyest but I've always found them really predictable.

If Glentress (although ive never been) its a trail center in which ive been to many. The Ron & Ralph I stated probably will be too fragile for you. although the NobbyNic or Ardent are still great tyres

I wouldn't ride mudx on hard pack! thats a no no!

Glentress in the dry= Ardents!

Thanks guys

Tioga Factory DH 2.1. Lasted 6 years on every type of terrain and weather, on an XC bike, a DJ bike, a DH bike, a trail bike, and all mountain bike, a tandem and finally ending up on a commuter.

996ttstevo - Member
Mostly Glentress

Rusty Shackleford - Member

What do they use on the hire/demo bikes at GT? Use those.

They use whatever they have lying around- sometimes fitted back to front, sometimes with a supertacky on the back and a near-slick on the front... Not an example I'd follow!

Really? Ok, furry-muff. I noticed at Llandegla that the hire bikes were running High Rollers and assumed they were chosen for their suitability for the trails (y'know, decent grip for the local conditions, not liable to pinch-flat)...how naive 😳

Can't find much wrong with Panaracer Rampage for a good do it all tyre TBH...

Putting my vote in for maxxis high rollers 2.35 front and rear. Not perfect, but good at almost everything. Heavy, yes, but not too slow rolling, and grippier than the fat alberts and nobby nics I was running before.

There are faster tyres for hard packed smooth ground, but when was the last time you didn't go through a single patch of mud?

When it was dry the continental Race Kings were great. Bit fun in the slop though.

Panaracer Dart on the front, Panaracer Smoke on the rear. Simples.

I kind of do the same as the bike shop at GT then - I've got some kind of narrowish, knobbly tyre on the back - no idea what it is. And a huge, fat, knobbly Conti Vert on the front. They stay on until they wear out through all the seasons. Honestly, if I'd never stumbled upon STW forum I'd never have thought twice about it - in fact, I still don't really 🙂

"Bonty Mud-X they said. I've left them on for a year now as I'm so happy - great here in the Surrey mud, but I used them on Snowdon and they were fine, as was two laps at Coed-Y-Brenin. Even did a two day skills course on the things and they were fine"
As a not too draggy mud tyre and all condition tyre I quite like them. I use them in the wetter months on my XC hardtail as I normally like something a bit bigger volume. The 2.0" MudX's are probably the smallest knobbly tyre Ive used

"Maxxis Advantage, can't go wrong with them"
Apart from if you have narrow rims and go with the 2.25" or massive 2.4" as theyll sit too round IME. Using low pressures to get them to grip they wont be overly stable in turns/landings and they'll pinchflat, especially if you use normal size tubes theyll have to stretch a lot to fit
2.25" on XM719s are a touch big I reckon
IME of other treads 70a isn't brilliant if its wet/muddy out

"Has anyone tried Michelin XC Dry 2?, look fine for HARD PACKED conditions, I suspect terrible in Muddy conditions"
Yes, great in the dry, hardpacked or not too deep sand/loose. Not bad if its loamy, but its wet and muddy then no they're not brilliant but Ive ridden worse tyres (70a crossmarks for one)
2.0" come up pretty big, not as big as new continental, but a lot bigger than mudX's. Similar to 2.35" maxxis
2.15" come up pretty big too, about the same as 2.25"/2.5" maxxis

"find myself coming back to Kenda Nevegals. Not the fastest or the grippyest but I've always found them really predictable"
Id like to, but the sidewall/bead failing too often well before the tread is worn has put me off. The 2.1" DTC I liked, predictable but maybe a touch slow rolling, Id have liked bigger and if I were going to the 2.35" Id maybe want bigger side tread?

"maxxis high rollers 2.35 front and rear. Not perfect, but good at almost everything. Heavy, yes"
The 2.35" 60a folding isnt too heavy, but not very big volume, slightly bigger than 2.1" maxxis/kenda
Suprisingly not all that bad in mud/slop up front, on the rear the ramps make it bad for pedalling traction. though if its awful out then you'll not want to pedal them too far through slop

"a huge, fat, knobbly Conti Vert on the front"
What size is that?
I thought verticals were only 2.3"? And the old continental 2.3" which aren't tiny, but not all that massive

On my main/FS bike the last year or two Ive used a 2.25" Schwalbe Albert (the dual compound one) up front with a dry2 2.15" rear when its dryish or another 2.25" albert if its wettish for most riding (else a 2.0" spesh storm for winter)

James, at 2.3" it's the biggest, fattest tyre I've ever had! And having cycled to the shop and back since my last post, I can tell you with pride that my rear tyre is a Scott Cougar which must be five years old, recently moved from front wheel duties to rear wheel duties 🙂 It's looking a bit bare so will soon be replaced with whatever is hanging off my garage roof.

Bontrager XR4, Specialized Purgatory, Continental Rubber Queen, all in 2.2, frame clearance permitting (they're real 2.2" which is like many others in 2.4).

Maxxis Advantage. Really good all round tyre. Sounds like 2.1 will do you but you might want bigger. It's a big tyre anyway and 2.1 does me for anything but the rockiest trails.

Has anyone tried Michelin XC Dry 2?, look fine for HARD PACKED conditions, I suspect terrible in Muddy conditions

Mostly Glentress Janesy... thanks for reply, appreciate it!

Just reading through the rest of the replies now (some of which, as per usual, will be ridiculously biased, others not so, some a mile off what you need to know, some quite close to the board). But saw these 2 comments, and so had to post...

I've only spent one weekend at Glentress, to be fair the kind of trails there (the waymarked stuff anyway) are fairly kind on tyres as they're so hardpacked, but the weekend I was there I rode all the trails there bar the black (did the red at Innerleithen instead) and was using 2.3" Michelin Dry2's front and back. They worked fine. They are very good for what they are, they grip a lot better than they look like they should, though yes they are pretty useless in mud. Got 9/10 review on Bikeradar, and they're only £12 each at On One right now!

Oh, and it was wet most of the time whilst I was there, they still worked fine.

I've tried lots of tyres over the years, and the biggest thing to realise is that just cos one tyre works for someone else, doesn't mean it will for you. It's a trial and error thing for definite. There have been lots of recommendations on here so far for tyres I know I hate, a couple of people ranting about how good some tyres are that I think are exceptionally mediocre, and there's always some people who will say they hate a tyre I get on really well with.

FWIW, if you only ride the hardpack Glentress trails, get anything, you won't go far wrong, but those Michelin Dry2's are great for that type of riding. If you want to venture onto more natural stuff when it's not purely bone dry, you'll need tyres with more tread. My current favourite is the 2.2" Conti Rubber Queen, they are mega expensive but they really are exceptionally good. Maxxis Crossmark in 2.25" on the back, with something slightly knobblier (maybe a 2.25" Advantage or Ardent) up front can also be good. Or Minions... Or High Rollers... Or, or, or... You get the picture 😉

Just stick some bontrager Mud X on your bike.

I ride them all year round.

If you are thinking about Mud X then also consider Maxxis Beavers. Only run them in 29" form but they are excellent and very light.

Tyre choice is easy - what ever comes with the bike... 😯 with the exception of the Specialized Fast Tracks I had on a rockhopper years ago(could have been poor riding ability but they seemed to wipe out very easily)

People get too spergy about tires. Try some tires you like the look of, they will probably be fine. For me, it's Rubber Queen BC for trail riding and Baron BC for DH where I'm not so bothered about weight or uphill ability.

Another thing id say would be that choosing the tyres that you think are better for a given set of conditions do, is to give you confidence. When you're confident, you ride with commitment, and all bikes handle better and are more fun when ridden with commitment. So they do make a difference beyond winter / summer rubber.

Apart from if you have narrow rims and go with the 2.25" or massive 2.4" as theyll sit too round IME. Using low pressures to get them to grip they wont be overly stable in turns/landings and they'll pinchflat, especially if you use normal size tubes theyll have to stretch a lot to fit
2.25" on XM719s are a touch big I reckon
IME of other treads 70a isn't brilliant if its wet/muddy out

What a load of bollocks.

Edit: Ahhh I see, a Schwalbe user, no wonder.

Just ride with whatever you have and dont worry about it, the tyres on mine are snaffled from a 90s Apollo, they can be interesting at times but slide no more than other bikes around me with expensive tyres on.

last time I saw Emma Guy's bike at GT she had Ardents, given how well she knows riding bikes and glentress, I'd say that would be a good starting point.

don't get too hung up on tyres though, you can't really go wrong with any of the main contenders, this whole blaming the tyres and what-tyres-for-an-orange-5-on-cloudy-wednesdays-in-May-after-4pm is just bull.

No tyre is going to excell at everything, so unless you want a shed full of tyres ( :oops:) any tyre choice is going to be a compromise.
Add to that the rim width, tubeless and tyre pressures you'll NEVER get a definitive answer to the "what tyres for...." question.

Everyone thinks they're right ... and most of them are. Whatever tyre choice gives you the most confidence is the right choice for you. Personally, I like the back end to slide out (a little) but some people hate that. Different tyres, on different width rims, have different sidewall flex so weight and riding style also play a massive part. Finding the right pressure for the different conditions is another learning curve. Most people can tell you exactly what rubber they use - but ask them at the trail centre what pressure they have at each end and I bet more than half give a figure that's different to what's actually in their tyres at the time. 🙄

Choose a reasonable pair of tyres and then really spend some time getting used to them on your bike. I know what type, width and pressure I run - but recommending them to you is worthless (unless you're also 16 stone and trying to ride an Orange Five with all the skill of a gorilla on a skateboard). 😀

Damn, while I was typing, Bigyinn said what I was trying to say. +1 for that.

jesus! choosing tyres for trail centres really isnt that hard! just choose which looks the best out of the most reviewed on mtbr.

Know how I determine my tire pressure? Push the tire on the square edge of a kerb. If I can feel it bottom out on the rim them its too soft! Works for me, but them Im 6'5" and 16st-ish.

Know how I determine my tire pressure? Push the tire on the square edge of a kerb. If I can feel it bottom out on the rim them its too soft! Works for me

Well that's one way but personally, I find it easier to carry a track pump in the boot than a kerb stone. 😀