[Closed] WTF - What light-ish tyres for DH rear wheel?

2.5" High Roller or Minion would be the default option I suspect, dual ply if you want the extra strength. Neither of overly wide so would be fine on that rim.

Specialized Clutch SX

I'd go with the new 521 rim, considerably lighter than the 823, although not tubeless. Fantasticly stiff though, I've just built a pair for the pitch and the rear came out so stiff that I couldn't flex it enough to de stress the spokes!

I'd say maxxis high rollers as well, although with tyres weight is inversely proportional to strength. so if you want lighter you'd probably ahvhe to go narrower as well. I've single ply high rollers and had to run the rear with an inner tube as it kept tearing. A friend recomended Schwalbe tyres so I'll give them a go next time.

My Minion F (on F&R) is much better than my old clutch when its a bit wet. I had a big heavy Schwalbe and it pulled itself into an egg shape on a little hip.

Oooh, thanks, thats a tough choice!

High roller ...
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Minion...
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Clutch ...
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Looks like Clutch and High Roller are similar tread patterns, the specialised 'looks' more like what I'd expect, but Ive heard great things about the high roller.

The minion seems like a stronger, heavier tyre and less suitable for wet conditions (???)

I always run an inner tube, fell out of love with tubeless a while ago.
(I already have the rim by the way, so might as well use it, just switched it from another bike).

Thats a minion R, F are different.

why are people even suggesting minions in the wet? baffling high rollers are a dry hardpack tyre

@scruff .. Sorry, yes, Ninja'd - I was looking at the F initially and they looked pretty good til I realised they were for the front ... but why use a 'front' tyre on the rear?

@greeble .. so high rollers AND minions are dry hardpack tyres?

(By the way, thanks everyone for the great info, and so fast, too)

no high rollers are not dry hardpack tyres they are intermediate loose tyres

minion - Hardpack, loose-over-hardpack and medium soil. use in the summer when riding the alps and uk dh courses that have alot of hard pack with loose gravel or trails with loose dry soil or loam

high roller - Hard pack and medium terrain downhill tire good in loose and wet conditions - if its the summer and its rained the ground is hardpack and wet but not muddy or the soil is loose and wet again not mud

Muddy Mary'2.35 are pretty good. Big volume for a 2.35 and the freeride version is light (800g?) although singleply it has the "snakeskin" sidwalls. I prefer the gooey gluey or vertstar as it's now called compound but does wear out pretty quick.

Have you thought about Stans Flow rims? Pretty light, reasonably strong (although not bombproof).

Then use the rimstrip and a non tubeless dual ply High Roller (pretty good at everything IME, bar thick mud), but run tubless. They're a bitch to get on the rim, but seal quite easily, don't burp and I've yet to pinch flat.

This is the setup I use for trail riding on a 7" bike in the Peaks, Lakes etc, but it's also done a fair few uplift days and 2 weeks of Alpine singletrack without any issues at all - fit and forget stuff.

greebel, are we talking wet, wet mud or just mud ?

Lots of people (most it seems) prefer to put a Minion F on the rear as well because they are a faster rolling tyre.

I have an R on the back of my DH bike though and I quite like it, better outright grip than an F I think and I'm not racing so that's fine with me.

I thought it was because the F has more sideways grip where the R was designed to offer more braking grip without locking up?

So the logic of having an F on the rear was you needed to brake less so less need for straight line grip, as there was more cornering grip, thus you carried more speed out of the corner.

Quite a few people run a F on the front and a high roller rear.

"DHF incorporates ramped knobs for low rolling resistance and channel-cut knobs to increase gripping edges, giving straight-line control and precise cornering."

"DHR features ramped knobs, like the DHF, but the channels in the knobs are designed for braking and accelerating."

The DHF ...
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From that description it seems like the DHF would have less side-to-side slippage (i.e. control), but less overall power transfer than the DHR.

left-field, Larsen 2.35 freeride

Pros - Lightish, tough and fast-rolling
Cons - No grip in damp/wet conditions

Run tubeless on a Stans rim - are you too heavy to try a Crest?

If your really after saving weight you could try a high roller 2 in 2.4 with the exo casing which is tougher than a single ply but not as tough or weighty as a dual ply. I've just fitted one recently to my BFe on the rear, so far so good.

The newish Specialized tyres get good reviews - the Hillbilly would probably suit your type of riding. It's a "cut spike" type tread but is apparently a bit stiffer and rolls better than you'd expect.

Having said that, I run a Minion DHF on the rear most of the year (with spikes when it's gloopy) and get on just fine.

I've been pleased with my Specialized Clutch SX for dh but I'm using it on the front. When I get home I'm putting it on the rear and putting a new Clutch SX on the front so will see how that goes. Current rear tyre is a High Roller dual ply but it's so heavy and grip is ok but I don't like the way it slips then catches on the outer knobs when you lean the bike.

Thanks everyone; have decided to change my front tyre as well, and have decided on:

FRONT:
Minion DHF 2.5 Aramid EXO 3C

REAR:
High Roller II 2.4 Kevlar 60a EXO

Im hoping the super-sticky will be like glue on the front, while the high roller will spin up nice and fast, while the 1-ply Exo helps keep weight down at both ends.

If that doesnt work, I'll be getting a DHF (or maybe DHR) for the rear.

Thanks all for the help!

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Some random info I found on the 3c compound which people might be interested in..
from Ridemonkey ...

SRY (Slow Reezay): Better grip than a ST (Super Tacky), slightly more rolling resistance. Preferred by racers on almost anything. When SRY treads wear down - they wear down like a pencil eraser - the edges of the knobs become dulled and rounded off.

ST (Super Tacky): Excellent grip - but juuuust a bit less than a SRY. Slightly less rolling resistance than a SRY. Some racers prefer to use this compound on rocks while others perfer to use it in loam or dust. When ST treads wear down - they tear, chunk-off, and rip. This compound will retain sharp edges on knobs much longer than a SRY compound BUT that's only if the knobs are there in the first place.

3C: 40a SRY on the edge knobs (cornering knobs), 42a (ST) on the center knobs, with a 70a base underneath the entire tread surface. What's weird about this new "Triple" compound (really a "Dual" compound because only 2 different compounds are actually making contact with the ground) is that to me - it "feels" gummier than either a SRY or a ST. Tires that use this compound weigh on avg. about 100g more per tire (2.5") vs. a pure ST or SRY tire. The wear on 3C tires is by far superior to either SRY or ST. One would think that the ST center knobs would tear or that the SRY edge knobs would wear down - but the tire seems to wear in a uniform fashion AND maintain its grip over a longer period of time. This is due in part to the 70a base layer that provides support to the overlying SRY and ST compounds. The 70a layer actually protrudes a bit up inside each of the knobs on the tread providing a very secure and firm foundation.
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From bikerader:

There are two DH tyres in the Maxxis range - the High Roller and the Minion. DH star Greg Minnaar favours the High Roller which, as the name suggests, has a fast rolling pattern, as well as great all-round grip. Meanwhile, the Minion comes in both front- and rear-specific designs, and is arguably grippier, although slightly slower.

DH World Champ Sam Hill rides the Minion, and he uses the front design with the new 3C casing on both ends. The 3C refers to the tyre's three compounds - a hard 70a base layer (a solid base for less knob flex) combined with Super Tacky 42a for the top rolling knobs and Slow Reezaay 40a for the shoulder knobs. The effect is a super soft compound tyre that rolls slightly better than a standard Super Tacky or Slow Reezaay, and grips brilliantly.