Hi all, I know, tyre threads are tedious… well here’s another one…

Looking for a new rear tyre to increase my seasonal flxibility. I have 2.1″ Kenda Nevegals on at the moment, and in summer I put a 2.1″ WTB Nanoraptor on the back – a very low profile tread tyre. What I am looking for is a 2.1″ tyre that is faster rolling and less grippy than the Nevegal, but also more grippy than the Nanoraptor. That way I can mix to get winter/spring/summer setups quite easily. I was looking at the Kenda Small Block 8, and have been asking some Q’s about it on another thread, but I am concerned that in the dry the SB8 might actually be grippier than the Nevegals (which I don’t want if it’s on the back). Any help gratefully appreciated.

P.S I know this is a bit anal, but i’d rather be discussing tyres on the internet than doing work right now

i dont believe the stw masses have spoken regarding the must have tyre combination for 2009.
this is in part due to the unpredictable summers of the last two years.
Conti’s rubber queen was an early contender, however the poor performance of last years mountain king surely means conti are out of the running.

I can however confirm that the SB8’s were bought en masse in 2007, only to find closely spaced blocks are not so great in floods and swamps.

my money would be on a schwalbe or maxxis offering, hitting your lbs shelves just after easter.

hth

I’ve been really impressed with the Maxxis Ardent 2.25. Fairly low profile tread but surprisingly grippy it all sort of loose terrain, clears well and is also great on rocks and rolls real fast.

my hot tip is ardent front cross mark rear. not that i’ve run weither of these tyres; but i suppose that’s a proper stw armchair tyre answer!

in short take a look at the crossmark

crossmark is ok for summer/trail center but it doesn’t clear well.

Mmmmm those Ardents may be just the ticket, was looking for a larger volume tyre for the hardtail, and they are reasonably light as well….

Just need to make sure they fit the rear…..

Hmm. the Maxxis range is pretty comprehensive. Anyone got any comments on the Ignitor or Monorail? The Crossmark is perking my interest, but I suspect it is probably too low-profile/similar to the Nanoraptor. I need a ‘halfway house’ between High-Roller and Crossmark I think… (yes, guilty of STW armchair analysis myself).

If only someone made a database of user reviews with dry grip/wet grip/cornering/rolling resistance/durability etc…

ardents, 2.25, best multi season tyre ive ever ridden.

Racing Ralph for the rear.

Between the High Roller and Crossmark is quite a gap.

Advantage and Ignitor may be too grippy for you, maybe the Larsen TT?

Yeah, in reality I want between Nevegal and Nanoraptor, but seeing as most STW’ers are more familiar with Maxxis offerings I thought I would rephrase it! Larsen/SB8 were indeed my initial thought.

How much does that ardent look like an old Tioga psycho 2??

Panaracer XC Magic – ebay

How cool would they look, who cares how they perform.