Companion for Magic Mary?

29er Orange Stage 4 – came with Hans Dampfs which I swapped to Michelin Wild Enduro as I didnt like the edge grip of the Dampfs front end.  Had a new Magic Mary sitting in the shed so thought I would give it a go with the Dampf on the rear.  The reduction in rolling resistance was great but back end was skipping about a fair old bit but not horrendous and the turn into the bends not as good as the Michelins.

Any thoughts on alternative rear, as I was pretty impressed with the Magic Mary.

ps sorry about the what tyre thread

DHR / MM is a good combo

I’m really tempted to try the Big Betty to go with my MM.

another Magic Mary…

I run this combo all year round, although tempted by the Big Betty for when it dries up again

Haven’t tried it yet but the new big betty sounds like it would fit the bill.

DHF on the rear with the MM at present.

DHR/MM

DHR2 on the rear and MM on the front is my year round combo and works pretty well in nearly all situations

My year round tyre choice is MM on front and either a High Roller or DHR on the back. Currently have a Hans Dampf on the rear but it’s too rounded and drifty for my liking so I’ll be reverting to HRII or DHR when it’s worn. This is in FoD so lots of mud and roots.

A Rock razor on the rear works surprisingly well with a Mary or WTB Vigilante.

I’d also suggest a DHR2 on the rear, I just fitted a 2.4 EXO+ Maxxterra myself and it’s great. I have a Mary on the front too.

This is on my Stage 6, but they will also go on my Stage 4.

Hans goes back on for suitable rides though (I have more than one wheelset).

Non-matching tyres brands… -starts rocking back and fore-

Big Betty looks brill!

If Maxxis…go with a Shorty on the front with a DHR or DHF on the back.

Rock Razor has been really good so far this year, might switch back to a MM soon, but have been loking at a Bonty G5 too.

I’d put a Maxxis Dhr2 on the rear – probably a 2.3” unless you’re brutal on tyres in which case get one with a tougher casing. The 2.4wt Dhr2 is noticeably slower rolling than the 2.3 as it has much bigger knobs so I didn’t like that.

At the moment I’m running the 2.3 Dhr2 3c Maxx terra rear and a 2.6” Hillbilly Grid up front. The Hillbilly is definitely better than the 2.35 soft addix snakeskin Mary I have in slippery muddy conditions. Tried them back to back recently and the Hillbilly pissed all over the Mary on a wet muddy downhill section into a drop off. The Mary was clogging and trying to go straight on – the Hillbilly braked perfectly and turned just where I wanted it to.

Flip side is the Hillbilly squirms a bit more on hardpack than the 2.35” Mary. I have got a 2.6” Mary to try on my new hardtail and that looks more promising for mucky conditions than the 2.35.

I had a HD front / Rock Razor combo on all summer but it’s definitely a bit too slimy for that now so I’m on MM/MM which is great. A bit draggy but not as bad as I’d imagined.

I might ditch the HD next year. I don’t think the (slightly) better rolling resistance is worth the loss of grip compared with MMs, especially on the front.

I’ve recently fitted a Big Betty on the back on my hardtail with a MM up front and I quite like it so far. Grip is good and the rolling speed seems to be decent enough for what it is. It replaced a Bonty SE4 and its slower than that, which isn’t a surprise, but doesn’t feel any worse than a Michelin WE or DHR2 which I regularly run as well. Difficult to say for sure though as it’s been pretty wet and muddy the past week. It feels pretty tough too.

For the past year I’ve had a MM up front with a DHR WT 2.4 out back on my Aeris. Haven’t found much that this setup didn’t like. Before that I han an Agressor 2.3 on the back for 2 months, took it off for muckier weather. My Meta before that always had a MM on the front with various tyres on the back, the DHR seems to be best allrounder I’ve tried.

MM upfront with a (e)wild on the rear for me, early day for me yet but loads better than the eddie current I was using

If there’s a better decent for everything (if you like to go fast down hill but are pedalling up the hills too) combo than Magic Mary front and DHR2 2.3 rear then I’ve yet to find it!

I no longer care about matching brands because of these two together.

I was a big fan of MM DHR2 then 2x MM in winter.
I’ve just got the bug betty and so far I really like it. Good rolling speed but much better than the Dhr2 in really grim conditions. Hopefully I can just leave it on all winter.

Dhr2 rear and MM front for myself as well. Solid all year set up.

What dhr2 are people running?
I currently have a 2.3 duel exo tr on but it needs replacing. More benefit in grip going to a 2.3 3c version?
Also I can get away running exo compound no problem. Are there any other benefits of going to a double down casing if I don’t need the puncture protection (ie stiffness)

Brilliant response thanks all.  Im a big fan of Maxis so I will check out the DHRII, its not a tyre I have used but have used minions, HR, ardents and cross maxs over the years on various bikes and have a lot of time for them

“I currently have a 2.3 duel exo tr on but it needs replacing. More benefit in grip going to a 2.3 3c version?
Also I can get away running exo compound no problem. Are there any other benefits of going to a double down casing if I don’t need the puncture protection (ie stiffness)”

I found the 3C rolled slower and the side knobs rounded off quicker so it lost the cornering grip in loose ground – if you’re riding more rock it may be better but I’m not. My general experience with heavier casings is that they roll slower and you can run a bit less pressure but the stiffness means you don’t really get more grip at those pressures. DHR 2 Dual Exo 2.3 with a Rimpact insert is perfect on the back of my gnarly hardtail.

A Rock razor on the rear works surprisingly well with a Mary or WTB Vigilante.

I’ll 3rd this. Magic Mary and Rock Razor on my new Banshee and despite the semi-bald look of the tread it’s coped with all I’ve thrown at it so far.

Rock Razor is surprisingly capable, even beyond what you might expect of it. I’ve ridden some pretty tasty stuff in sub optimal conditions, and ridden it out to tell the tale. BUT… That’s not to say something else might not have been more suitable.

I was a big proponent of mixing a Magic Mary up front with either a DHR2 or HR2 in 2.3 flavour out back (depending on preferences for rolling speed or more grip) for some time. I just never got on with the original Hans Dampf (slow rolling, lack of edge bite), the outgoing Nobby Nic was a bit fragile but also whilst it rolled well and had good climbing and braking traction, it was a bit too rounded and didn’t have particularly good edge bite. The updated Hans Dampf is much better than both, but not ideal for softer/loamier UK conditions where tyres with more pronounced edge bite (Magic Mary, HR2 etc.) seem to work better.

The Big Betty may have been a long wait for many of us, but I think it has been worth the wait. Loads faster rolling than a Mary (faster than a DHR2 too, probably as fast as HR2 I’d say), but very nearly as grippy. Braking grip is fantastic, edge bite better than all the others mentioned. It could have been a damp squib when you consider the last Big Bettys weren’t great, but thankfully we now have a matching rear tyre worthy of the Magic Mary on the front! 👍🏻

Like literally everyone else, DHR2 or Rock Razor and I want to try the Betty.

(Hopefully it’ll be as good as it seems and they can finally stop trying to make Hans Dampfs not shite. Like, the only reason they ever got popular was when 650b mania struck and there weren’t any good tyres, and Schwalbe moved just that slightly faster than everyone else because presumably they knew they had nothing to lose, so people settled for HDs. But all these years on and people still buy ’em)

I quite like Hans Dampf on the rear. The Big Betty sounds interesting though!

Had a quick look and the big Betty 1.3 kg for the 2.4 super gravity is a hefty tyre versus the DHRII

You probably want the super trail one for a stage 4.

This thread spurred me on to order 2 x super trail Magic Mary’s and 1 x super trail Big Betty. Will see how BB runs and if not for me will chuck the MM on. Used to run snakeskin front and super gravity rear, gone for a lighter carcass for the winter, hopefully help keep rolling in the slop.

I have Magic Mary / Wild Enduro Rear on both my bikes now, it’s easily the best combo I’ve tried (…there have been lots 🙄🤣)

My DHR2 seems decent with the MM upfront.

But be warned- I just splashed out for the 2.3 DoubleDown casing DHR2 and within 60 seconds of riding it put a big slash in it. On the jump line at Dyfi so quite a smooth trail, and it was the first run down so wasn’t exactly hooning. Very disappointed with it, never buying DD again, and now have a big tear to try and repair with a car puncture patch…

Good to see so many folks shunning the daft brand matching dumf**kery!

Is the MM really THAT draggy on the rear?

it is compared to a rock razor

Don’t doubt it, but I mean compared to a DHR2 or WE Reae

I’d expect the Magic Mary to be quite a bit draggier on the rear than a Dhr2.

Is the MM really THAT draggy on the rear?

Cost me about 10% range on my Powerfly over a DHR2 last winter. Still fitting one again this winter though.

A useful thread. I’ve just put a 2.6 MM on the front to partner a 2.35 HD on the back. I think I’ll swap the HD with a 2.35 MM I’ve got. sitting around. I’m not really worried about speed but every bit of grip I can get, I’ll take.

What dhr2 are people running?

2.4 WT on the front, and a 2.3 max terra on the rear.