Yep I understand there will no tyre that can do everything well but what would people suggest as an all round set of boots for a mix of light trails and quite a bit of XC riding with quite a bit of hill work.

I guess I would prefer a bit less drag over a bit more grip – I am no speed demon and don’t do the big drops or any downhill etc.

Ground is mainly firm for the most part unless we have had a lot of rain, not much loose stuff TBH.

Current set up: HRII 2.35 and Ardent 2.25

I actually quite like the Ardent – been running it for a year and it does sometimes break loose on the wet stuff but by no means anything too bad.

Was maybe thinking of an Ardent 2.4 front and just get another 2.25 out back.

Looked at the Ardent Race – not sure if this would work through the wet months!

Ikon 2.35 – does this work at the front and rear?

Any of the Racing Ralph/Ron combos worth considering or they purely a summer only tyre?

2.6 Rekon + on the front and Minion SS rear here though it’s definitely more on the slides side😁

Current set up: HRII 2.35 and Ardent 2.25

That’s what I ran as an all year setup for 3 years, now I chop and change winter/summer, was fine till I tried proper mud tyres in proper mud…

WTB Vigilate/Trail Boss

I use the Bontrager XR series. Currently got XR3 on the front and XR2 on the back. The XR2 is broadly equivalent to the Ikon. Often in winter I’ll run XR4/XR3. The Ikon’s quite popular with long distance ITT riders so I assume is reasonable at rolling.

I was out in the slop on Sunday with the XR3/CR2 combo and I had reasonable traction on mixed mud and grass climbs but I was a bit more circumspect on similar ground when descending.

Vittoria – Barzo front, Mezcal rear, don’t clog and grip just fine. Run a Mezcal on the front when it’s really dry for faster rolling.

Happy enough with Racing Ralphs front & rear on my 29er with regard balance between grip & rolling resistance but the issue i have is the lightweight equals thin sidewalls which are fragile and squirm when cornering (and yes i have snakeskin version)…a tougher sidewalled version of a RR would be great

Ikon is terrible front tyre but pretty good on the rear.

Never heard of Vittoria tyres before. Reviews seem positive though. Are they tubeless ready?

Mountain King front/X-King (or whatever it’s called this week) does me.

Fast rolling enough when the trails are dry, not noticeably worse that proper mud tyres in the slip, and without lethal mud tyre compound on wet stone.

SS: Ardent 2.4, Beaver 2.0, all year

FS: Forekasters F+R, swap rear to a Minion SS when drier

How is the 2.4 Ardent as a front?

Great for “light trails and XC” ideal for South Downs slop etc. No idea on rocks etc

DHR 2.3 and DHF 2.5 working a treat for me.

MSC Rock & Rollers

Schwalbe rock razor.

I like Vittoria Barzo – grips on multi surfaces and rolls just fine. True all rounder.

If you are really interested in rolling resistance and also like numbers and graphs then this makes an interesting read: although the focus is 100% on rolling resistance and grip is barely mentioned:
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews

My vote for a fast rolling 29er would be a Schwalbe Rocket Ron at the back. Available in Addix Speed and Addix Speed Grip. Neither are particularly robust ime. Grip wise they are predictable. Just avoid the ‘performance’ versions.

The front has far less impact on rolling resistance so I would pick something grippier.

I run Barzos front and rear. Good all rounders.

Never heard of Vittoria tyres before. Reviews seem positive though. Are they tubeless ready?

make sure they are they TNT version but yes, Vittoria’s MTB tyres are one of the easiest to install tubeless.

Barzos are great front and rear most of the time. Go for a faster rear in the summer. If I need a bit more then a trusty old xr4 goes on.

Another vote for Maxxis Forekasters here. I run 29 x 2.2.

So was thinking maybe Forekaster 2.35 and Ardent Race 2.35

Or

Vittoria Barzo/Mezcal combo in 2.35 TNT or Barzo all round?

Any reason for running a Mezcal 2.25 out back instead?

Mezcal is great in the dry, but will clog up in mud. Depends on your mud really. If sandy/gritty then probably fine. Clay – not so. Tight, low profile tread. The 2.25 has a decent volume – a bit more than a 2.25 ralph. 2.35 should be good too. It’s a quicker tyre than the Ardent Race but with a little less traction in corners imo. The Ardent race is still quick mind. How about a barzo/ardent race combo?

Ikon is terrible front tyre but pretty good on the rear.

Not my experience at all if used as intended (a cross country race tyre)…..I usually run a DHF 2.5 WT on 30 mm rims up front, so have high expectations of grip/cornering performance, but have a 2nd set of 26 mm rim wheels running an Ikon 3C EXO EXC TR 29er in 2.35 guise up front for light trail/cross country/canal with kids duties. It has been excellent, and I’ve even left it on for trail centre duties on occasion and been surprised how well it holds on (and obviously rolls a whole lot better than a 2.5 DH on climbs!). So much so I think the DHF is perhaps overkill for dry non rocky trail centre duties and I’m going to source the 2.6 WT version in 3c EXO TR form for up front (seems to only be available through German online options). But no. it won’t be going to Wales anytime soon.

Out back on the skinnier rims I run a Crossmark II for CC and family stuff. Hard to beat in those circumstance with minimal RR but not best suited as an all rounder. There will always be compromises and you choose where you take your hit…DHRII fab grip and braking…not to bad on RR, Aggressor actually rated worse than DHRII for RR and gives up some of the DHRII braking, Ardent less RR but sacrifices grip and braking etc……The ardent is probably the best compromise biased towards less rolling resistance IMO. I stick with the DHRII for all round duties, but as you can guess, I’m only really familiar with the Maxxis camp so the rear answer may lie beyond that fold 🙂

Vittoria tyres are usually labelled TNT which means Tubeless/Not Tubeless I think. Anyway I run mine tubeless no problem.

Main difference between the Forcaster 2.35 and Ardent 2.4? They both seemed to be sold as an all round tyre?

Both only seem to come in dual compound on those sizes too.

Forekaster 2.35 all round. They seem fast enough with reasonable grip levels. Certainly much faster than DHF/DHR etc.

I don’t mind my Ardent rear (2.25) and it’s still got a bit of life left so might get the Fk up front and change the rear a bit later down the line.

Never heard of Vittoria tyres before

FKA Geax

Any of the Racing Ralph/Ron combos worth considering or they purely a summer only tyre?

I would say yes, I left them on my HT all last winter, both addix speed, front in the paper sidewall rear in snakeskin. They’re certainly fast rolling, and whilst other tyres are grippier, they’re surprisingly capable in the slop.

I would think about putting a speedgrip on the front if you want something a bit more all-round capable, you shouldn’t get too much of a speed penalty, but I’ve not tried it myself.

Conti X-King (Cross King) ProTection all year round here for a few years now, all conditions, even fast & quiet on the road.

FKA Geax

FKA Geax, who were FKA Vittoria…

Minion DHF 2.5 on the front and DHF 2.3 on the back.  Swap to Minion SS in the summer.

Just another quick question to add. Is the Forekaster better than the HR2?

Just another quick question to add. Is the Forekaster better than the HR2?

It’s a while since I’ve been on HRs, but I would imagine the Forekaster is faster rolling. Probably a little less grip though in most situations, but for XC and light trail they are totally fine. For more challenging trails front grip is the limiting factor with Forekasters. But I’m pretty happy with the compromise and the rear is great.

I ride Over the South Downs and the trails in Friston but I stick to the fast flowing bits which are mainly medium to hard mud and roots. Rarely anything rocky and I avoid the drops!

It’s on a trek fuel.

Not sure if that would change opinions on tyres!

Hutchison Toros, I got the impression they’d made them more ‘enduro’ since I bought mine but if not they’re fantastic in everything but slop and superbly made.

jayx2a, I’m Friston too. FWIW my Forekasters are 2.6. Actually 2.45 on 30mm ID rims

@smokey_jo – what size Vittoria are you running?

@richardthird a fellow Friston rider! I’m usually only the easy fast flowing sections, never been brave enough to do anything more, but I enjoy the parts I ride and then follow up with some longer South Downs way riding where tyres with too much drag would start to be painful!

I kind of do a little more of the XC stuff but don’t want to go full XC tyres as still jump in to the trails.