Hey folks,

Just to add weight to an earlier post.
Got a new bike 3 wks ago with High Rollers.

Can’t reiterate how f***** dangerous these tyres are in wet scottish mud.

Totally unsuitable with out of control skewed surfing during turns. They simply clog and will not bite.

On trail I have been riding for 10 years I got spat off hip first into a nasty pointy rock and almost broke myself. V lucky but will be walking like john waybe for a few days!

Have ridden this trail on maybe 10 different tyres but never experienced anything so piss poor!

I can imagine them being shit hot in dry hardpack but such conditions are no more than a daydream for a Scottish XC rider!

Can anyone suggest a good tyre for filthy mud with some bite and mud clearing ability that won’t make the ride to and from my local woods like cycling in treacle!

Thx

JAs

I have a High Roller on the front of my Zesty and an Ardent on the back. Went out in the mud today. Crashed a lot

They’re coming off!

Super Tacky Swampthings – job done! I use High Rollers in the summer but the Swampthings go on as soon as things get gloopy. That said, Super Tacky HRs aren’t bad – I’m guessing if the tyres came as stock that they are standard compound – 60a or STs make the world of difference to grip.

Maxxis beavers.. sweet in the slippy stuff here in the lakes.

lol Kato! Don’t they suck! ; )
more expense! 2 new tyres…DAMN!
Jas

yes they HR were stock on a new Piglet! Amazng bike after I tweaked the dashboard but them tyres inspire zero confidence and def reduce human life expentancy!

Shocker. Tyres not designed for mud are sh1t in mud. Who’d have thunk it?.

Nobeerinthefridge – Member

Shocker. Tyres not designed for mud are sh1t in mud. Who’d have thunk it?.

Well, High Rollers aren’t very good for anything really, are they? 😉

off course tyres are specific! Just reporting experience!

I’ve yet to find something that High Rollers actually do well.

People say they’re a great DH tyre – I wouldn’t know.
For general riding around I’ve never used a worse tyre – sketchy, no grip, just awful.

Bontrager XR4’s, Spesh Purgatories and Maxxis Ignitors are my kind of tyre. But I’m sure DH’ers would disagree. 🙂

Nobeerinthefridge – Member

Shocker. Tyres not designed for mud are sh1t in mud. Who’d have thunk it?.

Oh i knew they’d be rubbish. I’m just too tight to buy new tyres 😆

For mud – spesh storm control. Brilliant tyres.

For general riding around I’ve never used a worse tyre – sketchy, no grip, just awful.

The lad I was out with today runs HR’s on the front, it was very muddy (Scottish Borders) and he had no issues – maybe you’re running them with too much psi, or are they cheap/wire HR’s?

For me, single-ply Minion DHF and Ardent rear.

Spesh purgatory. The best non mud specific tyre for mud in my opinion. Thick mud & roots here at the moment. Tyres held up perfectly on a 28 mile loop yesterday.

b r, I just don’t get on with the gap between the centre tread and the side knobs – the lack of grip before the side knobs take over scares me fartless.

I know others don’t have a problem – better riders (like mamadirt up there) don’t seem to notice tyres, but the rest of us need all the help we can get.

Always found HR’s to be pretty good all round tyres, maybe not the best in thick slop, but ok in watery mud.

I’d echo the recommendation of Swampthings – they’re amazing in the mud, but really draggy on tarmac, especially in super tacky form.

Bontrager Mud seem to get good reviews. I’m using XR4’s at the moment and really like them.

Spesh purgatory. The best non mud specific tyre for mud in my opinion. Thick mud & roots here at the moment. Tyres held up perfectly on a 28 mile loop yesterday.

Agreed. I have a purg on the front and a storm on the back of my soul, ace tyres, pretty cheap, and tubeless too. Win win.

Muddy as hell on the chase today. High rollers handled it no problems although slippy on the pebbles and roots. I think they are a very good all rounder. Get some trail rakers for mud specific tyres – awesome grip and clearance

Ridden through Dartmoor crap on highrollers for about two years whatever the weather. They have finally worn out so i replaced them with some Continental Baron Black Chilli’s. Absolutely amazing, didn’t loose grip at all in the mud, and was pounding past people that normally leave me behind in the mud. I think I found my perfect tyre for the UK today, after just one ride on them.

It must be the tyres. The alternative is unthinkable.

It must be the tyres. The alternative is unthinkable.

😆

Maxxpro swampthings run high psi

I had problems with High Rollers until I learnt that under no circumstances can you apply any braking at all on the front wheel in corners.
Once I’d realised that, I got on fine and as a result learnt to ride a lot better.

YMMV

Nothing wrong with high rollers, they are a great all rounder.

They need to be lent over into corners hard, otherwise they are pretty vague.

Perhaps try a mud x or spesh storm.

looks like spesh have just discontinued the purgatory. Always seems to happen, just when you’ve found the right tyre! Now they’ve got a great range of back tyres [storm, captain, fast track etc. but nothing xc/am for the front unless you go for the full on clutch which is too much for my normal/average riding.

I use a high roller on the front year round, I’d echo the sentiment that you need to lean them over in the corners, or you’ll lose grip.

Looking at the storm- it looks like a less over-grippy swampthing?

Swampthings are brilliant but boy they are like trail-velcro 😆

At one of the pearce races at Rhyd Y Felin the bottom field was long wet grass.For hats and giggles on evening a few people put HR’s on to see if anyone could make it down upright…..cue MASSIVE sidewaysness 😀

for many years I used to harp on about High Rollers and how they rewarded the more aggressive rider who leaned over more in corners, until I realised that there were tyres our there (not least the Minion) that gave you grip between straight up and 45 degs to vertical.

It’s not the tyre, it’s your riding style. I’ve been riding since summer with a Rubber Queen up front, and in the dry it lets you get away with anything. Once the mud arrived if I went into any corner without leaning the bike on its side it understeered horribly, just sliding outwards along the wide paddle knobs down the centre (like the High Roller). Get it over onto the side knobs (past the gap – which is much wider on the HRs) and it just rails the turn. We were out riding some steep slippery downhill runs yesterday and one of my riding mates had a HR up front and it wasn’t slowing him down at all. (I’ve discovered that I have an asymmetric cornering style in the process of making the RQ work – have been trying to unZoolander myself for the last month…)

With HRs you seem to need to be more aggressive in leaning the bike onto the side knobs. I’ve never really had any problems with them. Spesh Clutch SX does everything better though and way lighter!

I used to use high rollers on the DH bikes almost all year around unless it was really bad and required swamp things which was rarely. Granted I used ST up front but they were awesome

Was on my 2.5 dh HR’s last weekend at Wharncliffe and they felt fine would echo the point that you really need to leean them right over when cornering.
When it gets really gloopy though I switch to swampthings , there’s nothing else that I feel confident with in mud .They aren’t too shabby on rocky stuff either.
Having said that 15st of me + a 42lb steel DH bike sinks through the mud quite nicely 😳

Purgatory not discontinued,but they have just brought out a new version
http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/detail/EquipTiresMTBAllMountain/All%20Mountain%20MTB

Well i’ve been using high roller tyres all summer. Mainly for rocky dark peak rides. But they held up today in the mud. My only gripe is they seem to be wearing quickly. Though they are wire bead and cheep ones.

brant – Member

I had problems with High Rollers until I learnt that under no circumstances can you apply any braking at all on the front wheel in corners.
Once I’d realised that, I got on fine and as a result learnt to ride a lot better.

YMMV

kudos100 – Member

Nothing wrong with high rollers, they are a great all rounder.

They need to be lent over into corners hard, otherwise they are pretty vague.
Plus all the other similar replies.

So they punish poor technique with a smack in the face.
Poor design really, isn’t it? 🙂

There was an excellent discussion of the trade offs faced by tyre designers on the original On-One Smorgasbord thread here.

Basically, does a gap between central tread and edge tread lead to increased edge grip?
I’m not convinced it’s a necessary compromise, but then again I’m not a tyre designer. 😀

I had a few issues going from high rollers to hans Dampfs. With hrs you just slap the bike over into flat corners stand on the outside pedal and it grips. Hans threw me on the floor a few times until I realised what was going on. Different tyres handle different.

I’ve just put a HR on the front and my SPDs back on.

This thread is filling me with confidence.

Basically, does a gap between central tread and edge tread lead to increased edge grip?
I’m not convinced it’s a necessary compromise, but then again I’m not a tyre designer.

On soft ground it’s the inside edges of the edge knobs that grip when cornering. The wider the space on the inside edge of those knobs, the easier it is for those knobs to make good contact with the ground. The wider the space, the less easily that space will get clogged up too. However on hard ground it’s the top of the knobs that grip so if they’re too far to the outside of the tyre then you won’t get onto those faces.

What are you High rollers? I may buy them off you 😉