Magic Mary front – what rear for the winter?

Looking at putting a Magic Mary on the front for my winter riding

What rear tyre should i put on?

Another Magic Mary or perhaps a Hans Dampf?

Thoughts?

Oli

i’m running mary’s front and back but if you want something different the maxis shorty is excellent

I’ve stuck with the MM front and Toro 2.15 rear, and it’s slicing through the slop a treat. Think it’ll stay on all winter, cheap as chips too.

I am not a fan of Hans Dampfs, they’re not tough or grippy enough. Get a vigilante, magic or a shorty on, even an HR2 or dhf if climbing through gloop isn’t a priority.

How does the magic mary role on the rear. Looking for it for my trail bike

It goes round in circles, like the front.

Conti Baron on the back with the MM up front for me

I run magic Mary’s up front year round and hans dampf on the rear at this time of year. It’s a really good combination. The hans dampf clears quickly where I ride so I have never had a problem. I switched it out for a rock razor in the summer which is another really good combination and I kept it on for a while after I thought it would need changing with the bad weather. The magic Mary is a really good tyre. It rolls well and corners amazingly and performs better the more aggressive you are with it. I think those big side knobs would be wasted unless you like cornering properly leaned over. Durability seems good too but I have never had any problems with any schwalbe tyres I have had.

@ glasgowdan I’m liking your work here.

Depends what and how you ride, back in the UK last winter and an ardent was fine for me

I was thinking Hans Dampf in the rear. Wondering if it will give a lot less grip compared to the Mary in the front.

Largely for riding around the Coed y Brenin area

Grip is dependent on condition… 2 different tyre patterns. I’d prefer a faster rolling back end and deal with the consequences most days though last night back overtook the front as I was having too much fun…

Another Schwable if you like replacing your tyres often?

HD if you like a tyre that basically does nothing well, at all.

I’d run a Shorty on the front & a DHR2 on the back, but then i’d probably run that in the summer too 🙂

Not a fan of Schwalbe either I run minion 3c front and a Toro 2.35 rear, absolutely great for the winter

Depends what and how you ride, back in the UK last winter and an ardent was fine for me

Last winter was very different to this. Slop, slop and more slop.

Unless you only ride trail centres when tyre choice is mostly irrevelant.

I’ve ridden a Magic Mary TC SS up front since June or July now and had a Minion DHR II TR EXO (non 3C) on the rear until it got slit and I replaced it with a 3C Minion DHR II TR EXO which has been excellent at clearing mud. I’ve raced muddy XC, normal Enduro and muddy DH on them if that’s relevant.

I rode last winter and still have a spare set of wheels setup with Hans Dampf front and rear. They clogged very badly last winter although the grip was very good – especially in the ice. Not had much of that yet so waiting to see how the Mary / DHR II do when it comes then might switch back to the Dampfs because they definitely worked really well when it got icy last year.

I’m finding I prefer the clearing abilities of the Mary / DHR II to the Hans Dampf though in this mud.

I have a Mary on standby to put on the rear but I’m not really feeling the need ATM.

North Wales (Llangollen) – mostly natural mountain riding at the moment from the back door.

Found 29er magic marys for £22 at the momement so i thought at that price they would be worth a go

You want the trailstar snakeskin evo version rather than the cheapo “performance” model.

Got a pair from bikediscount.de for £62 delivered a couple of weeks ago.

BTW – I think my current fave rear 29er tyre is the DHR2 exo 60a.

Generally if you’re riding in conditions where a Mary’s a good idea, a HD is a terrible idea. (tbh I’m not sure when a HD isn’t a terrible idea, they are gash)

What size? Specialized Butcher works ace on the back in 26 as long as you’re not a tyre-ripper, they’re not that tough. Not sure I like it as much in 29.

Ive got a butcher on the font at the moment and its alight in the wet but not great. Brilliant summer tyre.

Perhaps i should just switch the butcher to the rear?

Anyone know where you can get the DHR2 exo 60a cheap?

Hans dampf clogg badly ime
Vigilante is very good, oodles of grip even in the fast rolling compound, clears well , shorty up front 🙂

olibluegoat – Member

Perhaps i should just switch the butcher to the rear?

Give it a try. It doesn’t give you massive pedalling grip for wading through swamps etc so it’s not a good “muddy xc” tyre sort of thing, but it works really well on the way down- mostly when it slides, it slides well and predictably and just seems to know where you want it to slide.

The new Nobby Nic. Running it with a MM, very impressed. Doesn’t clog up like HD and is faster rolling.

Another Schwable if you like replacing your tyres often?

They claim to have changed the Trailstar compound to stop the knob tearing problem:

http://m.pinkbike.com/news/schwalbe-tires-home-story-2016.html

However, I’m so happy with the DHR2 3C Exo I’ve just got a pair of Shorty 3C Exo for winter duties.

@obg – where are you finding these £22 29er marys from?

Running a MM on the rear at the moment and it’s been great in the gloop we’ve got at the moment. Rolls surprisingly well considering how it looks.
I’d echo the comments about cheap “performance” line schwalbe’s though, well worth paying the extra for the better ones. The cheap compound ones are lethal in wet greasy conditions.

Stick your butcher on the rear and stick a hillbilly on the front. Great tyre for cutting through the slop, grid sidewall as well which is far better than control imo. It is a pretty weighty beast in 29er format though.

I’m running a magic mary up front with a nobby nic (latest pattern) on the rear. Really impressed with how the NN clears out the mud. I usually have a hans damp on the rear for most big rides in the summer (more drag, but it’s seriously grippy in the dry), but it gets taken off for a NN if the brown sticky stuff is expected.

I’ve not left the magic mary on up front during the summer, but it may well get left there this year as I’m becoming more of a fan every day with it.

Perhaps ill try the Nobby Nic. Do you finD the grip of the front end overwhelms the grip of the rear with the NN. I’d prefer the raer end not overtaking the front 🙂

Going to go with a Magic Mary up front

Do i go Magic Mary or DHR2 exo 60a for the rear?

Oli

I’m running a magic mary trailstar compound as the tyre weight is reasonable (other versions are very heavy but amazingly sticky). The nobby nic doesn’t get overwhelmed by the magic mary, but compliments it quite well in sloppy conditions. In dry or rocky conditions, then the nobby nic will not perform against a magic mary. This is where a hans damp suits very well on the rear when a magic mary is up front.

I’ve also been tempted to put a magic mary on the rear, and with conditions set to stay wet, I’m very tempted. It will obviously mean that any transitions on road or fireroad are going to burn the thighs a bit! All good training though!

Which of the tow rolls better while sill give great grip in the UK winter

Minion rear for me!

I am not really one for worrying about tyres that much, but ended up with MM upfront ( the heavy DH version). In winter I usually stick on an old school narrow 1.8 ish from a few I have had for years to cut through the mud.

Went for a muddy ride the other day and noticed how well the MM was in the mud, but also that the back end seemed to be behaving very well.

Had a look after the ride and it was an On One Smorgasbord I had on there (been away with work for a while so had forgot what was on the bike) only one ride in but it will staying on for a while a think.

I’m running Vigilantes at both ends at the moment. Works pretty well…

DHR2 and DHF both roll better than the Magic Mary.

I just stick with HR2s all year round on both front and back. No problems with grip, from slippy rock to muddy loam. Stick them on tubeless and forget about them, just ride.

ive got a muddy mary up front and a hans dampf on the rear. it rolls well and gives good grip in that combo.
i’ve also used a butcher up front with conti baron at the rear. again good grip in the wet but they dont roll as well as the first combo and they weigh more too

I’m thinking of putting the Rock Razor back on the rear. Might as well try and get some kind of sh@*ts and giggles from the constant God-awful weather/riding conditions.

Maxxis Shorty front and back seem like cheating in anything remotely soggy.

I’ve got some 3 year old Minion DHRs on my hardtail and they are spot on at wet trail centre stuff. Not bad in mud but don’t clear very well.

Oh and don’t bother with a Hans Dampf. In the dry it was pants. In the damp it was skidmark pants. I daren’t even contemplate what it would be like in the mud. Brown pants most likely.

I’ve found the solution to mud-fest on the Llangollen mountains. It’s river-fest at Coed y Brenin. God awful weather conditions yesterday but the track at Coedy holds up extremely well (when you can see the track for all the water on it). My bike wasn’t even dirty by the end of a 20 mile custom loop taking in the beginning of MBR with a shortcut to the Adams Family then up to Beginning of the End through straight through to the Tarw side. The bike was cleaned off by the constant cold water river drenching that was every section of trail.

It’s rider had frozen hands by the last descent though (Rocky Horror through to Flightpath) and couldn’t operate the dropper post or brakes… not so fun. Lesson for next time: don’t forget your spare gloves. Except the forecast I saw was for no rain all day so it alternated between hail and super-chilled rain instead.

Anyone know what gloves actually keep you warm and dry? My 661 Storm gloves are nice and warm when it’s just cold and dry but if it rains they eventually get saturated and then I get really cold fingers.

The Magic Mary TC up front and Minion DHR II 3C out back were absolutely spot on.

Don’t be so hard on the Hans Dampf – it’s only any good in Trail Star compound. It has it’s faults but lack of grip isn’t one of them. Broken side knobs, draggy in wet conditions and clogging with thick mud though… guilty as charged.