Maxxis Ardent.

Are they any good?
They would look mint on my pitch 🙂

I have just replaced my winter tyres with ardent 2.4’s. I ride a 29er SS, but the 26″ version should be the same. Excellent tyres in all sorts of conditions, gets my recommendation.
There’s an article here (29er specific, but it still applies: http://twentynineinches.com/2010/12/15/top-ten-29er-products-of-2010-maxxis-ardent-2-4-tire/

They’re ok IME but I prefer ignitors as a better all rounder.

Not tried the ardent right I read somewhere they are not great as a front tyre. The ignitors seem to let go a bit to easy as well just replaced the ignitor on the front of my bike with an advantage and it seems to hold much better.

Horses for courses. I run Ardent 2.25 LUST and Crossmark rear for fast summer conditions. I would not expect them to give the same grip when cornoring as my winter tyres. If you want better aurthority over the front the Advatange is very good but a Highroller is best. For trail centre bashing I like a 2.35 HR up front and Ignitor on the rear runnig about 20 – 25psi. In LUST version they roll perfectly and have excellent grip.

i have started using a aredent on the front and a crossmark on the back, i find them really fast rollers in nice conditions but it the weather changes the ardent will go on the back and a high roller on the front.
i have never been a tyre man but since i have changed from fat alberts there really do make a difference

I haven’t used a whole lot of tyres, but I moved from Nobby Nics to Ardents and am very glad I did.
I think they’re a great hardcore summer tyre, in that they roll quite well and aren’t too heavy, but are still grippy and puncture resistant.

I like they way they grip – they always seem to have a little grip in reserve after they slip which is nice and lets you play at the edge a little.

when i changed to ardents last year my bike came alive. usually run them front and rear but trying a ST minion on the front for a bit more grip, probably swap back to an ardent though to get the rolling speed up. superb tyre.

Ardents are most excellent. High volume from tall, wobbly sidewalls but fairly average width – great if you’re looking for a floaty kind of tyre without the weight and width.

Cornering/braking/climbing traction is great but the tread is just a little bit too shallow for me to risk one on the front although I might chance it if I was riding super-buff trail centres all the time.

The general consensus seems to be that Ardents are pretty good, but in my experience they are really really awful.
No grip in whatsoever in any direction in anything other than bone dry conditions. Fast rolling and ok in the dry, but definitely not a tyre for the UK IMO. One of the sketchiest tyres I’ve ever experienced, right up there with the terrifying Bonty XDX. 😯

So what did you move onto after the Ardents Fortunateson09?
I might give whatever they are a go next.

Agree with Fortunateson09 the Ardents are ok in proper dry conditions but they are not great especially if you are an aggressive rider.
First off they have very thin sidewalls which I found easy to tear, secondly i found that i had to give them 100% attention all the time when cornering as they let go very early, and didnt give me anything like the levels of cornering grip i was used to, also if you ride steep stuff the braking grip is very limited. Having said that they are very fast rolling, the large volume rolls over stuff nice and easily and if you prefer to drift/slide rather than rail corners then they will most definitely suit.

They wernt my bag and I quickly went back to my usual trail riding setup of a minion F/Highroller combo.

I like Advantage, lovely stuff.

I have similar experiences of sketchness with an Ardent on the front – I wonder if a 29er Highroller will ever make it to the market?

Im using Ardents on the rear of my HT and FS great tyre to take a bit of abuse and lovely if you dont mind drifting on corners a bit. I have just switched to an exo walled one on the rear and its v tough and light too. Did have ignitors but they are not high volume and for me were crap as even the UST versions kept pinching against the rim.

I would not use Ardents as a front tyre again not good for tight singletrack where you cant lean the bike in enough to make them bite but as a rear tyre have been impressed.

I find the ardents fast rolling and predicatable, I have a tyre fetish and changed models for years until I found my favourites – Nevegals, which were then swapped for similar but better made Panaracer Rampages and now, Ardents. I find the Ardents ride a lot like the Rampages – excellent in dry, gippy enough in wet and really good on trail centre/man made stuff. Never had any durability issues either – they have a wide carcass and have taken a pounding on my beefy hardtail down some pretty rocky scottish mountains. Only pinch flatted once in a year (compared to 6 times on my pinch flat resistant rampages!)

I would totally recommend these tyres – fair enough, its a shallow tread so not ideal for gloop – but the clear quick and if it gets really sloppy then you need to fit a Panaracer Trailraker (which I do from November to March!)

I use a 2.4 dual ply on the rear on my DH bike. Nice and fast rolling but as said above it can be a bit drifty, which I like. Seems to be holding up well in terms of tread wear, but the sidewalls are showing that diagonal scoring thing that tyres do.

Don’t think I would trust one on the front, but haven’t tried it, it just doesn’t look like I would trust it. Strange the way you judge tyres isn’t it?

i’ve got the single ply 2.4 ardent on the front of my pitch running tubeless. i am liking it so far and will for as long as it doesn’t slam me into the dirt.

If you want a fast rolling, long lived rear tyre then you can’t really go wrong with an Ardent. It’s a whole league better than the Kenda SB8 I was using before.

On the front, it’s s different story. The grip and cornering bite just isn’t there so I pair mine with a High Roller up front, which works extremely well for me. I can also inflate to 55psi and commute on them too.

I have ardent on the rear of both my bike, and Minion on one fron advantage on the other , Minion Super Tacky works well with the Ardent rear.