My mate has just got a Minion DHF 2.5WT on some nice new wide rims (front wheel) and it’s made me jealous of his girth (ahem).

I’m on WTB i23 rims and running Minion DHF 2.3 and the difference is stark! My rims are too narrow for Maxxis WT tyres and I know that Maxxis come up a bit narrower than Schwalbe, so i’m wondering if it’s worth sticking a 2.35 MM (a known wider tyre) on the front??

And if this would even be any better?? I find a wider tyre up front to help probably more psychologically than in terms of real world grip.

I’ve got a 2.5wt dhf on a 30mm internal rim (bit previously ran it fine on a 25mm internal rim) and a 2.35 magic Mary on a 25mm rim. There isn’t a huge difference in size – the DHF is a bit bigger but not as much as you think.

I’ve not run a 2.3 dhf to compare – but for the majority of my riding the dhf is better than the Mary. That’s with mostly trail centre / hardpack use.

The Mary is better when you’re on wet natural trails and need the grip there. I tend to run a dhf all year round on my fs bike and a Mary for the winter on my hardtail as I use that if it’s more muddy.

In the summer on the hardtail I run a 2.4 On-One Chunky Monkey – could be worth you looking at that too? It’s made by Maxxis but I don’t know how it compares to the 2.3dhf.

I have a 2.4 Chunky Monkey on my hardtail and that’s noticeably bigger than my 2.3 DHF but nowhere near the size of the 2.5WT IIRC.

Would you suggest the 2.5WTs will be fine on my 23id rims?

i’ve just gone from a DHF 2.3 to the DHF 2.5 on 27.5 28mm internal rims

very cheap on tredz for WT exo 3c using £5off code UUK7MCX8

they are a bit wider, but only measure around 2.4 max, and thats measuring multiple times.
in terms of performance: confidence inspiring on the downs and great grip and rolling uphill.
only positives from changing from 2.3 to WT2.5

get some new wheels.

I mean the 2.5wt was fine on 25mm rims and there’s only 2mm difference to the ones you’ve got. You end up with a rounder profile the narrower the rim but I can’t say the change to 30mm internal rims has been breath taking.

I’d probably just give it a go if your forks have the clearance.

I have a 2.35″ Magic Mary on a 25mm DT rim and it’s great. Next to my DHF 2.5″ on a 28mm rim the difference in width is minimal.

I have the 2.3 DHF and a 2.25 MM and the MM looks visibly wider, so the 2.35 will be even wider still.

Cheers. Just ordered a MM 2.35. The Chunky Monkey on my HT is pretty worn anyway so if i don’t prefer the MM to my current 2.3 DHR on the full suss I can swap back and put it on the HT instead.

You’ll probably like it as long as you don’t ride too much hardpack trail centre stuff. The Mary can squirm more than the dhf on berms etc.

However if you ride steep / natural /
Rooty stuff the Mary is generally better – especially if it’s wet.

The Mary can squirm more than the dhf on berms etc.

Thats interesting. So maybe a couple more PSI?

I tend to ride the peaks / lakes mostly so its usually rocks in front of me. It i go to a trail centre then i tend to take the HT.

But then i also like BPW just to confuse things.

A lot of ews riders are not on super wide rims and tyres.

I’ve gone back to 2.3 Agressor on the rear as the 2.5 didn’t leave much room on the rear.

EX 1501, 25mm internal rims.

I don’t think you’ll notice any squirm from a magic mary.  It’s a fantastic front tyre across pretty much all trail conditions.  Personally I didn’t rate the DHF WT, found the tyre sketchy on the transition from centre knobs to side knobs.  Mary is much more predictable.

It’s not the carcass of the Mary that can squirm, it’s the knobs on it – they’re longer than the dhf ones. I run my Mary at the same pressure as the DHF generally.

The DHF is definitely better on hardpack – I notice the Mary having less grip. But equally on the natural steep trails the Mary feels like it grips and steers better when it’s wet.

I can’t say the transition on a dhf feels weird – it’s quite a rounded tyre.

The DHR2 however feels like there’s a gap from upright to lent right over and you have to really commit with it as a front tyre (my experience anyway). Thinking about it they do a 2.4wt version of that and some people really like it on the front.

Which compound is best on the Mary?

If your rim is an ST i23 swap it over to an ST i29, they’re going super cheap at chainreaction/wiggle at the moment, should be the same ERD, you can’t go wrong with either tyre, soft orange magic mary is great, super soft purple magic mary has unbelievable grip upfront, my personal fave tyre.

Addix soft (orange stripe I think) is the all round option. The stickier one is meant to be ok for downhill but it’s draggier.

Hmm, well I can’t say I have felt any obvious squirm on hard pack trails such as BPW.  Certainly anything that has ever caused any concern.  I even run the 2.6 Mary now which is more pronounced.   Certainly more confidence inspiring for me than any DHF has Ever been.  Now most of my riding is FOD off piste stuff, but I ride hardpack during regular BPW trips and have never ever had a problem with a Mary.  Bigger issues are rolling rear tyres off the rim, luckily rimpacts and super gravity casing helps with that

I’ve got a pair of soft (addix?) compound magic Mary’s on my hardtail. Definitely need slightly more psi than maxxis, but are very grippy tyres on almost all surfaces. Bloody draggy when climbing the Yorkshire dales though!