Coming back to riding after a long break. Got some Vitoria Goma Tyres on as they were cheap from Planet X – turns out they were cheap for a reason. Anyway they don’t seem to grip as well as my Specialized Eskars did a few years ago.
The tyre choice is bewildering! And even when you choose a tyre there’s 10 different types of each one.
So, all round tyre for W Yorks – not too much mud around but can be softish around here but need handle rocky paths too.
650b, tubeless, skinwall a huge bonus if possible.
Any ideas?

My favorite all rounder, which I use all year is the Nobby Nic in 2.6R and 2.8F. It’s supposed to be crap in the mud but I don’t think it’s that bad as I don’t want a Magic Mary.

Eskars were great!

Spesh tyres are still very good, and reasonably priced if you shop around. Butcher on the front works well, and same on the back or something faster depending on conditions. Stay <2.5 unless you have decent width rims (30mm+)

Magic Mary’s (Addis soft) are better than the butcher but more expensive and the difference is small

Found these Butchers https://www.specialized.com/gb/en/butcher-grid-2bliss-ready/p/133549?color=228667-133549

Considering a pair. It does say in the reviews that the 2.6 is more like a 2.3 though so unsure on the size I’d go for.

Is it worth paying more for the other Butchers which have a more fancy description?

What width rims do you have?

Can’t go wrong with a pair of Butcher Grids. Maybe a Purgatory on the back for extra speeds or a Slaughter for mega skids.

The 2.6 doesn’t come up huge but I never measured it. They’re a touch bigger than my current 2.4 Michelins.

I rode with a Magic Mary Addix 2.6 (Orange) last week.   It was very awesome.

Rims are Mavic EN427 – ETRTO size 584×27

Not skinwalls, but the Michelin Wild AM (or Enduro if you’re feeling flush) are great all-rounders.
Been running a set of 2.6s all summer, and they’ve been great in the recent slippy conditions too.
They come up more like a 2.5 width wise.

Specialized has a 50% sale on when I looked last week so I’d be inclined to go with them for a bargain. Butcher front / purgatory rear for faster rolling or swap out the rear for an eliminator for more grip in the mud.

Looks like your rims are 28mm internal so you could run 2.3 or 2.6. I’d be inclined to go 2.3 on the rear and maybe 2.6 on the front if your forks have enough room in them.

Skin walls? Have a word – it’s not the 1990’s now chap.

All rounder for All year round use the Maxxis high roller 2 will do the job very well
There are much better tyres for specific seasonal times of the year

I would go with Butcher 2.6 front Eliminator 2.3 rear from the Specialized sale.
If you want tan walls then the Onza Ibex from Chainreaction would be good but I prefer the Specialized option

Skin walls? Have a word – it’s not the 1990’s now chap.

I started riding in 1987 so skin walls will always look better to me I’m afraid!
I do like a lot of coloured anodising too but I’ve controlled myself on this bike – mostly.

Think I’ll go for the Spesh options to be honest.

Thanks all for the help.

Not fashionable or trendy but I love my on one chunky monkey and smorgasbord combo

For the money, the Spesh butcher grid 2.6 on the front and purgatory 2.3 on the rear are a good all round option compared to the other usual suspects? Woburn/Chiltern rider who can’t be arsed with changing tyres for seasonality so a need good option across the board.

Magic Mary orange up front, DHR rear

Changed to a Magic Mary upfront last week (from a Nobby Nic) and it’s the first time in ages I can honestly say I’ve changed something and noticed a difference. Felt like it was on rails.

The Butcher is a very, very good front tyre, highly recommended.

I’m quite happily trundling around with a Minion DHF up front and a High Roller II at the back. The HR rolls pretty well (certainly far better than the Spesh Purgatory I’ve used in the past), but it seems to wear quickly.

@patagonian I’m currently running Nobby’s front and rear and they’ve been on for 3yrs. Seemed fine till recently where I seem to be losing a lot of grip, probably due to wear, and guessing its time for a change. To me the tread doesn’t look horrific but if compared to a new tyre I’d think otherwise.

Michelin wild enduro gumx rear and maxxis shorty 2.5 front. Great tyres

@paulneenan76 I found a few years ago when I had Nobby Nics that they suddenly went off in terms of grip. Lost their edges and that was it – reckon I got a year out of them.

There are much better tyres out there than Nobby Nics through anyway!

@paulneenan76 Funny you should say that because that’s what happened to the Rocket Ron on my 29er last year. Grip wasnt as good and I checked everything including the suspension but drew a blank. New tyre popped up on a local selling site and because it was a step up from a Performance I went for it……and it solved the problem. All I could see wrong was the edges had rounded on the individual blocks.

Yep, reckon they’ve run their course then.

Jedi, im not sure if my OCD could cope with different Brand front and rear!!

Both bikes are running odd brands front to back for the winter. One has magic Mary front / Maxxis dhr2 rear – the other is wearing a Soec Hillbilly front and dhr2 rear. Valves don’t line up either the logos either – ocd nightmare for some!

Pmsl 😅

And if you get the wheels muddy enough (and don’t clean them) you can’t even see the tyre logos – my hardtail has been in this state for a few weeks now (although I have cleaned the important bit – the drivetrain)

I’m a tart. Can’t have different brands. Gotta all line up, and whilst not meticulous, the bikes gotta be fairly clean.

All that aside, Tyre choice is quite a headf*ck. I don’t want to change them until they wear out. Be grippier than what I have for where I ride, and be resilient/last well. This it seems creates the never-ending list of options 😂

I like Schwalbe Fat Albert’s (Front and Rear specific)  not a tyre that seems to pop up in reviews and the like but I like them. I run them Tubeless and they set up easily on my rims.

So I’m thinking that £ for £ in the current Specialized sale, the Butcher front & Purgatory rear are an awesome combo in 2.6/2.3 guise, right?

Should be good for the money yes. My mate has just ordered a similar combo (although he bottled it and went 2.3/2.3). Eliminator rear if you think you’ll be riding a lot of muddy stuff.

There are much better tyres out there than Nobby Nics through anyway!

More specialist tyres yes. As an all rounders as per the OP’s requirements, I still haven’t found better but very open to suggestions.

I thinks it’s more a need for stickier grippier front. Nobby is fine on the back.

I’m surprised so many on here like Specialized tyres – IMO they’ve been rubbish since Maxxis stopped making them.

I’d say one of the following for the front: Magic Mary, Assegai, DHF, DHR
For the rear I’d go with: Hans Dampf, DHF, High Roller II or DHR (DHF if you want it to be faster rolling)

I like the ultasoft or Maxxgripp compound for the front, as both are so good on wet roots and rocks, but I appreciate that some on here find them a bit slow on the climbs.

JP

High roller 2 front and back for me

So much depends on your own “all round”. I’d stick a DHR2 3C on the front and DHR2 dual on the back, they’re not that fast, but not that slow either and they can do pretty much anything. I also like how they last- schwalbe make some great tyres too but I really don’t like how they go off when the block shape wears, maxxis tend to keep working til they’re properly worn out.

Eskar was a great rear though, actually pretty close to the dhr2 I reckon. Weird that they discontinued it and kept the rubbish Purgatory.

jjprestidge

Member

I’m surprised so many on here like Specialized tyres – IMO they’ve been rubbish since Maxxis stopped making them.

Who makes them now? Didn’t know they’d parted company with cheng shin