im currently running 2.2 ust conti rubber queens, i love them but for summer im thinking of ditching them for something faster rolling and a little less beefy

the thing that worries me is the sidewalls, how do the snakeskin tubeless ready schwalbe tyres compare to UST sidewalls? are they likely to be as durable?

riding the peak district solely means my tyres get a battering from rocks etc and i dont want a tyre slash etc on the sidewalls

ive never run tubeless ready before and i do love the extra strength of UST but im tempted with some TLR hans dampf front and something like a TLR nobby nic rear for summer duties

I have snakeskin fat Alberts on some mavic 819 rims, and I must say they were the hardest tyres I’ve ever had to seat. Interesting since the rims are ust. Just another thing to think about. Never had any problems with the sidewalls though.

I ride TLR hans dampf front and rear on my specislized enduro and there great, I’ve had no problems at all and I use this bike for DH/AM riding
On my Yeti asr5 c I was running TLR nobbly nics and the rear lasted about 3 rides before I ripped a hole in it. I replaced it with a UST model which lasted around 5 months befoe all the side walls were ready to explode. The front side walls were also showing lots of wear.
It seems like the lighter tires don’t last long at all. I’ve gone back to maxxis LUST tires for my trail bike as they seem to last a lot longer

I’ve found that brand new Schwalbe tyres are easy to fit, I use Just Riding Along latex and a compressor. However, re-fitting used Schwalbes is a real mission. So far I’ve only used Muddy Marys and Dirty Dans. Maxxis or Conti’s on the other hand seem to maintain a bit of rigidity and are easy to re-fit.

Why not keep the RQ up front and swap the back for a MK? MK a little faster rolloing apparently.

You could also look at Maxxis Ardent or Bontrager XR4. Currently running XR4s on Flows tubeless and they’ve been spot on so far…

I’ve found the snakeskins really solid, not as solid as a LUST maxxis which is all I can compare it to. I’m going to try a non snakeskin schwalbe and see how that goes…

2012 Schwalbe seem to be a nightmare to fit on stan’s rims compared to previous years though.

I’ve ripped the sidewalls or found big cuts in the tread of every single TL ready Schwalbe tyre that I have ever owned (several Nobby Nics, several Fat Alberts and a Hans Dampf) I only use Maxxis tyres now – I never ripped one of these in the last year ( non UST 2.4 Ardents)

TR are a bitch to get seated. Once they were on they haven’t been a problem but personally I will stick with proper UST in future.

righty – job done, not going down this route then, sound pants, especially near rocks…

will stick with ust’s then, may try a new mountain king 2 if they do them in ust

The black chili Rubber Queens are slow on tarmac but once you hit dirt they’re actually a remarkably fast tyre – barely any slower than that X-King I had on the rear before. Found myself rolling away from a mate on a smooth bare grass coast homewards with me on RQs and him on SB8s! Where they’re slowest offroad is once it gets properly muddy and the large volume starts to drag a bit but then again everything drags in the mud and at least the RQs are safe on wet roots unlike most mud tyres. X-King on the back was fun but no braking grip and got cut up pretty badly by flints.

snakeskin is different from just tubeless ready though – standard schwalbe walls are really think but the snakeskin ones aren’t that far off LUST maxxis ones I have, tougher but a lot lighter.

Tried some TLR recently and been impressed, after years with UST. A Spesh purgatory TLR on the back of the FS (on an old mavic 819) and a Bonty mud-x TLR on the HT (on an arch). Had both up hill and down dale in the Peak and the Lakes and no problems at all – also no probs inflating with track pump. That purgatory in particular is one of the better tyres I’ve used recently.

I was pretty sceptical, I’m a hefty rider and the TLR carcass feels like a wee man’s set up. They’re relatively light and flimsy-feeling. They must be more vulnerable to a bad rock slash etc. but as I say this hasn’t happened and they’ve been really good for me.

I’ve had a couple of Schwalbe TR tyres that have either been misshapen from the start, or have very quickly developed unsightly bulges…tyre wobble is very annoying!

I’ve run a few Schwalbe TR on the rear – easy enough to get up, but each of them died a relatively swift death from slashy pointy rockiness. Not salvageable even with dental floss, patches and anchovies. Binning nearly new tyres makes me very unhappy. Now given up on Schwalbe TR (shame because I like a Ralph on the rear).

Have liked running Conti’s of various types but all in ProTection version (reinforced sidewall and TR). So far so good.

Oh bollocks. I’ve just ordered a pair of HDs. Ah well, see how they go.

I have snakeskin fat Alberts on some mavic 819 rims, and I must say they were the hardest tyres I’ve ever had to seat. Interesting since the rims are ust. Just another thing to think about. Never had any problems with the sidewalls though.

Really? the 2.4 version of the same tyre and rim went on fine, the Nic and Ralphs on my crests were a pain to seat in comparison though, and as you said the sidewall are very tough

the other route i could go down is the spesh route

but what relatively fast summerish tyres do they do? and are there TLR and stronger than that of the shcwalbe ones?

@ OP are these going on UST specific rims? yeah i know normal ltyres will work on UST rims (I have HR2 on Deemax) but normal tyres on UST rims cannot be run tubeless. the tyre will not sit solidly…. (unless i’m missing something in which case tell me!)

on an side note… are MAxxis LUST tyres actually UST or do they just have chunkier sidewalls (ala EXO)?

I punctured the crap out of my 2.25 snakeskin TLR Nics- they picked up loads of wee cuts on trails that I’ve never had another puncture. Could just be bad luck mind.

nope they are flows running tubeless (to which ust tyres sit/bead fine straight away)

seriously tempted to try a set of purgatory’s

do you think the purgatorys will roll a little faster than the rubber queens?

Think I read on here that the purg was discontinued but you can get basically the same tyre under a new name? Something like that.

I used UST RQs a lot for a while but can’t really remember big differences in rolling resistance relative to the purg – I’m rubbish at noticing rol res in any case. Just eyeballing the tread the purg should roll faster.

I also had some Fat Albert snakeskin, tubeless ready tyres from On-One a year or so ago. Couldn’t seat one of them – even tried CO2 with no joy.

This was on Bontrager Tubeless rims.

Have since used Bontrager TLR (v easy to seat but weak sidewalls) and Kenda UST (actually harder to seat but better sidewalls).

Been running UST since 2003, and TLR for the last 2 years or so. 3.1s, 819s, Flows, Arches, Crests all used. Always used Schwalbe tyres, and I’ve mounted every single tyre on every rim with a track pump only; agreed it’s not always easy but I’ve always managed with no more than 10 minutes of swearing and a single calm-down-and-have-a-brew break. That’s about 100 tyres.

UST Alberts have survived everything (including Peaks, Dalby, CYB, BYC plus more usual bridleways); UST Nobby Nics failed twice in 3 trips to Dalby. Will be trying TLR Hans Dampfs and TLR Racing Ralphs on my 29er soon.

I have been running tubeless in various guises for well over 10 years.

My latest set up (UST rims) with Snakeskin Schwalbe Ralphs is almost the most disappointing. After a dozen rides I have had to repair the rear tyre twice and have more than 25 separate holes in it through which stans jizz leaks. Conti (non protections were worse but went straight up).

If you are using Stans rims standard tyres (Maxxis, Kenda etc) work well, seal fairly quickly and inflate fairly easily. They are also tougher than the Schwalbe Snakeskins (not much is weaker IME).

For UST I have heard the protection Conti’s work well or Maxxis LUST or any other UST tyres are probably the best bet (both with Stans jizz).

It is probably also worth having a look at Specialized Tubeless Ready and Bontrager Tubeless Ready tyres.

ive heard enough here to be put off schwalbes…..but on my other thread ive heard enough good things about the spesh tyres (which are also tubeless ready) that im gonna go with them!

ive got a x-king that the tread has worn out on near enough (in about 6 months total use from new(shittt!!!), so im going to get a ground control for the rear and try a purgatory up front! both setup up tubeless and pray to god they can deal with the peak district rocks!