Hi guys. Looking at changing from my Bonti XR4 and XR3 set up to somethimg faster rolling on my SB100 for the summer to to a bit of racing but also fro general trail duties. Any combo recommendations that are fast but still pretty capable?

Ardent front, Ardent Race rear here. Works well.

Ardent front, ikon rear here.

I’ve just done similar, swapped the Aggressor/Minion DHF WT for something much faster for the Glentress7. Went for Vittoria Barzo/Mezcal combo and had a first ride yesterday. Was honestly blown away at how good they were, after a wee bit of playing with pressures I was only a few seconds off my PB’s for Ho Chi Min and Zoom or Bust which are a bit beyond what I expected the tyres to cope well with.
Would definitely recommend a look while bearing in mind the trail centre nature of my experience if your riding is different.

Summer combo is a Conti Race King Protection front and a Maxxis Pace Exo rear. Copes with just about everything, including all the unavoidable tarmac bits we forget about.

Vittoria Morsa front, Mezcal rear works for me when it’s not mega muddy. Fast rolling but still grippy enough for South Downs and were fine at 24:12 last year too.

Vee Tire Rail Escape front, and Mission rear. Brilliant and underrated combo!

XR3 on the front XR2 on the rear easy

Ikon front. Aspen rear . Drifterama drama but oh so fast

Depending on how dry things are I’ll either go (F/R) XR3/XR2 or XR2/XR1 for summer.

In Scotland at easter I used XR3/XR2 with no problem. For round here (south Dales) then the XR2/XR1 combo is usually fine.

I’ve gone minion DHF/SS but DHR/SS would be perfect.

Vitoria Barzos front and rear.

I’m happy riding the local trails quickly on Ralphs or Rons, and they are ideal race tyres.

Dunno what your existing tyres are like, but I’m happy with the Crossmark 2 exo on the rear for fast rolling, good cornering and a bit of sturdiness.

I tend to use a cheap, light Race King 2.4 on the front but it’s a bit crashy in damp conditions.

Maxxis Ardent Race front/Ikon rear here (dry, dusty, rocky trails). Also used Spec Ground Control front/Fast Trak rear. Both of those combos have tyres with quite rounded profiles, which I prefer as I don’t have enough handling skill to push over onto more pronounced shoulder knobs

Just ordered the new Racing Ray / Ralph. So going to give those a go. If i dont like them ill go with the xr3/xr2 combo

Currently on Maxxis Forekaster front and Rekon Race rear.

Will be putting a Rekon on the front soon.

Ardent Race, Ikon is also a great combination.

Vittoria Barzo front and Mezcal rear

For the tiny bit of racing I did last summer I went Ardent Race F&R in 2.35” guise.

I did swap these out for Peyotes F&R but they don’t have the volume and comfort of the Ardent Races – valuable when SS and rigid!

I’m currently trialling an Ardent Race on the front and a Ikon on the rear – I suspect this will be sketch a roo when it comes to braking!

I’ve got a South Downs Way in a day epic ride coming up soon to raise money for a good cause (see the sticky post at the top). Gonna try the Maxxis Ardent Race / Maxxis Ikon front-rear combo. I’ve used both before as a fast summer rear tyre with good results, but never both together as a front-rear combination.

…hoping the chalk isn’t wet on the big day!

minor hijack, currently using a pair of rocket rons, i had a ralph on last summer, and wondering how the ardent race/ikon pairing compares.

Use case is longish XC rides, mix of road,track,woodland singletrack.

What size Barzo / Mezcal combos are people running?

Was thinking of going 2.35 Barzo front and 2.25 Mezcal rear?

Do they measure up true to size?

Oli

Yeah size is spot on I run 2.25 in each
Ps look on r2 bike shop the tnt grahene ones are 30 euro’s (barzo’s and mezcal’s)

Bonti XR4 and XR3

XR3 and XR2 😎

I run Saguaro’s as fast summery treads.
IMO they’re better than the NobbyNic and Ralph combo I’ve had before. More supple and less sudden end to grip.

Have you got a link to the one on the r2 bike shop?

Its the rigid rather than foldable at £30 on r2 bike. Anywhere seen any mega deels on the Barzo / Mezcal foldable graphene 29 x 2.35 or 2.25

Thunder Burt or Racing Ralph or combo thereof.

https://r2-bike.com/VITTORIA-Tire-Barzo-29-x-225-TNT-TL-Ready-G-4C-black-anthracite

https://r2-bike.com/VITTORIA-Tire-Mezcal-29-x-225-TNT-TL-Ready-G-4C

I run Saguaro’s as fast summery treads

Blimey! I have those on my commutah. They do roll fast though

Jonny. Are those the current model? They other listed by a slightly different name for 42 euro. Anyone know the difference?

The ones at £42 euros are this years model, but the £30 euros are superb

Rocket Ron on the front Ralph on the back for me in Summer.

I have Mezcal front and rear, 2.35 front and 2.25 rear. I’ve heard great stuff about the new XC casing (tan walls) but you do seem to have run them 3-5psi more than the TNT casing. Shame the newer casing is 29er only.

Off the back of a similar xc tyre thread where people were recommending Bonty tyres, I bought a 2.35 and a 2.2 XR2 in 29”. I wanted reasonable weight, fast tyres with more volume than Schwalbe 2.25’s.
I had previously hated the Ardent and its predisposition to wanting to kill me in every corner. The XR2’s weighed in at 630 and 650g respectfully, went on my DT rims with barely any effort, and to my surprise, went up with a floor pump with no leaks. The 2.2 is an impressive 58mm on a 30mm IW rim, and the 2.35 is 59mm on a 25mm IW rim. They ride great on my local terrain too, very fast and predictable.

I would also highly recommend the Vittoria Barzo, been running one on the front for over a year now and has performed brilliantly in dry and wet conditions.

I thought they were so good that I’ve just written a review about them on my blog here: https://outbiking.co.uk/best-mtb-tyre/

ProBikeKit currently have some of the 27.5 versions on offer, links are in the table in my blog post.

In dry weather, Racing Ralph on the back, something a bit grippier on the front. Currently running a Hans Dampf, not sure I’ll stick with that.

Id be interested in anyone’s reviews of the Terreno…

https://www.vittoria.com/eu/terreno-cross-country.html

I’ve generally found Vittoria tyres are so much stronger, more reliable and easier to mount Tubeless than schwalbes

I’ve been running Barzo/Mezcal since April, Barzo/Barzo in winter.  I do wonder how fast a Mezcal / Terreno combo might be.

I’ve always ran a Rocket Ron front and Ralph/Ikon rear.
Done me well in the past and given me more grip than you would think!
Got a pair of Aspen to try.
Gonna do front and rear but think a Rocket Ron/Racing Ray front mite be in my future!
Max

Id be interested in anyone’s reviews of the Terreno…

Well as the Terreno mixte has more tread than that cross country tyre and it’s a cx tyre (quite good I use th 40c version on one cx Bike as does Mrs Kilo ) I’d imagine it’s fairly quick but it does seem to be a gravel / cx tyre as you read on in Vittorias blurb. Maybe try a saguaro?
Agree about how good Vittoria tyres are