I need a new front for what is essentially sloppy muddy forest singletrack over the SE winter.  I want something a little bigger than the Storm Control I’d usually use, that also isn’t a tubeless nightmare and is good on roots.   It’s going on a 100mm HT.

Whats in favour currently that fits the bill?

Either Schwalbe Magic Mary or Maxxis Shorty, not fastest rolling but grip is next level in sloppy conditions

Shorty has been ace for me for 2 years, put a new one on now and by Spring it’ll be good for the dry 🙂

Also look into Specialized Hillbilly

Personally I love the Mary for anything from dry to intermediate conditions, so it’s perfect for around September/October where it’s wet but not too bad.

But once you get to the real mud and slop, say Nov onwards, then that’s when tyres like the Mary and Shorty don’t cut it IMO. For the real slop you’ll need a proper mud tyre such as the Continental Mud King or the Dirty Dan, both of which are excellent.

Specialized Hill Billy Grid front.

Maxxis Beaver rear.

I did a lot of searching around and I can confirm they are as good as people say they are.👍

They’re all a bit overkill for the riding and bike he describes surely? Beaver up front? Or Vittoria Gato?

I don’t know but I ride on the North Downs over winter and they have been great here. They clear as well as anything does in the sticky clay mud we have here and grip is about as good as it can be in the muck.😁

“I want something a little bigger than the Storm Control I’d usually use, that also isn’t a tubeless nightmare and is good on roots.”

This is asking for a Shorty 2.3 – a more XC mud tyre like the Storm Control or a full DH spike won’t be as good on roots.

shortbread_fanylion

Subscriber

They’re all a bit overkill for the riding and bike he describes surely? Beaver up front? Or Vittoria Gato?

Thing is, an XC mud like a Storm is really a very limited tyre- great at the one thing it does, bad at everything else. And ime that includes muddy rock, and roots. So it’s not so much about overkill as just getting something that can deal with more.

I love my shorty 2.5s but this could be an ideal job for the 2.3. The old Baron (not the new design) would have been pretty decent too.

MSC Tractor or Gripper

The shorty 2.3 looks perfect thanks, fwiw it’ll be paired with a Gato 2 out back.

I’ll be running dual Magic Marys throughout the winter, grip great, can get clagged if pootling but let of the brakes and they soon clear.

Think once the Mary on the front wears out will look at the Michellin Wild Enduro, its a beefy looking tyre and sells at a good price.

I went out in the slop with my High Roller and Ardent – it was a bit on the slippy side so might upgrade this yeear rather than go through another winter on this set up.

Shorty is a brilliant tyre – in that it ticks more boxes than any other winter tyre I’ve ever tried. They are my go-to front once the mud sets in, and when its really sloppy one goes on the back too.

But once you get to the real mud and slop, say Nov onwards, then that’s when tyres like the Mary and Shorty don’t cut it IMO. For the real slop you’ll need a proper mud tyre such as the Continental Mud King or the Dirty Dan, both of which are excellent.

Thing is, not one of my trails has so much mud to warrant a tyre this specialist. I have limestone and plenty of roots in the woods to contend with, with either a film of mud, or miss, or water.

In these conditions, I found a Mary good, but a shorty a bit better.

I go as long as possible on a barzo/barzo set up, and locally that will mostly do all the winter. If I need more then it’s an XR4 or for pure mud, mud x. I probably avoid the pure clag type places and things like brass monkeys are normally fine on barzos.

Hillbilly Grid is a mint front tyre for most conditions but especially general winter murk.

I quite like purgatorys.

Not a mud tyre, but grippy enough in the sort of mud thats still fun to ride in. Most of my mountainbiking is arround the Gorrick/army ranges so almost completley natural muddy singletrack, but low enough traffic that its just loose mud, not the hub deep churned slop of old-swinley.

3rd’d the Hillbilly.

Currently have an Assegai on the front of the enduro, see how it deals with the mud, might remove the small nobs if its start to clog.

DHR2 out back, although will need a fresh one putting on, current one is wrecked after a week in scotland, side nobs are falling off.