High rollers, best tyres I have ever ridden, they give you so much confidence through corners

What size mud mads are you running?

If you like that tread pattern swampthings are 600g in a 2.1 and a very similar tread pattern to the mud mads, not much use to you now, but a worn down swampthing doesnt roll as bad as people say and still has loads of grip, most importantly it will be worn in the middle so it rolls better but the side knobs will still be there for your cornering. Does step out on roots a bit, but as you have said your used to that, the predictable cornering takes a bit of beating.

best tire ever, maxxis swampthing, 2.1, with the center cut off on the rear.

worst (cornering) tire ever, the new specialized enduro, it has no shoulder grip!

The tyres I use as an ‘all round’ set up here in the Clwydians are Bonty Jones ACX, 2.3 front with a 2.2 out back.

They’ve got small evenly placed studs so they avoid that intermediate slip you get on Maxxis tyres as you move from the large central knobs to the outside cornering knobs.

They’re also pretty light for the size, tubeless compatible, clear mud easily, roll well and have a softer compound of rubber on the outside edges to help cornering.

I can honestly say that I’ve tried tyres from most manufacturers and these are by far and away the best tyres for my riding here in N.Wales. I counted my tyres last week as I’m going to have to try and flog them soon as they are getting in the way. I’ve got 32 tyres at my place and another 20 odd at my Mum and Dads. Anybody interested in a load of tyres from WTB, Michelin, Bontrager, Maxxis, Geax, Continental, Schwalbe, Onza, Panaracer and probably a couple of other makes that I’ve forgot about?

‘s funny – I like Conti Verts.

I think that the problem lots of people have with them is that they’re very drifty.

My definition of ‘wash out’ is a sudden break of grip and I’d say that’s the total opposite of verts. I reckon that they drift (ie start to slide a bit) very early but that it’s very predicatable unlike some other tyres which have much more grip but once they ‘wash out’ they really slide lots and very suddenly.

Lots of people don’t like the feeling of their bike moving underneath them and that isn’t going to be a good combination with verts, hence why they don’t like them. Those of us who don’t mind the bike moving so long as it’s very predictable (like me!) will probably like them.

Try Nokian NBXs. Nice tyre.. especially the 2.0 but it’s not really a wet condition tyre.. :/

Flippin eck Jim the saint, I thought I had too many sets!!

I would love to try the Bonty Jones, they doo look a good tyre, and I like the look of the Maxxis crossmark too for dry stuff, but I wont be buying any tyres for a bit myself I got a few seasons worth I need to wear out.

jim the saint – Member
They’ve got small evenly placed studs so they avoid that intermediate slip you get on Maxxis tyres as you move from the large central knobs to the outside cornering knobs.

Which Maxxis tyres? Highrollers? – try Minion fronts, they blow away a HR for all round use IMO

oh, if any of your 50+ tyres happen to be Minion fronts or Bling Blings I’d be interested in buying them.

Seriously, you need to try some high rollers. The only time I take mine off is for full on, seriously muddy dh. I prefer wet screams for that, or for longer distance jaunts I’ll go for a panaracer rampage because they are relatively light. They are useless in corners though, the sidewalls flex all over the place on tech sections and pinch protection is terrible.

High rollers allow you to corner so much more aggressively than virtually any other tyre out there – there is a reason why they are the tyre of choice for virtually every world cup dh racer – predictability. Even racers/entire teams sponsored by other tyre brands run HRs with the logos blacked out. And you’ll notice that virtually every tyre manu has brought out a replica of sorts.

The break away sensation that people are refering to happens at speed, deep into a corner when you are leaning the bike. If you can percieve it at all it just feels like a mili second of acceleration, followed by more controllable grip thanks to the huge side lugs, that’s what they are there for.

Great tyre for 90% of conditions. I’ve been running them for years. Some riders never push them to the point where they excel so they cant see what the fuss is about.

If you are the type of rider who attackes the trail, carves corners, drifts and has fun doing it or you want to be then get them. If you’re the type of rider who just about survives a trail, ie bolt upright, stop starting on the brakes, clipped in, panics and bails at the mere sight of something fast and rough then they probably are not for you.

As for minions – I think most people would struggle to discern any difference between them and HRs other than the latters lower rolling resistance.

Well thankyou all for contributing to yet another what-tyre thread, I am going to think hard on it and may end up with different tyres front and back. Think I’m going to avoid conti’s as I dont like my front end drifting – i prefer it to go where I point it without question (dont care what the rear does so long as its following somewhere). I might end up with 1 fire xc and one highroller so I can try them front and rear and see how I prefer them – it would make sense to me that a good tyre for the front is likely to be very different to a good tyre at the rear and I suspect a front tyre would suit being more rounded, so it might make sense to go fire front, HR rear.

tinsy – 2.25 mudmad. Honestly cant fault it but its being worn down at a rate of knots and they’re a tad heavy, I like them for more hardcore riding so I want to save them for that. I’ll take a peek at the swampthings too, see how they look.

This is a great excuse to try lots of new things, I like it!

Gnar – maybe most would, but IME minions don’t break away unexpectedly on off-cambers in the same way a HR can. oh, and if you like HRs, try a michy comp 16, similar (since Maxxis blatantly copied them) but grippier (also slower rolling tho) and if tubeless is your thing they’re quite possibly the best tubeless tyre ever made.

Been a bit slow in relpying…..

Fire XCs seem to roll fast (well, fast in my limited experience of tyres). They are the ones that I put on if I want to go for a bit of a training ride on the road and to be honest, unless it’s really manky I keep them on all the time. In thick, gloopy mud i find they clog quite badly.

The Speed Kings have fairly widely spaced knobs but seem to grip well. I think because the knobs are quite small and so widely spaced they also roll well, but they do wear really quick in rocky situations. Also, I really struggle to get Continental tyres off the rims of my wheels and it puts me off putting them on. I originally bought the Speed Kings for doing the Twentyfour12 on, but woulnd’t use them again as getting a puncture with them on is a real ordeal.

GW – Member
Gnar – maybe most would, but IME minions don’t break away unexpectedly on off-cambers in the same way a HR can. oh, and if you like HRs, try a michy comp 16, similar (since Maxxis blatantly copied them) but grippier (also slower rolling tho) and if tubeless is your thing they’re quite possibly the best tubeless tyre ever made.

I’ve got minnions on the big bike – I cant discern much difference but that might just be the way I ride. Brand new minnions do seem to give better all round grip but that leaves them after a few runs imo.

Continental are bringing out a hr copy too, apparently grippier, stickier, rolls better and lasts longer. Expensive though.

Nearly had a horrid crash on a hired “5” with 2.2 Mountain Kings. On a fast, muddy corner, got it a bit wrong and then the bike just went wibbly as both tyres lost it. Somehow managed to stay upright and stopped to recover! Was a nervous wreck after that.

Don’t know why, but Maxxis seem to have the best cornering grip in softer corners IMO. Advantage roll OK too and to me, seem way better than their price/compound suggests – no idea why.

I find Panaracers good for goiing fast in fair-good conditions or trail centre XC.

crikey

That sounds like MTBR BS to me…

Yes, nearly as much BS as written on here 😳

FYI – My new Rubber Queens are the best I’ve tried for all round use, as good as my HR’s for DH and lighter for general use. I was nearly wiped out completely by a set of Conti verts on wet roots years ago, so these are my first foray back to Conti’s but well impressed so far – very progressive change from upright to leant over.

Does this mean the Conti Flow UST 2.3s that I picked up cheap the other week will try to kill me?

Apparently so 🙂 Try them and let us know!