Have a new bike which had come with dhf and dhr tyres. While I find the grip of this setup is fantastic I’m finding the rolling resistance is making the bike some what hard work on my local stuff. Don’t mind keeping the dhf upfront but what maxxis faster rolling trail tyre is recommended for the rear?

Minion SS?

Dissector is a really good tyre, has surprisingly good grip even in the wet

+1 for the Dissector … although they don’t last long.
Bit fast is an Ardent (might not have enough grip for you)
Really fast would be an Ikon (ditto)

Dissector is the next step down, been happy with mine all summer and I’m sure it would have done the job well enough all winter. I swapped it out before it became really necessary, just me being a fiddler. I’m not sensitive enough to feel the DHR2 being harder work (definitely better braking/drive traction though), so maybe consider something that’s a step down again.

Another +1 for the Dissector. I’m running a 2.4 on the back paired with a 2.5 DHF For me that offers the best compromise between aggressive, but no so aggressive that climbs and singletrack become a chore.

A DHF.

I have some great suggestions for the Spring…

I think I’m in a minority with this, but really like the aggressor I’m running on the rear.

The 2.3” DHR2 is quite a lot quicker than the 2.4” (when you see them side by side it’s obvious why). And the Dual compound quicker than the MaxxTerra 3C.

@paule – i like the Aggressor, but the two i’ve used both deteriorated badly. The side knobs tear off and take the carcass with them leaving a gaping hole that is unpluggable. I can get a few months out of a Dissector, but when the side knobs go wonky they split the carcass in a way that can be plugged.

… considering an MSC rear at the moment.

I’m really enjoying a 2.4 Rekon on the rear of my trail bike. Very fast rolling. Way less grip than a DHR, Dissector or Agressor. But enough for me, and you get used to the lesser grip. It takes a slightly different riding satyle especially for uphill tech.

I’ve got the Dissector on the rear of my ‘big bike’ and it’s great too. Faster than a DHR but draggier than the Rekon.

I think I’m in a minority with this, but really like the aggressor I’m running on the rear.

2.5WTDD on my Rail, been very impressed with it, which was nice as it was pretty cheap on amazon.

Tried it with an Assegai up front, which is okay til it gets really shitty, I’ll be digging the Mary out shortly.

I have the Minion DHF upfront and an Aggressor on the rear. I don’t recommend the Aggressor. I find it spins out on climbs when I put any kind of power down.

I was pretty impressed with a Forekaster up front. I reckon would be decent out back if you’re running a DHF up front.

I’m lumped with the stock Spesh Butcher / Purg until they need replacing (and judging the scrapes on the rear tyre wall, won’t be long!

Is it still “the thing” to change the rotation direction if you run a “front” tyre on the back?

I run a Minion SS on my HT, works fine even in snow etc.

Ive run DissectOR ! DHR DHF and Assaclown on the rear of both mine as nothing works as well as a Aggresser ok a little bit lairy in the slop but for most of the time its been great and im running it in DD casing to and find it quick enough.

Minion DHF and Aggressor is my summer combo on one bike, but I’m using an Ardent rear on the other. Aggressor a better compromise for me than the Ardent but I’m also keen to try a Dissector instead.

All get switched out for Shorty/DHR combos at this time of year though where I ride!

I have the Minion DHF upfront and an Aggressor on the rear. I don’t recommend the Aggressor. I find it spins out on climbs when I put any kind of power down.

Maybe your local mud or pedalling technique? I’m just shy of 14 stone, and on a 22kg Trek Rail and it propels me up allsorts! Maybe the extra load helps it dig in. 🙂

As above, aggressor /DHF is my combo

DissectOR, AggressOR, EliminatOR, MaceratOR….etc. Gotta end in ‘OR’.

I find the 2.3” DHR2 isn’t that slow a rolling tyre and grips well in most stuff. If you have the 2.4” dhr2 I’d recommend the 2.3” version to save on drag. The 2.4” has much bigger heavier knobs and drags much worse.

If you already have the 2.3” then you could look at the aggressor and dissector but I find both lack drive forwards uphill in wet conditions. Really underwhelmed by the dissector 2.4” recently tbh. Thought it was going to be that happy medium between the aggressor and dhr2 but it wasn’t.

I actually prefer the Forekaster 2.6” I’ve got on my hardtail – it’s classed as ‘aggressive xc’and it’s surprising the drive it finds in mud – I don’t change it out for either summer or winter – it just stays on there. I have got a Rimpact in there as it’s quite a light tyre for it’s size but I’ve clattered it down some rocky stuff at Cwmcarn on the hardtail (without much finesse) and it’s been fine.

I don’t generally have issues with tubeless tyre damage though – so perhaps I’m lighter on tyres than I think.

Minion SS rolls very fast but only works well on rims that are 25mm wide max, above that it gets too square.

Can I suggest another DHF?  I run a stickier and wider one on the front than on the back.  Work fine all year round especially if you ride Trailcentre-y terrain.

Does a dhf actually roll faster than a dhr2 though? Would have thought it’d be at least as bad.

A dhf is ok on the back. I ran a 2.3 on the back with a 2.5 up front. It was ok, maybe a touch small. It wore fast though. Dual compound tyres like the aggressor last far longer and overall I preferred the aggressor to dhf.

You can get a Dual Compound DHF.  It’s what I have on the back of my spare wheelset.

Rock razor been good for this – pretty good cornering knobs too

@nobeerinthefridge

Riding exclusively dry trails in French & Italian Alps last year, and currently in Spain where it’s bone dry & dusty.
80kg on a Hightower. Maybe I need to eat more pies! Running the rear at 23psi.

A WT Reckon (not race) is a slightly grippier minion SS that’s compatible with 30+mm ID rims.

A good four tyre combo for all year
round is

Shorty
DHF
Dissector
Reckon

Then you literally just move front to back as it gets wetter, back to front as it gets drier.

Another DHF + Forekaster all year here (2.6 fwiw)

I’ve had a 29 x 2.6 Forekaster (3C Max Speed) for a while now.
Summer – use it on the front with an Ardent out back.
Winter – use it on the back with a Wild Enduro out front.

I’d like another 29×2.6 Max Speed but can’t find them anywhere now.

DissectOR, AggressOR, EliminatOR, MaceratOR….etc. Gotta end in ‘OR’.

To save anyone else looking, no there isn’t a tyre available named Macerator (shit chopper).

Presently I’m running the following on 29er stans flow internal 29mm.

‘Dry’ season – 2.5 DHF front, 2.4 dissector rear on 29er

Wet season – 2.5 Shorty front, 2.4 dissector rear.

The dissector seems to be a rare tyre that manages to roll fast enough in the dry and grip well enough in the wet. For me at least. YMMV.

The dry season one is buggered in a single season though, and thats -maxx terra.

Im about to try newest generation Magic Mary and Nobby Nic to see if the rubber compounds and carcasses are up to their promises of improved durability.

The DHR2 2.3 was as quick as the Dissector, possibly gripped slightly better in the corners, but lacked the cush of the extra volume in the chunder and suffered accordingly. More pressure to protect against pinch flats stole some of its grip and made it more uncomfortable. It did get even faster though.

Ardent or Ardent Race. I ran an Ardent/DHF for a few years and really liked it. Then put a DHR2 on the back and felt like I’d lost all fitness. Took it off after a few rides.

@Scienceofficer are you using foam inserts in your tyres? I like how they work with moderately voluminous tyres, there’s a wider window of pressures that grip well, don’t squirm around and don’t pinch flat, and I prefer how a slightly narrower (I mean, they’re still pretty big tyres compared to a decade ago) rear tyre feels more precise.

I didn’t get on with the dissector, found it grippy enough but pretty nasty when it slides. Didn’t think the speed gain over a dhr2 was worth the control loss. Felt more or less the same about the aggressor, quite liked it but occasionally it just does something weird, like be horrible on certain sorts of dry dirt.

I think this is because DHR2s are fantastic and most tyres are less good. So I ended up with no middle ground, if I’m not on a DHR2 I’m on a Rockrazor which is also fantastic.

“I think this is because DHR2s are fantastic and most tyres are less good. So I ended up with no middle ground, if I’m not on a DHR2 I’m on a Rockrazor which is also fantastic.”

This is basically where I’ve ended up too. I’m amazed how good the Rock Razor is in the kind of conditions that are just wrong for a semi-slick. And the DHR2 isn’t awful in deep mud or too slow or unpredictable on bone-dry hard pack.

I’ve got an Eliminator on the back of the Levo because it was cheap and seems to last forever but it’s worse at everything (from reviews and the tread pattern I think it’s basically a long-life Aggressor). It’s not a bad tyre, it’s just not a great one.

Ardent is my default rear tyre. Bit sketchy in the mud though. Don’t rate the Ardent Race though.

To save anyone else looking, no there isn’t a tyre available named Macerator

‘I’m off to shred the shit with my MaceratOR’ See it’s going to catch on. Just wait 😉

Meanwhile, I quite like the eliminator. Strikes a good balance of pedaling a reasonable distance and not bad on trails. If I need more it’s wild enduros.

On my full sus I use DHRII 2.4 3C on the front and a Rekon on the back for summer and DHRII 2.3 DC for winter.

On my Hardtail (which tends to get used on much easier stuff) I use an HRII front and a Minion SS rear in the summer. I like the Minion SS its surprisingly grippy in all types of dirt, it is however hilariously shit in any type of mud. So for winter I use HRII’s front and rear.