Which… 29er DH tyres

I had a downhill carcass, maxxgrip minion dhf 2.5. It was really good. I’ve inexplicably lost it so ended up just having to throw on my exo 2.5, which is reasonably tough but doesn’t have the stick… So starting over and not sure where to go, obviously the 29er selection isn’t all it could be…

I’ve always liked the lighter end of dh-capable rubber- the Specialized SXs and Schwalbe SGs and the like, I’m not that hard on tyres so full dualply isn’t essential. But racing 6 hours at fort william in July means maybe I’ll go tougher than my usual, flats at that race are a total bummer. I do like fat- the bike will take a true 2.4 in the back or a 2.5 minion without any fuss.

2.5 Minion DH DHF front and rear- simple answer.
2.5 DH DHF front, 2.3 DD DHR2 rear (the 2.4 exo won’t cut it, I wish the DD was 2.4 or 5)
Conti Der Kaiser Projekt maybe- it’s not specifically dh but the apex tyres are usually pretty solid and I like the magic rubber for wet rock
Schwalbe don’t seem to have anything, WTB’s tough range might cut it but the compound choices are weird… Not sure what else, any suggestions?

(2.5 supertacky dhf, 2.5 maxxpro dhr2, is what I want, but they don’t exist. DAMN YOU)

yeah it’s the minion dh dhf. don’t overthink it.

as an aside I am gutted I didn’t get my act together and sign up to do the fort William endurance downhill.

edit. I use a Bontrager G5 on my downhill bike. I think it’s coming out in 29? what do the trek team put on the slash now?

You know it’s on again this year, and not sold out?

2.5 Minion DH DHF front and rear- simple answer.

Answered your own question imo, that’s exactly what I have always used for the alps and I wouldn’t change it. DH carcass, 42a front/60 rear if maxxis have the rubber choice available in 29, I think you definitely need the harder compound rear for the endurance DH.

I’ve got a brand new Minion DH 29*2.5 sitting in the garage if you’re interested?

You know it’s on again this year, and not sold out?

yes, but i’m in Sweden, wife is a photographer, too many weddings booked now…

Ah that’s a bummer. The signups are pretty decent already (10 more than they had last time it ran, with 3 months to go) so hopefully it’ll be a proper restart not just a one off.

YGM daffy

Cheers nick- and

nickdavies – Member

I think you definitely need the harder compound rear for the endurance DH

The first time I did it I knew arm fatigue was going to be my biggest problem, so I had the genius idea of putting a 2.5 supertacky in the back to add drag (a bit of a squeeze, in a cotic hemlock) By the end of the day half the knobs had dropped off and the ones that were left were barely there, it was awesome. But not the best use of limited finances ever, I have to say.

It’s the rear that’s the problem IMO if you want wide and tough.

Front you have the Minion DHF 2.5 if you don’t mind the weight of the dual ply in the Maxxgrip compound or a Magic Mary in super gravity trail star compound which is lighter but still decently grippy if the 27.5 is anything to go by.

Rear you could look at a DHF 2.5 in dual compound but again it’s heavy and hard to find info on the compounds. I guess it’s probably 60/62 which would work well on the rear but can’t find anything to confirm.

E13 TRS? Supposed to be decent but they are pricey. Never used one.

Northy, you got a dh bike, or just winging it on summit else?….

@nobeer, I had a dh bike the last 2 times but I don’t think that’s on the cards this year so I’ll use my Remedy, it’s built pretty solid. Don’t think I’ll be getting 13 runs on it though 😆 (first time, I used my Hemlock and purely coincidentally it snapped in half a week later)

@simon- if I could get an exo or DD 2.5 maxxgrip or supertacky DHF I’d be all over that for the front, I don’t feel like a I need a full dh… But then the 29er DH carcass is lighter than a 27.5 dualply.

I’ve seen 60/62, 50/60 and 60/70 all quoted for the dual, not helpful! But I have a dual dhr2 WT 2.4 which works really well so I’m not stressed, it’s just not as tough as I want.

(I see the Session 29 the athertons have been playing with is using the minions, that’s probably as sincere flattery as you can get from a company that makes their own tyres!)

Not really a fan of the trailstar compound tbh.

i went with the minion dhf maxxgrip on the front, mainly because I’m tight and it was cheap on eBay but it’s very heavy at pretty much 1300 grams being dh carcass. Think I will get a MM to replace it when needed as I don’t find the trail star compound bad at all really.

Like yourself when the onza that came on it needs replacing il look at the DHR2 2.4. Don’t mind exo as an alround compromiseover the sluggishness of dual ply / DH.

Still not as much choice with 29 inch aggressive tyres unfortunately. At least not with differing compounds and carcasses.

Northwind, if you need another brand new 29×2.5 MaxxGrip Minion DHF, I have one spare too. Never felt the EXO MaxxTerra version out of its depth myself so never used it.