Hi all,
Looking to out some get some new tubeless tires for my hardtail, to get me through winter in the Surrey hills. Max width rim can take is 2.35 I think. Any suggestions for fast tires that’s have grip and puncture resistance – I know that’s asking a lot! Cheers Dave

If you are riding the steeper stuff, then I’d want something like a shorty on the front. For everything else DHR front and back.

High rollers always ok for me on the greensand side.

Stay south of the A25! Wet leaves on mud on chalk to the north.

My mate says it’s quite sandy there and has typically run a 2.5” dhf front / 2.3” dhr2 rear and been happy all round. But then I introduced him to a 2.35” Magic Mary (snakeskin previous version) and he does indeed think it’s magic when he hits mud.

However, the new lightest Mary is now the Super Trail which is unnecessarily heavy for me. Wild Enduro 2.4” is working well for me at the moment – got the gum-x version on my hardtail and magi-x on the fs. Not noticed the different rubber compounds yet – but apparently as it gets cold the magi-x can go a bit hard and less grippy.

If you want less grip / more rolling speed I like the 2.6” Forekaster on the back of my hardtail – might be a good all rounder if you aren’t pushing the limits of cornering / steep tech. Gets surprisingly good forward drive in mud – classed as ‘aggressive xc’.

As said here south of the A25, Leith, Redland, Peaslake is more Sandy than Ranmore and Box to Reigate which is muddy and chalk. I run bigger aggressive winter tyres since I’m mostly out on the mud/chalk unfortunately. Something like a Maxxis DHR or Aggressor are good and I like Specialised Butcher but tyres always seem like a personal choice to me!

Schwalbe Magic Mary upfront and Big Betty on the rear for me. Thats for the Surrey hills, and all the other places i go. And that’s all year round, not just winter 😛 just a solid combo that works everywhere (for me)

There is a new Super Ground version of the Magic Mary listed that is lighter than the Super Trail version.