I have tendonitis in my tibialis anterior, not caused by cycling but I have noticed over the last couple of years my ankles and knees are more sore than in my youth.

My injury got me thinking that I need to protect my body more as I am getting older. The doctor suggested this will most likely reoccur as tendons and ligaments looses elasticity as you age.

In the long run I can see myself getting a FS but I would like to save some money and keep my gen 5 BFe for another couple of years.

The widest tyre the frame can take is a 2.6 and I suspect that will be the limit for the non boost sweep on the front.
at the moment I have a 2.4 Trail King on the front and a 2.4 ardent on the rear.

I would like the highest volume 2.6 tyres possible for the plushest ride possible. Therefore:

Do I go 30mm rim like a flow my 3 or 35mm like a XM 521 or in between with a Sentry mk3?

What tyres at 2.6 are the plumpest?
I was thinking maybe MK3/f and x king/ r or forecasters or Rekon/ f and ardent race/r

Thoughts and experiences please

If the biggest tyre quoted in your frame is a 2.6 you might find that’s not the plumpest 2.6” that’ll fit. I’d check with Cotic on that.

I’d have thought a 30mm internal rim would be enough for a 2.6” tyre – going wider might not I’ve you much more benefit but just gain weight.

Maybe look at an XM481 for a good compromise between strength and weight.

30mm DT M1900 rims with Bontrager SE4 2.6 here, they’re massive and fit the Mk5 Soul without problem – they make the previous 2.3 Vigilantes look skinny. So I’d imagine it’d be fine on a BFE.

Mk3 stans and Nobby nic 2.6 in my solaris (non max)
Ride is great and very confidence inspiring.
Also running a 2.8 in a non boost fox 34 so you might just get away with a 2.8 in your fork too.

It is not just about width, tyre height can vary for the same (actual) width. I have some Conti Trail King 2.4s which are as tall as some 2.8s, but the tread area is narrower. If it is softness you are after, then I guess height is what will allow you to run a lower pressure without pinching.

XM481’s here. Conti Baron 2.6/F, very happy. New Contis are true to size. You choose rear grip/speed tradeoff, I’m MK3 rear OK grip/speed if a bit draggy on tarmac. I haven’t tried it but MK3 doesn’t feel like a front tyre to me. Baron is a magnificent all rounder up front. XM481’s suit me well for general trail/mountain riding.

In my experience, 30mm internal is the minimum size rim necessary to properly run more than 2.5 tyres. Less than this, tyre toll becomes a factor.

I swap between 2.6 Maxxis DHF and 2.6 Rock Razor in my current model BFe and there is still masses of clearance at the rear. On 30mm ID rims they come up dead on 2.6 wide, are much taller than 2.4HR’s and 2.5WT DHF’s and are noticeably more comfortable than 2.4HR’s they replaced.

I have just fitted Maxxis DHF and Rekon 2.6’s to my HUNT trail wides, which are 29mm internal rims. Not experienced any tyre roll/ burps from my clumsy lines and wonky landings! They’re a decent size, definitely feel a little more springy than those I had before (especially the 2.4 Ardent on the back).

thanks for the replies so far,
Joebristol – that was a good shout- I spoke to Paul Cotic and he said any 2.6 will fit and have mud clearance, recommending the vigilante and trail boss combination.

StuF – thanks the SE4 are under consideration.

trisysjoint – which Stans are you using? That’s good to know about the 2.8 up front, it could be an option late on.

greyspoke, that’s useful to keep in mid because comfort is what I am after.

Excalibur- I thought the same about the MK 2, bit to skittish fo the front, so I think I will discount the MK3 on the front.

How is the Baron on all weather trails, I had discounted as I thought it’s a bit too gnarcore for a lot of my riding. I should have said I want a jack of all trades front and rear with no changing.

Lardman- would you not consider the flow mark 3 then? As you say 30mm is just Enough, I was wondering weather to go even wider rather than just meet ‘entry requirements’

confused58 – I assume that’s a minion dhf? How does it pedal and grip on hard pack? I think the rock racer might not cope all year round? But then people say that about ardents and I don’t find it to back if you accept it’s limitations

Edit: thanks calamity James – that usefull hearing about the recon, I was giving some thought but thought it was too shallow in the tread for wetter conditions. How is it in the wet?

I didn’t think about the Maxxis front specifics as I thought like the BAron they would be too much for most of my riding, how do you find it on all weather trails?

Rekon grips better than the Ardent, cornering it doesn’t break away as easily and definitely has better grip when climbing. Rolls about the same. Feels fine in the wet but not tried in thick mud, dare say it may clog, but if this is the case I’ll get a Forekaster for the winter and alternate between the two. Forekaster may also be another all-year round option for the rear (or both..?)

I’m soon to go to Morzine for a week but suffer with hand pump now and again which I cant seem to shake. I have picked up some Cushcores, they claim to reduce trail feedback. Maybe consider something similiar OP too?

Yes, Minion DDF which I also use on the front. Compared to the High Rollers I think they are faster rolling and work well on harder surfaces. TBH I only swapped to the Rock Razor this Spring as the rear Minion was shagged and the RR was nearly new. Come the Autumn I’ll get a new DHF for the front and put the current front on the rear.

Worth considering then, and also I shouldn’t discount der Baron it seems.

What tyres at 2.6 are the plumpest?

Not definitive, but Schwalbe would be a very safe bet. They are bloody big.

In contrast Speciaized 2.6 was surprisingly narrow (2.45in on the caliper).

Just a thought, but if you are looking at 2 new tyres then that is probably about £70-£100.
If this is your hobby, something that keeps you active and brings you joy, despite the tendinitis then is it not worth selling the Bfe and getting something that will allow you to continue enjoying riding, whilst minimising antagonising your condition further?
The Bfe is a great frame, but it shouldn’t work out more than a few hundred difference to sell that and buy a used FS frame now, instead of in a few years as planned.

[ this post contains no guarantees and does not constitute legal advice ]

You might find that a MAXXIS 2.8 Rekon+ on 29/30mm internal rims fits, and offers more volume, but less tread, than some of the 2.6 tyres mentioned. Jungle are (perhaps cheekily) selling off what looks like test samples of this tyre cheap on eBay. I bought one for the summer (hah!) and have it in the rear of a current model Rocket that I previously had the Trail Boss 2.6 in. They size up much the same, but some of the size with the WTB was the meaty tread, where as with the Maxxis the carcass is fatter and tread has a much lower profile.

FWIW 2.6 forekasters are tiny (2.4 ish).

Thanks chakaping and benpinnick

kelvin – am I right in saying you work for/ with Cotic?

peekay – I hear you and thought about it, however I have a (maybe unfounded) paranoia about certain used objects like bike frames, I have no idea how they were treated by the previous owner so leave them alone.

I am hoping that the plumper tyres will help reduce the battering for my legs and in 2-3 years I will have saved for a new bike and have a winter trail hack for the worst weather when I won’t be hammering it!

In this instance the tendonitis was caused by me twisting my ankle playing crazy golf with Mini Sims and my nephews, then not resting it so if I look after it now there may be no reoccurrence. With that wonderful tool hindsight, I should have bought a Flare frame 18 months ago!

The widest tyre the frame can take is a 2.6 and I suspect that will be the limit for the non boost sweep on the front.

The non-Boost Sweep will actually take a 650b 2.8 Minion DHF no problem and, just about, a 2.8 Nobby Nic, at least run on WTB Scrapers. I guess the profile might change with a narrower rim, but works fine for me.

The sizing thing’s quite variable. I ran a 2.4 Ardent in the back of my Transmitter, again on Scrapers, and it was huge. I’ve never run a 2.6 though.

The sizing thing is very variable. And depends on the rim width used.

Yes @bsims, I do lots of work for Cotic and have done since the very start. I can’t promise that tyre/rim combo will fit your BFe, but I suspect it would. Maxxis tyres often prove to be a bit small… and the Rekon+ seems to be. It would give you the air volume you’re looking for. Oh, you are running 1x, yes?

Thanks BadlyWiredDog.

kelvin – I suspected that might be the case from looking at the stays on the BFe. Thanks that’s another option to consider

I had a long discussion with Paul today about lots of definite, plausible and pushing it possibilities.

Edit : Yes 1x 10

bsims – the Baron 2.6 is a different tread to the old der baron, not so gnar or wet specific. Cushy, I probably run about 15 psi and never think about the tyre, which is a good endorsement, it just gives good confidence and comfort and grip everywhere for me. I know a couple of other riders who say the same. I’m sure a Forekaster or similar would be faster so depends on what you are looking for. I sometimes run a 2.2 tyre in the same bike, the difference in ride comfort is very noticeable

Thanks Excalibur, I will look into a der baron further. I don’t care about strata times or being the fastest uphill, most pleasant ride on a tyre which can be used all year is the brief here.

This is probably an obvious point, but go tubeless – big difference in comfort by dropping a few psi.

I was down to 20 ish in my X King 2.4 on Solaris and it was very comfy and didn’t feel particularly laggy .. only really noticed on the next ride ‘squeeze test’ and put them back to 30 for security.

brassneck – thanks, already running tubeless at 20f/22r psi. How plump is the x- king in 2.4, compared to something like a trail king 2.4? It might give me a indication of size for the 2.6, but then again….!

@ oikeith – Sorry skipped you post yesterday somehow. I did think about cushcores but I wasn’t sure how they would work, unless running ultra low pressures so that they were compressing against the back of the tread under large impacts. Also if they do work what effect will an uncontrolled damper have on handling and ride?

Please let me know how they work for you.