I see “what tyre” threads for gravel and cars, but not mtb. Hmm.

I ride a Trek Slash in N.Wales, mostly steeps and jumpy stuff in local woods, but also CyB/Marin when wetter. I have a Minion DHF on the front and a Hans Dampf on the back, with many mushroom plugs. Seems like a good time to move the Minion to the back, but what for the front? Assegai or Shorty? Advice on specific model appreciated. I’m baffled by compounds and marketing terms.

Three days on an Assegai front so far and I prefer the Shorty I think! My mate loves his but I prefer something more open this time of year..

What’s the ideal compound/width/carcass for a 29er Magic Mary?

What’s the ideal compound/width/carcass for a 29er Magic Mary?

Depends on the bike and rider I’d say, but I prefer 2.4 on non eBike and 2.6 on an eBike… I also prefer Super Trail to Super Gravity on the front as it’s a bit more compliant and I don’t tend to shred front tyres.

Compound wise… Well Soft or Ultra soft are your choices, depends on how much life you expect from the tyre I guess!

2.4 supertrail magic mary has been great for me mostly on the off-piste tracks in south wales.

The soft compound is plenty grippy, though it does wear fast on the side knobs. I’d like to try an ultrasoft one day but the supergravity casing that it comes in for the mary is properly hefty and the supertrail has been fine.

If you can take the fashion shame of mismatched brands, I really rate a 2.4 wild-enduro rear.

Assegai is great in the dust and rock, very wet trails its good as well. Its not a mud tyre, it will clog up pretty quickly.
Trail centre it’ll be perfect, to be honest, a DHF or DHR up front will be fine as well, as its all hard surfaced.

Love the shorty, in 2.5. The Magic Mary’s not quite as good in the mud and wet imo and loses out fairly badly on wet rock and roots (but a much better allrounder, I just don’t want to make that trade). Just wish there was a Maxxgrip 29er exo or DD that I could buy but even the maxxterra is really good.

Assegai is good when it’s not clogged but sticky mud and slower speed turn it into a slick, that put me off it.

Oh yeah, dhr2 on the rear but again Maxxis supply/model choice is a bit screwy, I just want a DD dual compound 2.4, is that so much to ask?

Shortys are my go to for winter, dhr2s or Mary’s the rest of the year.

I certainly wouldn’t be putting a dhf on the rear at any point in the year!

If you want to use the DHF on the front again then I wouldn’t use it on the rear. I’ve been using a Specialized Butcher on the rear and have been pleased. The Shorty is a good front tyre but is quite focused towards wetter conditions, a Magic Mary is a better all rounder

DHR (EXO-TR-3C) for the back it is then. Thanks all!

Running an Assegia up front for the Golfie etc in Tweed valley
When proper wet n muddy I’ll revert back to my WTB Verdict wet

On another note
Anyone rode the Shorty 2 ???

Depends on the bike and rider I’d say, but I prefer 2.4 on non eBike and 2.6 on an eBike… I also prefer Super Trail to Super Gravity on the front as it’s a bit more compliant and I don’t tend to shred front tyres.

Compound wise… Well Soft or Ultra soft are your choices, depends on how much life you expect from the tyre I guess!

Super Trail only has soft compound, Super Gravity offers Soft and Ultra Soft.

What’s the ideal compound/width/carcass for a 29er Magic Mary?

Super Trail 2.4 soft in the front and the same but Big Betty in the back is what I ride all year round now, used to be dual Magic Marys but the Betty rolls better but still grips and brakes as well as a Mary in the rear.

Has anyone used the newer 2.4 Shorty?

I ride a steel hardtail mainly in west yorks and I have a Bontrager xr5 (27.5 x 2.6) on the front and a XR5 27.5 x 2.3 on the rear both of theses tires have a low rolling resistance compared to a Maxxis DHR2 , grip well in dry conditions and shed mud well in wet / mud conditions.

The best mud tire I have used on the front of my bike is the Specialized Hillbilly 27.5 x 2.3 (a previous version to the new version which has the Specialized T7 compound)

The Maxxis Shorty makes a good rear tire choice when the Hillbilly is up front

I noticed that a lot of the EWS pro’s at the Tweed Valley were running Assegai’s on the front in wet and muddy conditions. Surprised I didn’t see any on the new Shorty. I guess the Tweed Valley trails can get stripped back to the bedrock under heavy rain which maybe explains this.

I like the 2.6” magic Mary up front for all round winter and slop riding. It’s a better all rounder than the 2.6” Hillbilly I’ve got – although the Hillbilly edges it in proper gloopy mud – the grip in those conditions is insane.

I’m trying out a wild enduro 2.4” on my other bike this winter – it has a non-boost fork on it and the 2.6” magic Mary barely fits through it – certainly not with a mudguard in there too – the Mary is a beast!

Rear is always a dhr2 in winter for me. 2.3” when it’s just wet and a bit muddy. For proper natural riding in slop the 2.4” one comes out though – it’s a chunk bigger than the 2.3” version.

if say shorty (or a hillbilly). the assegai looks like it would clog up in sticky mud.

Has anyone found a front tyre that works on slimy wet rock? For the last 18 ish years we have visited Kirroughtree around the end of October and notice that the less-ridden far side of the black gets progressively slippier every year.

This is really going to be more of a compound rather than tread thing – any ideas in not too heavy 29er flavour?

For those discussing above Schwable website now shows a new magic mary super trail ultra soft.

I’m my opinion the shorty is better in mud than the Mary but the Mary is a better all rounder if it dries out. I replaced a dhf with a Mary since the weather turned and will leave on until next summer.

Every winter when I put my bonty muds on I’m amazed at the way they slice through mud. Brilliant.

This winter on the front I’m trying a Continental Der Baron Projekt Black Chilli 2.4. It has good feedback in some threads on here, including from people who have switched from the usual options. I wanted something versatile for mud, roots, rocks, and hardpack.

Interesting that despite the marketing push, no one’s riding/suggesting Vittoria.

No love for Hans Dampfs?

Considering either a Hans Dampf or Big Betty for the rear on my ebike this winter.

Hans Dampf is nothing to write home about in mud – or anywhere really. DHR2 is better in my opinion.

If it had to be a Schwalbe rear for slop I think I’d try a big Betty.

Mary 2.6 (orange stripe not sure which compound) all year round. 29×2.6 on my RipMo. HD replaced by Big Betty (also 2.6) on the back. We don’t have much rock here, but we do have a lot of mud.

I rate the MM as a winter/mud tyre over DHF and DHRs. Never tried a shorty, bit too focussed for me as we tend to do a lot of long rides and it looks sooooo draggy.

DHR2 would be my first choice but no stock anywhere in double down

DH22 front and DH34 Rear, embrace the drag and revel in no more punctures or buckled sidewalls.

Long time Mary user, trying an assegai fir a wee change, seems not bad, but yet to use it in proper shite.

In previous years I was running a Maxxis Beaver on my 26″ wheeled bike and I absolutely loved that tyre in muddy woods! It made winter riding genuinely fun and not a chore.

Now have a new 29er bike, what would be the equivalent 29er tyre from Maxxis? Is it the Shorty?

I have got a Vittoria Mota (£29) and Shorty 2.4 V2 on order (£more). Got an older Shorty 2.5 and Magic Mary 2.35 so hopefully now covered 😂

jairaj
Full Member

In previous years I was running a Maxxis Beaver on my 26″ wheeled bike and I absolutely loved that tyre in muddy woods! It made winter riding genuinely fun and not a chore.

Now have a new 29er bike, what would be the equivalent 29er tyre from Maxxis? Is it the Shorty?

Shorty’s quite a lot more tyre than the Beaver… TBH the Beaver 2.25 was awesome, and I’m not sure there’s anything that does the same job now? I guess the closest I’ve used is the magic mary or der baron but they’re both much chunkier and slower.

Thanks Northwind. My riding is very firmly in the trail category so I think the shorty will be overkill. The search continues …

My riding buddy is running Minions front and back. I’ll see how he copes as things get muddier and may get the same.

I’ve gone for a shorty in the stickiest compound.

I’ve decided I’ll trade slogging about on the up and flat for the front wheel going where I tell it to.

Has anyone found a front tyre that works on slimy wet rock?

Having just received my new Vittoria Mezcal with “Graphene 2.0 / 4 Compound” rubber I’m kind of hoping it will live up to at least some of it’s promise to cope with slippery rock / tree roots.  Will try to post up if it does, or does not.

Edit – that’s for a rear, not front, and not really expecting it to be mud-tastic but may get an idea of it’s ability nonetheless.

Thanks Northwind. My riding is very firmly in the trail category so I think the shorty will be overkill. The search continues …

My riding buddy is running Minions front and back. I’ll see how he copes as things get muddier and may get the same.

The DHF isn’t much to write home about in the wet. It doesn’t deal with slick / steep slippery surfaces particularly well. For me the Magic Mary is a chunk better at that stuff. I don’t find the few year old 2.35 Mary any harder rolling than the dhf. The Dhf is better at hardpack surfaces though.

This winter I’m trying a 2.4” Michelin Wild Enduro on the front (dhr2 on the back) as a few people have said it’s pretty decent. Only had a couple of rides on it but on a slick polished trail centre with a bit of damp on it I was impressed as I was expecting it to struggle on that with the size of the knobs on it. Interested to see how it manages with steep wet rooty stuff.

I’m my opinion the shorty is better in mud than the Mary but the Mary is a better all rounder if it dries out.

This, but theres not alot in it.

Personally I find both decent in the blown out, loose, dusty carnage of a dry summer too, but I’d give the edge to the Shorty in those conditions.

The Mary is better on hardpack and at trail centres though, although the shorty gives a better account of itself than it should given its tread.

I suppose if you have thin soils and lots of rock based strata, and mineral soil, an Assegai would do ok, but tbh, I didn’t like it in the dry anyway.

For the OP, I think either will do, But it sounds like the Mary would be the better choice if winter is more trail centres than off-piste.

I miss Swamp Things. Stick them on about now and take them off in March(ish). Failing that I used to like a 2.2 Wet Scream with the centre knobs trimmed short.

Minions are fine if you’re just riding trail centres, but as said, they’re not great in actual muddy conditions, but it really depends if it’s a little mud on top of hardpack or actual mud. Imll be keeping mine on this winter as I think I’ll
Only be riding trail centres and fairly hard pack stuff.

I think I’m going to regret being too lazy to take the Minion SS off the back this winter (only got around to setting it up tubeless a few weeks ago and can’t be arsed with the faff).

Is the Shorty basically like a cut down mud spike?

zerocool
Full Member

I miss Swamp Things. Stick them on about now and take them off in March(ish).

Yeah but then along came the original Conti Baron and did the exact same thing but much better. And then the shorty etc did a slightly different thing but better.

(to answer the other question, spot on, they’re basically like if you designed a cut spike from scratch so they worked better)

Anyone know which out of the 2.4/2.6 new style Mary is closest in size/volumne to the dhf 2.5WT?
Liking that on the front but sounds like a mary will deal with the impending mud better. Don’t want anything bigger than the dhf.
Ta

Shorty 2.5 maxxterra 3c up front in winter, DHR2 2.3 maxxterra 3c DD rear all year round riding mainly off piste stuff. I find the shorty decent enough on wet/damp trailcentre hardpack, obvs not as good as the maxxgrip dhf 2.5 I use in the summer, but its far better in the slop