In my experience DD tyres are quite resilient to slashes and punctures, but the flexible casing seems to be probe to transmit impacts to the rim.
I’m now on Michelin Wild Enduros, the side walls seem not to be as cut resistant as DDs but they are stiffer and protect the rims better. The Wild Enduros thread also seems to be a Goldilocks design, they do everything well without being specialists.

I wouldn’t worry to much about the weight increase by going to a DD or equivalent casing. On the first couple of rides you’ll notice a little slower acceleration a a little slower climbing on tarmac or smooth low gradient climbs. But, unless you’re already on top physical condition, you’ll adapt in a couple of weeks by riding frequently.

But then again, I’m a moron with a tendency to destroy tyres who’s actually considering DH casings for my next set.

I’ve heard bad stories about warranty support regarding issues with shock bolts coming loose and I guess ovalizing the holes. You can check those at the Pinkbike Radon thread

Bird AM9 with light (ish) tyres and wheels and an air shock. It’s a very versatile bike depending on the build, it climbs really well due to the suspension anti squat levels. One can place it somewhere between the Privateer 141 and the 161.

I’ve had a V1 AM9 on light wheels, Exo tyres, air shock, 150mm fork, it was a fantastic trail/am bike. Then I replaced it with a V3 with coil shock, 170mm fork, hd wheels and tyres with inserts, Code brakes, it’s a beast going downhill

You can build it as an allrounder and start progressing with your riding without having to pedal around a hog. Then if you see the need, you can burly up the bike quite easily

Aren’t you referring to the old Saint flats?
I was talking about the more recent ones:

Thanks.

My Horizons are looking really beat up, are up to a pin refreshment and the left bushing is finally developing some play. I could renew them with a new set of pins and bushings, but can’t find the bushing kit in stock anywhere. Does anyone know the Nukeproof Horizon bushing size? This tempts me to try something new.

Looking for pedals, I’d like for something slightly bigger than the Horizons (size 11,5 Impacts), made at least in Europe and preferably with easily available pins.

Burgtec MK5 – I drool over the looks, but not only they use non standard pins but also I read the Q factor is very narrow which wouldn’t work for me. I’m assuming they’re UK made

DMR Vault – would love to see what the fuss is all about on these, but keep hearing very contradictory reports on bearing/bushing durability. Also, where are they made?

Shimano Saint M828 – not made anywhere nearby, but should have bombproof internals. Can get them nearly for free, but I can’t find user reviews. Anyone has experience with these?

Unite Instinct – UK made, standard pins, bigger platform, very reasonable price. Curious on the grip department Vs the Horizons

Any more user reviews on the Unite Instincts?

No idea about the non Pro models, but I happen to have a pair of Vans SK8 Hi Pros I use casually. Not only they are superbly well made, ultra durable, but I’m always surprised by the level of grip they offer when I use them on the bike for some reason. I’d say they grip Nukeproof Horizons way better than Shimano GR7s.

But I’ve never went further with them than around the block, and you really feel the lack of sole stiffness, and maybe a little bit of toe protection. If Vans was to release a version with a stiffer sole and maybe a touch more toe armour I’d buy a pair

I’m just leaping in to say that when people say “X shoes are more durable than Five Tens” it might be relevant to mention to what Five Ten model you are comparing to.
I kept hearing that Five Tens were not durable, but I’m 10 months into a pair of Impact Sam Hills, 3 rides per week, and to my surprise they’re looking really fresh, holding much better then my GR7s were at the same mileage

I’d try to stretch the budget a little bit and loot into the Unite Instinct pedals. Aluminium, good size, made in the UK. Also a clever pin system which uses standard set screws tightened “head first” into the pedal. This way the pin’s wrench socket is protected and allows for easy removal, but avoiding having to pass a damaged pin thread through the pedal body like on most systems. Seems like the best of both worlds.

I’m a 2 years and something Nukeproof Horizon user, recently tried both the Oneup Composites and the Burgtec MK4 composites, disliked them both as the thin M3 pins make for a weird, floaty shoe engagement

That Maxxterra DD DHRII was definitely in my radar for a f+r combo (I have this weird fetish of having the same tyre front and back) but €67???
Sorry Maxxis, but I’m out.

My Michelin Wild Enduros cost me €80… for the set.
Even those new Schwalbe Super Gravity Magic Mary and Big Betty can be found for €49 on some German sites

Proper fit is king when it comes to helmet safety, never ever neglect that.

Regarding chin piece or not, like with most personal protection gear it’s a matter of making an informed decision on what level of risk are you open to accept. I own a Bell Super DH, which I use open about 90% of times. These include national level DH tracks, drops , gaps etc. In these situations I do a conspicuous effort to keep my pace a little down and avoid to try new features like huge gaps and such. If I’m to go at bonkers pace, trying new big features or generally anticipate getting out of my comfort zone, I’ll mount the chin piece. For me this is an acceptable compromise.

@spicer , 15,5kg, that sounds like an oddly specific number to determine if the bike will be enjoyable to pedal around or not, don’t you think?

First, there’s so much more than weight when it comes to bikes, like geometry, kinematics, tyre thread, etc etc. As an example, my previous Stumpy Evo was 2kg lighter than my current V3 AM9, but pedaled like a slug compared to it.

Second, one really needs to be specific of what a “longer xc ride”. You can do xc rides with being on a xc race. Long travel trail/enduro bikes can be quite enjoyable on long, not extreme terrain rides, I use mine like that frequently, even if they’d be a hog on a XC race

@Scienceofficer is based on having trying those bikes and up down the same trail. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found the Ripmo to be amazing, but downhill the AM9 (and this was my air shock V1, my current coil shock V3 feels yet another level above) felt more stable, comfortable and with more reserves. I think this comes down to the AM9 being longer and with more suspension progression

Bird AM9
Climbs as good as the Ripmo but is a level above going down. Also, more size options, lifetime warranty and custom builds

Edit: I just saw your doubt about the four bar climbing abilities. Any designated suspension system can be designed to behave in nearly every way. What determines that behaviour are values like anti squat, progression, axle path, etc. It’s a myth that four bars have X behaviour and DW links Y behaviour. If you want a versatile bike, my recommendation is to look for a bike with high anti squat values, which makes the bike feel lively and efficient on climbs. Both the AM9 and the Ripmo share that feature

170mm 29er, 200lbs rider, 92psi, Open compression, rebound 7 clicks from closed, 1 token

I’m not sure on the specific differences between the non-boost/boost Yari chassis, I mentioned the boost ones because they are in fact the exact same chassis still in use today on the Lyrik Ultimates. I guess this says something about their quality.

My personal experience was that I was using this 160mm 36 Rhythm on my AM9 but I wanted to stretch to 170mm. After seeing the 36’s airshaft prices I turned my attention to a 2018 Yari I had lying around. I upgraded it with a Debonair airshaft, SKS seals and Charger2 damper, turning it into a Lyrik for an absolute bargain, and it turns out it eats the 36 for breakfast

What version of the Yari do you have?
The post-boost Yaris have arguably the best enduro chassis in the business, short of the new 38/Zebs. I went from a 36 Rhythm (virtually the same as the Z1) to a Lyrik spec Yari and can confirm this

How are those for pedaling around?

Pinch flats make up for a minority of my issues. Most of my trouble comes from slashes

Regardless of the internals, my issue with plastic pedals is with the pins. They tend to use M3 screws as pins, which are a fair bit thinner than the M4s more common on metal pedals. Not only they are way more fragile but also give a weird, “floaty” feel, at least on my Five Ten Impacts. I’ve tried both Oneups and Burgtecs on friend’s bikes and really disliked the pedal feel

I’m quite curious about those to be Five Ten Trailcross GTX. The regular ones pop up at pretty reasonable prices sometimes, wonder about the new ones.

Option B would always be the Vaude Moab Mir STX

Did a big shuttle day yesterday, some of the guys (high level enduro racers) were running on DH DHR2s front and back. Not only they spoke wonders about those, they let me had a go on an access climb. Honestly, it didn’t feel that different from the Wild Enduros, so I’ll likely give DH casings a go next. Worst case scenario I get some extra fitness sessions until they wear out.

Thanks for all the great feedback

Guess what, one more ride, one more slash on the rear… Go figure.
The front one is still hanging for it’s life, except for the missing knobs.

Two more questions.
– are DH tyres tighter on the beads Vs the equivalent DD (or whatever) version? I currently have some burps even with Rimpacts, wonder if DH casings without inserts would fare better

– does Maxxis have 29er DH casings with the Maxxterra compound?

Those new Schwalbes do look interesting. It seems everyone is using a casing above, trail/AM with DDs, enduro racers with DH tyres, DH racers on ebike tyres, etc, so it seems logical for them to bump up the protection level and just sell the tyres for their actual real world use.

Also quite curious about the Michelin DH22, any experiences around here?

@Rick Draper , that was actually my point, that their price was not the reason for hypothetical low sales.

Thanks for all the feedback.
I’ll try my best to answer to everyone.

How much rear travel am I using? – I believe my rear suspension is fairly dialled, it generally uses 80-90% of travel and then the last bit on the big hits as it’s supposed to. Mind that my tyre issue persisted through different bikes and rear shocks

What tyre pressures? – running from 26psi on the wet to 28-29psi on the dry. Most damage occurs with the higher pressures, likely due to the higher speeds and harder dry/rocky terrain

How am I killing my tyres? – mostly sidewall and thread slashes, next would be snakebites then sometimes holes

Do have a tendency to lock the rear wheel? – not really, I don’t think so, except on very slow, steep tech sections

Do I pick up over rocks/roots or smash through them? – hard question to answer, I think a bit of both depending on the mood

@reluctantjumper , thanks for the suggestion, but I used to go through Exo tyres every 2 months with holes and slashes, no matter what pressure I was running.

I realize I’m asking for the impossible, ultimate reliability but also climbing well. But in reality I just want to ride without the constant though “will I have to spend £50 today?” while still being able to climb properly, even if with a small penalty

I don’t see them as that crazy expensive, they’re in line with Specialized or Santa Cruz prices, not in Unno boutique territory

I said the same thing on the old Atherton Bikes thread.
Ive always felt that they did the press releases too soon. So much time has passed that at this point it starts to look like a failed attempt (regardless if it indeed is or not) which further depletes potential costumer confidence.

It seems they used all the press ammo too soon, then a period of silence, then a sales kickoff announcement almost with no details, particularly technical ones, no info on the website (you can find a PP or PDF tech/geo thing online, but you almost need to dive into the darkweb to find it). At this point there are still no relevant reviews online, and even an Instagram search gives no costumer results.

To make things worse, Gee’s performance on the new bike is kind of meh, to me it always looked stiff, nervous and unstable, quite contrasting to what he looked like on the Trek (pure bro-science here, pardon me). We don’t notice that with Rachel, but I believe that’s more related to how bonkers her riding is compared to the other female athletes.

Maybe this is all BS and they’re doing great, I don’t know. But this is an online forum as we’re allowed to speculate

There are plenty of bikes in the market that make great downhill sleds while still retaining good all-round climbing manners: Bird AM9, Orbea Rallon, Ibis Ripmo, Norco Sight, and reportedly the V2 Sentinel, just to mention some.

Don’t get too focused on suspension travel to predict the bike’s behaviour

As @joebristol pointed out, quite a bit of difference.
Trail- 150mm fork (maybe Pikes), Exo tyres, air shock, lighter rims

Enduro- 170mm fork (Lyriks, Zeb, whatever) coil shock, DD or equivalent tyres, inserts, hd rims etc

I’ve had AM9s in both configurations, very different behaviours

One of the great things about the AM9 is that it can succeed both as an aggressive trail bike and also as a full on enduro racer, depending on how you build it

The Decathlon ones were the NH500 Slim, £20 or so, I’m on my second pair

A length of M12 threaded rod, 3 nuts, 2 big flange washers and a couple of drilled wood leftovers.
You’re welcome

My Fabric Scoop is now 3 years old and still going strong. It’s been through hell and came back alive, all sorts of crashes, including me landing on my arse from 2m flat drops more than once (don’t ask) and a crash so hard that the seat clamp assembly of the Reverb it was installed on unthreaded from the dropper stanchion.

Short offsets aren’t designed for long low slack, they’re for further increasing a trait also augmented by slacker HAs, which is trail, which increases steering stability

The “bike designed around X offset” thing is first class marketing hyperbole. Yes, it has a small effect on the trail value, but not enough to make a bike only compatible with X offset.
Like others mentioned, not only several bike designers treat it as a matter of secondary importance, but you also hear from pro riders on how they don’t notice it after 5min

My default budget fork recommendation for anything north of a trail bike is a RockShox Yari. Not only they are a perfectly reasonable fork in standard guise, they also effectively share the chassis with the Lyrik.

Buy a discounted Yari of your preferred offset and wheel size at some German site (they’re frequently on sale) and then update the damper to a Charger when you find a discounted one.

My current fork started it’s life as a Yari RC Soloair purchased for €400, then got a Debonair airshaft for €30, then a Charger2 damper at a sale for €120 and recently a set of SKF wiper seals, so now it’s a Lyrik. It cost me €560 total

Another vote for the Bird AM9, as usual

Having recently switched from 44mm offset back to 51mm offset (29er) I can confirm that this whole talk is greatly overblown

Both KOPS and the knee-forward-of-toes squat thing hold little water nowadays, IMO.
Whenever my patella tendons ache, slow pause squats with proper form do the trick, like clockwork