MTB Tire / Wheel Comparison, Review, Information Thread

[bagtagley]

I recently scored a couple Kenda El Mocos for the trail bike. I found a screaming deal on the 2.1 folding bead, so I went against my better judgement and got it. It's easily as wide as a 2.35 High Roller, and just slighly burlier than the single-ply, folding bead HR. I'm pretty happy with it.

I also got a 2.35 for the front. I ordered a folding bead on that too, but ended up getting the steel tire. It's about as wide as the 2.5 DHF SR that it replaced, and it's lighter, though I'm not sure how much. The center knobs are not as low-profile as pictures would indicate, but they're pretty low, and roll really well without any noticeable effect on braking or climbing grip. High speed cornering isn't something I get to do a lot of here, but you can definitely lay them over with some confidence.

As a front trail bike tire, I prefer the Moco to the DHF. I'd say it performs at least as well as the DHF at speed, and it tracks better at slower speeds. When climbing or trying to be precise at low speed, I always found the DHF to get a bit wandery...like it was trying to level on one side of the center knobs or the other. It goes away once the speed picks up, though, and I've never ridden anything smaller than a 2.5 (in the DFH), so that may just be a part of.

On the rear, I don't really have a standout preference. The Moco seems to roll the slightest bit better, but that's about it. Though, if it's able to hold up better than a High Roller, I'll be sold.

[Arty50]

Hmmmm...you wouldn't happen to be running those tubeless would you?

[bagtagley]

Hmmmm...you wouldn't happen to be running those tubeless would you?

That's in the works, for the front at the least. I'll let you know.

[bagtagley]

Hmmmm...you wouldn't happen to be running those tubeless would you?

I've been running the 2.35 tubeless (UST rim w/ Stan's) for a little bit, and it's doing fine. It's a steel bead, though, so it's kinda beefy. I wouldn't mind lighter, but I really dig that tire.

I kinda gave up on the 2.1, so not much to tell you there.

Preliminary rides on the Rubber Queen (I can't believe I'm saying this about a Continental tire) have been good. It's been just beautifully tacky here, though. I'm interested to see how it behaves once things dry out later in the summer.

[XtrPickels]

I've updated this a bit.
I haven't sifted through the thoughts of people to include in the "official" write up, but keep letting the thoughts flow.

[BigKuba]

Anyone know about, or better yet, have experience with these Schwalbe tires that have been popping up on Chainlove recently? E.g., up right now is the Nobby Nic in 2.1 & 2.25 widths and several weight/burliness options for $39. MTBR has reviews but they're generally less than helpful.

This would be for Front Range trails of the AM variety (i.e., I like going up for the purpose of getting to go down)

[laxman2001]

Nobby nic isnt bad. A lot of people in CO like the Fat Albert, though I personally do not.

[Danno]

I bought a Nobby Nic and it's on deck for when I next need a tire, but haven't used it. I know, not helpful.