New Season, New Tires, New Thread

[bagtagley]

What do folks like for rear tires in the Maxxis DH casing realm? My go-to DHR II is hard to find and overpriced where it's available (if you find an exception to that, I'm interested). I like the HR II but wonder if there's something better. I like the Aggressor, but this dry weather isn't going to last forever, and I don't love it in the wet and mud.

[MegaStoke]

What do folks like for rear tires in the Maxxis DH casing realm? My go-to DHR II is hard to find and overpriced where it's available. I like the HR II but wonder if there's something better. I like the Aggressor, but this dry weather isn't going to last forever, and I don't love it in the wet and mud.

DHR II for life. Bikeinn.com has em relatively cheap often.

Alternatively, Vittoria Mazza Enduro casing is a good substitute.

[bagtagley]

DHR II for life. Bikeinn.com has em relatively cheap often.

Nice! Looks like they have it in stock, and cheap. Bikeinn is legit?

[toast2266]

What do folks like for rear tires in the Maxxis DH casing realm? My go-to DHR II is hard to find and overpriced where it's available (if you find an exception to that, I'm interested). I like the HR II but wonder if there's something better. I like the Aggressor, but this dry weather isn't going to last forever, and I don't love it in the wet and mud.

2.3" Specialized eliminator is solid and pairs nicely with a 2.5 dhf up front. A little bit faster rolling (with a little less braking traction) than a dhr2, but it corners nicely holds up alright, and is $50 on specialized's website right now. I usually go t7/t9 compound for durability, but the t9 compound is a good one if you're looking for stickier rubber. It's not quite as soft as maxxgrip. Grid gravity casing is double down-ish.

[J. Barron DeJong]

Nice! Looks like they have it in stock, and cheap. Bikeinn is legit?

bikeinn is legit. Haven’t ordered bike parts, but have bought wax and tools from snowinn a few time without issue. Same company.

[bagtagley]

2.3" Specialized eliminator is solid and pairs nicely with a 2.5 dhf up front. A little bit faster rolling (with a little less braking traction) than a dhr2, but it corners nicely holds up alright, and is $50 on specialized's website right now. I usually go t7/t9 compound for durability, but the t9 compound is a good one if you're looking for stickier rubber. It's not quite as soft as maxxgrip. Grid gravity casing is double down-ish.

Good info. Been running a DD with an insert and not loving it. Nice reminder that (IMO!) there’s no substitute for a legit DH casing in the park. Also a reminder that I hate inserts.

[MegaStoke]

Nice! Looks like they have it in stock, and cheap. Bikeinn is legit?

Totally legit. Shipping often takes multiple weeks though

[bagtagley]

bikeinn is legit. Haven’t ordered bike parts, but have bought wax and tools from snowinn a few time without issue. Same company.

Totally legit. Shipping often takes multiple weeks though

Awesome, thanks!!

[BigHerm]

Conti Kryptotal Rear DH Soft is my DHR2 replacement. Similar to MaxTerra. Enduro casing is similar to DD, also available in Soft.

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Conti Kryptotal Rear DH Soft is my DHR2 replacement. Similar to MaxTerra. Enduro casing is similar to DD, also available in Soft.

Just starting running that tire. Pretty good so far. Surprisingly weak braking traction in a straight line going down rock faces.

Been running EXO+ for years, was very reluctant to run heavier casings and I loathe inserts with a passion. First time with a DH casing and a DD on the front for the Trans B.C. Definitely feels more secure and damper. Will be interesting how they pedal over the 9,000 miles we'll be climbing lol

[BigHerm]

Yeah, it's been a minute since since the tire was fresh and it drifts just the right amount for me. Pressure was weird since I was used to running 26 (with CC Pro) on a DD DHR2 and went down to 23.5/24 (with CC Pro) on KRR Enduro Soft.

I don't recall any braking issues when new but I was more concerned with the "huge" channel on the Kryptotal Front (v 2.5 Assegai).

Real weird, but an Assegai EXO+ is around the same weight as Kryptotal Front DH. Going to be my new trail tire (no insert).

[Andeh]

Yeah, the Kryptotal Rear seems to brake a little worse than a DHR, but it wears better and holds off camber better. The Front however brakes in loose over hard really well, and still rolls faster than an Assegai. My 2 pairs of them weigh in such that the rear is about the same as a DH DHR, but the front is more on par with a DD Assegai.

[Jtlange]

Yeah, the Kryptotal Rear seems to brake a little worse than a DHR, but it wears better and holds off camber better. The Front however brakes in loose over hard really well, and still rolls faster than an Assegai. My 2 pairs of them weigh in such that the rear is about the same as a DH DHR, but the front is more on par with a DD Assegai.

Which casing are you running?

[bagtagley]

Good info. Been running a DD with an insert and not loving it. Nice reminder that (IMO!) there’s no substitute for a legit DH casing in the park. Also a reminder that I hate inserts.

Alright I lied. I’m running what I thought was a DD level tire, Michelin Rock’r something, but it’s apparently more in the EXO++ range weight wise.

2.3 Eliminator grid gravity is out of stock. Too bad, that’s a good deal.

[Andeh]

Which casing are you running?

DH

[Falcon3]

What do folks like for rear tires in the Maxxis DH casing realm? My go-to DHR II is hard to find and overpriced where it's available (if you find an exception to that, I'm interested). I like the HR II but wonder if there's something better. I like the Aggressor, but this dry weather isn't going to last forever, and I don't love it in the wet and mud.

DoubleDown for $63 shipped to USA. Pretty hard to beat that. I've had excellent experiences with buying tyres from BikeInn

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/...re/137757420/p

[toast2266]

DoubleDown for $63 shipped to USA. Pretty hard to beat that. I've had excellent experiences with buying tyres from BikeInn

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/...re/137757420/p

That site is frustrating. Double down maxxgrip is $12 shipping. But I want double down maxxterra, which inexplicably costs $23 to ship, which makes it a not particularly good deal. No problem - I'll just get 2 tires. Except getting a second tire more than doubles the shipping, making it an even worse deal.

[SJG]

Kenda Pinner Pro AGC may be what you are looking for. They are excellent.

AGC = Gravity (DH) casing
ATC = Trail casing

[mildbill.]

Ok - heading out of town for a bit this summer with the bike (not to bike "destinations") and trying to sort thru tire choices.

Background:
- Live in Norcal, 2X0#s, v1 sentinel
- for neighborhood laps I range from forekaster/rekon DC to assegai/dissector depending on time of year and mood for efficiency / grip tradeoffs
- I do lots of slab hunting in the summer / fall so run lots of maxxgrips as well - between no rocks (bay area) and round rocks (most of the sierra) I rarely cut tires when I'm not travelling.
- When I travel I always bring a DHF MG DH casing for backup as it can sub in for anything front / rear (with a weight / rolling speed penalty)

This summer:
- I'm heading to east coast beach for two weeks - think sandy rolling roots but no rocks with 2 - 5 mile pavement pedals to the trailhead but I cant just fish and drink all week so I ride when I'm there
- Then heading to Europe, bulk of time (~3 weeks) in a town on the mediterranean on a shale headland - think long doubletrack climbs and rocky old sheepherding paths back to town on basically stacked meat cleavers made of shale. Importantly not a TON of steep / loose compared to norcal - mostly moderately pitched sharp fast chunk.
- Last summer I went Assegai MG Exo+ front / DHR MT DD rear - dragged it around the east coast for 2 weeks and then cut a sidewall on my second ride on the med - limped by with plugs and the DHF backup but that DHR went in the trash when i got home.
- I'd like to minimize the amount of shit I bring with me - last summer we had 170# of luggage and a 65# bike bag for a family of 4 and have since realized we need to cut down.

So, out of my list of tires (below) that admittedly has some holes right now, I'm thinking I go with:
- East coast: Dissector MG DD front (which is roasted after about 100 miles), Roasted rekon rear
- Then - THROW OUT the rekon before packing up for EU, swap Dissector from front to rear, mount Assegai MG Exo+ front
- Bring the DHF MG DH Casing as backup

I want to have enough rolling speed on the east coast and enough casing on the mediterranean meat cleavers - traction in both places is a lesser concern as I'm used to steeper / looser terrain.

I'm willing to buy another DHR MT DD and start it front / swap it rear since I'll get plenty of use out of that tire - might roll faster than MG Dissector?

My tire inventory right now (with some obvious holes as slab hunting season approaches, and don't ask me how or why the pile looks like this):
Butcher t7 2.3 trail (brand new)
Butcher t9 2.6 trail (brand new)
Eliminator 2.3 t7 trail (brand new)
Forekaster 2.4 exo
Rekon 2.4 exo
Dissector 2.6 3cmt exo (roasted)
Dissector 2.4 dc exo
Assegai mg exo+
Assegai mg exo+ (roasted)
Assegai mt exo (roasted)
Dhf dc exo (roasted)
Dhf mg dh (always my backup travel tire)
Dissector mg dd (roasted)

[climberevan]

I'm going to reference this post whenever I'm starting to feel like I take tires too seriously or have too many of them.

[El Chupacabra]

Can't you just buy a tire in Europe if you need one there?

And for that matter, if you're going to be in the same place there for awhile (ie, can have packages shipped to you), that seems like a great time to get some cheap Shimano or SRAM at non-US pricing...

But it won't make your return luggage lighter.

[toast2266]

I'm willing to buy another DHR MT DD and start it front / swap it rear since I'll get plenty of use out of that tire - might roll faster than MG Dissector?

If you can find one. That tire is hard to come by.

[smmokan]

I'll give major props to the Specialized Hillbilly/Butcher (both Grid Trail T9) combo for steep, loose, and/or wet conditions. It's been dry and loose AF up here in BC the last week, and I haven't lost grip once between Whistler, Pemby and Squamish. Crazy grip in the steeps and on the dirty slabs. Then it rained a bunch on Saturday so we had a bunch of wet roots yesterday, and it was super grippy across the board. They might be a bit slow-rolling, but it's not overly noticeable as I've regularly been doing 3k' days.

[Eluder]

Specialized needs to make the Cannibal in a Grid Trail casing. It was my first day on the Grid Gravity yesterday and this thing is a great front tire.

[Andeh]

I've been loving the Conti Kryptotals Fr/Re on both my ebike and enduro bike, but am going to try the Enduro casing on the enduro bike to see if I can save a couple hundred grams of rotational weight. I've gotten so used to running super low pressures with the DH casing that I'm not sure whether I'll be able to tolerate it, but we'll see. Also it'll be interesting to see if I'm ok with the plain "Soft" rubber instead of "Super Soft."

One interesting thing I've noticed on the Contis is that the Super Soft rear seems to be wearing a bit better than the Soft. I started running the SS front, S rear on my enduro bike a month or two ahead of on the ebike, which got SS front/rear, but the ebike has probably 2x-3x the miles on it in the same time period. The SS knobs on all 3 tires just have a tiny bit of rounding, but the S rear has a little bit of chunking off the backside of the braking knobs, similar to what I get on Maxxis MT. Both of them look to be holding up a lot better than MG or MT does for me.