New Season, New Tires, New Thread

[teledad]

How 'bout an Aggressor as a front XC tire? Kind of want to size up my 2.25 Rekon but don't have wide enough rims for the 2.4WT in that tire.

2.35 Forekaster

[rip]

I was super happy with my 2.3 EXO Aggressor rear when it was brand new. And overall very happy with it on consistent loam and intermediate surfaces as it’s a very light and fast tire for the amount of grip. But I’ve found that if the conditions are too dry over firm (like a dry hard clay where you can pull off the surface dust from the underlying trail tread), too wet, or too soft, as the Aggressor wears its knobs into even slight rounding, the rear end braking drifts start to slide for longer than I’d like before hooking back up. I’m probably going to try out the Dissector back there to see if it is more predictable in braking traction as it wears.

(Edited to clarify size and casing)

So to be specific I've got the 27.5 double down aggressor in the wide tread 2.5 width, on a 35mm rim, 30mm internal width. Have been riding it all spring, not sure the milage but it seems to be wearing well so far. I'd been using a much less grippy rear tire(high roller 2) for long enough that it feels super solid to me and took a bit of adjusting to the even grip, and not the break loose than catch the side knobs feel of the high roller, which in some instances I kinda miss, but I do notice a marked improvement in super steep fall line old school skid track type trails. It feels great on machine built trails and even felt pretty planted when it was dry and dusty as fuck which was every day up until like 2 days ago here. I wouldn't really call it a fast roller but honestly it's hard to tell with the assagai up front chugging along like a Jake brake.

I also just put together a mellower wheelset for my bike, some 22mm dtswiss rims with a 2.3 exo high roller 2 for the front and a 2.3 exo minion ss in rear, literally about 3.5 lbs lighter than my park wheels and hauls balls, super nimble and fast and makes super pedally rides so much more fun, may eventually swap the front to something a bit knobbier but the hr2 in front feels pretty predictable as long as you know what to expect from it

[ready2tumble]

2.35 Forekaster

Maybe. Will those little randomly arranged knobs do me any good on the kitty litter over cement where I'll be using it?

[Ottime]

I wouldn't mind something that breaks and has better loose climbing traction than the Minion SS. Those little ramped knobs should be square. Rear tires also don't seem to last very long for me, but I really don't want to do heavier casing. I think part of the problem is also skinny rims. I really notice that DHF transition now and I don't like it. Or I just suck. Who knows. DHF is starting to get a little worn. Is there anything like it, but maybe with a little transition support? Skinny-ish sizes. I suppose I could go back to Butcher/Slaughter, but the new design looks fucking dumb, especially without the ramps on the front, and didn't they make their casings weaker?
I'm riding a hardtail 29er around Missoula. I don't know why tires are such a big deal for me.
Considering swapping to the new e13's, but I have this feeling they're designed for 30mm rims and they will be very very round on the ~20mm rims that I have.
I'd get better wheels but I have dropouts and anything on sale is usually boost/xd. Sorry my bike is from 2013 and I got a cheap fork. At least it's light?

I’ve had the Forte Pisgah 2.35 in front on my hardtail 29er for a few weeks. I plan to put on the rear, but it has been a better front tire than the stock XR2 for grip.

I’ve got 22.5mm internal rims for reference. Tire has a good profile at 25.5 psi (currently has a tube in it).

Tubeless version cost me $30. The non tubeless version can be had for like $20. In figured it was trying based just on cost.

[teledad]

Maybe. Will those little randomly arranged knobs do me any good on the kitty litter over cement where I'll be using it?

We don't have a lot of kitty litter but we have sand and moon dust over hardpack. The Forekaster does well for its class IMO. Far more stable and consistent than Ardent for XC riding. The knobs are spread pretty wide and hook up well although they don't bite as hard as a DHF or DHR2 (my standard "do everything" setup is DHF/Aggressor). That's a different class of tire though.

[Boissal]

Maybe. Will those little randomly arranged knobs do me any good on the kitty litter over cement where I'll be using it?

I went from a Forekaster to an Aggressor in the back for riding loose over hard Wasatch stuff and the difference is shocking. My biggest beef with the Forekaster is its complete lack of predictability when cornering. It engages then gets real loose and bites back in with no rhyme or reason. The Aggressor is much more predictable while still not making me feel like I'm on rails.
As Teledad said though, they're a different class of tires.

[roverdoc]

The dissector 2.4 in the rear is fantastic. Went from aggressor to this and dropped weights and rolls faster. Side lugs do well in blown out Tahoe dust

[mall walker]

how much of a difference would going from a 2.1 kenda kadre (oem on my cheap ass bike) to say a 2.3 maxxis minion/aggressor/whatever in loose sandy stuff? those maxxis tires go from ~$60-~$100, what’s up with the different compounds? also I get a deal on WTB, but 2.3 is the limit on my rear tire and their sizes seem not to break that way.

my tires are fine for my ability / what I’m doing right now but they do wash out going down and spin out going up so if there was an option that would make a nice difference one way or another I’m curious.

[skaredshtles]

<snip> kenda

[mall walker]

so... the $60 ones worth the upgrade? or do I go big and lean into the “polished turd” thing I have going on with my shitty bike?

[Kopi_Red]

so... the $60 ones worth the upgrade? or do I go big and lean into the “polished turd” thing I have going on with my shitty bike?

IMHO tires make a YUGE difference on how a bike handles. But I'm also cheap so I've tended to wear the stock tires out before switching to something better. However if I hated the tire combo I switched out the front tire to something I liked and then threw the OEM front on the back once the original rear tire wore out.

[skaredshtles]

Great minds and all that... my Trance came with OEM High Roller2's with dual compound rubber.

Those things SUCK. But I toughed it out until the rear was trashed, put a good tire up front and the front HR2 went to the back.

[SchralphMacchio]

so... the $60 ones worth the upgrade?

Yes.

But don’t get an Aggressor for soft deep loose. Maxxis makes better tires for that. Like the Dissector roverdoc just raved about above. Like I said above, I think the Aggressor is magic on intermediate surfaces, like a light coat of small fir needles on solid tread or a light coat of kitty litter on solid tread. When a tire has to dig through that stuff to find tread, that’s beyond where the Aggressor does well in my opinion.

Also if you aren’t prone to destroying gear,
Specialized tires have pretty great performance relative to price, and are light weight, which means they aren’t as durable as other brands but I have always had good experiences. Their tire selector on their webpage is okay ... Butcher Grid front and Purgatory Grid rear is their main enduro combo for getting awesome grip in variable and soft stuff.

[SchralphMacchio]

Here’s a fitting analogy put another way:
When it’s nuking snow down to the SLC valley floor, what would you rather drive down the BCC hairpins, a 2005 Honda Civic with brand new Nokian Hakkapelitas, or a 2018 BMW X5 with worn Michelin Pilot Sports?

[Dantheman]

Here’s a fitting analogy put another way:
When it’s nuking snow down to the SLC valley floor, what would you rather drive down the BCC hairpins, a 2005 Honda Civic with brand new Nokian Hakkapelitas, or a 2018 BMW X5 with worn Michelin Pilot Sports?

Bingo.

New tires should have been the first thing you did to polish that turd. Virtually anything will be an improvement over those Kadres.

[skaredshtles]

I'm always amused when people show up on high-end demo bikes that have shitty, clapped out tires.

[SchralphMacchio]

I'm always amused when people show up on high-end demo bikes that have shitty, clapped out tires.

The same kind who drive mountain passes on luxury SUVs with worn summer tires!

We would always take bets on storm days about the number of luxury SUVs in the Kirkwood ski resort meadow by 9 AM (because they had blown the turn off the highway). Big storm days would usually be about 4-5 in the meadow.

Before I had money I had a beat up old Subaru Impreza with multicolored / mismatched body panels ... and Nokian snow tires. When people passed me on the passes in those conditions, I knew there was a >50% chance I’d see them in a ditch a couple miles up the road.

[g_man80]

Does any have time on the Vittoria Mazza Trail as a front tire? I'm trying to decide on a front tire for a Ripley V4 ridden mostly in Utah. I'm currently considering the Mazza 2.4 and the DHR2 2.4. Most likely going to run a Rekon 2.4 in the back. Wheels are 30mm inner.

[XXX-er]

https://reviews.mtbr.com/vittoria-ma...in-tire-review

they are calling it a Minion killer

any body used the mazza ?

[g_man80]

I think I'll give it a try if there's a chance it rolls a little better than the DHF or DHR2. Weight is very close between the Mazza 2.4 and DHR2 2.4 exo+

[rip]

I gotta put in another post about the Assegai, now that I'm switching wheels back and forth it may not actually be that slow, it just feels slow because it's so damn stable and quiet. Its like a dhf on steroids, point and shoot, mega side knobs rip across side hilly rogue trail goat trail like none other. Big fan, will def try the trail casing out when the lifts shut down in the fall.

[snowaddict91]

https://reviews.mtbr.com/vittoria-ma...in-tire-review

they are calling it a Minion killer

any body used the mazza ?

Haven't used it, but I'm intrigued. Might give it a go when I am due for tires next. I've been running a Minion DHF for years. Once in a while I'll switch it up, but I always come back to the minion.

[Andeh]

I'm giving the Dissector another go. I didn't hate it, but also didn't love it the first go. I liked it a lot better than an Aggressor in NorCal spring/summer conditions (better cornering and braking, still rolled pretty well) but found that the backsides chunked off really quick. This time I'm running it with a CushCore XC and a couple PSI lower (20 psi), and it seems to be holding up a bit better. I guess the lower pressure lets it be more compliant and chunk less? It rolls slower this way, but feels more like a DHR Lite now, which is more or less what I was looking for.

[El Chupacabra]

Do you guys notice any difference in grip between a DHF in DC vs 3C compound, in rocky / loose / dusty terrain?

[carlh]

1st ride on the e13 lg1en semi slick today. XX with wet dirt roots and rocks. Traction is similar to the rock razor it replaced and casing is stiffer but much less so than a wtb tough. Running 23psi instead of 25 in the rock razor. I think it will work very well for my application. I am finally happy with the hard tail as I also upgraded the front wheel from an old 22mm XX wheel to a light bike carbon 28mm so the front tire (Hans damf 2.35) hooks up at normal lean angles and the bike goes where I point it.