New Season, New Tires, New Thread

[radam]

I was able to pull the dent out a bit fairly easily right after it happened. Far from perfect but it was enough for tires to seal up, although usually with more faffing about than it should take.

With that said, today may have pushed me to either try to fix the dent some more or just get a new rim. Had the new XR3 on, was really enjoying it on the smoother trail I started on, the speed difference was huge compared to the DHR. Ended up on some much more techy trails and felt like I needed to air down a touch to get a little more grip over roots. Let out a few blasts of air and then...the bead lost its seal juuuust enough that it started leaking profusely. Couldn't air it up fast enough with the hand pump so decided to burn my CO2 and hopefully avoid having to tube it up. No go. Shouldn't have bothered because during all this I was getting swarmed by skeeters and black flies. Finally got it all squared away (with the tube squeezed in between the Huck Norris) and continued riding. Compliance wise the tire felt like absolute garbage after that, but on the whole traction was pretty good for the seemingly big speed bump. Need to get it re-sorted in tubeless form and get some more rides. I do wish it came in the SE casing and/or with a slightly softer rubber (although I know that wouldn't help it roll). I am still really curious to try the e13 semi slick or may give a maxxis tomahawk a try.

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[toast2266]

Torn between the XR3 and the Rekon in back this year. Running 2.4 DHR2 front and back right now, ready to try something a little more fast rolling and light in back.

I think both of those tires will pair a bit weird with a dhr2. Bontrager tires and the rekon are both pretty rounded casings, while the dhr2 is pretty square. In my experience, that makes them corner pretty differently in terms of when and how they lose traction in hard corners. Obviously tread pattern matters a lot too, but mating a round tire with a square tire can be weird. That said, you'd have the rounder tire on the rear, which is probably better.

[zlatham]

I just ordered an Assegai in the exo casing, stoked to try it out up front.

[bagtagley]

Did somebody say Huck Norris?

[grinch]

Haa, I'm scared to look at mine. It was pretty sliced the last time it went in. If they last through one tire call it good. I should've put a new one or something else in

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[stuckathuntermtn]

Anyone ever just run High Rollers front and rear? Ya know, as a Keep It Simple, Stupid type of thing?
Looks like it wouldn't be bad, but you might lose some braking traction up front.
Running DHF/SS now. Durability is fine, but not super impressed with the SS in anything even slightly loose; up or down. Slaughter was way better.
The rims I have now support the tire a little better, so I guess I could eventually go back go Butcher/Slaughter in Grid casing, but whatever.
This is in 2.3 on a 29er hardtail in dry conditions. A lot of hard pack, some loose. Ya know, Missoula dirt roadie-ing, but 200lbs on a 29er hardtail with narrow rims and flexy fork and so so pilot.

[toast2266]

HR2's front and rear are some of my favorite tires, especially in soft-ish dirt. They're definitely driftier than minions though, so be ready to commit to the corners.

[stuckathuntermtn]

As a hard pack tire though?

[rideit]

As a hard pack tire though?

Maybe you should read before posting, JONG

[radam]

Did somebody say Huck Norris?

Mine looks close to new (aside from being coated in sealant), but I also didn't drop pressure significantly after installation, and I also have the DH version which is supposed to be denser at the cost of a few more grams (but still a lot lighter than most inserts).

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[Dee Hubbs]

Ive been a fan of HR2 front and back forever. I used them in loamy BC, except for the wet season, and also in dry hardback in Colorado.
Currently in Colorado I still use a 2.4 HR2 EXO 3C as a front paired with a 2.3 Minion SS EXO SS rear.
I've used the HR2 since the OG HR, so I'm use to the drifty turn in, no mans land between the center knobs and side knobs. When ever I try a DHF or DHR I find them a bit sluggish compared to HR2, and I find I don't lean the bike over as much on a DHR and DHF.
I'm on 30mm wide carbon rims if that matters.

[jm2e]

Pulled a Huck Norris out of mrsjm2e’s rear wheel about 6 months ago. Counted about 28 spots where they were sliced through. There were 3 big dents in the rim. She hasn’t flatted in 2-3 years, running 17-18 psi with DHR II. Don’t know how you want to interpret this anecdote. Except that rims are a wear item for her!


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[stuckathuntermtn]

Maybe you should read before posting, JONG

Fair enough

[XXX-er]

Pulled a Huck Norris out of mrsjm2e’s rear wheel about 6 months ago. Counted about 28 spots where they were sliced through. There were 3 big dents in the rim. She hasn’t flatted in 2-3 years, running 17-18 psi with DHR II. Don’t know how you want to interpret this anecdote. Except that rims are a wear item for her!

not enough air ?

[jamal]

I've gotten into just running different tires depending on time of year. Right now, things are hardpack and grippy and I'm racing, so fast XC tires. Later on in the year things dry out, get loose, racing is over, and I'm doing bigger, longer backcountry stuff. Makes sense to swap to something more durable and with bigger knobs.

Last year for me that was going from racing ralphs front and rear to putting a nobby nic up front. The new performance/tr/addix versions are cheaper than most tires and have held up and performed well for me. Biggest downside for me is that compared to a nicer xc tire they are heavy, and maybe a little slower rolling. Like 770g for a 29x2.25.

A few weeks ago I was looking for something faster and lighter for a hill climb and got a set of Kenda saber pros off a friend. I don't have much time on them yet- that one hill climb, last week's wed xc race, and then only like 2-3 other rides. Coming from a nobby nic front, definitely less traction but it doesn't seem too terrible. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for to race XC with as I'd at least like a little more grip up front, but they are really fast and light. The race course was pretty loose and rocky last week and I was still faster down the descent than 'I've ever been, so I guess they're not too bad.. And you get that feeling of "holy shit fast" when you start rolling downhill that I remember from my first ride on a 29" XC bike years ago.

The rain and racing this weekend has really packed things down so it should be really nice next week, then next Sunday's race in Kalispell will be hardpacked and smooth course so the tires should be good there too, and that's about as long as I need them to last. I'm guessing as soon as those brand new sharp corners start wearing off the tread blocks grip will drop off quickly, plus I don't expect they're that puncture resistant. But I only paid $30 a tire.

Picture of said tire, with nobby nic for comparison



The Kenda measures true to labeled size on a narrow rim, the schwalbes run small. Despite having less grip and slightly more volume, I seem to need about 2psi more pressure because the casing is so much lighter. Last week I started with 23/24 f/r, where with the schwalbes I go 22/22 (the nobby nic front needs more pressure than a ralph).

[radam]

Second ride on the XR3, on very different trails. Mix of hand and small-machine built trails at local "bike park." Very dry, some loose over hardpack. My cornering skills are severely lacking compared to my tech/chunk riding skills, so that is not helping the matter, but I think I may be understanding what toast is saying about the dhr / xr3 profiles not being a good match. That combined with fairly tight trails that make it tough to lean the bike over, and it's feeling like it's tough to get the side knobs to engage on the xr3.

Thoughts then on what would be a better fast-ish rolling tire to pair with the DHR? Would the DC compound feel fast enough in comparison to the 3c that it might keep me happy? Or would the e13 semi-slick in the grippy race compound be better? My main source of confusion is deciding what will deal best with greasy, slick roots and rocks that we inevitably get on humid days (or days following rain) while also being fairly fast rolling.

[skaredshtles]

<snip>
My main source of confusion is deciding what will deal best with greasy, slick roots and rocks that we inevitably get on humid days (or days following rain) while also being fairly fast rolling.

I'd say good luck - these two things are a LOT to ask from a mt bike tire compound.

And from personal experience on *dry* rocks with the Maxxis "dual-compound" horseshit - that ain't gonna work worth a crap on wet roots and rocks.

[toast2266]

Thoughts then on what would be a better fast-ish rolling tire to pair with the DHR? Would the DC compound feel fast enough in comparison to the 3c that it might keep me happy? Or would the e13 semi-slick in the grippy race compound be better? My main source of confusion is deciding what will deal best with greasy, slick roots and rocks that we inevitably get on humid days (or days following rain) while also being fairly fast rolling.

Aggressor seems like the obvious choice. Rolls pretty quick. Nothing special on wet roots, but not bad if you get a maxxterra compound (which I'm pretty sure is available now).

[stuckathuntermtn]

Wait, Jamal, are you trying to say that 770g on a front 29er tire is heavy?

[adrenalated]

I just ordered an Assegai in the exo casing, stoked to try it out up front.

Please report back, I'm pretty interested in this. I'm hoping they come out with the exo assguy in MaxxGrip sometime soon (looks like only MaxxTerra right now).

[XXX-er]

Aggressor seems like the obvious choice. Rolls pretty quick. Nothing special on wet roots, but not bad if you get a maxxterra compound (which I'm pretty sure is available now).

Yeti paired the Aggressor on the back with a DHF on the front of my 5.5

the 2.5 DHF on the front sticks really well and on the back the aggressor tends to get loose around corners cuz it doesnt have huge amounts of traction but what happens is yer leaning over that front wheel and that rear end to comes around in an orderly fashion

[jm2e]

There is no tire that will grip well on wet roots. The only thing that’s helped me is a ton of exposure. Doing a couple DH races in pissing rain really forced me to learn. Until then, all roots were a terrifying mystery to me.


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[Dantheman]

There is no tire that will grip well on wet roots.

Well, maybe a studded tire. Obviously that's going to less than ideal for everything else.

[toast2266]

There is no tire that will grip well on wet roots. The only thing that’s helped me is a ton of exposure. Doing a couple DH races in pissing rain really forced me to learn. Until then, all roots were a terrifying mystery to me.


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Some of the continental tires are the best I've tried. Soft rubber compound paired with a high tpi, very supple casing makes those things grip impressively well on slippery things.

Of course, they don't last too long and the casing tears really easily, so overall I think they suck. But if wet roots are all you care about, continental makes some great options.

[Andeh]

I just ordered an Assegai in the exo casing, stoked to try it out up front.

Where'd you find it in stock? I'm interested in giving it a go myself also. The Maxxis shop site only has the DH version. My usual go-tos (Jenson, WWC, Fanatik) don't have it.