Tires / what's everyone rolling with?

[ronianash]

I have the Rail and wondering what everyone is doing for tires. I'm thinking about going with the Maxxis Assegai 2.5's or the Minion's. Not sure what the benefits of rolling with 2.6 width would be.

 

[Orangie]

Original front washed out on me several times. Not the minions. Loving them

 

[Orangie]

?

 

[Doomanic]

Depends where you ride. Here in the UK I use a Magic Mary on the front all year round. Rear still the OE XR5 which is more a summer tyre, buy it’ll have to do for now.

 

[Rawry]

Maxxis Shorty 2.5 DH front and back very good

 

[TVDW]

I ride the Specialized Turbo Levo 2020 with the Specialized Fast Trak tyres 2.6.
And I like these a lot, but I ride singletracks in the Netherlands and no rocky stuff because we do not have that much here. These Fast Trak tyres roll very fast and give surprisingly good grip in the 2.6 version in dry and wet conditions.
Live Fast - Ride Hard.

 

[Jdog]

Minions - fit and forget

 

[Orangie]

Yep. Minions

 

[themonkster]

I was about start the same thread. I have the Nobby Nics on mine from stock at the moment. They've been slippy as hell through the winter but they'll probably be o.k in the spring / summer. Not sure whether to change them or not. What size Minion's are people running. 2.5 front and back or 2.5 front with a 2.4 in the rear ?

Before I forget what types of pressures are everyone running ?

 

[Doomanic]

I had Nics on my Powerfly. They were absolutely dire in the wet but a pretty decent rear in the summer.

I'd stick with a DHR2 2.6 on the rear; minions tend to be a bit smaller than Schwalbe.

 

[Jdog]

I was about start the same thread. I have the Nobby Nics on mine from stock at the moment. They've been slippy as hell through the winter but they'll probably be o.k in the spring / summer. Not sure whether to change them or not. What size Minion's are people running. 2.5 front and back or 2.5 front with a 2.4 in the rear ?

Before I forget what types of pressures are everyone running ?

My Kenevo came with 2.6 Specialized tyres so I replaced them with like for like 2.6 minions but maxxis are notorious for coming in a bit smaller once inflated (as are pretty much all tyre manufacturers). There are two good articles on tyres and the real world sizing from the guys at bikeradar:

What’s the fastest tyre size for mountain biking?
and
Best winter mountain bike tyres

It is also worth noting that your rim thickness will impact the width of a tyre and some of the "plus" size tyres (2.6+) are designed for "plus" size rims (32mm and above) I fitted plus size tyres to my 28mm rims and they fit absolutely fine.

I honestly don't think there is a right answer to tyre pressures (noting you didn't ask for the right tyre pressure) because rider weight, terrain, tyre compound, tyre thickness, rim thickness and no doubt other factors will have an impact.
First and foremost to really play with tyre pressure you need to be tubeless (if you're not tubeless its time to get into 2020 or 2010 for that matter ) personally on my tubeless setup I am running 22-24psi in the front and now go up to 27-30psi in the rear on all singing all dancing maxxis minions as my spesh tyres got a double snake bite while running 26-28psi (around 100kg fully kitted) and I am only riding in the Surrey Alps!

 

[themonkster]

My Kenevo came with 2.6 Specialized tyres so I replaced them with like for like 2.6 minions but maxxis are notorious for coming in a bit smaller once inflated (as are pretty much all tyre manufacturers). There are two good articles on tyres and the real world sizing from the guys at bikeradar:
What’s the fastest tyre size for mountain biking?
and
Best winter mountain bike tyres

It is also worth noting that your rim thickness will impact the width of a tyre and some of the "plus" size tyres (2.6+) are designed for "plus" size rims (32mm and above) I fitted plus size tyres to my 28mm rims and they fit absolutely fine.

I honestly don't think there is a right answer to tyre pressures (noting you didn't ask for the right tyre pressure) because rider weight, terrain, tyre compound, tyre thickness, rim thickness and no doubt other factors will have an impact. First and foremost I am assuming you're tubeless (if not its time to get into 2020 or 2015 for that matter) personally on my tubeless setup I am running 22-24psi in the front and 28-30psi in the rear on my all singing all dancing minions and i'm around 100kg fully kitted.

Thanks for you help it's greatly appreciated. I'm running a tannus insert in the rear and tubeless up front at the moment. I've been testing the tannus as there's no mess when it comes to tyre changes and you can still run lower pressures. My rims are 35mm. I was thinking of running 2.5 Minions front and rear or a 2.4 in the rear. I was worried that my 35mm rims were overkill for the 2.4. The 2.6 Nics on at the moment seem monsterous. I'm about 90kg fully loaded and have been running around 18 front and 20 rear which I find pretty good. I know tyres and pressures are a minefield. Thanks again.

 

[mak]

First and foremost to really play with tyre pressure you need to be tubeless (if you're not tubeless its time to get into 2020 or 2010 for that matter ) personally on my tubeless setup I am running 22-24psi in the front

I have to confess to being a bit old school with push bike tires and thinking the hire pressure avoids punctures and gives a better peddling efficiency, I guess to some degree that's true.

My Nobby nics have been somewhat dangerous running 30 psi in the front giving no confidence in cornering and almost always washing out on anything other than a gentle turn. The other day I was only 8 miles away from home so decided to have a go at letting some air out the front. nothing scientific just the push method with my thumb

Holy sh%t it has absolutely transformed the bike, yes its a little more sticky on road work so i may increase the rear but it has transformed the font end, plusher and massive amounts of grip. Regardless of my scepticism its night and day, for scientific reasons i checked the front tire pressure when i got home and its an indicated 23 psi.

 

[themonkster]

I have to confess to being a bit old school with push bike tires and thinking the hire pressure avoids punctures and gives a better peddling efficiency, I guess to some degree that's true.

My Nobby nics have been somewhat dangerous running 30 psi in the front giving no confidence in cornering and almost always washing out on anything other than a gentle turn. The other day I was only 8 miles away from home so decided to have a go at letting some air out the front. nothing scientific just the push method with my thumb

Holy sh%t it has absolutely transformed the bike, yes its a little more sticky on road work so i may increase the rear but it has transformed the font end, plusher and massive amounts of grip. Regardless of my scepticism its night and day, for scientific reasons i checked the front tire pressure when i got home and its an indicated 23 psi.

I don't think I've ever ran any tyre at 30 PSI. You must have been bouncing all over the place. I'm at 20 at the moment I'll maybe increase it a tad when I change tyres and see how it goes.

 

[mak]

I don't think I've ever ran any tyre at 30 PSI. You must have been bouncing all over the place. I'm at 20 at the moment I'll maybe increase it a tad when I change tyres and see how it goes.

I think I'm late to the party on tire pressures

 

[losgatosgtr]

For the Maxxis Minions there are several different tread compounds (Max Terra, 3C, Max Grip...or whatever) as well to consider as they offer more grip the softer you go.

 

[Orangie]

Minions rock. Great upgrade 20 front 23 rear 225 lbs

 

[Bomble]

What’s the exact spec/model of the minions id would need to order anyone?
The Bontragers aren’t bad apart from in mud but after swapping the Mino to high today the front keeps sliding in corners so might try some different tyres.
I do have a pair of Michelin wilds but fancy a change.

 

[LFB01]

?

View attachment 27985

Orangie, what width are you using, i have been looking at either the 2.5 or 2.6?

 

[Orangie]

2.6 dhf/dhr

 

[Orangie]

Maxx terra. 120 tpi Maxx grip are too soft. Racing only. No wear

 

[Jdog]

I got my 2.6 minions from Tredz (other bike shops are available) as they're well priced and in stock. You might also find that when you first click on their website there is a £5 off code and you may or may not be able to use this twice if you complete two separate transactions as a guest

DHF - £39.99
DHR - £62.62

Interesting to see people around my weight running minions on low 20s on the rear, I think I need to man up and drop some more PSI

I have to confess to being a bit old school with push bike tires and thinking the higher pressure avoids punctures and gives a better peddling efficiency, I guess to some degree that's true.

From the link I sent yesterday (Bikeradar test) I highly recommend you scroll about 1/2 way down and read the results of the tests they did...I must admit I was shocked at some of the efficiency benefits a lower tyre pressure did off road.

 

[Orangie]

Rear tends to get squirmy under 23 for me. Very few rim hits

 

[Jdog]

I am more than happy with the grip of the DHR on 26psi to be honest and I like to slide to back around a bit anyway. Nothing worse than a squirmy tyre and I am not running any inserts so it also protects my wallet.

 

[Doomanic]

I don't really like DHFs, I put a Schwalbe Magic Mary 2.6 on the front instead.

 

[Mcharza]

Those Specialized Butcher, BLCK DMND casing, 27.5 x 2.6 has been surprising good. Even on the wet roots. Have been running f 0.9-1.0 bar and r 1.1-1.2.
Just ordered new front tyre Michelin Wild Enduro Gum-X 2.6 and keep Spesh tyre as a spare to the rear

 

[Jdog]

Those Specialized Butcher, BLCK DMND casing, 27.5 x 2.6 has been surprising good

I thought they were average at best so I suspect you'll be very impressed with new rubber.

 

[Mcharza]

I thought they were average at best so I suspect you'll be very impressed with new rubber.

You're right, but can ride with them. Normally I use Magic Mary front

 

[Gareth Bowen]

Schwalbe Rocket Ron

 

[RedTed]

I'm about ready to swap the OEM Bontrager tyres on my FS7 and thinking about running an E Wild on the rear and a Minion DHF, both 2.8". Anyone running a similar set up?

Now that things are drying out it would be nice to inject a little more speed and reduce rolling resistance so any suggestions or recommendations?