What tyres? The Ultimate Tyre Thread

[Josepma]

I was worried about that too but I put the michelin wilds on at 2.4 and they are great

the real measurements of the tires are curious. Assegai are 1mm larger at 2.5 than Magic Mary at 2.4

 

[urastus]

the real measurements of the tires are curious. Assegai are 1mm larger at 2.5 than Magic Mary at 2.4

sizing interpretation seems to have carried over from the motorcycle world; very much the same there too.

 

[Mikerb]

I have been using the Michelin Wild Enduros ( 2.4) for a few weeks now. Before the weather broke and trails were hard pack and dusty the front tyre grip was amazing whilst traction on the rear not brilliant. Now the trails are no longer dusty having had fairly regular rain over the last couple of weeks. The front tyre continues to perform really well...as before, and the rear tyre traction is really good. Last ride out on steep climbs I was previously failing to clean, I did all of them without a problem. So it seems the Wild Enduro rear does not like it dry and dusty! I'm happy with that given I changed from 2.3 Eliminators which performed really well in the dry summer months, to the Wild Enduros specifically as a better tyre for winter....I just changed them over a couple of weeks too early!!.

 

[ajbalfe]

I have been using the Michelin Wild Enduros ( 2.4) for a few weeks now. Before the weather broke and trails were hard pack and dusty the front tyre grip was amazing whilst traction on the rear not brilliant. Now the trails are no longer dusty having had fairly regular rain over the last couple of weeks. The front tyre continues to perform really well...as before, and the rear tyre traction is really good. Last ride out on steep climbs I was previously failing to clean, I did all of them without a problem. So it seems the Wild Enduro rear does not like it dry and dusty! I'm happy with that given I changed from 2.3 Eliminators which performed really well in the dry summer months, to the Wild Enduros specifically as a better tyre for winter....I just changed them over a couple of weeks too early!!.

Same tyre front and back?

 

[Mikerb]

Specific front tyre in MAGI X and specific rear tyre in GUMx3D

 

[p3eps]

Assegai's are working great on wet conditions, but it looks like they are allergic to wet roots ... anything that will perform better on wet roots ?

I’ve discovered the same with Michelin Wild Enduro’s this weekend.
I had a couple of offs yesterday because my front tyre slid off wet roots at speed. My shin ain’t pretty!!
Today I was taking it easy, but the front was still slipping off anything roots (and some rocks) that I wasn’t going over ‘square on’. Anything at an angle was just dangerous!

A guy I was speaking to on the trails yesterday recommended Magic Mary - but didn’t say which compound.
My Wild Enduro rear needs replaced anyway as it’s done over 1k, and is looking a bit thin. The front still has loads of tread left... but I think it’s time to replace both for winter.

Any recommendations? What works well on thick gloopy Scottish mud, and bare slippy roots?!

 

[Mikerb]

The softer the compound the more grip it is likely to give but not sure any tyre will find grip on a wet root. You just have to hit them square or hop them. As for mud you need a tyre with an open tread pattern.

 

[Gary]

You're wasting your time searching for tyres that grip wet roots at an angle. none do. Especially so with mud specific tyres.
Improve your wet root riding technique and line choice.

 

[p3eps]

You're wasting your time searching for tyres that grip wet roots at an angle. none do. Especially so with mud specific tyres.
Improve your wet root riding technique and line choice.

Most of the trails I was on at the weekend were single track where there was pretty much no choice of line. Thin paths cut through dense trees... quite often off camber - which is where the sliding occurs.

Apart from riding very tentatively on Sunday... what technique is there to help with this?
I was enjoying flying down the trails on Saturday until my first incident, and after my second, my confidence was gone!

 

[ajbalfe]

The softer the compound the more grip it is likely to give but not sure any tyre will find grip on a wet root. You just have to hit them square or hop them. As for mud you need a tyre with an open tread pattern.

You might also want to lower your tyre pressure.

 

[Swissrob]

Most of the trails I was on at the weekend were single track where there was pretty much no choice of line. Thin paths cut through dense trees... quite often off camber - which is where the sliding occurs.

Apart from riding very tentatively on Sunday... what technique is there to help with this?
I was enjoying flying down the trails on Saturday until my first incident, and after my second, my confidence was gone!

I struggled with this a lot and tried nearly everything. I now have gone to 29er front with a 2.6 Assegai which is a bit better on roots but I suspect it is more the grip generally that it may move on a root but recovers immediately afterwards.

 

[Gary]

what technique is there to help with this?

Git gud,

Seriously though. There's always line choice.
And riding slippery surfaces, cambers, roots etc. requires correct speed, balanced riding and weighting and unweghting your tyres at specific points.
You want a skills course on this. Pay me. ?
Where were you riding?

 

[p3eps]

You might also want to lower your tyre pressure.

I was running 18psi front on a 2.4 x 29” tyre. How low would you suggest? I also wondered if there were fork adjustments I should be making to help with this... like would less rebound help?

I struggled with this a lot and tried nearly everything. I now have gone to 29er front with a 2.6 Assegai which is a bit better on roots but I suspect it is more the grip generally that it may move on a root but recovers immediately afterwards.

Read a lot of good things about the Assegai. What do you pair up with that on the rear? DHRII?

Git gud,

Seriously though. There's always line choice.
And riding slippery surfaces, Chambers, roots etc. Requires correct speed, balanced riding and weighting and unweghting your tyres at specific points.
You want a skills course on this. Pay me. ?
Where were you riding?

I’d love a skills course! Maybe a case of can’t teach an old dog new tricks though.
Suffering today from a rather bruised leg ?
I was following Garmin / Trailforks round the Scottish Enduro track at Drumtochty. My first time there, and I think I’d have really enjoyed it had it not been so wet / gloopy. Nice fast flowing single track rather than steep drops.

 

[Dirtnvert]

Doing a lot of that lately with new snow and buried roots or wet roots. Dropped psi 2lbs , squaring up roots where i can and not committing as much weight to the front wheel, less leaning in and lifting the front wheel up whenever i can. Rear wheel tracking is no problem when the front wheel is lifted. Making sure the outside pedal is down and weight is on the inside at all times and avoiding the front brake as much as possible. Dropped a couple clicks on lsc too. Rebound ive left for now.

 

[Gary]

Maybe a case of can’t teach an old dog new tricks though.

Definitely not.
Progression doesn't stop at any age. you do need the will to want to learn though and to actually put into practice what you've learned.
Improvent happens AFTER the course. Far too many folk stump up £££ for a skills course, turn up and never actually take what they've been taught and put in the effort to properly learn from it.

Never been to Drumtochty. But I can imagine the sort of thing if it's hand cut Enduro stages

 

[p3eps]

Definitely not.
Progression doesn't stop at any age. you do need the will to want to learn though and to actually put into practice what you've learned.
Improvent happens AFTER the course. Far too many folk stump up £££ for a skills course, turn up and never actually take what they've been taught and put in the effort to properly learn from it.

Never been to Drumtochty. But I can imagine the sort of thing if it's hand cut Enduro stages

It’d probably be fear that’d hold me back as opposed to lack of willing and practice!
I do most of my riding on my own, so maybe a course / lessons would do me some good.

Lots of tight tree lined trails, with parts barely wide enough to get your bars through. When riding that close to the trees, the roots are pretty chunky, and coming out at all angles. Getting them square on isn’t possible, so I guess learning better weight distribution could be a valuable skill.

 

[TrailBoB]

It’d probably be fear that’d hold me back as opposed to lack of willing and practice!
I do most of my riding on my own, so maybe a course / lessons would do me some good.

Lots of tight tree lined trails, with parts barely wide enough to get your bars through. When riding that close to the trees, the roots are pretty chunky, and coming out at all angles. Getting them square on isn’t possible, so I guess learning better weight distribution could be a valuable skill.

I’ve gone for 2.6 x 29 E Wilds for gloopy winter mud, to replace the Maxxis on my Jam2. Hopefully the front end will be a bit more planted. Don’t want this happening again. ??.

 

[urastus]

It’d probably be fear that’d hold me back as opposed to lack of willing and practice!
I do most of my riding on my own, so maybe a course / lessons would do me some good.

Lots of tight tree lined trails, with parts barely wide enough to get your bars through. When riding that close to the trees, the roots are pretty chunky, and coming out at all angles. Getting them square on isn’t possible, so I guess learning better weight distribution could be a valuable skill.

I mostly ride alone, have had more than my fair share of offs, and I'm slow to progress, but I do progress . If something scares me I look for something similar and do more of it - every ride. I'm riding tracks now that I wasn't even 1 month ago. I focus on the detail, tell myself to move around on the bike (stay loose), and relax my hands - this is pretty much a mantra when I'm doing something that still has me a bit anxious. I watch videos of how to do stuff till I have the technique in my head. That's a biggy - if you go into something without really knowing how, you just try different stuff hoping to find something that works. If you're doing this, it's a sign to go and study the technique some more.

Most of all though, for me, I need to keep a goal in my head. My goal now is to ride down cliff hanger doing all the drops and jumps etc. Drops are my big learning issue - I can do stuff under a metre OK and I'm working up for those wild gnarly ones.

For your example above, I'd session stuff. Pick out one section that freaks you out and session it. Look at the different lines in and out and through. Focus on your attack position, staying loose, loose hands, move around on the bike. If you watch videos you would have seen this 100 times - line choice, technique etc. That's what I've been doing. Previously I was doing it with really tight, technical climbing switchbacks. I mostly ride through those now; if I don't make it, I go back and try again. Now I'm doing that with drops - I have a couple of wild drops that I session to just get comfortable. I also have a practice area with an open roll out for general practice.

Also, set up your rebound damping! It's easy and supposedly makes a big difference.

 

[Mikerb]

I’ve gone for 2.6 x 29 E Wilds for gloopy winter mud, to replace the Maxxis on my Jam2. Hopefully the front end will be a bit more planted. Don’t want this happening again. ??.

View attachment 43044

I have the Michelin Wild Enduros on my Levo ( 2.4 and Wild not E Wild) . The front tyre is amazing but what helped me more than tyre choice was learning the right technique for cornering ( bike rider separation) and applying more weight over the front wheel when required. ( that leg looks nasty!!)

 

[ajbalfe]

I was running 18psi front on a 2.4 x 29” tyre. How low would you suggest? I also wondered if there were fork adjustments I should be making to help with this... like would less rebound help?

That's pretty low, you could go a little lower but I'm not sure it would make a lot of difference.

I am not a fan of roots and mud either. It never bothered me until I had a few painful crashes (it hurts much more post 50 plus I think I started a little late). Confidence and speed (two things that go together) are your friends here but easier said than done. My plan is to find a tricky but not overly difficult track and ride it over and over again during this winter, work on technique and speed. Oh and I may put on the full face and body armour to inspire a little confidence and push on.

I have ordered the Eddie Currents. I don't think they will help with the roots but if I'm confident in braking in the mud, Imay take on the roots a little quicker.



Read a lot of good things about the Assegai. What do you pair up with that on the rear? DHRII?




I’d love a skills course! Maybe a case of can’t teach an old dog new tricks though.
Suffering today from a rather bruised leg ?
I was following Garmin / Trailforks round the Scottish Enduro track at Drumtochty. My first time there, and I think I’d have really enjoyed it had it not been so wet / gloopy. Nice fast flowing single track rather than steep drops.

 

[TrailBoB]

I have the Michelin Wild Enduros on my Levo ( 2.4 and Wild not E Wild) . The front tyre is amazing but what helped me more than tyre choice was learning the right technique for cornering ( bike rider separation) and applying more weight over the front wheel when required. ( that leg looks nasty!!)

I would class my riding as quite confident, have had moto x bikes previously, although a few years since, so not totally new to speed & off road. This bike/rider separation, happened after going off a track with plenty of room, to circumnavigate dog owners & dog, they weren’t particularly in my path, just thought I would do the decent thing & give them more room, whilst rejoining the track at relatively slow speed & lean angle the front wheel just tucked under. As they say. “Every days a school day”. Learnt my lesson there. Legs not too bad pain wise just looks a mess. “Safe riding everyone”

 

[Dirtnvert]

Not a crash unless you bleed , only hurts if the bone shows eh ?

 

[p3eps]

Not a crash unless you bleed , only hurts if the bone shows eh ?

I only managed a little blood... but did have a bump like an egg! Getting more purple as the week goes on ?

I mostly ride alone, have had more than my fair share of offs, and I'm slow to progress, but I do progress . If something scares me I look for something similar and do more of it - every ride. I'm riding tracks now that I wasn't even 1 month ago. I focus on the detail, tell myself to move around on the bike (stay loose), and relax my hands - this is pretty much a mantra when I'm doing something that still has me a bit anxious. I watch videos of how to do stuff till I have the technique in my head. That's a biggy - if you go into something without really knowing how, you just try different stuff hoping to find something that works. If you're doing this, it's a sign to go and study the technique some more.

Most of all though, for me, I need to keep a goal in my head. My goal now is to ride down cliff hanger doing all the drops and jumps etc. Drops are my big learning issue - I can do stuff under a metre OK and I'm working up for those wild gnarly ones.

For your example above, I'd session stuff. Pick out one section that freaks you out and session it. Look at the different lines in and out and through. Focus on your attack position, staying loose, loose hands, move around on the bike. If you watch videos you would have seen this 100 times - line choice, technique etc. That's what I've been doing. Previously I was doing it with really tight, technical climbing switchbacks. I mostly ride through those now; if I don't make it, I go back and try again. Now I'm doing that with drops - I have a couple of wild drops that I session to just get comfortable. I also have a practice area with an open roll out for general practice.

Also, set up your rebound damping! It's easy and supposedly makes a big difference.

I think my solo riding is probably what puts some of the fear in to me. Saturday I was in a forest with no phone signal, and I never saw another person until I was back at the car.
Imagine trying to hobble back to the car on your own for potentially 7 or 8 miles with a serious injury!!

I like to get some miles in when riding, so tend to scoot about and do different trails. I should really considering doing the same run over and over to try and practice getting it right.
It was my first time on a lot of these trails, so don’t know what I was hoping to achieve by flying down them?!

That's pretty low, you could go a little lower but I'm not sure it would make a lot of difference.

I am not a fan of roots and mud either. It never bothered me until I had a few painful crashes (it hurts much more post 50 plus I think I started a little late). Confidence and speed (two things that go together) are your friends here but easier said than done. My plan is to find a tricky but not overly difficult track and ride it over and over again during this winter, work on technique and speed. Oh and I may put on the full face and body armour to inspire a little confidence and push on.

I have ordered the Eddie Currents. I don't think they will help with the roots but if I'm confident in braking in the mud, Imay take on the roots a little quicker

I’m 42, and feel I’ve got back into MTB too late. I used to BMX as a kid, and then did some light trails until I was about 17... then got a car, and lost interest in bikes until about 10 years ago. By that time, the fear has set in!!

I’m still torn by which tyres to get. My Wild Endro rear has seen better days, and the front is probably below what it should be.
Might as well swap both out at the same time, and keen to try something else instead.

 

[Mikerb]

ERRR....think there may be some confusion re "bike/rider separation"?? I was referring to cornering technique of leaning the bike whilst you as rider stay more upright with weight over the tyres and on the (down) pedal (outside of corner).

 

[TrailBoB]

I only managed a little blood... but did have a bump like an egg! Getting more purple as the week goes on ?




I think my solo riding is probably what puts some of the fear in to me. Saturday I was in a forest with no phone signal, and I never saw another person until I was back at the car.
Imagine trying to hobble back to the car on your own for potentially 7 or 8 miles with a serious injury!!

I like to get some miles in when riding, so tend to scoot about and do different trails. I should really considering doing the same run over and over to try and practice getting it right.
It was my first time on a lot of these trails, so don’t know what I was hoping to achieve by flying down them?!



I’m 42, and feel I’ve got back into MTB too late. I used to BMX as a kid, and then did some light trails until I was about 17... then got a car, and lost interest in bikes until about 10 years ago. By that time, the fear has set in!!

I’m still torn by which tyres to get. My Wild Endro rear has seen better days, and the front is probably below what it should be.
Might as well swap both out at the same time, and keen to try something else instead.

If you have no signal on your phone & you dial 999 it will pick up signal from another network if coverage is available and use that network to connect. ?

 

[urastus]

I only managed a little blood... but did have a bump like an egg! Getting more purple as the week goes on ?




I think my solo riding is probably what puts some of the fear in to me. Saturday I was in a forest with no phone signal, and I never saw another person until I was back at the car.
Imagine trying to hobble back to the car on your own for potentially 7 or 8 miles with a serious injury!!

I like to get some miles in when riding, so tend to scoot about and do different trails. I should really considering doing the same run over and over to try and practice getting it right.
It was my first time on a lot of these trails, so don’t know what I was hoping to achieve by flying down them?!



I’m 42, and feel I’ve got back into MTB too late. I used to BMX as a kid, and then did some light trails until I was about 17... then got a car, and lost interest in bikes until about 10 years ago. By that time, the fear has set in!!

I’m still torn by which tyres to get. My Wild Endro rear has seen better days, and the front is probably below what it should be.
Might as well swap both out at the same time, and keen to try something else instead.

I'm similar re isolation and I understand the extra burden riding alone has. It is much easier to do things with someone else - the fear factor goes up a bit when you're alone. If you're methodical though, you still get confidence. I also like to get in a ride with some distance - for me it is 20km. Within that though I always try to session something; if I don't clear an obstacle - I'll session it until I do. This might mean going back and forth in a 10 or 20 metre distance, that's all. I've also been finishing off with some drop practice and jumps at a skills park.

I'm pretty precise with tyre pressures and suspension setup - I try to get the most of what I have and having the bike in good order gives me confidence.

I'm not sure about age myself - I try not to play into it. Fear is different, for sure. I think kids generally spend a lot more time doing stuff. I'm always surprised at what they intuitively know and pick up from others - I have to study and understand the physics of things usually. I do pick up stuff from others too though, when I get to see them.

For me, I'm happy if I keep improving. Sessioning and youtube

 

[urastus]

ERRR....think there may be some confusion re "bike/rider separation"?? I was referring to cornering technique of leaning the bike whilst you as rider stay more upright with weight over the tyres and on the (down) pedal (outside of corner).

I was wondering about that too - never heard it referred to as that. In a way it isn't a good description for that style. Road riders also have a sort of separation when they are hanging off the side of the bike in a corner. Motorcycles admittedly, but off road riders stay on top and push the bike down too - I always had those two styles at hand for whatever I was riding. Tight twisty wet road - push the bike down. Gravel on the corners - push the bike down.

 

[TrailBoB]

I was wondering about that too - never heard it referred to as that. In a way it isn't a good description for that style. Road riders also have a sort of separation when they are hanging off the side of the bike in a corner. Motorcycles admittedly, but off road riders stay on top and push the bike down too - I always had those two styles at hand for whatever I was riding. Tight twisty wet road - push the bike down. Gravel on the corners - push the bike down.

“Gravel on the corners”. Squeeze the cheeks. ???

 

[Swissrob]

Read a lot of good things about the Assegai. What do you pair up with that on the rear? DHRII?

Maxxis High Roller, good straight ahead and braking grip but nice sideways driftability.

 

[STATO]

Thoughts on front tyre for soft/wet ground in winter, Assagai packs up a little, so Maxxis Shorty or e-bike specific front something?