ultrazenith
Senior Retro Guru
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For general XC style riding, I believe most people use 2.1-2.5 " tires these days, but I'm going to start exploring the benefits of extreme tire sizes - wide or narrow - for general XC riding.
I've got 3 different bikes with similar spec ready (fatbike with 4" tires, hardtail with 2.0" tires, and rigid Ti with 1.8 tires), and I'll be doing some tests on an XC loop over the next few months. In the meantime, I would like to ask people with more experience of using large or narrow MTB tires what I should expect, in general.
Q1: I expect the 1.8 tires to be a bit harsh in the rough stuff, and more likely to lose traction on climbs, but faster on smooth climbs and on road sections.
Q2: fat tires do the opposite: slower on road and on smooth climbs, but fast through rough terrain and fast rolling off road, with the added bonus of saving time on steep / loose sections where ordinary tires would force you to dismount and walk up.
Right? is there anything I have forgotten? Which is better / faster?
I've got 3 different bikes with similar spec ready (fatbike with 4" tires, hardtail with 2.0" tires, and rigid Ti with 1.8 tires), and I'll be doing some tests on an XC loop over the next few months. In the meantime, I would like to ask people with more experience of using large or narrow MTB tires what I should expect, in general.
Q1: I expect the 1.8 tires to be a bit harsh in the rough stuff, and more likely to lose traction on climbs, but faster on smooth climbs and on road sections.
Q2: fat tires do the opposite: slower on road and on smooth climbs, but fast through rough terrain and fast rolling off road, with the added bonus of saving time on steep / loose sections where ordinary tires would force you to dismount and walk up.
Right? is there anything I have forgotten? Which is better / faster?