Modern tyre choices (Schwalbe, Maxxis etc)

Trying to have everything ready for my pipedream build since the last change in direction, and tyres are my next conundrum. Back in the day, I had a slight inkling as to what is a good tyre, but now I am out of my depth. I have read around and bought a few sets based on what kind of riding I will be doing in the near future (once I have recovered from knee and hernia ops in the last month), and have ended up with far more tyres than I should have:

[*]A set of wheels I bought came with some Maxxis High Rollers
[*]Racing Ralphs
[*]Rocket Rons
[*]Nobby Nicks

I had initially planned on simply running the Maxxis, but have since widened my options. Back in the day, tyres seemed to be front/rear specific, but it doesn't seem that way these days, so do I run different tyres front and rear to get the best grip at each end, is it the same as it was back then i.e. turn a tyre round for rear grip, or are there front/rear specific versions and I have simply missed that?

If anyone has any advice, experience, tips or a magic formula for tyre choice, that would be great, as I am hoping to get the bike built (ideally with what I have collected so far) so that it is ready for when I am physically able to ride again, as it has been a while since I have ridden a bike properly, and really want to get back in the saddle.

Cheers

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I was running my previous bike with nobby nics up front and rocket rons on the back. I would find this set up great , the rocket rons are superb on the back offering very little drag. Would go for something a little more grippy throughout the winter months on the back though.

Thanks, I'd read/heard that elsewhere so good to have a second vote for that.

What's the difference between say rocket Ron and Ravi g Ralph?

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I've never used the racing Ralph to be honest , this is some info I've found online!!
http://forums.mtbr.com/weight-weenies/s ... 89333.html

It's always tricky with tyres I've found , conflicting information wherever you look. :shock:

I've run Rocket Rons on my singlespeed for three years now, they are fast and low drag, and seem pretty good all-rounders. I don't have thick clayey mud so cannot comment on how suitable they are for sticky gloopy stuff.

I'm looking for something fast rolling as I will be using it on and off road, so saves me switching to road tyres.

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Go with the rockets they fly on road but depending how you ride they won't last ages!!

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I have tried all the following tyres:

Schwalbe Racing Ralphs front and rear - Good, light, fast rolling tyres in dry to medium trails, useless in the mud. (29")

Maxxis Beaver front and rear - Great winter mud tyres only 2.0 wide and wide spaced blocks. (26")

Bontrager MudX front and rear - The best tyre I have found for when the conditions are at their wettest/muddiest. (29")

Maxxis Highroller front and rear - Good allround offroad tyre, but squirmy on tarmac. (26")

Schwalbe Hans Damf front and Nobby Nic rear - The current set up on my 29er loads of grip up front wider than the rear. Nobby Nic grips well and I rarely loose traction on climbs etc. (29") Bit draggy on tarmac though...

Hope this helps

Doug

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I've got a set of Sammy Slicks on one bike, great for the mixture of road, dry dirt and gravel towpath I generally ride on, quite cheap and fairly puncture proof too: http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/samm ... ding-78869

Been Using Nics on my Kona for the past years and still not worn them out (Evo SnakeSkin). Plenty of miles in all conditions.

26/2.25" if that matters.


Anyway, they go on the same way around with schwalbe. Designed like that now.

They are fast enough on the road for me, much faster than retro tyres of days gon, I even did a road ride a year or so back with people on slicks and was happy enough with them.
Dependable grip, shed sticky mud enough.

To be honest out of all my tyres which is a lot, these are the ones I would buy again.

I have the Rons as well, they are a bit faster but don't grip as well, say on cambered runs or sharp twisty turns when it's slightly wet.

But use it with the Nics when it dries up. I even think Schwalbe have on there site (or a pdf download) the sort of configuration you can use.
i/e ron back, nic front when mildly moist That is if you don't mind switching tyres with conditions, which is easy as they take little effort to get off (especially compared to Splashback where you need a hundred leavers about 10 meters long to get of.
Which is something to think about when it's winter and muddy.

I just stick to a set of Nics now on that bike.

The older bikes get different tyres mainly as I cannot fit the 2.25 in them and 2.1 cost more.


Try them for a month and see if they suit you and your riding style.
If it's typically family paths you ride on then fit the Rons