What tyres are you using?

I use Onza RIP and RAIL Kevlar tyres. Ran them for years, always loved them. Great in the mud, and on hardpack. Just torn through the sidewall of my 13 year old rear tyre, with the brake block on badly aligned canti's :oops:
 
I'm running a Ritchey ZMax WCS 2.1 up front and a Spesh Ground Control 2.1 out back. They tend to grip better than I can ride (i.e. I bottle it before they lose grip). Dunno what they're like in mud and serious off road stuff though. Quite embarrassingly I only use my bike for commuting and doing a few miles on the Brampton Valley Way (ex-railway track).
 
So then, for XC use, on a hardtail with front sus (13 stone 6ft rider) what is the general opinion on tyres:
A pair of 1.8's, same tread but directional
A pair of 1.95's, front/rear specific (similar to Smoke/Dart)
A 2.3 front/2.1 rear, same tread but directional
 
combination of options 2 and 3 - front/rear specific (smoke/dart) but wider at front than back - but that's just my preference.
 
I have Panaracer Smoke & SmokeLite on my old Dynatech, pretty new as I 'retired' soon after buying them so only a little use, but really enjoyed them as tires. Did try the Dart at one point, was so excited as this was a new 2.1 thick tire for the front [big news then i suppose, if i remember rightly of course] but after fitting and running for about quarter of a mile, spotted the sever rubbing on the front forks! :cry: rubbed away the paint, and my hopes of having the Darts as my newest weapon. sad day as the forks on my friends Dynatech Diablo, seemed to cater for the Dart perfectly! damn. (his forks did collapse on his first trip to Craik Forest though ;) Dart & all.)
 
Just fitted these today that i got off ebay Kenda Kinetics 2.35 width, never seen them with the red beading before and think they go quite well aagainst the red brake pipes.

DSC00020.jpg
 
exbiker":22fuor1f said:
Just fitted these today that i got off ebay Kenda Kinetics 2.35 width, never seen them with the red beading before and think they go quite well aagainst the red brake pipes.

Please let me know how you get on with your Kenda's, as the first 3 rides I did with mine I punctured..... :(
 
IRC Notos are absolute bargains, look good, roll fast, good mud clearance & have far more grip than you'd guess by looking at them!
Very impressed with the Maxxis Advantage that I've just put on the 856, was running Specialized Enduros before, but got fed up with the amount of rolling resistance. 2.4 front & 2.3 rear is good in some situations though! :)
Wildgrippers on the P7 - if anyone's got an orange amberwall rear, I want it.

I was always a big fan of Psychos - wouldn't mind giving them another go... Or some smoke/darts... or some Megabites (never tried those!).
 
Back
Top