i need educalting on tyres please

lewis1641

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right, i am not stupid but there is a pretty big gap in my bike knowledge (basically after 1996/7!)

BITD tyres were chunky and knobbly. i ran the same tyres all year round. when they wore out i replaced them with whatever a, the mags said were cool and b, what i could afford.

Recently I rode my mate's bike which had some Schwable land cruiser tyres fitted. These are very ugly tyrtes but have a raised central ridge which reduces rolling resistance. It makes sense to me that this would make road riding easier but i had no idea the effect it had off road. I was staggered how much better they rolled.

I understand mud tyres, i understand the current trend for small nobbled tyres (just bought a set of michelin savanna's circa 1995 ;) ) but what i am now struggling with is the need for agressive treaded tyres. Is it just a marketing thing? they are mountain bike tyres so they should look burley or do they still serve a purpose?

educate me people
 
It can seem daunting at first, but when you break it down it becomes quite simple.
Your starting point is the type of riding you do. What is the ratio of hardpack terrain to looser surfaces? What are your local soil conditions? Is it clay, sandy, loamy etc? How well does it drain? What works in the hills around the Singletrack offices certainly doesn't work in the hills of Northumberland! So forget reccomendations from others for starters.

Big knobs or little knobs. Does size matter?

Generally speaking, bigger knobs with wider spacing work better in cloying mud (clart as we call it), t the expense of being draggy on firmer surfaces. Smaller knobs work well wet or dry when surfaces are more sandy and free draining.
Then we need to look at compounds. Oldschool tyres were generally crap in this respect. One compound does all with a bias towards something that lasted. Thats all well and good, but if you do lots of woodland riding with exposed roots and rocks everywhere you need a softer compound to give you extra bite. There are many tyres now that use dual compounds- a harder compound in the centre which rolls well with a softer compound on the side knobs to give cornering bite.

Although i said taking advice from others is useless, here is a rundown of what i use. Most of my riding is in the local hills of Northumberland and North Yorkshire. They tend to be sandy/ loamy, fast in summer, shocking in winter.

Winter- Kenda Nevegal 2.3 DTC in really bad weather. When drier i switch to a Blue Groove 2.35 soft front and an Excavator 2.3 DTC rear with between 28-35psi.
Spring- Kenda Blue Groove front and rear.
Summer (remember those?)- Maxxis Ignitor Pro 2.3 62a compound front and Maxxis Larssen 2.3 rear. Both with 35 psi.

These tyres work really well in these conditions up here, but like I said, are probably crap to someone on the chalk downs of Wiltshire.

Finally, how hard do you ride. How clumsy are you? Continentals and Schwalbe might be light and fast rolling but if its rocky round your way the sidewalls just dont cut the mustard.

Hope that answers a few questions and gets you to a decent starting point in your search for your ideal tyre combo.

SJ
 
Agree with what Si says. I tend to use a either Kenda Nevegals or a Nevegal/Blue Groove combo all year because I don't ride enough to swap them. They cover all bases as an all rounder.
 
suburbanreuben":13v85bsi said:
Conti Speed Kings are great at suvvern rooty, sandy , woodsy stuff...

So ive heard
Could you tell us more ( ihave a set of these, yet to try)

And great info dr.s. Made me think about my tyre choice in the future
 
Nevegals really do seem to do the job in the majority of conditions/scenarios (and are a revelation in the snow at 2.35) but are a bit heavy - however a lot of reviews are saying now that the dual tread tech is becoming so good on modern tyres that riders are keeping on what they would normally use only in summer, all year round. I almost see how that can happen, after running some dtc small block 8's which perform faultless in all conditions but the gloopiest of goo. Perfect for summer and surprisingly capable when the weather turns bad.
 
the conditions in my very local area are predominantly sandy but this usually packs down hard in the summer. plenty of woodlans with exposed roots. also lots of farm track out on the lincolnshire and yorkshire wolds which turns into the thickest, gloopiest mud i have experienced at the slightest whiff of moisture!
 
cyfa2809":1l95sj94 said:
suburbanreuben":1l95sj94 said:
Conti Speed Kings are great at suvvern rooty, sandy , woodsy stuff...

So ive heard
Could you tell us more ( ihave a set of these, yet to try)

And great info dr.s. Made me think about my tyre choice in the future
My usual terrain is Surrey heathland; (sometimes)deep sand in the summer ,, firming up in winter to an easily rideable hardness, with peaty mulch thrown in for good measure.. They cope with it all. Real mud, claggy clay, is just about non existent, so I can't comment on that,, but damp slippery roots are a doddle. The only rocks around here are grippy sandstone, but they cope with the odd flint patches OK. I wouldn't want to ride flints much on them since they're very thin walled , but mostly, they're brilliant! Fast rolling, even in 2.3",, and surprisingly hard wearing. I've had them on a bike for nearly three years, year round, and they're about 25% worn,, though I do VERY little road riding (don't need to! :p ).
Up until this week I've never had a puncture, though this week I've had three.... :cry:
 
:shock: Seems pretty good, people always say they good tyres. But they are bit more err spindly to what im used to
 
am a recent kenda nevegal convert. roll well, corner well, not too heavy (2.35 folders) and seem to inspire a bit more confidence.

cyfa: the speed kings were excellent in most conditions except for wet, fast, off camber, gravely corners, but hey not much can cope with those :LOL:
 
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