Retro winter tyres?

knobbly tyres? or proper winter studded snow/ice tyres?

Panaracer Smoke/Dart worked for me all year round, retro-tastic re-issues can be found.
 
General knobblies really, I'm been running a set of panaracer XC fires and a kona sniff/onza dan on a couple of bikes and have found both slip and slide easily now the weather has turned and some of the trails are more like mudslides.

Would I be better going with a 1.8 smoke light on the rear? I seem to remember running a fat front / narrow rear BITD ( mainly cos the Raleigh I had couldn't fit a 2.1 rear tyre)
 
matt24777":3d6on34v said:
General knobblies really, I'm been running a set of panaracer XC fires and a kona sniff/onza dan on a couple of bikes and have found both slip and slide easily now the weather has turned and some of the trails are more like mudslides.

Would I be better going with a 1.8 smoke light on the rear? I seem to remember running a fat front / narrow rear BITD ( mainly cos the Raleigh I had couldn't fit a 2.1 rear tyre)

The whole thin rear really does depend on what you are riding in...if it is surface mud with hardpack underneath then yes thinner rear will help you cut through the slosh and into the stuff that your tyre will grip...If you are looking at total swishy marsh like boggy mud (what I get!) then a larger tyre will help you keep ontop of the myre! Bigger surface area less likely to sink too deep. I run a retro 2.1 Panaracer smoke on the rear, a good tyre if not a little slow, and a smoke dart on the front. Although to be honest a smoke on the front is good too... But I guess its the old thing of speed vs grip!

You decide

Doug
 
Say I lack the whole retro ethos if you like but why do you need 'retro' winter tyres. Surely tyres of any age including modern that work in winter conditions are what your after. Retro correct kit looks good on a bike prepped for a photo shoot but in our usually horrid winters stuff that does the job is surely more important :?
 
I was out yesterday in mudy mess and despite reputations a 1.9 wildgripper on the rear gripped well and cleared much faster than the 2.3 conti vertical on the front.

And it was cheap as chips!
 
velomaniac":2ysy1bui said:
Say I lack the whole retro ethos if you like but why do you need 'retro' winter tyres. Surely tyres of any age including modern that work in winter conditions are what your after. Retro correct kit looks good on a bike prepped for a photo shoot but in our usually horrid winters stuff that does the job is surely more important :?

Totally agree with this, retro tyres may look good but if you want to enjoy riding your bike they are crap compared with modern offerings, I've just bought a pair of Maxxis Beavers from CRC for around £13.00 each and they are superb!
 
chrisv40":91fholxv said:
velomaniac":91fholxv said:
Say I lack the whole retro ethos if you like but why do you need 'retro' winter tyres. Surely tyres of any age including modern that work in winter conditions are what your after. Retro correct kit looks good on a bike prepped for a photo shoot but in our usually horrid winters stuff that does the job is surely more important :?

Totally agree with this, retro tyres may look good but if you want to enjoy riding your bike they are crap compared with modern offerings, I've just bought a pair of Maxxis Beavers from CRC for around £13.00 each and they are superb!

I don't doubt that modern tyres are better than older ones, but then follows the argument that modern bikes are better than older ones..... which is not what I'm aiming for (or the point of this forum).

I like the tyres I used to ride on 15-20 years ago and I actually do ride them not just use them for photo shoots.

Was wondering about velociraptors or smoke/dart
 
wookiee":1g9rbudw said:
matt24777":1g9rbudw said:
General knobblies really, I'm been running a set of panaracer XC fires and a kona sniff/onza dan on a couple of bikes and have found both slip and slide easily now the weather has turned and some of the trails are more like mudslides.

Would I be better going with a 1.8 smoke light on the rear? I seem to remember running a fat front / narrow rear BITD ( mainly cos the Raleigh I had couldn't fit a 2.1 rear tyre)

The whole thin rear really does depend on what you are riding in...if it is surface mud with hardpack underneath then yes thinner rear will help you cut through the slosh and into the stuff that your tyre will grip...If you are looking at total swishy marsh like boggy mud (what I get!) then a larger tyre will help you keep ontop of the myre! Bigger surface area less likely to sink too deep. I run a retro 2.1 Panaracer smoke on the rear, a good tyre if not a little slow, and a smoke dart on the front. Although to be honest a smoke on the front is good too... But I guess its the old thing of speed vs grip!

You decide

Doug

It is mostly surface with hard rocky stuff under, so maybe that was why the narrow rear worked so well all those years ago :roll: ;) :LOL:
 
As already mentioned as being on the cusp of retro, I can highly recommend Panaracer Fire XC Pro tyres. I have a pair of the early skin wall types before they all went to black wall or the coloured edge types.

The tread pattern is a great all rounder and also available in a mud friendly 1.8 size. I run the 2.1 size on two of my modern bikes at the moment.

I'm also a fan of Ritchey Z-Max.
 
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