Alternatives to maxxis tyres

brados20

brados20

Likes Dirt
Long time maxxis user here. I have always been pretty happy with maxxis tyres on my bikes but the last few sets I have owned seem to have ended there lives earlier than usual due to split sidewalls or the latest minion delaminating.
If your not running maxxis on your enduro/trail bikes I'd love to hear what combos from other brands you have strapped to your bikes. My latest setup was a Dhf 2.3 up front and an aggressor 2.3 on the back running tubeless.
 
D

dh.demon

Likes Dirt
Maxxis
My first trail tyre I was happy with was Maxxis Advantage 2.4", 42a compound on the front with a Maxxis Larsen TT or Crossmark 2.35", 60a compound on the rear. I had a similar issue with sidewalls wearing and getting a bit more tyre roll which ended up with a flat occasionally. Also checked air pressure prior to each ride.

Schwalbe
After some good reviews on the Schwalbe tyres I tried out the Hans Dampf 2.35" Trailstar on the front and rear, until they released the Rock Razor 2.35 pace star compound which i put on the rear. (looked like a burlier Maxxis Larsen).
After ripping off a few side knobs on the front Schwalbe Hans Dampf tyre in their middle 'trail star compound' I went to their 'pace star compound' for both front and rear. Never had another issue with the side knobs, but didn't quite feel the soft grip I'd prefer.
Schwalbe Rock Razor had good rolling speed and also had nice grip which was like the best of both worlds, tubeless for me was a no go. Flat galore when it started to wear down, due to the small knobs compared to normal, they do wear quicker. Tried tubes and although it was better, still received some flats on the rougher rocky terrain.

Also the price of a tyre is roughly 1.5x the price of a Maxxis, but I found the DH tyres last longer than Maxxis but trail tyres are about even with Maxxis wear time.

Currently running Onza.
I've got the Onza Ibex FRC RC2 Folding 60TPI in 2.25" (2.35" equivalent to maxxis) on the front and rear on the trail bike and they're the Gumwall sidewalls which look schmick!!!
I've had them for a while now and they feel pretty darn excellent, rolling isn't the same as a Rock Razor or Larsen/Crossmark but they're still quite good for the chunky tread they have. Sidewalls are holding up really well to my abuse and they seem to wear quite well... The rubber compound I think is spot on for me and the trails I ride (mainly loose over hard pack with a few rocky trails), they don't squirm and have a good rebound property in the combo I'm running above. So far so good!

I even got a pair of the DH compound Onza Ibex version and 2.4" width, and have a set of their Citius tyres I'm trying first.
All though that's my experience with some tyres, hopefully that gives you a bit of an idea.
Cheers
 
wesdadude

wesdadude

ウェスド アドゥーデ
Schwalbe tear side knobs so they're probably out. What does that leave; Michelin, Continental and Specialized? I guess there's Kenda but from what I've heard performance isn't great.
 
F

focalpoint2

Cannon Fodder
I've been running Specialized tyres with the "Grid" casing as opposed to the standard "Control" casing and have had a lot of luck.
Butcher on the front and Purgatory rear.
Also good to know that Specialized tyres come with a 3 month unconditional warranty.
 
blacksp20

blacksp20

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Normally run Maxxis Minion DHF front and rear on my dually. Went to Continental Trail King/X King in Blackchili compound on my hardtail and I am seriously impressed. Will be trying Conti Trail Kings on my dually next time.
 
JTmofo

JTmofo

XC Enthusiast
blacksp20 said:
Normally run Maxxis Minion DHF front and rear on my dually. Went to Continental Trail King/X King in Blackchili compound on my hardtail and I am seriously impressed. Will be trying Conti Trail Kings on my dually next time.
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I ran Conti Mountain King II Protection Black Chilli 2.4 for a long while. They were awesome and are often overlooked.
Did find that the sidewalls had exposed a lot of the canvas Protection layer quite quickly, but they continued to hold pressure set up tubeless.
They also blew up HUGE in 2.4 compared to Maxxis.... but that's pretty standard.
 
sufferthesinglespeed

sufferthesinglespeed

Likes Dirt
Specialized tyres are pretty good. I rate them highly
Had Butchers, Purgatorys and Eskars. Butchers in a 2.4 on the front are solid, big and chunky. Never had a drama other than a little slippery on logs in the wet.
Others were for rear tyres and seemed to do the job without any fuss.
Did have sealant seeping through the sidewall on the Purgatory when it got older, was on my HT and not ridden a lot.
 
Flow-Rider

Flow-Rider

Burner
I've had nothing but trouble from a Continental X-King - ProTection- blackchili. The design is really good for fast rolling but it has many flaws.
 
S

stinkytodamax

Likes Dirt
After running a 2.5 DHF for the last six months on my 29er I've taken a leap and fitted the trail/XC 2.4 Bontrager XR4. Three rides in and it has been excellent as an all rounder. Good level of grip, ok sidewall, lacks stiffness of the DHF but that also helps rocks/roots feel smoother. If Strava is anything to go by I'm only slightly slower if not the same pace on longer downhill/flowy sections. I'd happily use it on the flow trail at Thredbo or anything thats not a specific DH track at Majura, Stromlo.

I regret not getting the SE4 'enduro' version of the tire at only 100gish more.

The 300g weight saving has been noticed in general trail riding however for races I'll go back to the DHF and get an aggressor for the rear following the death of my minion ss last week. The stiff casing on the DHF 2.5 has been excellent for all types of abuse as a front tire.
 
blacksp20

blacksp20

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Flow-Rider said:
I've had nothing but trouble from a Continental X-King - ProTection- blackchili. The design is really good for fast rolling but it has many flaws.
Click to expand...
I'm yet to have any issues with the X-King as a rear. Trail King is good up front. Buckets of grip. I'm only running 2.2 width and they're pretty comparable to a DHF 2.35 in width.
 
Nautonier

Nautonier

Eats Squid
+1 for Specialized Grid tyres in Butcher and Slaughter. Also highly rate Schwalbe Magic Mary up front, not sure why people complain about excessive wear, mine lasted a year of solid riding. Magic up front and Butcher on the rear is a good combo if you're riding big and steep terrain. Spesh tyres are super cheap as well; I picked up a new Butcher on Ebay recently for $30.
 
Flow-Rider

Flow-Rider

Burner
slimjim1 said:
Are these the ones where the side knobs completely tear off??
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Yep! It's a 2.2 and I ran it tubeless on 26"x19mm rim and it kept on burping a lot of air at low pressure.The carcass on the tyre seems to be very stiff and pivots at the bottom of the bead.

I ride fairly aggressively most of the time but never had any other tyre look like this on the second ride. It might work for other people but worst tyre I've ever run on the rear of my XC bike.

20160602_154750 (1).jpg
 
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slimjim1

Fat boomers cloggin' ma leaderboard
Gee whiz, I thought my Schwalbe were bad when the knobs start to get undercut and look like the ones on the other side of your X king after a month or so, never seen one completely tear away like that though.
 
Flow-Rider

Flow-Rider

Burner
slimjim1 said:
Gee whiz, I thought my Schwalbe were bad when the knobs start to get undercut and look like the ones on the other side of your X king after a month or so, never seen one completely tear away like that though.
Click to expand...
First for me too. It's partly ripped a few other knobs off on other parts of the tyre also.
 
Haakon

Haakon

has an accommodating arse
Depends on where, what and how you ride... For Canberra trails on an Anthem Adv SX, I'm loving Hutchison Pythons.
 
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