Deadly serious.
The DHF is probably one of the most commonly used front tyres because it is good for that application.
A pair of DHF tyres is a good combo too, albeit a little slow for general trail riding.
Most people pair up a DHF with something a little faster rolling, like a Dissector, Aggressor or Minion SS
Plenty of WC guys use DHR as a pair also
The Titan I borrowed had 2x DHF, grip for days, hard work to pedal. The Dissector sits nicely with fairly similar grip levels on everyday riding, and super nice on fast loose over hard. Ross (Titan) was washing out the front on his DHF on the weekend in typical Stromlo conditions and had to lower pressure.
I ran some numbers just for some fun anecdotal disucssion. Are tyres overrated for improving speed?
A typical normal day out trail riding would take in some flowy downhill sections I've ridden a lot. The Titan is 2.5 DHF's, Bronson is 2.6 Dissector and 2.4 HRII, Goose is 2.1 Panaracer Dart/Smoke reissue.
Breakout Fast and Flowing:
Titan: 1:01 (1 run)
Bronson: 1:02 (100+ runs)
Mongoose: 1:07 (3 runs)
Skyline:
Titan: 2:42 (1 run)
Bronson: 2:43 (~40 runs)
Goose: 2:51 (1 run)
I reckon the tyres made 2-3 seconds per minute (5%) difference from Titan to Goose taking into account the overall difference (maybe 5%, maybe more?) in the bikes for riding down hills. That's 1990's XC tyres made of modern rubber with tubes vs one of the best combos for going fast down hills. They did cost me a lot more than the lightly used HR's
I felt like the Titan had more grip but these segments weren't fast enough that it was the major difference, the bike is just so much more stable it's easier to stay off the brakes when it points down. Obviously more runs would have exploited it more but I reckon there's 2% difference max in that level of tyre.
When it gets real fast like Thredbo though I reckon the gap increases, it was hard to tell following Ross as he's done it at least 8 times and me only 2 but he was quicker on most of it than me by a couple of seconds a minute on the Titan. I'm keen to ride it there next time we go.
I just wouldn't ride the Mongoose at Thredbo at my age, those days are long gone. The only two runs I did on that were at the 1998 (I think) Nationals (pre Cannonball as we know it, recall there was more fire trail and riding across ski fields) and was running borrowed IRC Missile 2.25's, they were great at the time.
I guess it's more about improving your own feeling of confidence more than speed when a lot of modern tyres are quite similar in performance on your every day not racing rides.
They need to bring back the On The Rocks II.
I rode those on the Goose for years and really liked them, similar to HRII, and the bike shop had a bunch that weren't selling so I got them cheap. This has been a pattern in my tyre usage for a very long time, cheap or free works for me
Here's the very short review I wrote on them in 1998 for some lols. Trying to understand why I talked about riding it on the road, was it because most rides I did at the time involved road to get there or link trails in Sydney? Was it when we started riding stairs and stuff in the city? Did I sell my commuter at that time and only have one bike? I wonder if I ran them at 80 psi on the road? Anyway have a laugh at me when I was a bit older than half my age now.
Hutchinson are famous for their downhill specific tyres, they sponsor Australia's downhill series. They make damn good tyres too. The old On The Rocks was a favourite of downhillers for a long time and version II is the new fave. It has a nice hard compound, can take 80 psi and has a really aggressive tread pattern. The side knobs give excellent cornering traction and the paddles in the middle give good climbing and powering grip. The tyre seems to work well in all conditions and is also a tyre that corners well on the road, well for an off road tyre anyway. The tread diminishes a little quicker with road use though, but lasted well until I started road riding with it. Overall a great tyre with excellent ability to push through corners hard. Sorry the photo doesn't show it too well.
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