All Mountain Tyres

tasty.dirt74

Likes Bikes and Dirt
So, as this is now the official " All Mountain Thread" we should start putting info up which is relevant.

Tyres.

They are black and round. Sure. Hold air. Check.

But what else ? Tread pattern ? Compound ? Sidewall strength ?

As All Mountain isnt really about XC, or DH, but a melting pot of a little bit of each,shouldnt the tyre be a combo of each discipline ? Tyres have developed greatly over the last few years, with intermediate sizes like 2.35 becoming common for the majority of riders. Sure, size varies between manufacturers, but I would hesitate to say that most riders would run a 2.3 on the front, and a 2.0-2.2 on the rear.

Hell, even my "XC" bike has a 2.2 Ardent on the front!

So, in lieu of a XC tyres thread, let have a AM thread for tyres that are bigger and stiffer than a XC lightweight, but not quite a 2.7 minion !

Heres a few I use.
2.4 Maxxis Advantage. Aggressive tyre for the front.Have fitted tubeless, and tubed
2.35 Maxxis Larsen TT. Great tyre for the rear. Not too good in mud though ! Prefer these over the SB8 if there is anything but hardpack.Have fitted tubeless and tubed
2.35 Kenda Small Block 8. Hey, dont laugh, these are great tyres for when its dry. Couldnt get to seal tubeless,but they were not new when I tried....tubed
2.35 Hutchison Barracuda. Enormous tyre for the size. Tubeless tyre, easy..
2.35 Spec Eskar. A lot smaller than the Barracuda, alot lighter, and thinner in sidewall, but grips well, and can be used tubeless with the 2bliss carcass.Tubeless and tubed.

Havnt been fortunate enough to try Scwalbe or Continentals best, yet..

Your thought,experience ?
 

Sethius

Crashed out somewhere
2.3" halo rail: fast, great in the midpack stuff, predictable cornering.

2.3" Gazza AM: light, great all rounder for bendigo, failed in sandy conditions, wouldn't corner but took a pretty good DH beating, better than the azonic 2.5" vigilante tyre.

2.3" Nuerons: have been a stable tyre, have suffered a few flats with them though, more than usual even though their a thicker tyre than normal? maybe less give.

Good thread though!

ah yes WTB weirwolfs: BEST tyre for in pine/NS, that tyre gripped and saved me numerous times on NS where other tyres would of failed.
 
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retroenduro

Likes Dirt
Hey cool a AM section finally:)! Ok my tyres are.....

2.5 WTB wierwolfs for when i do a bit of DH. they are crap for the you yangs though
2.35 Maxxis larsens (super tacky) for summer AM days as long as its not to muddy
2.1 Maxxis advantages (on a XC wheelset) when i need some lighter stuff for all day epics - got these cheap from Torp 7 and they have been surprisingly good

My brother swears by High Rollers. He has done the Mega a few times now and wont run anything else.
 
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J@se

Breezeway Bandit
I use 2.25 Intense System 4 EX-DC tyres at the moment and they're good. Plenty of grip on hardpack and nice and predictable in sandy conditions. They roll really well too.
 

digitalhippie

Likes Dirt
This thread could be a great resource, as coming up with a good AM tire combo can fry your brain :)

Fwiw, my current tires:

Front: Maxxis High Roller 2.5
Rear: Maxxis Crossmark 2.25

Run pressures 25-30psi, not too anal about it but not higher than 30.

I've really enjoyed this combo over Summer, turns out to be well suited to the rocky, hard, generally dry terrain around Castlemaine/Central Vic.

The combo feels surprisingly light when climbing, and is definitely great fun descending.

At some stage I intend on trying out a lighter, narrower combo of tires - more to have something to compare this combo too, but yeah all up have enjoyed this combo.
 

jonozrx

Likes Dirt
I've got Kenda Nevegal 2.35s. They've been great with the recent wet conditions, but probably won't be so suited to dry, hardpacked Stromlo.
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
2.35 Larsens front and rear. 60a front and 40a rear. Most people think I have that back to front. Rears just about need replacement, fronts like new. Grip is fine at 30psi, front doesn't wash out and the rear grips. Only go higher pressures if I am riding bike paths etc. Not much mud riding but the Larsens are useless in the mud. They fill up very quickly and don't spin the mud out. Smoother than DH tyres and nicer on hard pack surfaces. Probably go for the same again.
 
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PUL54R

Likes Bikes
The current tire combo I run most of the time is 2.35 Kenda Nevegal F/R DTC at 35PSI-40PSI
Other combos I have tired:
2.25 Advantage Front 60A and 2.1 Larsen TT for the rear 70A for faster rides
2.35 Highroller (Slow Reezy) and 2.35 Larsen TT (Slow Reezy)

The Nevegal are a great if your after grip in most conditions, dont bother if you want a tire for Hardpack they don't roll the best. I have a 2.1 Nevegal tire which at some point I'll put on the rear.
 

yakuza857

Likes Bikes and Dirt
single ply maxxis minion F 2.35 -front
single ply maxxis larrsen tt 2.0 rear
all day everyday!
 

maxwolfie

under-the-radar comedian
Ardent LUST (2.2 I think???) front & rear, seem to work well enough in terms of grip and rolling ability.
 

tasty.dirt74

Likes Bikes and Dirt
C'mon Bill, you must have been waiting for this.

Kenda Nevegals.

The end.

I was waiting ! :rolleyes:

So we can close the topic now ????

LOL.. oh, yeah, I notice I finally didnt get bagged out in a article that you have written(RRR).. Whats happening, you getting slack? :D


Ivan, That MK is comparatively light for a big bagged tyre. How does it handle the conditions up here ?
 
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crank1979

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Continental UST Rubber Queens/Trail Kings are the best I've used so far. 2.4" front with the 2.2" rear. Grip is excellent. Weight is satisfactory. They don't pedal too bad. They replaced the old version of 2.25" UST Nobby Nics that were a bit faster and lighter but the sidewalls were crap and wore out well before the tread did.

I'd like to see the new 2.4" Mountain Kings and compare them to the 2.4" RQ. I had the old 2.2" version and they were tiny.

I also like the Maxxis Ardent 2.25" as a front tyre but found it slipped a bit too much for me on the rear. Surprisingly I find the SB8 to work just as well on the rear as the Ardent did but rolls faster on smoother stuff.
 

stacky

Likes Bikes
I'm happy with the Schwalbe tyres.
The snake skins have a much tougher sidewall than the UST versions and seal up with stans no worries, they are out in the tubeless ready version now so should set up even easier!
The Nobby Nic 2.4 which I weighed at 675g is on my front wheel and a 2.25 at 595g is on the rear.
 

mimps

Likes Dirt
2.4

Thinking of going Nobby Nic's 2.4 front and back, Any thoughts on this?

Was thinking Big betty's but might be a little too much.
 
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Dozer

Heavy machinery.
Staff member
I'm running two inch tubeless Maxxis Larssen's on a Giant Reign. The original tyres were Kenda Nevegals and while they felt quite good, the tubless Larssen's shit all over them.
I run 30psi and may be upping that 5psi shortly as I'm starting to feel the sidewall really flexing. It almost feels as though the tyre is coming off! The tubeless tyres have only burped and lost pressure once and that was with under 25psi.
When climbing with these tyres I feel totally in control except for slick skatey red clay but no tyre will grip up on that stuff. All in all, I doubt I'd feel any better on any other tyre doing what I do on this bike. Tubeless all the way!;)
 

No Skid Marks

Blue Mountain Bikes Brooklyn/Lahar/Kowa/PO1NT Raci
2.35 high rollers or Minions single plys.
I'm going to try dual plys, but would rather just on the back, but because I rotate my tyres from front to back, I'll have to dual ply the front first.
Might try a Larsen. Keen to know about the Schwalable(however it's spelt).
Don't rate a used Nevegal, slippery as an eel.
 

evObda2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I'm happy with the Schwalbe tyres.
The snake skins have a much tougher sidewall than the UST versions and seal up with stans no worries, they are out in the tubeless ready version now so should set up even easier!
The Nobby Nic 2.4 which I weighed at 675g is on my front wheel and a 2.25 at 595g is on the rear.
Another vote for the Schwalbe with Snakeskin.
Im using the Fat Albert F 2.25 on the front and a Racing Ralph 2.25 on the rear.
Running them both tubeless with Stans goo on Stans Arch rim was a cinch too..

I was even using the super light Evo models tubeless for a while too amazingly (if you see how thin they ar you'll know what i mean)..
 

santacruznomad

Likes Bikes
tyres

I run High Roller front and Larsen tt rear, both 2.35 and 60a. I like this combo, but in general I think skinny dh tyre front with a wide xc tyre on the back is a good combo for grip and speed.
 
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