Alternatives to maxxis tyres

[Paulie_AU]

I am liking Nobby Nic on the front. On the back I have found it to run a little drifty (but hooks up mid corner) and has bad undercutting on the knobs but most of that was from one outing..... that said it they held line beautifully on a nasty off camber section on a rocky/hardpack decent that has lots of undulations and not a lot of room for error if you want to stick the fast line. Have run maxxis ignitors on my hardtail for years so thinking I might try a 2.3 as a rear of the duallie as my next tyre.

My wife runs 2.1 ignitors front and rear, still loves them in 27.5.

 

[Flow-Rider]

I am liking Nobby Nic on the front. On the back I have found it to run a little drifty (but hooks up mid corner) and has bad undercutting on the knobs but most of that was from one outing..... that said it they held line beautifully on a nasty off camber section on a rocky/hardpack decent that has lots of undulations and not a lot of room for error if you want to stick the fast line. Have run maxxis ignitors on my hardtail for years so thinking I might try a 2.3 as a rear of the duallie as my next tyre.

My wife runs 2.1 ignitors front and rear, still loves them in 27.5.

Ignitors are a much under rated tyre. I've run them of the front of the XC bike for years, they work well on just about anything and are predictable for cornering. They last long enough, weight isn't too bad and good value for money.

Not the best tyre on the back as they don't roll fast but they made one model that had ramped middle knobs in a 2.1, the grip was not as good for braking and climbing.

 

[XYGTHO]

Also must say the best I've used are specialized. Still running an old purgatory grip on rear of hardtail after taking of dually. Worn down plenty, heaps of cuts and plenty of fast rocky trails that have killed other tyres. Still holding up! Now seeps sealant slowly but its two years old!

Butcher front in normal casing was great grip. Fairly narrow for a 2.3. A 2.4 Butcher on the front would be unreal. Want to go back to this but have to wear out what I have.

 

[Nautonier]

Bit confused about this Butcher 2.4 a couple of you have mentioned - I thought they only came in 2.3 and 2.6, (which aren't available in Aus until March or something).

2.4 would make sense as 2.3 is a bit skinny for a 160mm bike (although perfect for a 125mm bike). Could be a cheaper alternative to the excellent Maxxis WT DHF, which is a proper 2.5...

 

[XYGTHO]

Bit confused about this Butcher 2.4 a couple of you have mentioned - I thought they only came in 2.3 and 2.6, (which aren't available in Aus until March or something).

2.4 would make sense as 2.3 is a bit skinny for a 160mm bike (although perfect for a 125mm bike). Could be a cheaper alternative to the excellent Maxxis WT DHF, which is a proper 2.5...

Yep, didnt know there was a 2.4. I'd like to see the width of a 2.6 although starting to get heavy. A 2.4 - 2.5 butcher would be great. 2.3 was grippy but more volume would be great.

 

[phreeky82]

Talking in "2.3" and "2.5" all feels a bit meaningless with the ridiculous variation in true widths between brands and even specific tyres.

I have a Magic Mary 2.35 up front at the moment, the grip levels are awesome however it hasn't made the climbs the most enjoyable. I've paired it with both a 2.3 DHF and 2.3 DHR2 out back and difference in width between the Magic Mary and Minions is laughable. I found the Butcher 2.3 (Control) to come up about the same size as the Minions. The soft knobs of the Magic Mary however I think is a bit wasted for me on the dry loose stuff as I feel that it's more about the knobs penetrating the soft stuff.

I now have a Nobby Nic and Rocket Ron on the way to try something a bit different - sacrifice the descents for the climbs for a while. Fingers crossed it doesn't result in a crash!

 

[slimjim1]

I now have a Nobby Nic and Rocket Ron on the way to try something a bit different - sacrifice the descents for the climbs for a while. Fingers crossed it doesn't result in a crash!

I went from using butchers up front (have tried heaps of different rears). Put a 2.35 NN up front and racing ralph up back. Like you I was nervous about the NN in corners but found it actually grips really well. I rode another bike the other day with the old NN up front and god that was a shit tyre, felt like it was folding over just turning on the road.

 

[yuley95]

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.

View attachment 334721

That's quite interesting. I ran and loved an x king on the rear for a long time. Then i took it to my Buller and shredded it as per your photo. Previous to that it lasted really well. Seems like it goes well on hardpack and clay etc but not so good on alpine rock.

 

[Paulie_AU]

I went from using butchers up front (have tried heaps of different rears). Put a 2.35 NN up front and racing ralph up back. Like you I was nervous about the NN in corners but found it actually grips really well. I rode another bike the other day with the old NN up front and god that was a shit tyre, felt like it was folding over just turning on the road.

Have a racing ralph on the back of a loaner anthem currently and it is awesome. Really hooks up well.

 

[slimjim1]

Have a racing ralph on the back of a loaner anthem currently and it is awesome. Really hooks up well.

When it's new it really does grip (and roll nicely), but they wear out quickly and the side knobs start to get undercut and fold. When this happens they become unsupportive and sketchy in corners.

 

[bikeyoulongtime]

Currently happy with Vittoria Morsa g+ 2.35 up front and Goma (TNT) 2.3 out back. Not the fastest slickest lightest tyres but grippy and predictable, easy tubeless setup and so far pretty darn tough.

 

[Flow-Rider]

That's quite interesting. I ran and loved an x king on the rear for a long time. Then i took it to my Buller and shredded it as per your photo. Previous to that it lasted really well. Seems like it goes well on hardpack and clay etc but not so good on alpine rock.

Apart from a small rock garden I wouldn't call the trails I ride on rocky. I normally wipe out side lugs but not completely removed after 2 rides, maybe after 3 months of riding they start looking bad.

 

[mooboyj]

Currently happy with Vittoria Morsa g+ 2.35 up front and Goma (TNT) 2.3 out back. Not the fastest slickest lightest tyres but grippy and predictable, easy tubeless setup and so far pretty darn tough.

You rate the Goma highly? I am looking at a rear tyre with more grip to complement my HRII as I have a 2.25" Ardent that while rolls fast, isn't the grippiest thing around.

 

[bikeyoulongtime]

You rate the Goma highly? I am looking at a rear tyre with more grip to complement my HRII as I have a 2.25" Ardent that while rolls fast, isn't the grippiest thing around.

I rate the Goma - highly? Hmm. Enough that I don't feel like I want a different tyre on the back, which is actually pretty good. It's like a tractor tyre - pic attached, morsa 2.3 on left, goma 2.25 on right. big blocks, round profile on stans flow EX (25mm ish internal width). I liked the morsa/morsa combo a lot, thought I'd try a goma after punching a big hole in the rear morsa with stromlo's sharpest rock (which has also destroyed a couple of maxxis EXO tyres, so it's no fault of the tyre). I came from HR2/ardent race. I'd say the morsa is kind of a 'high minion', and the goma has grip for days compared to the ardent - comparable to a HR2 rear but probably a bit slower based on the wider spacing egtween centre knobs. Just my thoughts.

 

[bikeyoulongtime]

So the day after pimping the Goma, I rode over Canberra's sharpest stick and punched a cm-long 'no sealant is gonna seal this' hole through it. To be fair it's had over 400km of abuse and just survived a super-sized bush epic full of sharp rocks and sticks. And it didn't die a premature death because of weird deformation, or strange bead issues (maxxis) or knobs falling off (some other brands I've seen stories about). :noidea: At least I can make a repair and keep on rolling....