XC Tyres

[Ryderman]

Tyre: Kenda Nevegal Stick-E 1.95
Strength: Grip, not so weigthy, not too much rolling resistence.
Weakness: Maybe weigth...
Weight:530 grams
Bottom line: For me is the all in one wheel.

Tyre: Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 tubeless.
Strength: Low rolling ressitance.
Weakness: Low grip.
Weight: I can't remember
Bottom line: Good wheel for just rolling but doesn work finely in abrupt terrain, drift frquently in mud or in cornering singletracks.

Tyre: Kenda Blue Groove 2.0 Tubeless
Strength: Great Grip
Weakness: I think that Weigth
Weight: I can't remember but i think was over 600 grams.
Bottom line: Great grip my favourite for the front weel in my Titus Motolite.

Tyre: Intense System 2 2.0
Strength: Low Rolling resistance, not so bad grip.
Weakness: Weigth.
Weight: Was around 580g I think.
Bottom line:Betther than the crossmark and designed for the same use.

I'm thinking about to build a Blue groove 2.0 (not tubeless) in the FRM (a 8.5kgs hardtail) to change the nevegal I wear now I'll save near or 100 grams and if it works as good as works the 2.1 Tubeless in the Titus Motolite I think it will be an orgasmic way to save 100 grams.

 

[rhysdabeast]

I use a Maxxis Monorail on the back and Larsen TT on the front. There awesome, nothing beats them.

Maxxis Larsen TT 26x2.0
Strength: hardpack, loose-over-hardpack, or medium soil conditions.
Weakness: Due to soft compound, punctures easily also its like a semi-slick in wet conditions...riding these in mud is suicidal.
Weight: 580g
Bottom Line: The ramped knob technology on the edge of this tire is coupled with close knob spacing to permit the small square knobs to roll fast. The trailing edges give good climbing and braking power.

Maxxis Monorail 26X2.10
Strength: Fast rolling, good grip on anything but mud.
Weakness: Not good in mud or over wet roots.
wears fairly quickly.
Weight: 535g
Bottom Line: If you’re looking for a fast, light tire with a consistent, predictable feel from straight-line to corner, the Monorail delivers.

 

[Davo94]

anyone tried the schewalbe big jims?

 

[tskelding]

I use a Maxxis Monorail on the back and Larsen TT on the front. There awesome, nothing beats them.

I run the opposite way around. The TT reversed (label to non-drive side) gives great climbing ability but wears fast on road.

 

[Slowman]

Just after a bit of advice about tyre choice. I'm after a non UST tyre that will work with stans sealent, I've tried my crossmarks, and no success. I want a non UST because I want to keep the weight down and I don't want to buy another set which don't inflate. Any suggestions would be great!

I find any of the folding tyres are hard to get mounted tubeless with Stan's at first because they came folded in the packaging. In that case I have some spare old wheels that I mount them on with a tube and inflate them to something like 70psi and leave them for week or so to shape them better. After that I find the bead seals against the rim much more easily.

I am running the following combinations
1. Epic, I use this for enduros/marathons/24hrs
front: Maxxis Ignitor 2.1 exception (~520g) with Stans 37psi;
back: Maxxis Larsen TT 2.0 kevlar bead (~560g) with Stans 40psi
pros: fast rolling and reasonable cornering grip, good climbing grip, light
cons: a little skittish on sand and loose stuff but predictable

2. Stumpjumper FSR, this is my general trail bike
front: Schwalbe Npbby Nic 2.1 Evolution (530g) with Stans 37psi;
back: Maxxis Crossmark wirebead 2.1 (~600g) with Stans 40psi
pros: I used to have a Maxxis Larsen Mimo on the front and it rolled fast and gripped well in hard pack but the cornering in loose stuff was pretty bad it tended to wash out, never lost it but had a few hair raisers. LBS recommended a Maxxis Monorail and I would have taken it but he olny had the LUST version and then he put me onto the Schwalbe Nobby Nic which was cheaper, lighter and known to seal up well with Stan's. The front steers like it is on rails now and is very predictable in the loose stuff, and as a bonus it rolls very well too, better than the Mimo.
cons: with the Nobby Nic/Crossmark combination I can't think of any. I've only been riding this combo for a couple of weeks but everywhere I ride the bike just goes better - I ride RNP, Menai and a few other trails locally which are typically hard pack, with sandstone and sand. Occasionally muddy when wet but only in a few well known loamy spots which I avoid anyway.

 

[paggnr]

I am running the following combinations
1. Epic, I use this for enduros/marathons/24hrs
front: Maxxis Ignitor 2.1 exception (~520g) with Stans 37psi;
back: Maxxis Larsen TT 2.0 kevlar bead (~560g) with Stans 40psi
pros: fast rolling and reasonable cornering grip, good climbing grip, light
cons: a little skittish on sand and loose stuff but predictable

You will find the Ignitor a lot less skittish if you get the psi down around 28-30psi with your tubless setup

 

[bingobong]

You will find the Ignitor a lot less skittish if you get the psi down around 28-30psi with your tubless setup

+1.

37psi front/40psi rear sounds quite high for a Stans set-up in fact I think the guys at Stans don't recommend running anything more than 35psi. I weigh about 90kg fully kitted and usually run 26psi front/30 psi rear on Stans Olympic rims no problems with lightweight tyres (i.e. Nobby Nics, Racing Ralphs, Conti supersonic range). I've gone as low as 22psi front/26psi rear as well with no problems but like to put in a little more to have some room for error in case I forget to pump up the tyres before a ride or lose some air due to a puncture on the trail.

 

[Slowman]

+1.

37psi front/40psi rear sounds quite high for a Stans set-up in fact I think the guys at Stans don't recommend running anything more than 35psi. I weigh about 90kg fully kitted and usually run 26psi front/30 psi rear on Stans Olympic rims no problems with lightweight tyres (i.e. Nobby Nics, Racing Ralphs, Conti supersonic range). I've gone as low as 22psi front/26psi rear as well with no problems but like to put in a little more to have some room for error in case I forget to pump up the tyres before a ride or lose some air due to a puncture on the trail.

You should see what I used before! OK thanks for the tip I'll try 30/35psi but if my slowness is slower...I'll become snailman

I probably got the pressure I used from the installation instructions from Step 4 of Notubes website:

Procedure (Optional Applicators - see photo 7 or 8) If you have our 2oz bottle or Injector, carefully remove your valve core with a pair of pliers, fill the bottle/injector with sealant and inject the sealant through the valve stem. Re-install the valve core and tighten with pliers. Note: If you have the Injector, review instructions before use! Procedure (Inflation) Hang the tire with valve stem at the top or side (see photo 3 ), inflate the tire to 35-40 psi (never inflate over 40 psi). Rotate the tire so the sealant can seal the entire inside of the tire. Re-apply the soap & water solution to the side walls. The soap & water solution will bubble where the leaks are. Simply rotate the tire and seal these areas. Do the largest leaks first and then work your way to the smaller ones. Proceed to step 5 to properly seal your tires; tire will leak if not sealed properly!

 

[k3n!f]

I probably got the pressure I used from the installation instructions from Step 4 of Notubes website:

That's part of the installation instructions to get the tyres to seat properly on the rims. I have seen Stan's staff recommending people run pressures as low as 22psi, but that was a bit low for me. I kept tagging rims on rocks and eventually killed a rim from too low pressure.

You will find you will get much better grip with lower pressures, and believe it or not, lower pressures give you less rolling resistance off road than higher pressures. This is because the tyre conforms to the shape of the trail instead of bouncing off rocks, which helps to smooth out the ride and keep you moving forwards.

I run 28psi in the front and 34psi in the rear. The increase in grip on the front from the 35psi I used to run with tubes to 28psi with tubeless was phenomenal.

 

[Ryderman]

2. Stumpjumper FSR, this is my general trail bike[...]
back: Maxxis Crossmark wirebead 2.1 (~600g) with Stans 40psi

I Know that you Just used this combination for a couple of times but, don't you feel not too much lateral grip?
I usually do my trainning sessions
with the Trail Bike and a LUST Crossmark and the rear drifts (I think that's the correct word sorry but I'm not a native english speaker) so much in closed corners.

The terrain where I usually do those Trainning sessions is compact and with a thin layer of sand that makes a little bit slippery, if it rains a little layer of mud makes more slippery yet the ground.

As soon as the CrossMark will be wasted I'd like to try a Semi-Slick tyre.

 

[Slowman]

I Know that you Just used this combination for a couple of times but, don't you feel not too much lateral grip?
I usually do my trainning sessions
with the Trail Bike and a LUST Crossmark and the rear drifts (I think that's the correct word sorry but I'm not a native english speaker) so much in closed corners.

The terrain where I usually do those Trainning sessions is compact and with a thin layer of sand that makes a little bit slippery, if it rains a little layer of mud makes more slippery yet the ground.

As soon as the CrossMark will be wasted I'd like to try a Semi-Slick tyre.

Well I've actually had the Crossmark as a rear tyre for about 6 or 7 months and I've had no issues with grip, laterally or otherwise. By lateral I presume you mean sideways as in cornering. It climbs, brakes and corners well with predictable grip, it won't hang on forever and will slide around in the loose stuff but in a way that is predictable so you can maintain control.

We don't get much mud around my area it is mostly sandy soil but on the odd occasion I've gone through mud it seemed as good as anything else but that is just going through a patch of mud and coming out the other side onto hardpack or damp sand. I've ridden in Texas where it is famous for the worst kind of goopy mud which makes the trails unrideable compared to say California where the mud is actually a lot of fun - I had a set of Specialized S-works Rollx and they were superb in the mud. In fact I still have them on my hardtail which I ride in wet atrocious conditions.

Specialized S-works RollX 2.0 40psi with a tube
pros: good all round tyre a bit like the Panasonic Fire XC but I'd say they roll better though not quite as good in sand but good in mud
cons: they seem to wear down quickly, especially the centre knobs but they still perform reasonably well until the knob is about 75% worn.
I don't think Specialized make these anymore as they've been replaced by the Fast Trak, the SauserWind tread pattern also looks similar. I bought my first Stumpy in the US and they came on the bike and while I was there I bought replacement tyres but they seemed harder to find here. There is a Specialized dealer in Cronulla but I've never thought of going there to buy tyres so never really looked to see what he stocks. However why bother when Maxxis are cheaper, more readily available and on the whole wear better?

 

[Ryderman]

Well I've actually had the Crossmark as a rear tyre for about 6 or 7 months and I've had no issues with grip, laterally or otherwise. By lateral I presume you mean sideways as in cornering. It climbs, brakes and corners well with predictable grip, it won't hang on forever and will slide around in the loose stuff but in a way that is predictable so you can maintain control.

We don't get much mud around my area it is mostly sandy soil but on the odd occasion I've gone through mud it seemed as good as anything else but that is just going through a patch of mud and coming out the other side onto hardpack or damp sand. I've ridden in Texas where it is famous for the worst kind of goopy mud which makes the trails unrideable compared to say California where the mud it actually a lot of fun - I had a set of Specialized S-works Rollx and they were superb in the mud. In fact I still have them on my hardtail which I ride in wet atrocious conditions.

Specialized S-works RollX 2.0 40psi with a tube
pros: good all round tyre a bit like the Panasonic Fire XC but I'd say they roll better though not quite as good in sand but good in mud
cons: they seem to wear down quickly, especially the centre knobs but they still perform reasonably well until the knob is about 75% worn.
I don't think Specialized make these anymore as they've been replaced by the Fast Trak, the SauserWind tread pattern also looks similar. I bought my first Stumpy in the US and they came on the bike and while I was there I bought replacement tyres but they seemed harder to find here. There is a Specialized dealer in Cronulla but I've never thought of going there to buy tyres so never really looked to see what he stocks. However why bother when Maxxis are cheaper, more readily available and on the whole wear better?

Yeah that's what I mean.

I think that ground in My area is similar to Utah, with so many granite rocks.

 

[Alysum]

G'day
Good read this thread, I'm thinking of getting the popular combo Ignitor 2.1 front and Larsen TT 2.0 rear for my XC bike, both LUST.
However I wanted to check what is the norm for the widths at the front/rear; 2.0 and 2.1, should the wider one be on the rear for traction or at the front for control and grip?
It's for NSW/Sydney trails by the way.
Thanks

 

[drasnian]

Asylum,

people who use tyres with different width usually put the wider one on the front to aid handling. The rear tyre threatens more rolling resistance than the front (since there is more weight over the back wheel) and so the idea seems to be that a lighter (narrower) rear tyre will help to offset this.

Many are now saying however that wide tyres present less rolling resistance, since there is less deflection at the contact patch for any given rider weight and inflation pressure than there is with narrow tyres. This seems believable to me. To complicate things further, sometimes greater deflection is desirable (to a point), since the bumps get smoothed out somewhat, hence drive to the rear wheel can be used rather than lost through lack of traction or bouncing around all over the place.) Only problem is that with increased width comes weight gain. Tread pattern is big factor too.

Ideal tyre width obviously depends also on rider weight.

Widths of about 2" to 2.2" seem to be popular for XC riding.

 

[toby]

I've gone over to a 2.25 Racing Ralph and I just love them! Best tire for me ever..

 

[axertes]

This was from a Paul Rowney article in AMB. Based on a 77kg rider. Add one PSI for every 5kg over that mark and the same applies in reverse

Tubed Normal conditions Front 36 PSI 38PSI Rear
Tube Rocky Conditions Front 38 ,40
Tubeless 31,33
Tubless 32,34

Going by this I go 44,46 Im heavy and hate flats or riding with low psi. Havent had any problems since i have used this chart not one flat on my or my wife's bike

Old post I'm quoting, I know, but does anyone else think this is a bit high?

I'm a relative newb and still experimenting, but I weigh around the 77kg mark and I run about 30ishPSI front and 35ishPSI rear and haven't had a flat in a couple of rides in rocky conditions with these pressures. The sidewall says 'competition pressure' is 29PSI, so I figured I'd add a bit on considering I'm not 'competition weight' (nor am I competing )

I don't have the most anti-flat tyre setup either:
- Mavic 117 rims
- Hutchi Piranha 2.00 (stock '08 XTC2, if you hadn't gathered that yet)
- Maxxis Ultralite tubes

Get shitloads of flats commuting with them both at 68PSI (i.e. 'max pressure' on the sidewall) though.

 

[bingobong]

Old post I'm quoting, I know, but does anyone else think this is a bit high?

I'm a relative newb and still experimenting, but I weigh around the 77kg mark and I run about 30ishPSI front and 35ishPSI rear and haven't had a flat in a couple of rides in rocky conditions with these pressures. The sidewall says 'competition pressure' is 29PSI, so I figured I'd add a bit on considering I'm not 'competition weight' (nor am I competing )

I don't have the most anti-flat tyre setup either:
- Mavic 117 rims
- Hutchi Piranha 2.00 (stock '08 XTC2, if you hadn't gathered that yet)
- Maxxis Ultralite tubes

Get shitloads of flats commuting with them both at 68PSI (i.e. 'max pressure' on the sidewall) though.

Sounds ok to me you could probably go one or two psi lower at your weight I wouldn't recommend much lower if you want to stay away from pinch flats. I ride pretty rocky and rooty stuff most of the time and when I ran tubes (have gone tubeless now) I was usually at 32psi front/36psi rear on 2.0 and 2.1 tyres using the same maxxis ulltralite tubes. I weighed about 90kg fully kitted at the time rarely got any flats (maybe one or two per year).

 

[Slowman]

You will find the Ignitor a lot less skittish if you get the psi down around 28-30psi with your tubless setup

+1.

37psi front/40psi rear sounds quite high for a Stans set-up in fact I think the guys at Stans don't recommend running anything more than 35psi. I weigh about 90kg fully kitted and usually run 26psi front/30 psi rear on Stans Olympic rims no problems with lightweight tyres (i.e. Nobby Nics, Racing Ralphs, Conti supersonic range). I've gone as low as 22psi front/26psi rear as well with no problems but like to put in a little more to have some room for error in case I forget to pump up the tyres before a ride or lose some air due to a puncture on the trail.

Hey guys thanks, I ran 30/35psi in my Ignitor/Larsen TT front/back set up in the 50km for MTB101 at Nowra on Sunday and they really hooked up well. As you see over on the thread there was lots of sand and the grip was superb and they rolled very well - I have seen the light!

 

[Duckboy]

A little off topic ... but i'm a new tubeless convert.
Think i have the pressures all sorted etc etc....

But for spares - do you guys still carry a tube and a pump? or just extra sealant?
If you get a flat with a tubeless setup (i run mavic rims and crossmarks with some sealant) do you just whack in a tube until you get home, or do you try and whack heaps of sealant in there to seal up the hole?
this is assuming the tyres hasn't been ripped to shreds, of course.
I odn't know what i should have in my backpack these days!!

ON the review side of things :
I used to run the Ignitor (F) Larsen (R) combo before i went tubeless, and was really happy with it.
Now with Crossmarks F+R , at about 26/32psi respectively (i'm 90kg) i'm not all that excited about the grip - i feel like i skid/drift a lot more than i would like.
Sliding the arse end is fine, but i enjoyed the front end grip the Ignitor gave me a whole lot more

 

[gixer7]

Duckboy,

You should be carrying tubes in case of a flat with tubeless setup. Most hand pumps will not re-inflate a tubeless setup if the beads have come off the rim. A CO2 canister might work but is kinda a one shot deal unless you carry lots of them as spares.

Carrying spare sealant around is not something I would recommend and won;t help anyway if the hole in the tyre is too big.

You get a flat whack a tube in till you get home - simplest option.

26psi in the front (??) is probably a little low for your weight class. I run about 30-32psi and I weigh 75kg. Any less and I can feel the tyre move around a bit in corners - this might be why you are having issues with grip.

Put some more air in there - bit more than you need and then reduce it till you are happy with it. You'll know when you have gone too far.