Sweet winter tires for the Cape/Stellenbosch

[braailegend]

Going to convert my bike to tubeless at last, need some Ideas what to put front and rear, As my current tyres (Maxxis holyrollers) are not meant for winter,lol

 

For light DH, singletrack, jumping and trail riding, gravel or tar not in the equation.

 

Give me some suggestions, looking at around a 2.4" front and 2.3 rear.

 

Had Conti X-king 2.4 front with Kenda Excavator 2.1 (very wide and hich) back, were pretty happy with them.

 

Should I just stick to these, expect get them in tubeless form?

[Headshot]

Hans Dampf super gravity casing 2.35's are great in front. I'd go wide and softer on the front and narrower and harder compound rear. I have just put on a Nevegal 2.3 at the back - a little heavy but more durable than my last one I hope...

[LazyTrailRider]

Yep, Hans Dampf seems to be the way to go, generally speaking. I've only done two rides with one on the front, and it's not spectacular, but it's pretty predictable.

 

Braailegend, have you really been riding with tubes all this time?

[TAAHIRWP]

Going to convert my bike to tubeless at last, need some Ideas what to put front and rear, As my current tyres (Maxxis holyrollers) are not meant for winter,lol

 

For light DH, singletrack, jumping and trail riding, gravel or tar not in the equation.

 

Give me some suggestions, looking at around a 2.4" front and 2.3 rear.

 

Had Conti X-king 2.4 front with Kenda Excavator 2.1 (very wide and hich) back, were pretty happy with them.

 

Should I just stick to these, expect get them in tubeless form?

 

A buddy of mine had the Excavator on the front during last years winter, he said it was awesome. isnt the X-king a rear tyre?

 

i know capricorn had some issues with his Hans Damf SG tyres in the front, swapped for Muddy Mary's. but kept rear HD SG... maybe drop him a pm for clarity...

[braailegend]

Braailegend, have you really been riding with tubes all this time?

 

Ja, never had the cash lying around, things like brakes, shocks, extra bike was more important every time, haha

 

Like the excavators, so think they will go on again at the back (dont mind weight to much). As for the Hans Damph's, still undecided, have seen some horrid reviews and people saying they are completely overated.

 

 

AS for X-king rear tyre, the 2.4 was pretty burly with big knobs, was awesome as a Front

Edited March 13, 2014 by braailegend

[TAAHIRWP]

Does the volume of the 2.4 X-king look similar to the Volume of the 2.1 Excavator? if no diff, why not just swap them around?

[needleshy]

I run a Onza Ibex 2.4 up front and a 2.35 Maxxis Ardent on the rear of my am bike it I like it alot..... been on for about a year and still Going strong with 4-5 rides a week.

 

Onza grips better for me than the hd I had up front on my 650b, but that was pace star compound so it's apparently wrong for the front, I just got the hd super g for the front but still gotta take it out for a spin.

[braailegend]

Does the volume of the 2.4 X-king look similar to the Volume of the 2.1 Excavator? if no diff, why not just swap them around?

 

They are old (4 years+) and very little tread, so dont think they'll keep air.

 

Seen a lot of people liking the Ardent tyres, back tyre seems sorted( excavator or Ardent),

 

Looking for a round profile tyre for the front, something you cant always see on the pictures

[BogusOne]

Anybody come across some 29 x 3.0 tyres anywhere locally??

 

Looking at a possible project for the near future....

[Hairy]

Had a 2.5" DH casing wire bead Excavator running on the front last winter and she did well.

 

Rear tyre ..... Nevegal is lekker but slowish .... why not run the Holly Roller 2 on the rear

 

Another option is the Minion Combo

[braailegend]

Anybody come across some 29 x 3.0 tyres anywhere locally??

 

Looking at a possible project for the near future....

 

Haven't even seen a 3.0 on a 26" in a very long time, think import might be only option

[Hairy]

They are old (4 years+) and very little tread, so dont think they'll keep air.

 

Seen a lot of people liking the Ardent tyres, back tyre seems sorted( excavator or Ardent),

 

Looking for a round profile tyre for the front, something you cant always see on the pictures

Ardents are also lekker up front ..... if you can lay your braai singed fingers on a Advantage for the rear then you have a very nice combo going .... but try finding those two locally in UST and 2.25", if you do though then please let me know.

[braailegend]

Had a 2.5" DH casing wire bead Excavator running on the front last winter and she did well.

 

Rear tyre ..... Nevegal is lekker but slowish .... why not run the Holly Roller 2 on the rear

 

Another option is the Minion Combo

 

minions look nice, but my holyrollers.... eish, if there is no berm... you will slide out, haha

[BogusOne]

Haven't even seen a 3.0 on a 26" in a very long time, think import might be only option

 

Yeah seen some on Ebay but I don't have a credit card so makes buying from overseas a bit difficult.... They like R1300 per tyre excl shipping

[Polo]

I have a couple of friends who swear by Advantages front and back - and they run the non-UST versions as tubeless without any problems.

[Capricorn]

braailegend: might seem out of left field, but the Maxxis High Rollers do very well in wet conditions.Excellent mud clearance because of the clear channels between knobs in the circumferential direction. Their grippiest compound is advisable however.

 

But in general, taller knobs + soft compounds is what you want.If those conti's work for you, and you can get em in tubeless, or convert them to tubeless, then stick with that.

 

I have ditched the HDs, and are now running the Magic Marys up front on my trail bike. The DH bike still runs Muddy Mary's but will be switching that over to Magic Marys as well. the grip from the Magic Marys is stupendous and a very very versatile tyre, despite the size of the knobs.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Capricorn