Maxxis Rekon 2.25” or 2.4”?

cookieMonster · Feb 13, 2020

Got a new bike yesterday—Kona Honzo.

It came with WTB Trail Boss 2.25s, which are probably fine, but they’re tube only, wire bead, and heavy.

The rims are 29mm inner width, and honestly the WTBs seem fairly big at 2.25”.

I will be doing a lot of aggressive XC and all mountain style riding on this bike. I know huge tires are all the rage these days, but I’m hesitant to go too big with 29” wheels. I want to keep the weight down, keep them rolling FAST, and have enough cornering bite to slam corners pretty hard. Will I be slowed down much by the 2.4s vs the 2.25s?

FJ40runr · Feb 13, 2020

I tried a 2.25 Rekon up front recently and ended up not loving it. 2.4 is significantly more aggressive though, so didn't want to bump up to it for fear it would be too slow. I've liked 2.35 Ikon and 2.4 XR3 better. Next I'm going to go to the dark side and try 2.6 Ikon, feel it could be a decent compromise of fast rolling still with increased grip due to size/volume.

SqueakyWheel73 · Feb 13, 2020

cookieMonster said:
Got a new bike yesterday-Kona Honzo.

It came with WTB Trail Boss 2.25s, which are probably fine, but they're tube only, wire bead, and heavy.

The rims are 29mm inner width, and honestly the WTBs seem fairly big at 2.25".

I will be doing a lot of aggressive XC and all mountain style riding on this bike. I know huge tires are all the rage these days, but I'm hesitant to go too big with 29" wheels. I want to keep the weight down, keep them rolling FAST, and have enough cornering bite to slam corners pretty hard. Will I be slowed down much by the 2.4s vs the 2.25s?

I think it really depends on what you are looking for. If you want the bigger cornering knobs that the rekon offers, you might consider the 2.35 Rekon Race. The center tread is pretty shallow on these, so they may or may not suit your needs - I know a lot of people run these as a rear tire. The other obvious option is the Ikon. Maybe a combination of the two would work well for you.

BmanInTheD · Feb 13, 2020

Ardent Race 2.35 rear, 2.4 Rekon front. That's what I run on my Ripley V4 when I wanna go fast but still have some cornering grip. Great combo on my 30mm rims. My other Ripley wheelset has Rekon 2.6/2.4. Slower but more grip and confidence, same 30mm rims. The 2.25 Rekon is more XC/race, I run that with a Rekon Race 2.25 on my XC bike on 25mm rims. Good tire for XC, but quite a bit less knob size than 2.4/2.6 Rekon.

ocnLogan · Feb 13, 2020

Does a 2.4 fit in the rear of a Honzo? I seem to remember it having a pretty tight rear triangle.

I’m not super knowledgeable with fast rolling tires (not really interested in them personally), but have you considered a Rock Razor/ minion super slick type tire?

Should roll pretty well, but really large cornering knobs for the aggressive riding. They do sacrifice braking traction though.

cookieMonster · Feb 14, 2020

ocnLogan said:
Does a 2.4 fit in the rear of a Honzo? I seem to remember it having a pretty tight rear triangle.

I'm not super knowledgeable with fast rolling tires (not really interested in them personally), but have you considered a Rock Razor/ minion super slick type tire?

Should roll pretty well, but really large cornering knobs for the aggressive riding. They do sacrifice braking traction though.

A 2.4 should fit easily in the rear. I just measured my current tires and they're 2.25" right on the nose, and there's 1/4 to 3/8" to spare on either side at the chainstays. So I could theoretically run a 2.5 with some wiggle room.

I've thought about semislicks but I do ride on snow quite a bit before the real season and I need a bit more traction for climbing and braking.

cookieMonster · Feb 15, 2020

Welp, I ended up getting a 2.35 Ardent Race for the rear and a DHR 2 2.4WT for the front.

I know the DHR will be heavier than I want but yes it will be grippy as all get out. And if it’s got too much rolling resistance I’ll just wheelie and manual, I guess.

The guy at the store talked me out of the Rekon, saying the cornering lugs are flimsy, especially on the smaller versions. They had one in 2.6 and after inspecting those side lugs, he was right. I’m probably overthinking this...

richj8990 · Feb 15, 2020

BmanInTheD said:
Ardent Race 2.35 rear, 2.4 Rekon front. That's what I run on my Ripley V4 when I wanna go fast but still have some cornering grip. Great combo on my 30mm rims. My other Ripley wheelset has Rekon 2.6/2.4. Slower but more grip and confidence, same 30mm rims. The 2.25 Rekon is more XC/race, I run that with a Rekon Race 2.25 on my XC bike on 25mm rims. Good tire for XC, but quite a bit less knob size than 2.4/2.6 Rekon.

Why do I always keep giving reputation points to the same people every time? They must be correct a lot lol.

This is a great setup above. I was going to try it but I'm going to experiment with the 550 gram Kenda Sabre 27.5 x 2.4 in back first. If that fishtails all over the place I'll try the Ardent Race 2.35 or go back to the Rekon 2.4. The Rekon 2.4 in back is very good for everything but steep somewhat rocky corners; it doesn't stop fast enough. Just bought a DHRII and Mavic rear wheel for those switchback trails. Rekon 2.6 in front, it's only 805 grams and handles pretty good for it's width. It's an excellent all-around tire, just not quite enough braking in certain situations. A 2.6 can be pretty fast, don't think it's slow just because it's relatively wide.

richj8990 · Feb 15, 2020

ocnLogan said:
Does a 2.4 fit in the rear of a Honzo? I seem to remember it having a pretty tight rear triangle.

I'm not super knowledgeable with fast rolling tires (not really interested in them personally), but have you considered a Rock Razor/ minion super slick type tire?

Should roll pretty well, but really large cornering knobs for the aggressive riding. They do sacrifice braking traction though.

I think all Honzo's are boosted, at least the newer ones, so in theory a 2.8 should fit in back. If the thru axle is 148mm, that's 6 more mm than a standard older frame's rear axle (135mm + 7mm for the screw cap). 6mm = 0.24 inches more total, so if you can run something that measures 2.40 inches on a normal frame you should be able to fit something that measures 2.60 to 2.65 in back. Most 2.8 plus tires measure that so 2.4 should easily fit.

richj8990 · Feb 15, 2020

cookieMonster said:
Welp, I ended up getting a 2.35 Ardent Race for the rear and a DHR 2 2.4WT for the front.

I know the DHR will be heavier than I want but yes it will be grippy as all get out. And if it's got too much rolling resistance I'll just wheelie and manual, I guess.

The guy at the store talked me out of the Rekon, saying the cornering lugs are flimsy, especially on the smaller versions. They had one in 2.6 and after inspecting those side lugs, he was right. I'm probably overthinking this...

I think you going to be just fine. But the Rekon 2.6 is pretty good up front. The odd thing is I've been riding it on the front off and on for about a year now and haven't crashed with it yet, I think I have 300-400 miles of dirt on it so far and no crashes. Don't worry I will eventually of course. Right now I have three tires up front that alternate, so that's why the Rekon hasn't gotten more miles yet. I cannot say the same for a DHF, I've crashed many times with those up front, go figure. 100% counterintuitive. Maybe subconsciously I take more chances with them?

cookieMonster · Feb 15, 2020

richj8990 said:
I think you going to be just fine. But the Rekon 2.6 is pretty good up front. The odd thing is I've been riding it on the front off and on for about a year now and haven't crashed with it yet, I think I have 300-400 miles of dirt on it so far and no crashes. Don't worry I will eventually of course. Right now I have three tires up front that alternate, so that's why the Rekon hasn't gotten more miles yet. I cannot say the same for a DHF, I've crashed many times with those up front, go figure. 100% counterintuitive. Maybe subconsciously I take more chances with them?

Now you've got me wondering if I should go exchange my Minion DHR for a 2.6 Rekon, haha. I never wanted to go quite that big, but it does appear to be faster rolling than a Minion (any variety), and just picking them both up I could tell the Rekon was noticeably lighter than the Minion. In any case, I'm pretty sure I've got the clearance up front for a 2.6....hmmm.

I do plan to ride a lot of XC on this bike, but I suppose I could get a more XC worthy tire to throw on the front if I race this summer. Maybe my old-school thinking is wrong in that a modern 2.6" tire could be fast. The Rekon doesn't seem to be a DH tire like the Minions. Maybe the higher volume, fairly light weight, and moderate center lugs could still be fast for XC applications?

I'll admit, I was a little apprehensive leaving the store with the Minion. That is my #1 choice for my full suspension bike, but I know what they can and can't do. They can't do 35+ mile rides without seriously impacting how much effort you have to expend.

Unbrockenchain · Feb 15, 2020

How much bigger is the Rekon 2.6 vs 2.4? Funny thing is the 2.6 is lighter as it’s 120 tpi. Almost seems no brained to 2.6 for front between the two

cookieMonster · Feb 15, 2020

Unbrockenchain said:
How much bigger is the Rekon 2.6 vs 2.4? Funny thing is the 2.6 is lighter as it's 120 tpi. Almost seems no brained to 2.6 for front between the two

Any issues with running a 2.6 tire on 29mm inner width rims? I'm thinking it would be fine.

rockman · Feb 15, 2020

cookieMonster said:
Any issues with running a 2.6 tire on 29mm inner width rims? I'm thinking it would be fine.

No issues whatsoever. Is it optimal? My guess is most of us would never notice the diff between 30 and 35 inner diam with a 2.6. The whole wide rim/tire profile/low pressure thing is a bit overblown.

LanceWeaklegs · Feb 28, 2020

I have been running 2.6 Maxxis DHF/DHR on an i30 Race Face rim for two years without any issues. Run about 18 in front and 19 in rear

Maxxis Rekon 2.25” or 2.4”?

cookieMonster

FJ40runr

SqueakyWheel73

BmanInTheD

ocnLogan

cookieMonster

cookieMonster

richj8990

richj8990

richj8990

cookieMonster

Unbrockenchain

cookieMonster

rockman

LanceWeaklegs

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