[FortOrdDirt]

over my searching in tire threads forgot which user has contributed this https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ApcNMgTrSzkTcmpCbmF5Y0Q0cmd6VGdTN0JsUWotQnc&hl=en#gid=0 but thank you.

Anyways, I was wondering, between the maxxis Ikon and rocket ron 2.25, which would be better up front?

 

[bholwell]

MeltingFeather put that spreadsheet together. I agree, it's a pretty nice resource.

 

[DavidR1]

Curious, why narrow your choices down to just these two?

I'm searching for 29er tires as well so am curious. What are you running on the back?

Of course nobody can make any suggestions till you tell us a bit more about your riding style and terrain.

 

[FortOrdDirt]

Curious, why narrow your choices down to just these two?

I'm searching for 29er tires as well so am curious. What are you running on the back?

Of course nobody can make any suggestions till you tell us a bit more about your riding style and terrain.

honestly just time. racing season is already upon me, and I am in need of new tires. I usually slave over every little aspects of comparing products before buying them, but for now a new front tire is calling my name. I have looked at specialized and some others, but the ikon and rocket ron seem to be popping up. If you have any good experiences with any other please contribute. I have a vulpine right now in the rear and a prowler up front. Trails are mostly hardpack, some sandy areas as well, some occasional rocks as well (sorry im not too good at making descriptions). Riding style...just trying to get the most out of my tires. Right now I can barely lean the bike over before the prowlers let out and they drift around a lot. As of now im assuming almost every tire im considering will perform better, as well as shed some weight.

 

[ADDam]

I'm pretty set on the Rocket Ron's right now. I have RaRa's F/R and I may be switching to something like Rocket Ron F and Aspen Rear... or even Rocket Ron F/R.

The Rocket Ron's were my favorite 26" tire...

 

[BruceBrown]

Right now I can barely lean the bike over before the prowlers let out and they drift around a lot. As of now im assuming almost every tire im considering will perform better, as well as shed some weight.

Hmmm....that sounds odd. Are you tubeless? Low pressure? How long is your stem and do you feel like you have enough weight over the front wheel when you corner?

I've never tried a Prowler so can't comment on how it corners up front. I've ridden the IKON for a season up front an a full suspension bike and handling was predictable for XC racing. It's a great tire front and or rear.

BHohwel's too modest to mention the IKON's performance since he works for Maxxis. If you wanted to go through the Maxxis line for XC racing, the Ardent has the most bite, the IKON is next, then the Crossmark and Aspen (at least that's the way I've found them to perform for me). I've ridden all of those, but have not experienced what you mention that as soon as I lean the bike over the front lets out. Heck, I can lean over a Crow and other minimal tread tires without letting out with my tubeless pressures.

Never hurts to buy a bunch of tires, mix and match and have at it as conditions dictate.

BB

 

[FortOrdDirt]

I still have tubes, I have tried a range of air pressures, and I haven't really experienced with stem length, but did however flip the stem and switch to a wider bar. I feel like I have a good weight distribution, but on another note this is my first experience with 29s. I recently put a barro race up front and it is notably more grabby but still has that threshold where it starts to slide.

ill definitely keep the ikon in mind

 

[BruceBrown]

I still have tubes, I have tried a range of air pressures, and I haven't really experienced with stem length, but did however flip the stem and switch to a wider bar. I feel like I have a good weight distribution, but on another note this is my first experience with 29s. I recently put a barro race up front and it is notably more grabby but still has that threshold where it starts to slide.

ill definitely keep the ikon in mind

Not sure what range of psi's you've tried, but with tubeless, I run about 23-25 psi on the front tire for something the size of an IKON or other 2.1-2.2 tires for my weight (180 lbs.). And I use rims with inner rim width of 21-22mm for a nice tire profile.

I only mention this because sometimes people try way too high of a psi on their 29" which results in the tires just bouncing all over the place while losing traction front and rear quite easily. How low have you gone on the front tire in your range of psi experiments?

Regardless, I would consider going tubeless ASAP (whether it involves a DIY ghetto conversion, or rims that are tubeless ready).

BB

 

[FortOrdDirt]

guilty as charged i suppose, I think the lowest I went around was 27 psi, but Im near forty pounds lighter than you. With the same pressures, I still was able to notice a difference with the barro though.Unfortunately I broke my collarbone recently to the extent of not riding for quite some time so I'm not too concerned anymore with getting "the perfect" race tire. Thank you BruceBrown though, I appreciate it.

 

[Bipodtread]

Fargo Tire Issue - Gotta lotta miles on my original Vulpines. Thus I thought great tires for mixed use. Got new Vulpines and they both decided to come off the rims at inappropriate times (when riding). WTB is replacing but I don't like getting thrown on the ground that much. Anyone else hear of this phenomenon?

 

[LyNx]

Oh Dude, come on man, you're killing all the benefits of tubeless. As Bruce said, drop those pressures. I run between 26-32 PSI in the rear and 19-24 PSI upfront, tubeless on Flows - range is because certain tyres don't do as well or for more road duties. Right now I'm running Michelin XC A/T R around 26-28 PSI and Nevegal 21-24 PSI and I weigh about 180-185lbs geared to ride. BTW, even on my tubed wheels on my rigid I run 25 PSI upfront and about 28-30 out back.

guilty as charged i suppose, I think the lowest I went around was 27 psi, but Im near forty pounds lighter than you. With the same pressures, I still was able to notice a difference with the barro though.Unfortunately I broke my collarbone recently to the extent of not riding for quite some time so I'm not too concerned anymore with getting "the perfect" race tire. Thank you BruceBrown though, I appreciate it.