ardent 2.4 alternatives up front?
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On One Chunky Monkey 2.4
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Liked a Purgatory for a while. Now love the Butcher, it's grippy! There is a gap between knobs however that exposes the rim to strikes if you get nutty with running low pressure. Just like the model it copies. Can't remember what it's called. Minion?
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2.5 Minion DHF. /end thread 
It's bigger has more grip without the vagueness of an Ardent. The 2.3 HR2 is one to look at, too.
It's bigger has more grip without the vagueness of an Ardent. The 2.3 HR2 is one to look at, too.
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6,543 Posts
There is also the new GEAX Goma that is about the same weight as the Purgatory. Meant to be more of a All-Mountain/Enduro/Downhill tire but with the weight savings of a XC tire. Thinking of getting one once my Gato finally gives up the ghost, going on almost 2yrs now and still has great tread.
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On One Chunky monkey! or a minion dhf but the monkey is a little lighter and half the cost.
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On One chunky monkey. Maxxis makes them. Same casing as the ardent 2.4 but the tread is way beefier and better in my opinion. A great meaty front tire if you are looking for grip, traction and stability look no further.
The Conto Trail Kings black chills are good too. I just wish the 29er flavor were as volumous as the 26.
The Conto Trail Kings black chills are good too. I just wish the 29er flavor were as volumous as the 26.
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Experience suggests the Ardent may deserve another round.
I've run a conti MK 2.4 and some other pretty useless crap on the front of my FS bike. The Conti wasn't horrible, but it can't hold a candle to the Ardent. Weight wise, everything meatier than the Ardent (I run the EXO version) seems to get heavy pretty fast. I haven't found a situation yet where the Ardent isn't "good enough" for me.
For the record, I'm running a 2.3 Exiwolf on the front of my single speed. But since it isn't made anymore, there's a good chance that'll end up being an Ardent too before it's all said and done.
I've run a conti MK 2.4 and some other pretty useless crap on the front of my FS bike. The Conti wasn't horrible, but it can't hold a candle to the Ardent. Weight wise, everything meatier than the Ardent (I run the EXO version) seems to get heavy pretty fast. I haven't found a situation yet where the Ardent isn't "good enough" for me.
For the record, I'm running a 2.3 Exiwolf on the front of my single speed. But since it isn't made anymore, there's a good chance that'll end up being an Ardent too before it's all said and done.
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I happen to like this tire as well.
Sometimes called the XR4. The tread pattern is as such....
I posted the tread pattern, as the old XR4 is a different pattern.
Look for a 29-4, SE4, or XR4. The SE4 has better sidewall protection.
The 26" is a 2.35, the 29" is a 2.3.
Here's the best part - you CANNOT LOSE with that tire. Bontrager offers an unconditional satisfaction guarantee. If you do not like the tire, you have 30 days to return it and get a credit towards something else.
From Bontrager's website -
As luck would have it, a dude around the corner from me had a Hans Dampf with about zero miles on sitting in his basement so I mounted it up tubeless and went for a ride. With the H.Dampf up front and an Ardent in the back both at the same psi (+/- a couple of psi) my calipers show the H.Dampf to be slightly larger in both width and height. On the road to the trails the H.Dampf felt noticeably slower vs the Ardent it replaced but I'm sure I was also paying more attention to that than i normally would. If nothing else, the squared off knobs of the Dampf make more noise on the pavement than the ramped knobs of the Ardent. On the trail, i felt pretty good with the Dampf. It was a short ride in wet conditions and I was nervous to push it since it was dark and i was alone. I think i may need to lower the pressure just a bit too. Way too early to give a serious head to head comparison but I'll get there over the coming weeks as i zero in on the best psi and start to push the Dampf to it's limits.
I swear by the Hans Dampf on the front of my Jones. I think the Ardent 2.4 is great for that bike too. I think those are the two best tire options for that bike, because you want something that has a nice large,supple casing, but is not too much of a pig. I would give the edge to the Hans, unless I were logging lots of smooth miles.
The new Purgatory with the Grid casing is also nice, but I have only run that on the back of the Enduro29er, so no experience as a front tire.
The new Purgatory with the Grid casing is also nice, but I have only run that on the back of the Enduro29er, so no experience as a front tire.
I run my tires around 20psi (I weigh 175). I had an ardent as a stock tire, it was bad upfront on our chunky rock. I switched to a hans dampf and it was rock solid, but I wanted something lighter. Im running a nobby nic which doesnt have as much grip as the hans dampf, but it is good enough and faster.
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Funny how specific a tire can be for someone. I hated the Ardent 2.4 up front - found it to be terribly unpredictable and sketchy, while the Conti MKII has been an outstanding tire for me, front and rear, on a 26 and 29.
Directly from the Ardent 2.4 up front, I switched to a High Roller II 2.3 and 'am digging it.
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