[PAINpusher]

Hey Austinites,

What are the best 2.35" tires for riding in the Ausitin area? (for a 5.25" travel bike). Currently I'm running navelgals Stick-E, but want something more "squared-off" (prefferably in a kevlar bead). Also, I ride any and all the different trails in Austin.

 

[BikeMojo]

many Austin folk swear by the Kenda Bluegroove.

Charles at Hammerhead Bikes] swears by them.

"The 2.1 is my favorite tire set for City Park in Austin, where it's hardpack with rocks and ledges. Rolls fast and corners hard and climbs rocks and ledges really well."


And they are available in a 2.35

 

[bear]

The BG 2.35 works great, doesn't last the longest, but works great.

I'm a fan of the Cortez 2.4 ... bit more air volume than the BG, bit faster rolling tread, doesn't seem to present a traction issue anywhere BUT the BG (which is 100% stick-e) does do better on wet rock/wood and somewhat better off-camber traction. Of course, the Cortez now comes in DTC with Stick-E side-knobs.

Couple people I know swear by the Cinder too.

 

[texas]

WTB Weiwolf UST 2.1 tire in the back

I used to have allot of problems with tires before moved to these. Without UST I had to pick between having so much presure I would rip the knobs off the tire, or to little presure and I would get flats.

With the Weirwolf UST I can run the tire at 35 lbs which gets me great traction and no flats and no problems with ripped off knobs. In the front I run some michelin UST tires I got for cheap wich work fine.

 

[CCSS]

Mutanoraptor 2.4 Race?

Granted, I'm a bit of a weight weenie, but these tires have really grown on me. I use them on my rigid singlespeed, front and rear, and think they're fantastic for the dry hardpack of Walnut Creek. I've also used them at Muleshoe and on the Greenbelt (also in dry conditions), and they were fine.

Probably won't be the best in mud, but luckily we don't have all that much of that to worry about

CCSS

 

[watmatt]

Blue Groove...

I'll second (or third or forth or whatever it is up to) the nod to the BG. Been running them for over a year. The only problem I've had with them is torn off knobs. That is due mainly to runnning too much pressure. Once I lowered the TPI from 45lbs to 38lbs, I've not shed any more.

 

[dburatti]

Stay away from the Continental Diesels. The are not very good tires for riding around here.

D

 

[austinfletch]

I'd say stay away from Continental period in Austin.....Vertical Pros SUCK up front....

 

[CharacterZero]

Like the stickicky, but not mixed with the rock

I am running Kenda Kinetic Stick-Es 2.35 and find that they do not climb rock ledges and roots nearly as well as the WTB Velociraptor that I have on the back of my GT. Are the BGs more aggressive/better climbers you think? I cannot seem to find Kenda's website for a comparison...
edit - found the website, still in the dark!

 

[PAINpusher]

I am running Kenda Kinetic Stick-Es 2.35 and find that they do not climb rock ledges and roots nearly as well as the WTB Velociraptor that I have on the back of my GT. Are the BGs more aggressive/better climbers you think? I cannot seem to find Kenda's website for a comparison...
edit - found the website, still in the dark!

I can tell you this - the Navegal stick-e 2.1 & 2.35 have excelent traction on the mixed rock/soil here in Ausitn. But, my 2.35's are depressingly slow as mollasses. Since i've had such good luck with the Navegal's traction, i'm going to try out the navegal 2.35 DTC witch will drop 100grams per tire in addition to rolling faster.

What I don't know is if the tread patttern will still work without the full stick-e. I will also be experimenting with the high rollers soon, which are a bit narrower than the navegal. I'm trying to find a solid tire to experimnent with the Stans no-tubes set-up.

I appreciarte everyone's fedback, I am curiuos about the weirwolfs but skepticle about their applicability here in austin. I would also love to try a Specialized tire.

 

[texas]

thumbs up on the wierwolf.

I use the weirwolf UST which are 2.1 inch. I am very happy with the traction, parituclarly since I am able to run them at a lower presure then I would with a non UST tire. i(I run them at 35 psi and with a non UST tire I need to run at just over 50 psi to not get pinch flats).

 

[jkittlesen]

Racing Ralphs

 

[PAINpusher]

Update on my tire selection:

I do believe that I have found my tire combo (at least for now).

I'm currently running 2.35 Kevlar Stick-E Navegal (front) & 2.1 Kevlar Stick-E Navegal (rear). Switching just the rear tire out to the 2.1 has offered me many benefits:

- Dramatically incresed my speed and exceleration
- I still benefit from the from the stick-E traction on both front and back (I was conteplating going DTC to loose weight)
- Keeping the extra volume in the front affords me better traction and pinch flat protection
- I've droped a 1/4 pound off the rear of the bike by switching to the 2.1
- The rear of the bike is now lowered a few millimeters (because of the lower volume of the 2.1) which has put me in a more confident position.

Having the large volume front tire allows me to point straight and "float" over the sketchy rock sections that I tended to pick lines on before, but now I can sprint like the wind!

I've been primarily testing this tire combo out on the western portion of the Green Belt (the Hill of Life area) and this combo has been the best for hooking up on solid rock, loose rock, rock/loose soils mix, and loose soils in general. Basically, this is a great all around tire combo for Austin's technical trails. I'll try them out at city park this week and confirm my results.

 

[signal]

I am currently running a 2.35 Stick-e Blue Groove front and 2.35 Stick-e Nevegal rear. I too find the tire combination "slow". It feels real slow after jumping off a bike with 2.1's.

If I am just out for the day riding BCGB or CP and in no hurry, the slow speed does not bother me. But if I am in the mood for blazing the single track at WC, I bring my other bike.

I am interested in hearing how the 2.1 is working for the rear. Post up some more details...

 

[zaefod]

Yup, I'm running the 2.35 Nevs in the rear and they're a bit slow but grip well. I'd like to try the weirwolf tire at some point for grins.

 

[trailbrain]

I am currently running a 2.35 Stick-e Blue Groove front and 2.35 Stick-e Nevegal rear. I too find the tire combination "slow". It feels real slow after jumping off a bike with 2.1's.

If I am just out for the day riding BCGB or CP and in no hurry, the slow speed does not bother me. But if I am in the mood for blazing the single track at WC, I bring my other bike.

I am interested in hearing how the 2.1 is working for the rear. Post up some more details...

I'm running a 2.35 BG up front and a 2.1 Nevegal back. Both are DTC. This combo is a little slower than the Mutanoraptors I used to run but it hooks up really well. I'll take that over the raptors washing out on the loose stuff.

I cant compare the Nevegal 2.1 to 2.35 since I have only run the 2.1 so far. It seems fast enough for me though.

 

[TexasEd]

Thanks, this thread was useful for me.

 

[Simplemind]

Update on my tire selection:

I do believe that I have found my tire combo (at least for now).

I'm currently running 2.35 Kevlar Stick-E Navegal (front) & 2.1 Kevlar Stick-E Navegal (rear). Switching just the rear tire out to the 2.1 has offered me many benefits:

- Dramatically incresed my speed and exceleration
- I still benefit from the from the stick-E traction on both front and back (I was conteplating going DTC to loose weight)
- Keeping the extra volume in the front affords me better traction and pinch flat protection
- I've droped a 1/4 pound off the rear of the bike by switching to the 2.1
- The rear of the bike is now lowered a few millimeters (because of the lower volume of the 2.1) which has put me in a more confident position.

Having the large volume front tire allows me to point straight and "float" over the sketchy rock sections that I tended to pick lines on before, but now I can sprint like the wind!

I've been primarily testing this tire combo out on the western portion of the Green Belt (the Hill of Life area) and this combo has been the best for hooking up on solid rock, loose rock, rock/loose soils mix, and loose soils in general. Basically, this is a great all around tire combo for Austin's technical trails. I'll try them out at city park this week and confirm my results.

Was wondering how your setup was working out?! Still running the 2.1 rears?

 

[PAINpusher]

Was wondering how your setup was working out?! Still running the 2.1 rears?

Yep still running 2.1 stik-e Nav on the rear and 2.35 on the front. I still think this is the best combo for Austin - though I want to get my hands on the Schwable Big Bettys...They sound promising too.

 

[D-Rex]

I am currently using a set of Maxxis Bling Bling's (Brian Lopes dual compound).

They are excellent as long as it is not wet. Great for Dry hard nastyness but they suck in the mud.