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Fast, light, somewhat grippy rear tires for the RFX?

2K views 34 replies 18 participants last post by  trailadvent 
#1 ·
I have been running the WTB Prowler as a rear tire on the RFX since building it up, and while it is a super tire in the rocks/chunks/gravel, with seemingly unlimited traction, it comes with a price of being fairly slow on flat hardpack. So for fun I tossed on a 2.25 Ardent and was amazed at how much faster the bike seemed to roll. The Ardent weighs 200g less than the Prowler for starters, which clearly helps. Mind you, the Ardent does not grip in the corners like the Prowler, especially in loose stuff, but other than that it is pretty sweet.

So I got to thinking, what other fast and somewhat grippy tires are out there? What other tires make for fast rear tires? I’m partial to Maxxis and WTB, only because I have had really good results with them in NorCal conditions. I run a Stout on the front, which I doubt I will change.
 
#3 ·
Nn

Schwalbe nobby nick 2.4 weighs in around 600g, has great traction and is pretty fast. That light, high volume, high traction and durable is one of those pick 2 and be happy things, the NN gives you 3 of 4 and the odd trait out is durability; I've cut 2 of the three I own, but not bad enough that I couldn't patch it and continue riding them. Its my favorite tire.
 
#7 ·
While we're at it, I'm looking for a girl. 8-10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Must be fun, like mountain biking. Must be fit, have a good body, and be interested in visiting exotic places to go mountain biking. Owning a turner and a wrx is a plus. ~120lbs.
 
#9 · (Edited)
TLL said:
So I got to thinking, what other fast and somewhat grippy tires are out there? What other tires make for fast rear tires? I'm partial to Maxxis and WTB, only because I have had really good results with them in NorCal conditions. I run a Stout on the front, which I doubt I will change.
The 50a WTB tires grip really good, but are very slow, as you have found out.

My Norcal rear tire experience; the following are fast and have good grip:
- Intense System 4 (not DC) very good for hard and soft, 2.25 is more like a 2.4, very tough
- Michelin Dry2 2.35 - very, very tough, very, very fast, but will drift at Dville (it's half the fun...:))
both of above are harder compounds, so not so good for wet conditions
- IRC Trailbear, pretty good roller, pretty good toughness & traction, not amazing
Any Maxxis 60a tire will grip great but roll slow. Same with Kenda & Specialized (tho grip less than the Maxxis) At 2.35, Kenda, Maxxis nor Specialized can't really handle aggressive rough terrain - unless pumped to 40psi.

For Bay Area hardpack, perhaps look to a WTB Weirwolf LT 2.55 (not the FR version if you want to roll fast) It's on my short list for next rear tire.

P
 
#11 ·
Agree with slow rider Nobby Nic 2.4 is faster than all the rest, Ive tried them all, except the prowlers TLL, Ardents Ive been told are fast, I'm surprised you have issues with them cornering in the rear? Even 2.25 are quite high volume for Maxxis maybe try the 2,4 sizing, possibly its your rim size!

This is different to what others have said, I know of one guy running 2.25s on a DH rig ok hes small but he raves how good they are and hes ridden lots of Maxxis tires!

I'd be looking @ a 2.4 Ardent 3C myself and I'll kill for a SR 2.5 Minion up front for my RFX, I love the #C and STs but SR rules I don't care how long they last they are the best front tire period:D
 
#12 · (Edited)
Damn, I'll look for perfection elswhere.

In any case, I'm also still looking for a sticky grippy tubeless 500 gram 2.5" tire that holds up for a year.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Jayem said:
While we're at it, I'm looking for a girl. 8-10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Must be fun, like mountain biking. Must be fit, have a good body, and be interested in visiting exotic places to go mountain biking. Owning a turner and a wrx is a plus. ~120lbs.
Jayem, perhaps you might want to PM mx_599. If you are an open-minded fellow perhaps you might find a meaningful relationship.
 
#14 ·
Aaahhhh - my eyes!! :eek:

Old news, but Nevs roll pretty well and corner well for their size. Check out a 2.35 - pretty tried and true choice. Compound choices yield different weights - DTC comes in around 700g.

http://www.kendausa.com/bicycle/JohnTomac.html

Also - check out the Geax Lobo Loco 2.35. Mountain Bike Action (the wholy grail of mountain bike magazines) rated it as a top 10 trail tire. Lighter casing, but it's got shallow ribs that cross the casing to help strengthen it.

http://www.geax.com/vedit/pagina.asp~pagina~2317
 
#15 · (Edited)
Lots of great suggestions

Jayem said:
While we're at it, I'm looking for a girl. 8-10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Must be fun, like mountain biking. Must be fit, have a good body, and be interested in visiting exotic places to go mountain biking. Owning a turner and a wrx is a plus. ~120lbs.
HIgh volume or lo? And does she need to be fast and grippy? :p

Lots of good suggestions here, I had forgotten that I had a set of Nobby Nics on the Sultan; liked those tires a lot. I did also use a Nevegal on the Flux, and it wasn't too bad. And I will occasionally run the WW but as a front only, perhaps the LT might work as a rear. But I'm no longer as much of a fan of the WWolf since the Stout was introduced.

1SR, I may have to try the Highroller (can't believe I never have) or even the Mutano as a rear like you are doing on the Spot.

trailadvent said:
Agree with slow rider Nobby Nic 2.4 is faster than all the rest, Ive tried them all, except the prowlers TLL, Ardents Ive been told are fast, I'm surprised you have issues with them cornering in the rear? Even 2.25 are quite high volume for Maxxis maybe try the 2,4 sizing, possibly its your rim size!
No issue cornering; they just don't grip as well as the Prowler. Almost, but not quite. But they are fast, noticeably so. They run a little narrower than claimed, but make the volume up in height. Less pedal strikes. :D And not rim size; I run 30mm rims. Tho I will experiment with air pressure; I have a feeling I can run them a little lower than I ran the Prowlers.

I'm just interested in what other options are out there. I've run WTBs out of loyalty (their warehouse is 2 miles away) but am looking to expand my tire horizons a little.

Great suggestions, all. Thanks!
 
#16 ·
All good dude, 30mm rim perfect, sometimes a narrow rim makes the profile too rounded and can cause that, COOL!

Maybe tire pressure!

Hard to ask all around, if you want another experiment, go with a 2.35 Minion DHF in the rear, though not as fast as a NN in out and out accelerate it will be fast maintain momentum be reasonably grippy and brake well, be predicable, drift nice..

AS Zilla has been secretly holding back on us maybe Maxxis is bout to bring back some old fav compounds or new ones!

But asking for fast & grippy, light, I know not all your wishes is not I think realistic!

UST Schwalbe Fat Alberts? Ive not ridden them but others have said they fast, or you could try NN 2.4s in UST they're lighter than the FA's in UST this will add some grip, 760g claimed for triple Nano tech!


Personally I'm a Maxxis fan [ha no surprise there lol, I do have my fair share of other tires, clean out happening now though] so even though not riding, our terrain suits both those tires treads well, but I prefer my Minion front for my RFX I'm hoping they bring back Slow Rezzay the Minion DH 2.5 an 2.35 in 2ply's I only want it in a front tire!

I love to see more compounds in the Ardent, I think possibly in a larger size 2.4 for you TLL the larger width might help with grip, overall contact point on HV might still be little small for power to grip ratio on RFX, it could be worth a try and a better compound.

I really wish Maxxis would get there website together so many models not listed so many compounds and sizes not on there its a dam pain, is it so, hard, people stay loyal and want info which is what a site is about, rant over on that :confused: :D

And then TLL, I'd not give up on the Ardent so quick if I was you OMO try some more sizes and compounds bud if you can find out any info on them.

Course all not knowing your terrain and conditions!

Just my thoughts oh and just out of curiosity what rims are you running 30mm perfect:thumbsup:
 
#17 ·
trailadvent said:
Course all not knowing your terrain and conditions!

Just my thoughts oh and just out of curiosity what rims are you running 30mm perfect:thumbsup:
WTB LAserDisc FR. They have held up pretty well so far, tho they are a tad heavier than some of the other offerings out there. Had Larry build them, and after an initial touch up have not had to fiddle with them too much.

Am going to play with tire press on the Ardent and look at getting a 2.4 for the rear possibly. Nice tire so far. Terrain here is pretty varied, tho we don't have a lot of rocky chunk like other places; mostly loose over hardpack, gravel, smooth alternating with rocky terrain. And dusty, really dusty in the summer.
 
#18 ·
I recently threw a 2.25 Ardent on the rear of my Uzzi, it is really fast but its not very grippy. Good grip but not great... it does break away predictably, so its a fun tire to let drift a bit in the loose stuff. Fast rolling is a high priority for me in a rear trail tire, so I like it a lot. Its a lot faster than 2.35 minions, high rollers, nevegals, and big bettys. I'm not sure I'd want it on the front, maybe in a 2.4 60a or 3C...
 
#19 ·
TLL said:
WTB LAserDisc FR. They have held up pretty well so far, tho they are a tad heavier than some of the other offerings out there. Had Larry build them, and after an initial touch up have not had to fiddle with them too much.

Am going to play with tire press on the Ardent and look at getting a 2.4 for the rear possibly. Nice tire so far. Terrain here is pretty varied, tho we don't have a lot of rocky chunk like other places; mostly loose over hardpack, gravel, smooth alternating with rocky terrain. And dusty, really dusty in the summer.
Ahh sweet, didn't know WTB did a 30mm wide rim, its the new AM nirvana imo 28mm in a little narrow now imo 30 31 would be sweet, a Stans flow in 30mm would be great :D
Sun also still do some 30mm wide rims the single track used to be 30mm!

What size rear rotor you run?
Should be good in those conditions especially the 2.4.

I hear Larry builds some great wheels in stuff..
Yeah be interested to see how ya go with the 2.4 hopefully Zilla will chime in he's ben on 2.4s and 2.6s on his Highline and been real happy!

Keep us updated TLL :thumbsup:
 
#23 ·
Agree with Dave here!

Title says somewhat grippy! Speed is what we need Demon speed :D !

AWI the triple compound BB [TC is fast than Gooey Gluey} does roll fast for its size and compared to some tires, but comparing it for speed acceleration to some here is night and day!

Yes it will out grip them, but unless I miss understand the title, speed, weight then grip in that order is req!

Nobby Nic still grips well and is way faster than the BB and way lighter, course it could depend on where you ride, but TLL has stated this and it dosen't sound too harsh!

Just saying! BB was the hot ticket 2 years ago, its moved on!

Rocket Ron could be another option only 530g claimed for a 2.4 :eek: 580g claimed for a 2.25 UST :eek:

Ive never used it or seen it looking @ the tread I doubt its very grippy but width can make up for allot of things :D

I still think the Ardent 2.4 for the RFX is my # 1 CONTENDER ....

MAXXIS all da wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :D
 
#24 ·
trailadvent said:
...

AWI the triple compound BB [TC is fast than Gooey Gluey} does roll fast for its size and compared to some tires, but comparing it for speed acceleration to some here is night and day!

Yes it will out grip them, but unless I miss understand the title, speed, weight then grip in that order is req!

Nobby Nic still grips well and is way faster than the BB and way lighter, course it could depend on where you ride, but TLL has stated this and it dosen't sound too harsh!

Just saying! BB was the hot ticket 2 years ago, its moved on!

...

I still think the Ardent 2.4 for the RFX is my # 1 CONTENDER ....

...
I might have missed the message of the OP, and yes I'm old and slow but still likes my BBs (triple compound). Then again I have not tried the Ardent 2.4 - I must give Santa a hint that he might wanna bring me a set of the Ardents for X-mas.

NN though - they might have improved but the early versions without snake bite protection was faar to soft in the side walls and ripped open as soon as they saw a rock or anything nasty. Left you sitting on the trail changing tubes or walking home. Must admit I have not tried NNs lately though.

Must try out a set of Ardents to bring myself into the modern world then! :)
 
#25 ·
AWi said:
I might have missed the message of the OP, and yes I'm old and slow but still likes my BBs (triple compound). Then again I have not tried the Ardent 2.4 - I must give Santa a hint that he might wanna bring me a set of the Ardents for X-mas.

NN though - they might have improved but the early versions without snake bite protection was faar to soft in the side walls and ripped open as soon as they saw a rock or anything nasty. Left you sitting on the trail changing tubes or walking home. Must admit I have not tried NNs lately though.

Must try out a set of Ardents to bring myself into the modern world then! :)
Ahh all good, I do it all the time, too, need my good coffee is my trick :D

BBs are good tires, Speed of tire is only good if conditions are suitable, there is no one tire that can do it all, weight, puncture, grip, acceleration, cornering, etc, and its all personal, bike related etc, but for the RFX and the conditions TLL's describing the tires for the rear we are suggesting are good options!

If you are talking sharp rocks, loose ground sand etc hard on tires then those tires are likely to be slow, they will break traction and loose control and not be fast, so you may have found the tire fast for your conditions!

This is my formula for tires and always has been, ta secret is out!

Most braking should be done on the front wheel.

The cornering should be driven from the front wheel.

Rotational weight is most affected at the rear wheel as is acceleration!

Ive been running different front tires from rears for years long before it became popular and in different sizes, bigger up front smaller in rear!

AW we have all year riding here, in my location we don't have too many rocks, down South I rode NN in schist rock no issues, its a type of sharp very old rock and my tires suffered no cuts, though I did run UST ver :thumbsup:
 
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