For me the Forekaster is very similar to the Nobby Nic. A decent all around tire but a master of none and just OK at best in most conditions. Not super fast like the XC tires so when you are on hard pack or smooth trails you will want something faster. Not aggressively nobbed like DH or enduro tires so when you are in slippery conditions you will want more bite. As a master of none tire you will never encounter a condition and think "Wow these tires are awesome" I don't know why they market it as a wet tire. It has widely spaced knobs which sheds mud but the knobs aren't large enough to bite through thick mud. I cracked a rib when my Forekaster didn't get any bite on a off camber muddy side hill. It's wasn't a raining cats and dog type mud situation it was a patch of ground still damp from a rain about 8 hour previous to the ride. If you want something with a little more bite in the loose than a Recon at the expense of a little rolling resistance the Forekaster fits the bill. Don't expect a ton more grip than the XC focused tires. If a DHF is graded at 100% grip in loose conditions and a Rekon is 50% grip I'd say the Forekaster is more like 60-65% grip.

 

It’s the only front tire I’ve ran on my 2 bikes all year. I would agree that it’s a master of none type tire, but I would praise it a lot more than the previous poster. It’s solid and predictable in all conditions. I rode a 100 mile race in super dry conditions in July. I think the tire did great. To me, it’s a great balance of weight/grip/rolling resistance.

 

It's the only front tire I've ran on my 2 bikes all year. I would agree that it's a master of none type tire, but I would praise it a lot more than the previous poster. It's solid and predictable in all conditions. I rode a 100 mile race in super dry conditions in July. I think the tire did great. To me, it's a great balance of weight/grip/rolling resistance.

I didn't mean to sound too harsh on the Forekaster. I'm running it on my short travel trail bike right now and it suits me well. It's a good all conditions tire that is what I describe as fast enough rolling.

 

Yes, it works great in dry conditions. You can run it front or rear.

 

It feels great as a front tire and I have ridden it on both F/R and as a F tire as well. If you want something with a little less rolling resistance a Forkaster F and Recon or Recon Race Rear might fit the bill. The 2.35 size is avererage for it's size, they dont puncture easily and are good in loose, dry condition or wet fall conditions (think wet leaves).

 

Hi
As a rear tyre, the Forekaster is hard to fault. It really does preform exceptionally well in most conditions, struggles a bit in deep mud, but does much better than expected when looking at the tread. It clears mud quickly, and rolls very well.

 

Thanks very much everyone! I am still sorting things out, and I will keep Forekaster on the list. The local trails I ride close when it rains, so the tire won't be able to show off its wet/mud-shedding qualities. But it sounds like people have had good experiences in dry/dry-loose too, and we do get some leaf cover in the fall that gives the trails a slicker quality, even if not wet.

I am on 2.4 XR4 and 2.35 XR3 now on a 27.5, 130mm FS bike. Really like the tires. But want to try something different for the sake of trying something different. Thinking of trying wider, and want to stay light/light-ish. 2.6f/2.4b or 2.6f/2.6b on 29iw rims. Forekaster and Rekon are seeming like good possibilities.

Thanks again all, each of these replies is really helpful.

 

I am on 2.4 XR4 and 2.35 XR3 now on a 27.5, 130mm FS bike. Really like the tires. But want to try something different for the sake of trying something different. Thinking of trying wider, and want to stay light/light-ish. 2.6f/2.4b or 2.6f/2.6b on 29iw rims. Forekaster and Rekon are seeming like good possibilities.

I have similar setup. Before I got the Forekaster, I had 2.35 Hans Damph on the front and 2.4 XR4 on my Giant Trance.

They provided enough grip for me, but I wanted something a little faster. So I moved the XR4 to the front and added Forekaster to the rear. Noticeable improvement in speed. I even took my Trance to the bike park and had no issues. Granted I am at best, average at dh speeds. The Forekasters aren't bulletproof, but at least they are predictable in terms of loosing grip. I've gotten myself in some dicey situations on local trails with loose summer dirt, but they never gave out on me. Flow trails are their happy homes.

 

I've got a few of those, I've run forecaster front & rear for wet race bike, and I've ridden it quite a bit dry, I left one on for the rear on my hardtail all summer. I like it in dry, lots of slippery madrona/madrone/arbutus leaves on my trails too, I do like the more open tread for 'marbley' corners too. I imagine you might want a faster rolling tire for racing. The tubeless ready forekaster (not-exo) is pretty light, my 3 range from about 630-665g (29x2.2).
I would choose Rocket Rons for dry over the Forecaster, especially if weight is really important and you don't need a super tough sidewall. I also like the Vittoria Mezcal but it's a fair bit heavier (and has a relatively tougher sidewall, I run those at lower pressure than the Rons due to the sidewall stiffness I assume). The Rons are somewhere not far above 610g in 2.25 (addix), and Mezcals are about 733g (as I have written on the sidewall in sharpie on one of mine) in 29x2.25, but they feel SO fast to me.

 

Thanks very much jimPacNW. Those are helpful comparisons.

I do have the Rocket Rons on the list too. This website did what I thought was a fairly helpful rundown of some of the sort of tires I am considering, and it characterized the Rons as basically a lighter Forekaster. I am not a racer, just an enthusiast. I want a light/light-ish tire, but don't need the absolute lightest. I also do not need a super tough sidewall. The XR4/XR3 TIs (non-SEs) are doing fine in terms of sidewalls after about 500 miles on my local trails. I like how supple they are at their sidewall/120 TPI/weight, so a relatively thin sidewall is OK with me. My bike came with DHRs, which I rode for awhile before swapping in the XRs, and I have not had any issues stepping down in terms of tire toughness.

I have looked at Vittoria tires too, so thanks for that rec. Even in 27.5, there are quite a few choices. But we all know no matter how many, there are never enough. I kinda wish Maxxis was making the 2.4 WT/XC Aspens or Rekon Races in 27.5 and not just 29. Although maybe a little more pure XC than I'm shopping for, the WT/XC is "optimized" for 30mm iw rims, and I'm basically right at that iw. Need to get Nino Schurter or Kate Courtney on a mullet I guess.

In any event, I am looking forward to trying something different. I figure trying 2.6" in a different brand/tread, after the DHRs and XRs all around 2.4", will give me new food for thought. Maybe after a season on those I'll try something on the narrower end. Fun to give various approaches a go.

Thanks again for the help

 

I run them F&R on a couple bikes here where we have a lot of loose sand and pine needles. The knobs are widely spaced and spikey enough (Vs XC tires) that they provide good grip here in the dry loose sandy soil.

 

I'm in the same boat and have been looking for a replacement tire for my bike for a while. My current DHR2 is old but I refuse to just put anything on there. Problem with all Maxxis tires aside from the DHF and DHR2 is the limited compounds available in each model. I prefer the 120tpi, Forekaster comes in basically 3 versions, and one is a DH/DD casing but no 120tpi that I can see. For $90 USD, I want predictable performance and to thank myself for the extra money I paid rather than "try" something. I view the trend of gumwall maxxis DHF's as laughable due to these tires being 100% fashionable and lacking in the function realm and only coming in an EXO casing.

I have ridden WTB, Vittoria and Michelin over the years, and come back to the Ol reliable DHF/DHR2 every single time.

 

Forekaster definitely comes in 120 tpi. My wife had them and it's listed on the Maxxis site.

 

Link? (not the maxxis site, but one that has a 120tpi forekaster in stock link) I'm looking to buy like, yesterday.

 

been running the forecaster up front for a few years and liked, just recently switched to Booster pro Kenda tire and love it much better in everything for me. especailly dry hard pack with

 

Nice, thanks Jon and Bikeventures, glad to hear of additional positive Forekaster experiences under similar applications.

twowheel, fwiw about not wanting to "try" a $90 tire without some expectation of performance, makes great sense. I am not cavalier about the cost, just a middle-aged hobbyist who is OK with the expense.

David Mac, the Kenda Booster Pros look interesting, and do come in 27.5/2.6", so will give those a look, thanks much.

 

Forekasters 2.6 front and 2.35 rear have been the standard setup on my rigid 29er singlespeeds for the last 4 years after looking for something with a little more bite in the sand and Fall leaves than the Rekons I was originally running. I built up a Karate Monkey last year and just switched out the rear 2.35 for a 2.6 since the frame easily handles the additional size and I think the 2.6 tire has a better profile on my i29 rims. Only have one ride on it so far.

 

I run 29x2.6" Forecasters F&R in the summer -- like 'em fine. They won't grip nearly as well as an Assegai (which I have on my Enduro bike) but for an all around tire, the Forecaster is a good compromise between weight & grip for me. They make my shorter travel bike feel comparatively sporty and I feel like I can trust them well enough on dry tracks.

In the winter I run Magic Marys -- I live & ride in the Pacific NorthWet, if you know what I mean.
=sParty

 

Does it roll fast though? I'm selling my Ikon 2.2s to buy an AR 2.2. Also might buy a Forekaster 2.35 for the front. But I wonder how fast it is.

 

In looking at Kenda Booster Pro tires per David Mac's suggestion above, came across a website that sends a code for 25% off Kenda tires at Kendatire.com for signing up for the site's email newsletter. The site is Carbon+Grit, link here. If you sign up for the newsletter, they send an email asking for subscription confirmation. Confirm the subscription, and you will get another email with the code.

I have no affiliation with the website. Just passing along in case the discount helps anyone. Thanks

 

Does it roll fast though? I'm selling my Ikon 2.2s to buy an AR 2.2. Also might buy a Forekaster 2.35 for the front. But I wonder how fast it is.

They're fast when compared to more heavy duty tires like the Minions.