Hard pack tires, go!

I have been very happy with the Rekon for hardpack to mixed on my hardtail. Rekon front/Ikon rear is also good. (Note, the Rekon is the only Maxxis tire I have ever truly liked). For a hardtail consider a 2.6 on a 35mm internal rim.

Others to consider are the Kenda Booster, Vittoria Barzo, Teraveil Honcho and Eline, Bontrager XR4/SE4, and Specialized Ground Control or Eliminator.

For a budget option, I've heard good things about Compass Mike Bear tires.

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J/K, PinkBike gave the Delium Versatile tire a solid review for $45.

I love the Rock Razor as a rear tire on hard pack. Also, I've generally been happy with a Hans Damph up front in Marin.

DHR2/Rekon

Dissector Front and Rear. Or WTB Trail Boss.

I have been running the Assegai front and rear in Dd casing for a bit in Marin. I was running and Assegai front and a dhr2 rear before, I don’t like the transition from the center lugs to the outside lugs on the dhr2. But will say the dhr2 rolls a lot more efficiently.

I've really been liking the Rekon up front and either Aspen or Ikon in the rear. Vittoria Mezcal is also a good option for hardpack.

mstrkrft69 said:

Favorite grabby tired for Marin hard pack? What combo do you love? I'm building up a steel hard tail so I thought I'd try out a new combo. I've been on DHF/Aggressor for a few years and love them.

Any reco's for a different combo? I'm keen on an Assegai/Dissector but availability is very thin, and they're pretty expensive. Price wise, the hardtail is more of a moderate buildup so I'm looking for a good budget combo that is sticky. I'm looking at the Michelin line, but it appears that their rubber is a little bit firmer and not as grabby as Maxxis.

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A good combo of the 2 things you're looking for: Budget & Performance.
Front: SpecialEd Eliminator or Butcher
Rear: SpecialEd Purgatory

These also come in at a reasonable Weight and work year-round in much of California for trail riding. And they're readily available.

Ian rogers said:

I have been running the Assegai front and rear in Dd casing for a bit in Marin. I was running and Assegai front and a dhr2 rear before, I don’t like the transition from the center lugs to the outside lugs on the dhr2. But will say the dhr2 rolls a lot more efficiently.

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That's a lot of tire for hardpack...

Down on the Peninsula I like my Vittoria Mezcal 2.25 rear and Barzo 2.35 front; pretty similar dirt to Marin the one time I rode up there. For a while ran a Mezcal up front and it was fast, but had just a couple too many unpredictable wash outs on it so switched to the Barzo.

PlasmaHawk said:

For a budget option, I've heard good things about Compass Mike Bear tires.

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This is quality content. 💀

Joe_510 said:

That's a lot of tire for hardpack...

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Right? It's a lot of tire period. Why Ibis specced so many of their bikes with this set up is beyond me.

And I'm following this thread b/c my experience of the Assegai on hard pack was not good. Like scared the sh1t out of me. Love it in every other condition tho, but run DHR2 in the back.

Define "hardpack", please.

To me, "hardpack" is pump-track dirt. You can ride that with microknobbies. Low-pro tread, at most.

Do you have loose top (dirt, duff, rocks)? Sand?

masonmoa said:

Right? It's a lot of tire period. Why Ibis specced so many of their bikes with this set up is beyond me.

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-My guess is supply-chain issues....

if you truly mean hard-pack, as in bike park flow trail, the dissector front/rekon rear is good. Trailboss front and rear is also pretty great, if you can get the rear to last. I also like the dhr 2 front/rear combo for marin, and currently i'm using an assegai front/eliminator rear, but i dont ride much, if any, hard-pack.

Dissector or Bont XR4 - F, Recon - R.

I have the 29x2.6 Mezcal on the back of my hardtail. It is a fast tire! Great on hardpack, and when new. I should swap it now, it's too slidey in wet and loose. Vittoria tires usually cost less than Maxxis, at least the older models. I've also found the Maxxis Forekaster was great on hardpack - faster, lighter and still grippy on hardpack but small knobs no match for Minions or Assegai for steep and loose stuff. I choose my tires on how aggressive I want to be, and for my hardtail, I choose fast flow over aggressive traction. I've never tried the Maxxis Dissector and look forward to rollin on some. I want to try more Vittoria tires after good experiences with the ones I have

wschruba said:

Define "hardpack", please.

To me, "hardpack" is pump-track dirt. You can ride that with microknobbies. Low-pro tread, at most.

Do you have loose top (dirt, duff, rocks)? Sand?

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China Camp, Tamo, Annadel in September. The trails are rock hard (mostly) so loose over hard.

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mstrkrft69 said:

China Camp, Tamo, Annadel in September. The trails are rock hard (mostly) so loose over hard.

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Crockett, too. Might as well be concrete or asphalt by end of summer.