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light tires for FR, a joke???

2842 Views 33 Replies 29 Participants Last post by  RYAN E
So I am researching a lot and never been a weight weenie, but I have realized I don't need super heavy duty stuff considering im not into huge hucking these days and im full size now and small 150lbs. My 52 pound bike is a bit... overkill. So looking into a new bike I am looking for important cost effective ways to save some weight.
I have always had tire choice as one of my main priorities, because grip and feel make it fun, skinny ass slippery hard tires suck. The tires I use now are, intense world cup, arrow wide bite, mobster, had nokian gazz, and so on, and they are heavy. I hear people all the time talk about saving a hundred or so grams with wheelsets, then I look at my tires that are 1200-1500 grams. So I look for lighter weight tires, and people pretty much have no suggestions. People refer to things like schwalbe tires, then I see people say, well the only good ones are bla bla, I look at weight, and the bigger ones that work best are in the same range as the other tires, around 1200 grams. Anything less and poeple say they suck. I want a fat ass, great gripping, not hard/bouncy feeling, the feeling of a DH tire. So is there any tires out there!? Or does everyone just deal with the extra weight?? it bugs me to save 50 grams on something when I could save 500 grams of rotating weight... but is it worth it?
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I have run minion and high roller in single ply with no problem. I am running Larsen TT and advantage in single ply with hassle. I also run big bettys with issue. All these tires come in under 850g I think. The time I hand trouble was with the single ply rear getting a side wall puncture from sharp rocks on my back yard DH run. Changed to the bettys for no weight gain and no problems since. For normal rocky sections single have been fine, these one are just sharp and stick into the trail and awkward angles literally stabbing the wheelset.
If you're not riding DH trails and not hitting rocks at high speed, you can EASILY get away with a single ply tire. For just hitting jumps and "standard" (whatever that means) FR features, 1-ply with a steel bead should work fine. Those will run in the 700g area.
As long as you don't ride a lot of rocks you can get away with running a single ply casing. The Schwalbe freeride casing is a great compromise in my opinion. It is durable enough for most areas and still pretty light.
52 pound bike is a lot.....different pedals, wheelset, ti spring for shock, different seat and seat post and some NEW Saint cranks and you could easily shave 5 to 8 pounds
whole new bike... its a old ass kona stab with stratos s8 fork

"1-ply with a steel bead should work fine. Those will run in the 700g area." - what size/brand?
maybe a different frame 52 lbs is an old dh weight..skimping on single ply tires is the wrong place to take a short cut
I know you half mocked the schwalbes but they really are awesome. the snakeskin makes them really durable.

the Muddy mary in 2.35 single ply is tough and fairly light, good grip in soft dirt
the Big Betty in 2.4 is another good one, rolls fast and has good grip in hardpack

other options

maxxis advantage 2.4
intense 909 2.5 single ply
new intense edge or 909 dual ply FR casing
I run Kenda SB8 tires fr+rr on my Session, as long as there is no mud and sharp shale they work great in 2.35" at 36/40psi...roll fast too.
adamantane said:
maybe a different frame 52 lbs is an old dh weight..skimping on single ply tires is the wrong place to take a short cut
Not if you're not riding rocks. Single-ply is PERFECTLY acceptable for riding jumps/drops/slow speed stuff. I've hit plenty of big doubles and step down on my hardtail with single ply 2.35 tires with NO problems. Dual ply is really only important if you're charging through rocks and such. Even then if you're careful you can get away with single-play, MAYBE.

schoolisbad1 said:
whole new bike... its a old ass kona stab with stratos s8 fork

"1-ply with a steel bead should work fine. Those will run in the 700g area." - what size/brand?
There's lots of choices. What kinda terrain you riding? What part of the world? Dry Socal type stuff:
2.35 or 2.5 Maxxis High rollers or minion DHF's for the front or rear, kenda telonix 2.4 for the front

Wetter East coast/Northwest type stuff:
High roller rear, Minion DHF front. Maybe some of those intense Edge 2.35 single ply tires for the front. This kinda terrain isn't my specialty, someone else can chime in I'm sure.
looking for tires for new bike- im not trying to save weight on my bike. I ride northern california, loose to loose on hardpack some rocky areas, and sometimes completely loose. I'm thinking the muddy mary, for half the price they have the kenda tomac nevegals or whatever, any one have experience with them? both are about 900-1000 grams. Also im not biased and willing to give anything /company a chance, i just cant afford to try too mcuh
I'm able to get a way with 2.4 single ply tires for Heavy AM/Light freeride stuff in New England. I'm currently using the single ply Ardents and I've used the Big Bettys, Fat Alberts, and others with varying degress of success. I have ridden lift assist rides with single ply and didn't flat. Tables and smooth drop landings were no problem but I suffered on everything else. I had to really hold back on the rocky sections as I was hitting rim all the time. To compensate I had to over-inflate the tires which made the traction real sketchy on the wet stuff (There is always wet stuff on East Coast DH trails). I also had issues with blasting through thicker mud. My buddies rode through this stuff with their DH tires like it was nothing while I was getting thrown around as the tires squirmed and slid out. Unless all of your riding is smooth, bermy, tables and jumps I'd look to save weight elsewhere.
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I don't know why someone would recommend steel bead. Kevlar saves a fair bit of weight with no downside. I run 2.7" dual ply Maxxis for rocky DH (only available in wire) and 2.35" Nevegal single ply kevlar for FR.
Ill join the chorus of Schwalbe users

I have a Muddy mary single ply in the front set up GT. multiple days at snowshoe mtn and the local trails. no problems and a Great tire.
Single ply is the way to go unless your trails are landmines of rock or you go to a ski resort every week to ride dh.

I have a set of single ply's for 99% of the riding I do and I've never run into an issue. I put the heavy dh casing tires on when I make it out to Northstar.
i think im going to try a stick E nevegal up front 2.5 folding bead, weight claimed is 900 grams- at cheap prices, ... then maybe ill try a muddy mary for the rear if i like this single ply/ folding bead
I'm quite enjoying my conti diesels actually.

I've also rarely had a problem with single ply tires, I run them for everything but where I don't have to pedal my ass back up.

I've had good luck with minion DHF/DHR, high roller and advantages, all single ply.

I'm in the 190-200lb with gear range, ride east coast trails, so lots of rock and roots etc, the rocks aren't razor sharp though which I guess is good. I tend to run pretty low pressures.

Ran 25psi front 28psio rear on the minions, and due to the smaller casings (2.5) they were the most likely to flat out of the bunch (had two flats on them)

I ran the advantages 25psi on the back 20 on the front and never had a problem, but they are a much higher volume casing. (never flatted)

Recently with the diesels, pressures about the same as the advantages but they offer more traction, they seem to just feel a little more confident and roll a lot faster. (never flatted)

I have about zero concern running single plys for my day to day riding, I'm going to try the contis on lift/shuttle days too to see what happens, mostly because I want to evaluate them, I'll leave my dual ply minions in the truck just in case...
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Hmm, Last few days I've been trying the intense edge 2.35 dual plys on my 6inch bike. I've been ridding some farly gnarly stuff and they've been holding up great. They've got a folding bead and are DEFINITELY NOT the same "2-ply" as maxxis/kenda/michi stuff. Much thinner, 1-1.5 ply. Maybe worth checking out.
Single ply tires have more than one disadvantage. People suggesting that as long as you don't ride in pinch flat risky conditions you'll be fine forget that single ply tires float more easily on lower pressures. If you want lighter tires run 2.35 schwable or maxxis dhf/hr and i wouldn't go below that. Traction is more important and you can loose weight elsewhere. I'm very much against unneeded weight but tires would be one of the last places I'd look to shed weight.
Specialized SX casing is a good compromise. It is a single ply with a ply under the tred for extra suport under hard cornering. I think they are just under 1000g.
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