[drew4392]

For years, I rode on Continental Race King tires (front and rear). I used to race on them, but now I just ride recreational, and kept them on. I forgot what traction feels like. I was reminded of this when I bought a new bike and it had MM/Hans tire combo. Wow. Had no idea what it was like to fly through turns without fearing death.

In comparison to my Race King tires (recently changed the front to Cross King and that was a nice bump in traction), the MM/HD feel like I can climb an inverted wall. On pavement, they are exhausting. And I do feel the resistance on climbs. On descents, they are amazing.

I know it's a trade off, but I'm wondering if anybody can recommend a fairly grippy combo that would achieve a bit less rolling resistance and if I can be greedy, something a little lighter.

I'm in Southern California, so it's mostly hard pack with the occasional minor rock garden.

I didn't come empty handed. I read a bunch of threads, and it seems there are a few popular options:

- Vittoria Morsa
- WTB Trail Boss
- Maxxis Griffin


Thanks, all!

 

[smurfendrek123]

I've seen good things being said on these forums about the maxxis rekon's, especially as a front tire, and they are pretty light still, 610g for 2.25in, and 780g for 2.6 (different compounds for 2.25 vs 2.6 though)

 

[Miker J]

Rear Rekon WT 2.4

Front Minon DHF 2.6 or a Forcaster 2.6


If you've got the rim width.

 

[Jetta2010]

since you already familiar with schwalbe, why not NN addix speedgrip (blue)

 

[drew4392]

I've seen good things being said on these forums about the maxxis rekon's, especially as a front tire, and they are pretty light still, 610g for 2.25in, and 780g for 2.6 (different compounds for 2.25 vs 2.6 though)

Rear Rekon WT 2.4

Front Minon DHF 2.6 or a Forcaster 2.6

If you've got the rim width.

since you already familiar with schwalbe, why not NN addix speedgrip (blue)

Thanks, everyone! I'll check these out now.

 

[Stonerider]

since you already familiar with schwalbe, why not NN addix speedgrip (blue)

I second the Nobby Nic. It rolls fast and still has way better grip than the Race King.

 

[Schulze]

Wow. Had no idea what it was like to fly through turns without fearing death.

I had a hearty laugh at this. It's true!

The Morsa aren't light, but they are the fastest 6mm side knob tire you can buy and are very puncture resistant (don't believe the naysayers because science has proved this) and they last foreeeeever. I have a wheelset dedicated to the Morsa.

2.4 XR4 Team is a popular option. I'm still wearing out some XR5s but my buddies use them.

2.4 Conti Mountain King (updated version) is super fast and pretty grippy. I have one I've used on the rear.

Maxxis, yeah whatever. They don't really excel in any one area as far as trail tires go. If you want grippy, put one on the front, but it won't be faster than your MM.

A popular combo lots of people run for these conditions is a Vittoria tire in the rear (Morsa, Mezcal, Barzo) and a Bontrager in the front (XR4 or XR5).

 

[whtdel]

MM Soft front ... and, HD, NN or even RoRazor (depending of terrain/condition) rear with Speedgrip compound (HD speedgrip in the "old" model only, but still plenty available on the shelves).

 

[biker2591]

Panaracer smoke and dart. In my dayz, these were the shitz.

 

[PuddleDuck]

Hi drew4392

Here's some things to ponder (hopefully not too much!):

You could ask the peeps in the SoCal regional forum.

Schwable tyres roll well given their grip.

One thing to try is to step down a grip level at each end. So, move the HD to the front, and as mentioned, try a NN in the rear.

At around the HD/NN level of gip, Maxxis Rekon's get a lot of love. So do Maxxis Forecasters in loose conditions. Michelin Wild AM also gets a lot of love, as well as the Bontrager XR4

The rear tyre has the biggest effect on rolling resistance.
Could you get by with a Vittoria Mezcal in the rear? That is a fast tyre, and still has way more knobs/depth than a pure race tyre.
OR
What about semi-slick style that has a fast centre tread & grippy side tread. e.g. the new Bontrager XR3 or the Schwable Rock Razor

Also as mentioned, moving up to a lighter 2.6 could be worth exploring (if your rims are ~30mm internally). Try a Rekon or a Forecaster up front, and a Bontrager XR2 out back

You might find it interesting to have a look at the tyre videos on Worldwide Cyclery's YouTube channel - they feature various trail & front & rear tyres: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxZoC1sIG-vVtLsJDSbeYyw/videos

In case you want to search MTBR for a specific tyre (Rock Razor in this example), you can use this search in google
site:forums.mtbr.com rock razor

 

[rpearce1475]

OP, read through this thread: https://forums.mtbr.com/california-socal/2016-best-tire-choice-socal-998735-2.html#post14264455

FWIW I've found Schwalbes to be hot garbage in Socal. Even with the addix they don't last long and the tread just doesn't seem to like hardpack and rocks much

 

[JaxMustang50]

It's subjective I know, but the WTB Trail Boss is really grippy and it rolls fast to me.
They have several different compounds / toughness options but try a light/high grip.

 

[33red]

2 Rekons, ya i lov them and i am not alone

 

[Suns_PSD]

2.6 Spesh Eliminator up front combined with the Rock Razor speed/ grip in the rear is a really fast combo for me that still has very good traction.
At any traction level however, not sure anything is lighter and faster than the comparable Addix Schwalbe. However less money and longer lasting is quite easy to obtain.

When you want to hit above average at everything but not the very best at anything (RR, weight, cost, traction, wear, availability, etc) you can't beat a Maxxis.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[DHRracer]

I have ran the MM and NN primarily in the PNW and loved the combo. I had a lot of faith in the MM on the front which meant I did not have to rely on the NN for other than to follow. Now I am in SoCal and have tried a Vittoria Martello which worked ok until I hit some thing looser and deeper plus it runs narrow, have not tried it on the rear. For some time now I have been using the Onza Aquilla non DH 27.5. Rolls and brakes really well but does have a large transition zone and requires an aggressive commitment in the corners. Running on a 27.5x27mm inside width rim might be a little better on a slightly wider rim. This has been all on hard pack and loose over hard. May leave one on the rear and try it with perhaps a MM, Assegai or some thing else. May sell the Martello (1 SkyPark day) and the front Aquilla (2 skypark days 3 Snow Summit days) Front tire I look for all around grip and rear tire braking and low rolling resistance. Kenda is working on a hard pack/loose over hard but I have no idea on dates.