tire recommendation
Looking for recommendations for new tires. I'm new to biking and the area. Riding scott county and sunderbruch a lot. Right now I'm riding a giant xtc a0 with 26" tires. They have the kenda small block 8s right now, and would like to have a bit more traction especially since I'm doing more off road riding.
All help is appreciated!
I switched to Maxxis Ignitors from a GEAX AKAs (which are similar to the small block 8s) and I am very happy with the change. The Ignitors are no good on pavement, but really hook up in the corners on the trail.
FORC'n Newbie
Schwalbe Albert's (or even better, Fat Albert's if they fit your frame). Best all conditions tire ever.
+1 on the Schwalbes. I have Fat Alberts, but i'm running a Schwalbe Nobbie Nick on the front and Schwalbe Rocket Ron on the back. I think the Rocket Ron at 2.25 is thin right now on the back for my riding style and am thinking about going back to a Fat Albert 2.35 on the rear. My buddies all ride various Schwalbe's (Hans Dampf, Nicks, Ralphs, etc) and have all had good luck with them around here and out West.
FORC'n Newbie
2.35" Kenda Happy Medium. Fast rolling low center tread with large sticky knobs on the edges and decent volume.
Supporting Member
Tire opinions are like...... well, everybody's got one ;) There can be a lot of factors in tire selection like how you ride, where you ride, type of bike, tire pressure, etc. In this area something with a medium knob works pretty well. Schwalbe makes some good tires for the area, if I was running them I'd go with Nobbie Nick's. I have mostly run Continental Mountain Kings (2.2) for the last 3 years. Traction has never been a problem. I just switched to the new Continental X King's to go tubeless but haven't ridden them yet. None of the options mentioned are bad choices, but It may take some time to find what works best for you, I have a pile of old tires in the garage that didn't work for me over the years.
Last edited by Jazn; 06-26-2012 at 06:24 PM.
Thanks for the help guys!
I ended up ordering some schwalbe Nobbie Nic's. I was just having issues deciding on something that wasn't too wide. I was told to go no wider than 2.25 on my bike.
Glad we could help! Please make sure to post your results!
Supporting Member
What's that supposed to mean? I've raced the small block 8s "off road" for years. They aren't bike path tires. But yes, there are a lot better gripping tires out there.Originally Posted by UIowaguy86
You're going to love them. Rolling resistance of a Small Block Eight, but plenty of traction. Love my Mountain King 2.4 on my trail bike too though.
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Supporting Member
Love the Nic's on my setup. Plenty of grab in them.
"Start and end at a brewery, and a very cool snow and Ice urban/cross country, lake ride in between with flasks ful of Krakin... YAH MON!!!!" - Vibrato
"Every one of you should ride a bike and be yourself. I really and truly believe that bikes make the world better, and that anyone who spends some time getting used to life on the saddle will find that it makes their life and the world that their life is locked to, better; in almost every way." -Gern Blanston, Surly Bikes
FORC'n Newbie
Check out this thread I started last fall: http://www.qcforc.org/showthread.php?2655-Tires
Some of the replies to that thread were spot on. You can go nearly broke searching for the holy grail of tires, and it is a good idea to roll with what ya got to learn the subtleties of the tire. The trails are like concrete right now so I'd think your SB8's would be perfect. When the leaves fall from the trees then you might want to invest in something with bigger knobbies and by then you'll have a better understanding of cornering and tire tech.
I thought the stock tires (Specialized Fast Trak LK Sport 2.0) on my 29er were gonna suck but they actually roll pretty well and corner decent, but I'm coming from a fat bike and that thing was like a tank so a lot of it is relative.
Poser
Ah, the great tire debate.
Thing about tires is, like Don said, you can broke searching for the "perfect" tire.
I've tried A LOT of tires. So many that when I walk into HH and start looking at tires and they're always saying "dude, you're a tire whore!" Thankfully, not anymore.
For me (and I stress...for *ME*) the perfect tire on our local trails is the Maxxis IKON EXO with the 3C compound. Ultra-light tire, strong sidewall, fantastically low rolling resistance, and despited the micro-knob tread pattern, grips to the trail like glue. I run ~22psi front and rear. Anything lower and I'm bottoming out the rear. If I need a more agressive tread, I've fell in love with the Maxxis Ardent 2.4 EXO. Tubeless. A bit overkill for our local trails but a fast rolling, strong gripping tire nonetheless.
Bontrager, Specialized, Kenda...there are a bunch of great tires on the market. Researching, buying, and trying tires can drive a person insane (and broke!) if you let it. Otherwise, trust your gut and buy a set and run 'em into the ground.
"ya, well...that's like...your...opinion. man."
Supporting Member
Yeah, those Maxxis IKON EXOs are awesome too. Nearly bought a pair myself, but I could better deal on the X-Kings... plus Jeff Kerkove called them the perfect Colorado race tire.
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FORC'n Newbie
one thing I'll throw out there... Bontrager has a tire guarantee, so if you buy say a pair of XR3's and end up not liking them, we can exchange them for something different. 30 day satisfaction guarantee, that way you can try 'em and decide.
ANYTHING can be fixed...how badly do you want it?
Supporting Member
Scotty, what'd you sell Jon for my 29er? I LOVE those tires! Bontrager something.
I wanna ride!
That's great to know! I'll keep that in mind when it comes time to buy my next set.
FORC'n Newbie
Wanna get rid of those SB8's?
FORC'n Newbie
I've been eyeing a pair of Tioga Psycho Genius tires, does anyone have experience with them?
Supporting Member
Never heard of them, but the brand looks pretty innovative as does the tire itself. A quick Google search shows that they should work with stan's notubes so there are good there. I say try them out.
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