XC Race Tire Thread

Ran a Bontrager XR4/XR3 combo through the winter on 36/29 ID wheels. The 29 2.4 XR3 grips surprisingly well on roots, better than an Agressor that came on the bike. The center tread also does a good job of poking through when it packs in as well. Noticed the side blocks are more rigid than the XR4, I think the casing may be stiffer overall. The XR3 was the slightly heavier tire at 790 grams if I remember correctly, with the XR4 coming in right under. Ran them down to 12psi with an insert to cushion the ride on a hardtail.

Next up are some Wolfpack Race when the new wheels come in, 29x2.25 are 680 grams.

I’ve noticed the newer 2.4" XR3 seems to get bad reviews from people on forums, but overall I really liked running them front and rear last year. However, I didn’t really get a chance to race them too often last year.

I do understand some of the criticism because I’ve had a few and none of them measured 2.4" on a 29mm internal width rim. Also I ruined 2 riding them on trails that I admittedly should not have been riding them on. I switched to the aggressor for that application.

To start this year I am going to try the 2.4" rekon race front/rear, but if I don’t like them I’ll have no problem going back to the xr3 for XC stuff.

Don’t want to start a whole thread but maybe someone can help pick a TRAIL tire. Not racing, looking for a good all rounder mostly for hard pack and loose over hard surfaces, some rocky/rooty stuff but not much. I don’t ride in mud or snow or loose conditions.

Philadelphia area terrain
180lb rider
2021 fuel ex 140/130mm
29x2.4” on a 29mm internal rim

Want something decent rolling and with plenty of cornering bite since that’s my Achilles heel. Running tubeless around 22/25/28psi no inserts

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Fastest to slowest for trail tires in my opinion, with grip expressed in reverse

  • Barzo/Racing Ray
  • Ardent Race, Agararro, Ikon
  • Forekaster, Nobby Nic, Purgatory
  • Agressor, Morsa, Hans Dampf
  • Minion SS
  • Minions, Magic Mary, Butcher

When I had a trail bike, my favorite combo was usually a high volume faster rolling rear tire and a bigger grip tire up front

Minion DHF in front and Minion SS was a good one, but I’d say it leaned more towards Enduro riding than trail.

I’ve also had good luck with double forekaster, but you have to run pretty low pressure.

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My bike came with Rekon 2.4 front and rear and they seemed like a pretty good trail tyre. Quite aggressive but not as slow as a DHF etc etc.

I gave them to a mate in favour of my Racing Ray and Ralph combo and he’s been really enjoying them.

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I’m currently running Conti Cross Kings on rear, XR4 on front. I’ve found this to be a versatile combo - good for Colorado mountains and Moab.

They’re both pretty light tires however - closer to the XC end of trail tires. So if you like to plow through rough stuff, you may want something beefier.

There’s a lot of possible combinations that could work however. It’s a question of trying different options to see what you like.

You just have to look at the combinations specced on popular trail bikes - see below for a few examples. All are different.

Bike: front, rear

Fuel: XR4 2.6 F and R
Stump jumper: butcher, purgatory
SB130: Minion DHF 2.5, Aggressor 2.3
Ripely: Hans Dampf, Nobby Nic
Tall boy: Minion DHF 2.3, Minion DHR II 2.3
Transition Spur: Dissector, Rekon
Giant Trance: Minion DHF 2.5, Dissector

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I have the 2.4” XR4 and am pretty happy with them overall just wasn’t sure if there was something new and amazing out there. Ive used the Ardent before but they just don’t inspire a ton of confidence for me even though I set a bunch of PRs on them back in the day, most of which I’ve broken due to increased fitness and improved handling abilities.

Going to a 2.6 could make sense, but also adds almost a full pound of weight to the bike, not sure if going from 28 to 28.75 is really a huge deal but I’ve also heads larger tires feel more disconnected and lazy

The XR4s have a bit too much tread (hence rolling resistance) for a rear tire for my liking. So I swapped to something different.

How are the Ray/Ralph combo working out for you compared to the Rekons?

I have the 2.4WT Rekon up front and pleased with the grip, but have always been curious of swapping to that Schwalbe combo for better rolling resistance and slightly lighter weight.

Rekon for me: in good conditions I can ride them nearly as hard as my Minions. The 2.6 weighs the same as the 2.4 too, and they’re both light (about 820g), so you can go either size depending on your preferences with no weight penalty.

I think a Vittoria Mazza front and Agarro rear (or F&R) would be able to handle whatever jawn you come across on the trail.

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The Schwalbe’s are really awesome. I’ve got a brand new set of the SuperRace Skinwall tyres ready to go a bit closer to my A Race. They seem to be really made for/excel in the woodsy/rooty terrain as opposed to the loose over hard/sharp rocks. I’ve never had an issue and they are very confidence inspiring for the stuff I ride.

Anyone have experience with the Dissector/Assegai combo or maybe two of either of the above? More for a “trail” bike, never raced just love to rip around trails for fun

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I raced a very similar course with an Ardent Race/Aspen and now the RaRa combo. I won’t give feedback yet though. On the first race I think I was a little too weak (upper body) to perform well, and the low tire pressures I accidentally used on the Maxis helped (valve stem was clogged with sealant so I couldn’t get a decent reading). This last race I think I ran too much pressure, and it negatively impacted the handling. Next race is in two weeks. I’ll try and do some training rides and dial the pressure in better.

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Just ordered a Skeleton/Kraken combo from Chain Reaction (couldn’t find them anywhere in the states). Been using RR/KN combo for years. Anybody have any experiences with those?

I got my hands on an Ikon 2.6, does this still qualify as an XC tire?!

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Interested in your findings :+1:

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Where are you riding? I’m considering a f/r XR4/3 in 2.4” for 29ID wheels, have XR4 2.4 f/r now

@Jonathan giving in and admitting big tyres are the answer :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:.

“Like :poop: to a blanket”

Riding on Long Island. It’s solid all around setup. Depending on where you ride though, I would strongly consider an XR3 front and rear. I just put a set of Wolfpack Race 2.25’s on 30ID’s today. The grip wasn’t far off my other setup but set lots of PR’s and fastest time for the year so far on a trail I ride. Good drift and catch setup. Next move is to test an XR3 front with the Wolfpack Race in the rear.