XC Race Tire Thread

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.

Have you tried out the monster truck tyres yet?

Not yet, I only have one of these 2.6 Ikons which I’m inclined to run up front first. I’ll report back for sure.

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I’ve had good luck so far with the SuperGround casing. My regular benchmark climb is very rocky. Only tire I’ve had issues with punctures has been the Aspen, but in general I don’t get my punctures. I also usually run race sealant all the time because I hate punctures.

Not sure if its my weight, riding style or something else but I’ve been lucky. Of course now I’m surely screwing myself by saying it.

The old Schwalbe casings before the SuperGround/Race were absolute garbage and I punctures those constantly and swore off Schwalbe for many years.

These new ones are also wearing much slower than previous tries.

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