Tire chat (nerds only)

Argotal up front is what you want for marbles, loose sand, and dust.

What's wrong with the Albert as a rear tire? So far I didn't come to test it in the front or the back but I think its should be fine in the back. Just not a grip monster for an ebike I think.

When I tried radials, I didn't love the Albert as a rear tire because it wasn't as easy to deliberately get it to step out as rear-focused tires with long horizontal blocks, like the DHR / Kryptotal Rear.  Tacky Chan looks like it would be better in that regard.  I will probably give them another try once the TC radial comes out, and also stick to Gravity casing this time F+R.

The Albert is a bit of strange tire. I have a few more rides on the Gravity 2.6 SS/Gravity 2.5 soft combo, and so far I’m finding it doesn’t have a whole lot of “feel” in front (though it hasn’t let go unexpectedly) and is maybe slightly more locked in than I’d ultimately prefer out back.

I can answer this, I personally prefer the 2-blocks instead of the 2-2-3 blocks. Most rolling resistance comes from the rear, and most of the grip comes from the front. 2-blocks roll faster, while still having good braking traction. If I was running full 29, then I'd consider running a 2-2-3 as the added rollover would counteract the drag, but I'm on mixed wheels, and I want a fast rolling tyre.

My current setup on the trail bike is front tire either Magic Mary in fall/ winter to punch through leaves and pine straw, Tacky Chan spring/ summer as trails dry up and get hard (GA clay gets hard as pavement in spots).

I've been pretty happy with the Nobby Nic in the rear. Good balance of speed/traction. I have run a TC in the rear and it's great if I wanted more grip.

The reviews of the Albert seem mixed on loose over hard, which is the majority of the trails I'm on. I might tri one but it seems like a step slower/heavier without much added grip for most conditions. 

Been on Albert trail soft rear at 23 psi and MM trail super soft front 21 psi for a bunch of rides now. I dig it. The hookup is sweet- tons of confidence leaning and braking and turning hard under load. Unlike some others, these tires feel to me like they roll as fast or faster than my prior DHF exo+ maxxterra front 20 psi Eliminator grid trail T7 rear with cushcore XC 21 psi setup . They have more traction. They dampen small chatter very well- this is perhaps the biggest improvement for me with them. I'm a big fan of the radials. Looking forward to new tread patterns. Hoping for something like the tioga edge 22 pattern than both Scwalbe and Maxxis seem to he heading towards. 

wow, that's low pressures for the rear, even in the wet i keep 28psi for the albert trail at 81kg riding weight, i went down to 27 today as it was slick as but i kept hearing banging noises on roots compressions/landings so pumped it up again

Anyone tried both Krypto FR Supersofts and Magic Mary radials for a comparison? I've been really keen on the Krypto FRs since they came out but am curious to go back to the modern Mary, which I ran in Whistler for a few seasons before moving on to the Gwin Onza's. 

I'm 160 (72kg). I run a soft setup, both tires and suspension. Haven't had a whole lot of squirming or rolling of the tire but sometimes do get some cross hatching marks on the rear sidewall suggesting I am flexing the tire quite a bit. We do not have a lot of high G force berms or jumps with high G takeoffs here in SW CO though, especially this year with Purgatory bike park closed. The trails are mostly natural single track with some roots and rocks. If I was riding park or somewhere with high G scenarios, I'm sure I'd have to add some pressure. 

I agree the radials climb really well. They give on small stuff at low speeds and roll right over. Someone on another site said they slurp the trail. Its a good analogy. The surface seems to keep in contact with the trail, like a slug, but not slow like a slug.  

For anyone first getting into radials getting the right PSI does take some tinkering, but it's totally worth it. +/- even 1 psi can make a lot more difference that in non radials. Terrain and weight, and side walls, also make a big different one person to the next.

If such minute difference plays such a big role, how does changing temperature and/or elevation feel?

I run 27psi when it's normal out, if it's dusty or wet I go to 25. I'm really enjoying the MM so far

Really happy with this setup:

lol moped tire

Fast rolling and good grip for dry dusty/rocky soil:

Will see how they last though- this is 10 miles in… corner knobs already starting to show undercutting 

I had the same combo last season and that Rekon lasted 12 rides before the cornering knobs started disappearing. Amazing while it lasted. Now I run the dual compound Rekon which lasts significantly longer while sacrificing a bit of cornering grip. 

I saw the dual compound version but I really need the exo+ casing. Think the maxxterra is the only one available in that casing.

Today I learned there is actual thread wear indicator on maxxis tires.

Haven't noticed a significant difference in the radials when riding at 7'k vs 10-13'k elevation as far as feel related to pressure. Temp ranges so far are all summer range- 60-90F and no major differences that I can detect. I wasn't changing pressure with my old non radial setup at altitude either. 

Agree that fine tuning is in order- 1psi makes a difference. I try to set pressure right before I ride with the same pump every time. Yes I am a tire nerd. 

Not sure you understood me. If 1 psi makes a difference and you set pressures before the ride, surely you notice the tyres are too stiff at the top, as they warmed up from the sun and the effective pressure raised due to altitude gain? Both combined can be multiple psis

Okay... I'm not disputing that 1 psi of difference is noticeable. Obviously changing pressures makes a difference, regardless of the casing, otherwise we'd be running airless tyres. And to make it clear, I set pressures with a pressure gauge, lately at the top of the descent. 

What I'm wondering, asking, (disputing?) is how important is that 1 psi of difference. If it is, surely people to whom it is so important are adjusting pressures mid descent (not mid ride, mid descent) multiple times? 

Setting pressures in a cool cellar and bringing your bike out in the sun can add up to 10 % of pressure from the temperature difference. 1000 m of elevstion (between sea level and 3000 meters) is roughly 0,1 bar or 1,4 psi. Dropping 1000 meters (not impossible will alter the pressures more than the 1 psi mentioned as a change in feel.

Thus me asking, if you feel 1 psi of difference when setting pressures, surely you feel the difference between the top and the bottom of a long descent? And where (and to what) do you set the pressures then? How do you measure pressure? A digital gauge? Always the same one? And I didn't even touch temperature changes (morning vs. midday vs. afternoon). 

for example, where i ride now i get 300m of elevation top, so it's basically unchanged, and that 1 psi sometimes mean i'm hearing my rim banging or not, that's the only thing i feel/hear, if im dropping 1000m vert my legs will be cooked anyway so that psi more or less, make it 3 even, i won't feel.

I'm light (65-68 kg without gear) but ride the radials on a light Levo built and I almost use as low pressures as with the supertrail casing in the trail casing. And really low because I also mostly ride natural trails with rocks and roots and no high g force turns or jumps. I also carry a gauge with me and try to go as low as possible without damaging my rims. So most of the time I can get away with 18 psi in the front and a little more in the rear. Sure I get an occassional rim ding on a rock or a root and my rear rim looks a bit funny but the grip is phenomenal and I can tell when its a critial hit or just damped enough that it doesn't dent the rim too bad. Its just comfy and grippy.

I can't say I notice a difference in pressure when I go from the top a long descent (1k+ of vert) to the bottom.

That is some low pressure Tabletop84! 
 

I had the chance to ride a Demo recently at Windrock which had the Specialized Cannibal tires front and rear. I would agree with Cahal's review on youtube. Tires were great on the downhill trails, lots of support in the cornering lugs and pretty good braking - but on the slower enduro type trails the tires felt pretty dead. It didn't have the 'always on' type grip a la assegai, but the transition from center to cornering knobs is pretty quick.

Its only working becuause I'm light and prefer to ride natural hiking trails which are usually way more damped because the soft top layer soil isn't gone and the bottom layer not compressed by thousands of riders so that its hard as concrete like bikepark trails. You also can't go as fast on them because they are narrow. I also keep an eye on the pressure all the time and have a pressure gauge with me. And yeah my rims have many micro dents and some bigger ones. Like my rear wheel wobbles into all directions but I don't notice it when riding and the traction/comfort is nice. 

Only sometimes I'm wondering if my front tire folds in fast corners but my suspision is its more just a loss of gripp. 

Since I ride magic mary (not just radial tires) with low pressure in the front I stopped having these loosing the frontwheel out of nowhere moments I had in the past with other tires and without monitoring my pressure. Its basically the same approach as the radial tires. Lower pressure increases the contact patch of the tires and makes it less bouncy. But it will only work if you ride a bit conservative in certain situations and watch out for stuff like sharp rocks. 

Radial update: Went out earlier with my brother, went down to 24psi front and rear (front is super soft MM gravity pro radial, rear is a soft Tacky Chan in gravity) I've never been able to really keep up with him, and I started off feeling really slow, but when I warmed up I started catching up to him, which never happens. We both agreed to go full race pace and I was still catching up to him, provided I didn't make any mistakes or anything. He says his front and rear were both sliding at points (he runs a regular super soft MM trail casing front and a super soft Big Betty DH) and my front felt like I was able to push it way more if I had the skill. I've either been limited by my tyres for a while or I've gotten a lot better at riding in a short amount of time. I'm absolutely loving it! I used to be scared of loose terrain, but recently I've been telling myself "in dust we trust."

Looks like no discussion yet about Jackson running the new DHF in Andorra... That tire is set to replace the Assegai on a lot of World Cup racer's bikes as it becomes more available. Great compromise between the Shorty II and the Assegai.

No offense to Ed Masters (I don't share this quality with him, but I admire it and wish I could be like this), but I wouldn't read too much into Ed's bike setup. I legitimately think any part on his bike might be there by accident.

His bike does seem to be improvised jazz quite often.

I love the run what you brung attitude (because that's my attitude) but I'm also not trying to eek out performance to win races. I'm just trying to be better today than I was yesterday on the same gear so I can actually measure my improvement and put it down actual improvement rather than gear changes.

"I'm my own competition, I'm competin' with myself. Brrrr!" - Cardi B

 

I'm sure this will get as much debate as their brake reviews, but the germans over at enduro-mtb have released a big tire review with some puncture protection and rolling resistance values:
https://enduro-mtb.com/en/the-best-mtb-tire-in-review/

I like how reading this thread and these type of reviews make me wonder how I survive riding on lighter casings when everyone recommends gravity stuff ! A general lack of rocks must help...