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when i asked Schwalbe i've been told they're not even thinking on making the Tacky a radial tyre, which was very sad to see, i love it as a rear tyre, and i'm far from a "racer"
Call them back immediately and tell them they're stupid dummies.
What do you pair it with in the front? It seems like Mary would maybe feel a bit squirmy since the side knobs are softer, but I’m not sure.
For anyone wondering, the complete lack of siping on the corner knobs of the new Butcher/Eliminator are definitely noticeable when it’s wet. They can definitely hydroplane a little bit. Not a huge deal since I typically ride the short travel bike in the dry, but something to note.
Since I seem to have a knack for picking the most expensive tires I can get my hands on, I’ve ordered a set of Kryptotal Fr/Xynotal in Enduro for the Sentinel, to hopefully eke out a little more pedaling/hardpack performance without totally compromising its descending capability.
Always Mary in the front, always in super soft, and now that it's a thing, Radial too, i don't like flow stuff so for me it's just the best front tyre in all sort of condition, Dust, Mud, Loam, Slabs, Roots, Snow, Everything
Im running a set of Continental Kryptotals F/R in a DH casing and I have super soft up front and soft in the rear and the front tire is wearing faster than the rear tire. Anyone else have experience with this? 90% of the milage on these tires has been bike park but I’ve never had this happen when running Maxxis tires with Maxxgrip up front and Maxterra in the rear under similar conditions.
I had a similar set Argotal and a Re Kryoto. I thing they wore pretty equally when I ran them. TBH I kind of liked that its so much nicer to replace both tires at the same time. Conti seem to be the best bang for your buck for performance, price and wear on the market. It hard to pass them up as long as you can stay out of the Radial hype train. Which i couldn't, I got some radial Shreddas I am trying out. I got 2x Shredda fronts for like $60 usd off of PB and a rear from the local shop. The rear (in the front) I mounted and was surprised I how round it was. It was a good day for dirt and did well but I cant say I was crazy impressed. I rode it on the less than ideal dirt as well and its seemed fine. It didnt squirm as much as I had expected on the hard pack but the round profile wasn't my favorite maybe need to re adapt. I am coming off the argotal which is a bit more square. I cant say I felt that the radial casing was doing all that much but maybe thats why the tire wasn't squirming that much on the hard pack portion of trail. I took off the rear and cut down a front to try a less aggressive but still aggressive tire with radial casing. Rear shredda knob height is about 7mm front shredda knob height 8mm both have about a 1mm taller side knob. I trimmed about 3mm off of center and side on a front and to me it looks like it is going to be a good intermediate tire. This is mostly just to try the radial casing. I couldn't find MM in 29 at the time and thought I'll try the shredda since it was fairly cheap to experiment and I can throw them on the ebike when things get wet and just use them up that way. Short story long-> I like the wear rates of the conti SS front and S rear. All my bikes are MX so transferring fronts to rear doesn't matter anymore. Unless I feel like something magical happen during my time on radials I dont know why anyone would buy anything other than conti...
I have a DHR MG on the front and a Xynotol Soft in rear that each have ~500 trail miles (including sandstone slabs) on and are worn similar, the MG maybe even more. The front certainly would be considered for replacement before the rear. I typically would replace a front at say 60% life left where rear maybe 30-40%.
I have the same DH combo on my big bike, but not enough miles to make the same comparison as you for wear.
I found on the Xynotol soft that the middle tread is being worn down faster than the side knobs. It still hooks up well, just losing a bit of braking and climbing traction. Much different than what I've experience with Maxxis where the side knobs blow out but the middle has life left.
I just believe the Conti soft is very durable and lasts a lot longer than a maxxis Max terra. I'm personally a big fan as a rear tire.
You’re probably right that its more of a case of the soft compound just being that much more durable rather than the super soft being fast wearing.
I'd prefer to know your rim widths, but ultimately, I can make a recommendation that works for very fast trail riding while still providing high confidence.
In the front I'd go with the Schwalbe Albert 2.5 Ultrasoft trail.
In the rear I recommend the Conti CrossKing 2.3 Black Chili Protection.
30mm rim width.
A narrower rear rim would work better for this application, but none-the-less you should try the tires I recommended.
If you want even more speed and are willing to give up some front wheel traction, the Ibex Onza is way faster than it looks and when fresh has solid trail grip for a front tire (it falls off quickly though). The Onza up front (get the grippy but light version) with the CrossKing Protection in the rear (not the Taiwan made performance+, but the German made Black Chili Protection) is 98% as fast as XC tires while having 50% more traction. If you like a LOT of front traction, go to the Albert 2.5 US trail up front.
I don't know if I have weak legs or what, but I'm very sensitive to Rolling resistance and have learned what works because I lean my bikes aggressively. I've experimented with lots of tires, but of course not all.
GL
As I've been saying... the new DHF II is going to become a go-to for World Cup riders front and even rear.
Jackson proved me right this weekend! (Front and rear)
Perfect tread for WC racing on most tracks. Similar to the beloved High Roller III but with more braking traction and predictability across the tread (what the Assegai provides). Won't clear mud like a HR3, but it will become the go-to on mixed and dry tracks. Super hardpack tracks may still see the Aseegai as a favorite, but I think the DHF2 will likely be more popular on the front wheel of Maxxis DH WC racers next season than the Assegai.
Anyone else feel Conti is getting over their skis with their US pricing? The World Cup success got me interested in dropping Maxxis for Conti but the fact they were slightly cheaper is what sealed the deal to actually buy them. I can’t find a Kryptotal Enduro casing for under $105. I’m finding Schwalbes for $80 or less all day, even the new hotness of the radials. Yes the Contis last, but if a Schwalbe is 3/4 the price I’m taking that into account when I think about longevity. Call me old fashioned but when I see three figures for a bike tire I expect it to be DH casing.
Wanna talk about the Kiwi pricing? Nzd
$199 for a super soft enduro
$219 for a super soft dh
They can keep their tyres in my book.
Radials are better and $165 anyway so happy days, but pricing with Conties went nuts
any issues running a radial front and whatever rear?
For me, the front tyre is everything. I could ride a bald 5 year old DH-R on the back and not care, but the front has to be MaxxGrip and brand new.
Want to try the radial thing though.
100%, it’s absolutely brutal right now. I was thinking it was tariff-related but if the prices are that bad in NZ, that’s tough to swallow.
(Shameless plug and because some folks were curious) The new Dissector is available on our e-store now if your local shop doesn't have them: https://shop.maxxis.com/collections/mountain/products/dissector-ii
EXO, EXO+, and DoubleDown specs available.
I realize you’re probably not allowed to talk about it, but this as a rear tire with DHF2 looks like a pretty winning combo.
🤐
Go for it, from my experience with radials it’s totally a front focused casing and I’m not gonna run it rear in the future.
Pull your finger and get it released already!!
Also, would be good to see a more aggressive shorty/high roller 3
Do you think it'll be Radial? The DHF II I mean?
My experience is that the Albert US Trail makes for an AMAZING front TRAIL tire, but is quite inadequate for proper AM style riding. The MM Radial gravity makes for a very good front tire, but isn't an ideal tread pattern for my dry rocky terrain.
However on the rear of my e-bike (AM/ Enduro style terrain) the Albert 2.6 x 27.5 Soft Gravity is very very good, just needs a lot of psi. Currently I have a 2.5 DHRII on the rear of the e-bike and don't love it. Yes, traction is very good, but it's too flat and doesn't want to lean over well. My second favorite rear tire for my AM mid-power e-bike (I can definitely feel how slow the DHR2 is on the midpower) is the Aggressor 2.5. That's a really good one too. A tire that leans well and is consistent, while still rolling decent is more important to me than absolute traction. Also, the DHR2 is tearing side knobs quite quickly.
I don't enjoy the DHR2 as a front under any circumstances. Slow and not great side traction.
Been riding a MM Radial front and a Kryptotal Rear DH on my park and enduro bike and it's been great. In the wet, the huge difference in grip front and rear is pretty comical to me, but it still is so much better. Makes no sense we're still on bias-ply rears IMO, but we'll see what Schwalbe does. I have no desire to run the Albert in the rear, as I think Schwalbe has done a terrible job of messaging with what the tire actually is. (also the name is such a deadpan compared to all their others) Is it an Assegai or is it a Xynotal? Is it a front or a rear and for which bike, trail or enduro?
Radial front is a total gamechanger in the wet or loose.
Tacky Chan is faster rolling, basically an improved DHR2.
Magic Marry is an improved Assegai with a little more edge on looser conditions.
If you want a faster rear, Nobby Nic rolls well and pairs well with the MM up front.
Last year I was asking for a combo to replace an Assegai and DHR2 and was told to go with magic Mary and big Betty in the rear. This was pre radial casing though...
Thanks for the feedback, Sydney trails are usually sandy, rocky and loose so it seems like a good fit for me.
Is it weird at first and then you go "holy shit" or does it blow your socks off first ride?
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