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T7 is between Conti Soft and Super Soft. T9 is softer than Super Soft.
If you're riding in the wet, I wouldn't bother with Conti Soft. If you're in a dry area/desert, it doesn't matter as much, and because the "soft" is pretty hard, so it will take forever to wear down, if that's important to you.
Awesome thanks!
So the internet says radials roll more slowly, but people's real world experience here differs?
Can't tell any difference tbh but I only run a radial in the front.
They ain't lying.
Can someone do this comparison for Conti Soft/Super Soft and Schwalbe Addix Soft/Addix Ultra Soft? I run a Conti soft enduro casing rear but just picked up a Magic Mary Radial Soft for the rear on really wet days. Sucks that Schwalbe doesn't offer that tire in Ultra Soft 27.5.
Schwalbe lets see the tacky chan radial, gravity and trail casing, soft and super soft rubba... cmon!
Just dropping in to give the Eddy Current front some love. Grabbed a trail casing/ultra soft 2.4" on a whim and have been pleasantly surprised. Magic Mary has been my go to for a while and the Eddy seems to clean up some its short comings. It does a better job with hardpack, feels like it rolls a bit better and other then really sloppy conditions, overall grip is on par. The biggest difference I noticed, the eddy does not share the mary's snap grip tendency when regaining traction when it drifts or is at the edge of grip.
I assume being labelled as an Eeb tire meant it was overlooked/ignored?
tried it once and hated it, it felt like a dhf to me which i don't like at all, especially as a 2.5, the 2.3 feels much better
Completely agree. I have ridden and raced the eddy current front quite a bit in 2.6 and 2.4. I found much better loose over hard performance and more predictable behavior than the magic mary in corners. Way better wet rock and root performance too with the large center blocks. I think in my experience I would put it somewhere between the assegai and the DHF in terms of feel. Which is a good thing.
That being said the radial version of the magic mary has grown on me and somewhat replaced the eddy current as my preference for PNW winter. That being said the eddy current is much faster rolling than the magic mary radial in my experience. I really just want more radial options. Ideally radial nobby nic or eddy current front or something in that realm. Or maybe a tacky chan with larger center knobs to make it more like a DHR2.
Speaking of Schwalbe, a friend of mine is looking to try out some new (Schwalbe) options. He's currently running a magic Mary and big Betty in trail soft on the pedal bike and a DHF (not sure of the specs, probably exo 3c) and a tacky chan ultra soft (a hand me down) on the Levo SL. Trail casing is enough, he rides light.
I was thinking radial magic Mary ultra soft for at least the pedal bike. As per above eddy current might be a good option. Albert is very assegai-esque?
Comments on Shreddas? Tacky chan for the rear? Any other options.
Shredda rear as a front works well in a variety of terrain. Match that with a Albert rear in 2.6 and you have a great natural terrain setup. Sure a Magic Mary front would increase rolling resistance but that Shredda is so confidence inspiring. Front and rear Shreddas for the best max grip winter setup especially on snow and soft ground.
Gotta call you out on this, @Primoz, because this is a general pet peeve of mine. "3C" is almost a meaningless designation at this point when talking about Maxxis tires. Is it a MaxxGrip or MaxxTerra 3C tire he's on? Because there's a world of difference between those two compounds and those two types of riders. To further confuse things, Maxxis also offers a "3C MaxxSpeed" compound, although I know that isn't available on the DHF. At least I hope not.
I know you and I've ridden with your crew, so I'd bet that it's a MaxxTerra tire that your friend is riding, but I don't want to assume.
Historically Maxxis has really been offering EXO 3C only in MaxxTerra, except the DHF, which has come in MaxxGrip for ages
Fair nitpick, honestly no idea, but I'd assume MaxxTerra too.
DHR2 comes in 2.4 EXO MaxxGrip also.
Anyone in the know (or Schwalbai) have an idea of when we'll actually see Tacky chan / big betty in radial? What's taking so long?
Out of curiosity, what kind of improvement are you and others hoping to achieve in a tc radial vs the current tc?
Radial casing compliance and feel, for me at least.
The albert radial rolls pretty well but the side knobs peel and squirm too much when leaning the bike over on the front for my taste.
The MM radial is a slow roller but has a more stout side knob for front wheel cornering traction on lean.
Tacky chan tread pattern looks like the best of both worlds- fast rolling, sturdy side knobs.
The open tread pattern of the TC brakes better on loose as well. TC is a better match for a MM front overall in my book. I also like the TC on the front but you need to be more attentive of the transitional gap especially on hard pack.
Amaury confirmed in Downtime Podcast they're using a special softer rubber from Schwalbe on their race tires (unclear if just for cold temps/wet as had been reported--which is likely).
I went from an mm to an mm radial and I felt there was actually less support in the sidewall.
My overall impression is that the mm radial is great for slow to medium speeds but when you start looking to the tire to be more supportive, it leaves a bit to be desired.
I love the tc gravity on the rear for everything from trail to bikepark, but I do think that tire is more conforming than a Michelin dh16 or conti dh casing.
I can’t help but think that the strong bite of the tc cornering knobs would fade away in a radial casing unless something in the sidewall is changed.
Based on the last few posts, I'm thinking:
Stumpjumper Evo: Magic Mary trail radial ultrasoft, tacky chan trail soft
Levo: I was thinking about Shreddas, but I see the only come in gravity pro ultrasoft...
By the sound of it I’d assume you didn’t change tyre pressures with the radials?
I thought the same as well, sidewall support is significantly worse. However when I increased pressure to bring back a adequate level of support, the grip is still much better than the non-radial stuff.
I’ve ridden the mm radial at pressures between 18 and 32. It doesn’t have the same levels of support as other tires and it becomes noticeable (to me) when riding trails that are 15+ mph.
If I were to list the tires I’ve ridden in terms of sidewall support it would probably go something like:
Mich dh 22
Mich enduro ms
Conti kryptotal dh
Mich enduro mh
Mm gravity
Mm radial gravity
Assegai exo+
I didn't try the shreddas but to me they seem to be a bit overkill, even on an ebike. Like almost 1,6 kg for a tire. Maybe on very loose/muddy terrain they might make sense but in the summer? That Dario diGuglio guy from pinkbike seems to cut a shreddar down. I think he even moutned the rear version in the front because of the smaller knobs. With the magic mary existing I see not sense going with a shredda in the summer. Its a way more versatile tire.
The Shredda's can definitely be seen as overkill, but so are coil shocks on trail bikes. It dosen't mean there aren't benefits to such upgrades.
We are in a era where some riders obsess over weight, and some care very little about an extra 200g if it means they have more grip/confidence on the downs.
Good thing there are options for both user groups!
My personal experience on Druid V2: Shredda Rear on the front (Tacky Chan rear) is a insanely fun combo especailly on Black Natural Trails.
With summer coming, I will be changing to something faster rolling on the front. We don't need deep soil penetration for dry summer trails here.
Stay tuned for updates to the TC. It works better on the front of the bike now.
Drop now, or I'm getting Contis. 🤗
He's not cutting Shreddas down. He runs the rear Shredda on the front wheel and an Albert or MM on the rear wheel.
He also has a very large FTP, so the extra ~15w of resistance from the Shredda Rear (on the front) vs. a Magic Mary is not that noticeable.
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