Tire chat (nerds only)

2supple
Posts
195
Joined
1/23/2022
Location
Denver, CO, USA
1 day ago

I'm 180 rider weight and we have pretty rocky terrain. I don't have sidewall slicing issues but can't run less than 28 rear or the rim/tire is toast. 

Curious what kind of rocky terrain would causes slicing but not rim strikes.

2
1 day ago
Evil96 wrote:
@schwalbai spill the beans, from what i see it's a Race Pro casing, Radial, and Ralph thread, i'm curious how different it would be in terms...

@schwalbai spill the beans, from what i see it's a Race Pro casing, Radial, and Ralph thread, i'm curious how different it would be in terms of construction vs Trail Pro

IMG 4129.png?VersionId=5RVFz  xvsp3pa8N2aCn

yep thats what i'm seeing to!

The tires that already feature the Race Pro Construction (Tacky Chan, Romy, Rick) have 3 layers of 67 epi carcass n the sidewall, 2 on top (along with a puncture protective strip). Likely a complimentary layup for the radial design.

1
rkrum
Posts
6
Joined
10/24/2026
Location
Bishop, CA, USA
1 day ago

It's outcroppings of shale fins that are the problem. Aside from those, everything else is mostly smaller, broken shale plates on top of smooth/loose dirt with the occasional steep rock garden of limestone or sandstone. They're basically all moto trails so more raw without any purpose built features or big berms to slam the bike into. I started wearing a soccer shin guard on my back leg for a couple of these descents because my shin was getting destroyed by the flying shale plates. It is indeed a strange place to ride and they are some of my favorite trails anywhere with 2-4k descending per drop, 3-6k+ total per loop. Just horrific on brakes and tires. Probably one of the higher ratios of wrenching to riding I've done in a while.

And ya I do run kind of lower pressures than some but my approach is to go as low as I can get without blowing the tire off in corners or causing issues with squirm elsewhere. I probably have a higher tolerance for pinging rim than most since I don't really mind taking advantage of a lifetime warranty. Or maybe I just don't ride that hard idk. I've never really felt a need to go past 26, 27psi max but I also can't blow dh tires off the rim at 30psi like some of my friends. Sure the casings take a beating at lower pressures but that's what they're for. Plus the tire is still toast from tread wear before that becomes an issue (aside from the Conti stuff).

2
ColinL
Posts
66
Joined
7/20/2015
Location
USA
1 day ago

usually when looking at enduro mtb magazine's test results, I'm really only paying attention to rolling resistance, because I don't have problems with cuts or punctures.

but looking at it again, with a focus on punctures, it's pretty clear that for schwalbe, maxxis, specialized and continental all of them are much more sidewall and tread face resistant to cut/puncture with the heaviest DH casing, especially compared to trail casings of those same tires.

schwalbe super downhill appears the toughest by a fairly wide margin, but let's also not forget that this test was done using a machine created by schwalbe. I mean - I would still try the magic mary or tacky chan - but I wouldn't expect miracles, your shale-infested trails sound pretty brutal.

1
ru-tang
Posts
3
Joined
2/24/2018
Location
Blacksburg, VA, USA
1 day ago

Dear Tire Nerds,

I'm searching for something that maybe doesn't exist, or maybe it does?

I'm riding 29x2.6 Alberts Radial on my hardtail/rigid Solaris Max.  I love how damp the radials feel, I like the volume, I can pump them up a little stiffer while still get that nice muted feel.  I can run them pretty soft as a rigid without bottoming out the rim.  However they are pretty slow rolling.  

Is there another tire out there that will have that nice cushy feel but have a faster tread?  I feel like the cheapest thing I could do is just put a Romy on the rear, or should I get two Romy's?  Is there another tire out there that I should look at?  

1
HarryMudd
Posts
9
Joined
6/22/2012
Location
Manassas, VA, USA
1 day ago
AndehM wrote:
Anyone hear anything on when DHX is going to be released in DD / EXO+?  At launch I think I read that they were aiming for...

Anyone hear anything on when DHX is going to be released in DD / EXO+?  At launch I think I read that they were aiming for November.

They're available to purchase on Maxxis website now if you go to the dhx product page in the US. Just got an exo delivered this weekend

4
AndehM
Posts
886
Joined
5/7/2018
Location
El Granada, CA, USA
Fantasy
1 day ago
AndehM wrote:
Anyone hear anything on when DHX is going to be released in DD / EXO+?  At launch I think I read that they were aiming for...

Anyone hear anything on when DHX is going to be released in DD / EXO+?  At launch I think I read that they were aiming for November.

HarryMudd wrote:

They're available to purchase on Maxxis website now if you go to the dhx product page in the US. Just got an exo delivered this weekend

Thanks!  Just ordered.

1
1 day ago
ru-tang wrote:
Dear Tire Nerds,I'm searching for something that maybe doesn't exist, or maybe it does?I'm riding 29x2.6 Alberts Radial on my hardtail/rigid Solaris Max.  I love how...

Dear Tire Nerds,

I'm searching for something that maybe doesn't exist, or maybe it does?

I'm riding 29x2.6 Alberts Radial on my hardtail/rigid Solaris Max.  I love how damp the radials feel, I like the volume, I can pump them up a little stiffer while still get that nice muted feel.  I can run them pretty soft as a rigid without bottoming out the rim.  However they are pretty slow rolling.  

Is there another tire out there that will have that nice cushy feel but have a faster tread?  I feel like the cheapest thing I could do is just put a Romy on the rear, or should I get two Romy's?  Is there another tire out there that I should look at?  

You answered your question.  Romy 2.5.   At least rear, front maybe doesn't do much for you overall rolling speed.   

I'd love to see some nerdy data about actual speed increases in front vs rear tires.  Rear certainly makes more impact than front, but I wonder how much.  For example, maybe on a 1 minute climb changing from albert to romy increases speed 2 seconds (3%), but on the front, 0.5 (0.08%).   

2
ColinL
Posts
66
Joined
7/20/2015
Location
USA
1 day ago
ru-tang wrote:
Dear Tire Nerds,I'm searching for something that maybe doesn't exist, or maybe it does?I'm riding 29x2.6 Alberts Radial on my hardtail/rigid Solaris Max.  I love how...

Dear Tire Nerds,

I'm searching for something that maybe doesn't exist, or maybe it does?

I'm riding 29x2.6 Alberts Radial on my hardtail/rigid Solaris Max.  I love how damp the radials feel, I like the volume, I can pump them up a little stiffer while still get that nice muted feel.  I can run them pretty soft as a rigid without bottoming out the rim.  However they are pretty slow rolling.  

Is there another tire out there that will have that nice cushy feel but have a faster tread?  I feel like the cheapest thing I could do is just put a Romy on the rear, or should I get two Romy's?  Is there another tire out there that I should look at?  

jasbushey wrote:
You answered your question.  Romy 2.5.   At least rear, front maybe doesn't do much for you overall rolling speed.   I'd love to see some nerdy...

You answered your question.  Romy 2.5.   At least rear, front maybe doesn't do much for you overall rolling speed.   

I'd love to see some nerdy data about actual speed increases in front vs rear tires.  Rear certainly makes more impact than front, but I wonder how much.  For example, maybe on a 1 minute climb changing from albert to romy increases speed 2 seconds (3%), but on the front, 0.5 (0.08%).   

I agree with that. I am currently running an Albert front Romy rear combo and it's working great, but I haven't tried a Romy front so I really don't know how that would go. the Romy has not be at all drifty on the rear so I suspect it would ride great as a front when you lean it well, but with lower and more sparse knobs I'd also think it wouldn't be as easy to ride as the Albert at low lean angles in slow tech. 

Romy rolls faster than an Albert when both are soft compound, for sure, I just rode an Albert rear on a friend's bike last week.

AndehM
Posts
886
Joined
5/7/2018
Location
El Granada, CA, USA
Fantasy
1 day ago
AndehM wrote:
Anyone hear anything on when DHX is going to be released in DD / EXO+?  At launch I think I read that they were aiming for...

Anyone hear anything on when DHX is going to be released in DD / EXO+?  At launch I think I read that they were aiming for November.

HarryMudd wrote:

They're available to purchase on Maxxis website now if you go to the dhx product page in the US. Just got an exo delivered this weekend

Looking more closely, looks like they have EXO+ in 29, but it's MaxxTerra.  Sad  I did grab a 29/DD/MG though.  Even that has a spec sheet weight of 1,391g... that's a lot of rubber in those knobs!

jalopyj
Posts
124
Joined
10/23/2023
Location
Concord, CA, USA
Fantasy
1 day ago
AndehM wrote:
Anyone hear anything on when DHX is going to be released in DD / EXO+?  At launch I think I read that they were aiming for...

Anyone hear anything on when DHX is going to be released in DD / EXO+?  At launch I think I read that they were aiming for November.

HarryMudd wrote:

They're available to purchase on Maxxis website now if you go to the dhx product page in the US. Just got an exo delivered this weekend

AndehM wrote:
Looking more closely, looks like they have EXO+ in 29, but it's MaxxTerra.  :(  I did grab a 29/DD/MG though.  Even that has a spec sheet...

Looking more closely, looks like they have EXO+ in 29, but it's MaxxTerra.  Sad  I did grab a 29/DD/MG though.  Even that has a spec sheet weight of 1,391g... that's a lot of rubber in those knobs!

Any indication any of the updates to the DH casing trickled down into DD/EXO+?

22 hours ago
HarryMudd wrote:

They're available to purchase on Maxxis website now if you go to the dhx product page in the US. Just got an exo delivered this weekend

AndehM wrote:
Looking more closely, looks like they have EXO+ in 29, but it's MaxxTerra.  :(  I did grab a 29/DD/MG though.  Even that has a spec sheet...

Looking more closely, looks like they have EXO+ in 29, but it's MaxxTerra.  Sad  I did grab a 29/DD/MG though.  Even that has a spec sheet weight of 1,391g... that's a lot of rubber in those knobs!

jalopyj wrote:

Any indication any of the updates to the DH casing trickled down into DD/EXO+?

No

rkrum
Posts
6
Joined
10/24/2026
Location
Bishop, CA, USA
21 hours ago Edited Date/Time 21 hours ago
ColinL wrote:
usually when looking at enduro mtb magazine's test results, I'm really only paying attention to rolling resistance, because I don't have problems with cuts or punctures.but...

usually when looking at enduro mtb magazine's test results, I'm really only paying attention to rolling resistance, because I don't have problems with cuts or punctures.

but looking at it again, with a focus on punctures, it's pretty clear that for schwalbe, maxxis, specialized and continental all of them are much more sidewall and tread face resistant to cut/puncture with the heaviest DH casing, especially compared to trail casings of those same tires.

schwalbe super downhill appears the toughest by a fairly wide margin, but let's also not forget that this test was done using a machine created by schwalbe. I mean - I would still try the magic mary or tacky chan - but I wouldn't expect miracles, your shale-infested trails sound pretty brutal.

I do remember schwalbe dh casings feeling exceptionally wooden the last I tried them a few years ago. I didn't really get along with the tread patterns and rubber durability I thought was meh but I can live with that it means the tire makes it to the bottom. Maybe I'll check those out, thanks

1
rpearce1475
Posts
24
Joined
10/14/2015
Location
Bremerton, WA, USA
9 hours ago
ColinL wrote:
I agree with that. I am currently running an Albert front Romy rear combo and it's working great, but I haven't tried a Romy front so...

I agree with that. I am currently running an Albert front Romy rear combo and it's working great, but I haven't tried a Romy front so I really don't know how that would go. the Romy has not be at all drifty on the rear so I suspect it would ride great as a front when you lean it well, but with lower and more sparse knobs I'd also think it wouldn't be as easy to ride as the Albert at low lean angles in slow tech. 

Romy rolls faster than an Albert when both are soft compound, for sure, I just rode an Albert rear on a friend's bike last week.

I have run albert front, romy rear as well as romy F/R and romy R with a tacky chan F and Mary F. How much rolling resistance comes from the rear tire depends on your bike's weight distibution which varies slightly based on head tube angle, chainstay length, etc but in general 70-75% of rolling resistance comes from the rear tire per the biggest tire nerds of all (gravel and road riders who test this stuff like crazy). As for the Romy, it works well as a front but I would limit this only to shorter travel bikes. I ran the front happily on my Reya (120) but tried it on my enduro bike for fun and did not like it. The tread does clear mud a little better than the albert but with the shorter knobs doesn't penetrate as well. Pretty minimal difference in front rolling resistance between albert and romy. My preferred combos: 

Short travel trail bike: Albert radial soft front, romy diagonal mid rear

Mid travel trail bike: Tacky chan soft or ultrasoft front radial, romy diagonal gravity or trail (depending on your speeds) soft rear

Enduro bike: Magic mary ultrasoft gravity or trail (depending on your preferences) front, tacky chan gravity diagonal soft rear

I only run radials on the rear of my hardtail. Don't like them for any bikes where I'm riding faster, too vague in the corners. 

2
ru-tang
Posts
3
Joined
2/24/2018
Location
Blacksburg, VA, USA
8 hours ago

Alright, I ordered a 2.5 Romy for the rear, and keeping the Albert up front.  Happy rolling speed, thanks for the reccomendo y'all

1
2 hours ago

Ordering a EXO+ DHX maxxxxxgrip today, I’m very interested to see how it translates from new DH to trail casing. Like, is it the synergy of the new casing with the new tread pattern the magic or can you still reap all the benefits (Wedding Singer) of the new tread and save the weight. 

I’m predicting it to be a fairly fast rolling front tire with good cornering grip and nothing transcendent.


Until I take mushrooms before I go for a ride, and it puts me in total harmony with the universe.

2
notseanday
Posts
20
Joined
5/15/2026
Location
cumming, GA, USA
2 hours ago
rkrum wrote:
It's outcroppings of shale fins that are the problem. Aside from those, everything else is mostly smaller, broken shale plates on top of smooth/loose dirt with...

It's outcroppings of shale fins that are the problem. Aside from those, everything else is mostly smaller, broken shale plates on top of smooth/loose dirt with the occasional steep rock garden of limestone or sandstone. They're basically all moto trails so more raw without any purpose built features or big berms to slam the bike into. I started wearing a soccer shin guard on my back leg for a couple of these descents because my shin was getting destroyed by the flying shale plates. It is indeed a strange place to ride and they are some of my favorite trails anywhere with 2-4k descending per drop, 3-6k+ total per loop. Just horrific on brakes and tires. Probably one of the higher ratios of wrenching to riding I've done in a while.

And ya I do run kind of lower pressures than some but my approach is to go as low as I can get without blowing the tire off in corners or causing issues with squirm elsewhere. I probably have a higher tolerance for pinging rim than most since I don't really mind taking advantage of a lifetime warranty. Or maybe I just don't ride that hard idk. I've never really felt a need to go past 26, 27psi max but I also can't blow dh tires off the rim at 30psi like some of my friends. Sure the casings take a beating at lower pressures but that's what they're for. Plus the tire is still toast from tread wear before that becomes an issue (aside from the Conti stuff).

Some WC abused Maxxis tires with the new DH casing are seen below from the 25 season. The sidewall breaker has been really great at preventing slashes, all of the tires below held air. If you go through the tread quickly as well, it may be best to wait until the new MaxxTerra / new DH casing are available later this year.IMG 7910 0.jpeg?VersionId=t1pTRw9VJsIGjXDjdOTADPAB.oTQwgSIMG 7911IMG 7912.jpeg?VersionId=qlX3TS9YXwcxIoovuAHEfQD5E

2
jalopyj
Posts
124
Joined
10/23/2023
Location
Concord, CA, USA
Fantasy
2 hours ago
Ordering a EXO+ DHX maxxxxxgrip today, I’m very interested to see how it translates from new DH to trail casing. Like, is it the synergy of...

Ordering a EXO+ DHX maxxxxxgrip today, I’m very interested to see how it translates from new DH to trail casing. Like, is it the synergy of the new casing with the new tread pattern the magic or can you still reap all the benefits (Wedding Singer) of the new tread and save the weight. 

I’m predicting it to be a fairly fast rolling front tire with good cornering grip and nothing transcendent.


Until I take mushrooms before I go for a ride, and it puts me in total harmony with the universe.

Where are you able to find EXO+ Maxxgrip? As someone else mentioned earlier, I only see the Maxxterra option available for Exo+

2 hours ago
Ordering a EXO+ DHX maxxxxxgrip today, I’m very interested to see how it translates from new DH to trail casing. Like, is it the synergy of...

Ordering a EXO+ DHX maxxxxxgrip today, I’m very interested to see how it translates from new DH to trail casing. Like, is it the synergy of the new casing with the new tread pattern the magic or can you still reap all the benefits (Wedding Singer) of the new tread and save the weight. 

I’m predicting it to be a fairly fast rolling front tire with good cornering grip and nothing transcendent.


Until I take mushrooms before I go for a ride, and it puts me in total harmony with the universe.

jalopyj wrote:

Where are you able to find EXO+ Maxxgrip? As someone else mentioned earlier, I only see the Maxxterra option available for Exo+

QBP is showing them in stock

2 hours ago
Ordering a EXO+ DHX maxxxxxgrip today, I’m very interested to see how it translates from new DH to trail casing. Like, is it the synergy of...

Ordering a EXO+ DHX maxxxxxgrip today, I’m very interested to see how it translates from new DH to trail casing. Like, is it the synergy of the new casing with the new tread pattern the magic or can you still reap all the benefits (Wedding Singer) of the new tread and save the weight. 

I’m predicting it to be a fairly fast rolling front tire with good cornering grip and nothing transcendent.


Until I take mushrooms before I go for a ride, and it puts me in total harmony with the universe.

jalopyj wrote:

Where are you able to find EXO+ Maxxgrip? As someone else mentioned earlier, I only see the Maxxterra option available for Exo+

thegromit wrote:

QBP is showing them in stock

TB00714100- 29er

 

jalopyj
Posts
124
Joined
10/23/2023
Location
Concord, CA, USA
Fantasy
1 hour ago

Nice - thank you. Would be curious how much the EXO+ weighs. On the fence between EXO+ and DD.

52 minutes ago

I'll weigh the EXO+ when I get it, but honestly I'd guess if you're going DD you should just go New DH. Spec sheet for DD 29 is 1391 grams, New DH is 1559 grams- 168 grams at that point is academic.

ColinL
Posts
66
Joined
7/20/2015
Location
USA
28 minutes ago
jalopyj wrote:

Nice - thank you. Would be curious how much the EXO+ weighs. On the fence between EXO+ and DD.

to me there's never been any fence sitting. I would not use exo+ on the rear of a long travel bike going fast in rocky terrain. front, maybe, if they've been durable for you.

cut a tire? get a heavier casing until you stop cutting them. if you know you can cut exo+ and you insist on using it anyway, you're eventually going to lose riding time and money replacing a tire that failed before it was worn out. same applies to DD. there are some folks who need DH casing on the rear on bikes that get pedaled it's counterproductive for them to try to get by with less just to save a quarter pound.

1
2supple
Posts
195
Joined
1/23/2022
Location
Denver, CO, USA
14 minutes ago
I'll weigh the EXO+ when I get it, but honestly I'd guess if you're going DD you should just go New DH. Spec sheet for DD...

I'll weigh the EXO+ when I get it, but honestly I'd guess if you're going DD you should just go New DH. Spec sheet for DD 29 is 1391 grams, New DH is 1559 grams- 168 grams at that point is academic.

I just swapped a 2660 gram Zeb for a 2460 gram Fox 38 and the difference was surprisingly noticeable. I think weight on the front end of your bike has a bigger impact on how playful/light it feels when you're trying to move the bike around. 

On a DH bike I agree go DH casing but on an enduro bike I'm not riding a 1550 gram tire... no thanks. Contis are 1300g and those tires rip. 

jalopyj
Posts
124
Joined
10/23/2023
Location
Concord, CA, USA
Fantasy
4 minutes ago Edited Date/Time 3 minutes ago
jalopyj wrote:

Nice - thank you. Would be curious how much the EXO+ weighs. On the fence between EXO+ and DD.

ColinL wrote:
to me there's never been any fence sitting. I would not use exo+ on the rear of a long travel bike going fast in rocky terrain...

to me there's never been any fence sitting. I would not use exo+ on the rear of a long travel bike going fast in rocky terrain. front, maybe, if they've been durable for you.

cut a tire? get a heavier casing until you stop cutting them. if you know you can cut exo+ and you insist on using it anyway, you're eventually going to lose riding time and money replacing a tire that failed before it was worn out. same applies to DD. there are some folks who need DH casing on the rear on bikes that get pedaled it's counterproductive for them to try to get by with less just to save a quarter pound.

The DHX EXO+/DD would be for the front. On the rear I'm going with a DHR2 DD or new DH. 

I'm currently running a MM trail pro, US front / Albert gravity pro, soft rear set up that has worked just fine, so looking for a set up thats somewhat comprable. 

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