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Got to see the new Schwalbe Assegai/Kryptotal type tyre at Eurobike today on a random bike that it probably should not have been on. Knobs look bigger generally to me, though I could not check side by side with the Maxxis/Conti equivalent. Looks like it should be a good addition to the Schwalbe range.

I try to buy used, takeoff, or NIB tires from the Pinkbike buy/sell page, half because of the cost savings and half because of my hippie desire to contribute less to the consumption of petroleum and new products. If someone's getting rid of it, might as well get some mileage out of it. To be clear, I am 100% not buying a tire with more than a few runs on it. Typical price for a new or lightly used DH Maxxgrip tire is $40-60. And yes, $110 for a super soft rear tire that will last three days at a...

I quite like the Aggressor rear and DHF 3CT up front when I'm going for a fast rolling combo that can still go DH fast on my 125/140 Optic. I'm one of those people who likes the leaned-over grip of the DHF, YMMV. This is one of my favorite summer/dry setups, but I do tend to run a Tannus insert rear when running EXO+. Do to the slow, off-camber slabs I tend to ride, I prefer the DHF over the DHR up front. The DHR likes to slide sideways when going straight and braking hard on these slabs. Other than...

Seems as logical as a high grip light casing tyre...

Ultra soft does handle damp or wet conditions well. Soft works well on the rear. An Ultra soft Magic Mary with the Tacky Chan side knobs (the new prototype spied at WCs appears similar to this) would be the perfect year round tire for me. As it is Magic Mary in Fall /Winter softer conditions, Tacky Chan for the Spring / Summer as trails get dry and hard.

I don't want to sound disrespectful, because I love the fact that company representatives from Schwalbe and other brands are active in our humble Vital forums, providing useful info and clarification. But with all due respect... DAMPING

Will I really have to go Schwalbe? So many hats eaten lately... What's next, running Fox suspension??

Ok here are my thoughts on MTB tyres: My setup is singleply tyres with cushcore and tube. It's a tad lighter than my previous setup which was DH tyres and tubes. I'm able to run lower pressures for maximum grip without flatting or destroying rims. I used to replace rear rims once a year. For the bikepark I just increase tyre pressure by 3psi front and back. So typical setup is 2.5/2.6 in tyre with 12-14psi (15-17psi for bikepark) in the front and 15-17psi (18-20psi for bikepark) in the back. I weigh 60kg ~132lb My favourite all conditions tyre is...

I’d say magic Mary/TackyChan would be more betterer. I’m running TC’s on both ends with SS trail front and soft trail rear. They do have excellent traction in corners. Happy with braking performance as well.

Agree with everything the last poster said. I'll add that, if you're curious about whether the 2.6" Specialized tires will fit in the same space that a Maxxis tire fits, the best point of comparison is the ETRTO dimensions on the side of the tire. It should be a number like 622x63 or something. 622 is the bead seat diameter (correlates to wheel size) and 63 is the actual tire width. These numbers are harder to find on the internet but they're a hundred times more accurate than the nominal sizing that the manufacturer lists (2.3", 2.4", etc) because they're...

How did you find the exo+/DD casings of the maxxis tyres? ie squirming, punctures and what kind of pressure did you run? A 2.5" tyre should be fine - most modern bikes are fine with that and I think the extra volume will be good as well. The key things are casing & width - I feel like Double down is often the minimum for a lot of people, and its proportional to rider weight so I would be looking for tyres that are at least equivalent to that. Specialized tyres seem to mostly have awful thin casings - I...

Softer compound is always going to roll slower than a harder compound, regardless of tread pattern, unless you're comparing extreme treads like a mudspike vs. a semi-slick. Compound makes more of a difference on grip than tread pattern, too. For instance, for a front tire, I'd rather have any Maxxis tread in a MaxxGrip compound than my favorite in a MaxxTerra. I think tread patterns are kinda overrated compared to the impact of casing, compound, and air pressure. Not that treads don't matter at all, but they're definitely less important than the other three.

Fascinating conversation, y’all

You obviously have no idea how hard it is to name a product! 😉

Tacky Chan looks good too.

Schwalbe Magic Mary is available in Super Trail, Super Ground with Soft compound, and Super Trail with Ultra Soft compound.