Tire Combination Question

Thought I'd throw this out to the group.

My riding has pretty much become All-Moutain/Trail Riding (or whatever this category is called now - you know the one between XC and DH...:?. Anyhow, I've pretty much been running a 2.35 tire up front consistently for years now, and I love having that bigger tire up front.

My question is in the rear - I've subscribed to the theory of having a 2.1 or so tire on the rear to help keep overall bike weight under control. I try to run high volume tires in the rear with lower pressures to keep traction and cush up.

Lately, I've been finding myself questioning this logic. If for no other reason than it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a good 2.1 tire with a good rear tire tread pattern. On the flip side, it seems that there is a good amount of variety and choices when it comes to the 2.35+ size tires.

In order of priority, my new thinking is this when it comes to requirements: 1. climbing traction, 2. volume for cushioning effect, 3. weight

How have others addressed this? Is there little benefit to running a skinnier tire in the back? Is the weight savings not worth it and it's really a matter of the best tire for the job? Am I overthinking this? :-k

 

Not so much about weight, but rolling resistance. A wider tire will roll slower.....

The front tire does most of braking.... so a bigger tire is helpful.

 

Get a UST Highroller 2.35 for your rear... you won't regret it.

I've also heard great things about the WTB Weirwolf if you like to lay into corners.

 

not necessarily true. with two tires of the same tread pattern, a wider tire at a lower pressure will actually roll better on loose dirt than a skinny tire at high pressure. it's weird and backwards, but it works.

definitely having a big front is good, since the front handles 70%~ of the braking, and is also far more important for good cornering.

basically, I look at the back tire as a balance tire. moto logic dictates that as long as the front tire is more or less sticking to the ground, you will be fine. don't need a HUGE amount of grip for going down things. going up? yeah, find a tread pattern that works for you. I think kenda nevegals have a very good tread pattern for a rear tire, but they have a weak sidewall

the weak sidewall brings me to the next point: flat resistance. sure, you can get a light, skinny tire and it will make you go super fast, but if it blows up just looking at the downhill, it's all for nothing. no point in going fast if you only have to stop for 5 minutes to change a flat.

tubeless rear is an excellent thing IMO. the ability to blast through stuff is great, and it will roll faster than a tubed tire (less internal friction between tires and tubes and blah blah blah). if you don't want tubeless, I recommend a stiffer sidewall (maxxis has good ones, kendas fail pretty hard here)

so finally, throwing all that together: yes, a 2.1 tire will be lighter, and roll better on smooth, solid surfaces (hardpack, pavement), but will be disadvantaged in rockier terrain, and roll slower in loose, powdery stuff.

while you may gain 100g by going with a bigger tire, the advantages could outweigh that. you'll be faster rolling over loose stuff (better flotation in powder is cool), more pinch-flat resistant, and more grip. So I say go for it and get the bigger tire. a 2.35 nevegal (wide, weak sidewall), a 2.35 highroller (narrower, stronger sidewall) would be pretty good around here.

damn that was a long ass post :-k

 

small block 8

I recently put a 2.1 small block 8 on the rear. I am running a Rampage 2.35 on the front. Very pleased with the tire so far.

but I am on a 29er with 4" rear travel.

 

Z,

Thanks for the long ass post

Some great advice here. I kind of had these thoughts but it's good to get some validity to this. While I think most about my rear tire when climbing, the bigger issue is hitting the downhills without worrying about flats. Because I do run it a lower pressures, it's always a concern (not a huge problem yet, but a concern).

And thanks for the advice on the Nevegals v. Maxxis. Right now it's between a Highroller and a Nevegal on the rear.

I have a HR on the front which I really like, so a matching the two would be a plus. Would you suggest running the HR in the opposite direction as a rear?

 

Sticky/Search

A lot of info on tires

http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/workshop/8854-tire-review-thread.html

 

+1 :bang:
on a hardtail though. Best of both worlds IMO
both tubeless though

 

SB8's on braking performance = FAIL :wave:

 

I run 2.35 High Rollers front and rear, and love them. I may look at the tubeless version, or ghetto tubeless conversion to try to get some weight out of the setup. I don't flat often (only once so far, due to a goat head) and have plenty of traction going up or down.

 

+1, as well as poor performance on much of anything besides pure hardpack, on which they are great. (of course, my total lack of skill is also a factor)

There's another point about sidewall strength. I recently finished off a set of 2.35" UST Maxxis Ignitors (front & rear), which I found I liked more than expected as an all-around SoCal tire. I now have a 2.4" Schwalbe Fat Albert up front and a 2.25" Schwalbe Nobby Nic rear, both tubeless. The Nic seems to have a much weaker sidewall than the Ignitors had. Even with more air pressure, I'm feeling the sidewall flex in any heavy load situations, like slow climbs or hard cornering. It seems to slow the rolling a lot and makes me a little nervous about tearing the sidewall or burping the tire. So now I'm running around 35 psi rear compared to the 32 I ran with the Ignitor, negating some of the control benefits of tubeless. Bottom line: The Nic's tread inspires confidence, but the sidewall does not. I'll be switching before too long.

 

"Goat head"????

 

:-s

 

I run a 2.5 front, 2.3 rear Love it

Guess I should have listed what I have

Chunder 2.5 CLutch 2.3 Love them

 

+1

The High Roller up front says '2.7' on the sidewall, but it measures 2.5.
The Eskar Control on the back says, and is, 2.3.

 

Recently, I started lowing the Kenda Nev 2.1 rear tire pressure 45 to 20lbs plus approx. (60max?) at the end of the climb for the downhill run. 40 plus helped with climbing. The front definately lower for the sand, lose rock, and gravel. Might try this before you spend. Freekngo might have tires that self adjust pressure. (just kidding) Good luck and let us know what works.

 

I like WTB, the new prowler is pretty hot. Currently though a Mutano 2.4 rear (595 grams, very fast rolling with no buzz) and a Weirwolf 2.5 front (760grams, full tread NOT LT!!) hooks up very well, rolls without buzzing and lasts a really long time. Dont know if your frame has that much clearance but with the high volume I have had no pinch flats and only one or two punctures. Even riding the craziest trails I have yet to gash a side wall ot tread separation. I think Michelin makes the best UST tires but went specifically for tubes when I bought the current wheel set.

 

Kenda devotee here. Wanted to suggest the following combo and then saw it in the lastest issue of Mountain Bike Action (page 18 "Tricks"):

2.1 Kenda Small Block Eights on the rear
2.3 Kenda Nevegals on the front

 

:lol::lol::lol:

Goat Head thorn. Nasty buggers. Stan's will seal them up though, but if you ever get one in your foot, eeeeeeooooowww!!

 

on my full suspension, id run 2.3 in front, 2.1 in rear. on my hardtail, i run 2.3 on both, mutano raptors.