29er Tire Combos/Recommendations

Ever try a Geax Saguaro 2.2? Amazing tire for dry hard-pack trails.



Agree.....currently have them on 3 of the 4 bikes in the garage. Always ran it on the rear.....put one up front yesterday to try it out....worked well coming down Blackstar.
 
Funny then sometimes I do stupid thing like think SS so want firmer on the climb couple more PSI...but then lose traction...its all a balance...just put the Bonti XR3 on the rear gonna test it out tomorrow with a climb to the peak!
 
I've gone through a number of tires, but have settled on S-Works Captains front and rear for SS duty the last couple of years. Though, I think the Ground Control would be a bit better for regular chunk use.

Specilized tires deliver....especially the 2bliss ones

Love em
 
This on my new beautiful Raijin SS 29
Funny got the HD 2.3 in front...love it! (Rode the HD on my ellsworth epiph too)
So just dialing in that SS rear ... got several I like for the full squish rear ... seem to be most picky on the SS rear... then of course super picky on any front tire.

Try the ground control for looser conditions and wtb nano raptor for hard pack and semi loose conditions. You will be surprised how good the nano raptor is, wasn't for the super loose conditions thanks to our endless summy my favorite rear tire will till be the nano raptor. et's say I've gone through a few tires by now to come to that conclusion, tried almost every tire mentioned except for the gaex.

btw good to hear that I am not the only one not raving about the captain. I have one on the rear of my SS because I have 3 laying around.
 
Nano Raptors are WTB... I believe I Cant use WTB TCS tires on Stans but I guess I can use Comp versions... loved my wold WierWolf... will consider after I give the Bonti a run...

Interesting Nano, Geaux and Fastrak all similar patterns.
 
Nano Raptors are WTB... I believe I Cant use WTB TCS tires on Stans but I guess I can use Comp versions... loved my wold WierWolf... will consider after I give the Bonti a run...

Interesting Nano, Geaux and Fastrak all similar patterns.

i ran the nano on Stan's for years and they have tubeless version now. Nano kick fast tracks's butt every day and twice on Sunday. Not even close!

better rolling with smooth center line and better cornering with bigger should lugs and smooth transition from center to shoulder, surprisingly good on smi loose conditions given how the how the tread looks. Traction doesn't disappear if you pump it up a few extra psi unlike the fast track or other skinny tires. Definitely a sleeper tire, too bad it is not a few grams lighter but surprisingly durable. Btw nano is also much better at breaking. For me nano is strictly a rear tire though.

i sliced my sworks captain on first ride at blackstar.....I was pissed!
 
Hmmm convincing... but I am darnd sure there new TCS does not work on Stans real well.. very savvy friends tried and Stans site even says no TCS. TCS is Squarish UST type stans and it don't mesh...

Straight from Stans...
http://www.notubes.com/help/recommendedtires.aspx

Not Recommend Tires
WTB TCS and UST 29 inch tires are too tight for Stan's Notubes rims and NoTubes licensed rims such as Sun Ringle Black Flag.

no worries the regular/comp bead will work that probably what you were running... the regular bead.
 
Hmmm convincing... but I am darnd sure there new TCS does not work on Stans real well.. very savvy friends tried and Stans site even says no TCS. TCS is Squarish UST type stans and it don't mesh...

Straight from Stans...
http://www.notubes.com/help/recommendedtires.aspx

Not Recommend Tires
WTB TCS and UST 29 inch tires are too tight for Stan's Notubes rims and NoTubes licensed rims such as Sun Ringle Black Flag.

no worries the regular/comp bead will work that probably what you were running... the regular bead.


Same deal here....have run the Race version of several WTB tires on my Stan's rims....and Crank Bros. wheels which have the same rim profile. No issues.

Nano has been a favorite for a very long time......in fact, one of the first tires available for the 29er 10 years ago.
 
Hmmm convincing... but I am darnd sure there new TCS does not work on Stans real well.. very savvy friends tried and Stans site even says no TCS. TCS is Squarish UST type stans and it don't mesh...

Straight from Stans...
http://www.notubes.com/help/recommendedtires.aspx

Not Recommend Tires
WTB TCS and UST 29 inch tires are too tight for Stan's Notubes rims and NoTubes licensed rims such as Sun Ringle Black Flag.

no worries the regular/comp bead will work that probably what you were running... the regular bead.


I am running 29" 2.1 WTB Nano Raptors set up tubeless on Stans right now and have had no issues.
 
I'm not sure about TCS or Bright yellow lettering.

This is the Front tire
front nano.JPG

This is the rear tire
rear nano.jpeg

I used another one like this rear tire completely. It was actually tubed in it's first life and had a bunch of holes from goat heads. I installed on my stans wheels and it sealed right up and has worked really well.
 
I'm not sure about TCS or Bright yellow lettering.

This is the Front tire
View attachment 160903

This is the rear tire
View attachment 160904

I used another one like this rear tire completely. It was actually tubed in it's first life and had a bunch of holes from goat heads. I installed on my stans wheels and it sealed right up and has worked really well.


That is not the TCS model....just the standard Race version.
 
Funny then sometimes I do stupid thing like think SS so want firmer on the climb couple more PSI...but then lose traction...its all a balance...just put the Bonti XR3 on the rear gonna test it out tomorrow with a climb to the peak!

So been riding the Bonti XR3 on SS put on a couple long and short rides... up to Santiago peak couple times, down motorway, The Jims and the Luge... like it predictable on climb and descend.. need to keep at correct Psi around 28 (looser trail) -30 (Firmer)

On another note : Got carried away and Did a Mod on my 29er HD... clipped the Trans Nobs the sets of outer 4 trans nobs... created a little more channel for the loose pack. Loved my 26 HD some reason struggling a bit with the 29... little loose..maybe pressure... but what the heck give it a whirl. Clipped one wrong nob... oops :) When I spin the tire I can see a groove / more of a channel now between the center and the edge nobs kind of like my old Maxis Mobster. May need to ride more like that tire now.. Upright or on edge ... one or the other...Will report back assuming I survive....
IMG_20140319_185824403_HDR (Medium).jpg
 
So been riding the Bonti XR3 on SS put on a couple long and short rides... up to Santiago peak couple times, down motorway, The Jims and the Luge... like it predictable on climb and descend.. need to keep at correct Psi around 28 (looser trail) -30 (Firmer)

On another note : Got carried away and Did a Mod on my 29er HD... clipped the Trans Nobs the sets of outer 4 trans nobs... created a little more channel for the loose pack. Loved my 26 HD some reason struggling a bit with the 29... little loose..maybe pressure... but what the heck give it a whirl. Clipped one wrong nob... oops :) When I spin the tire I can see a groove / more of a channel now between the center and the edge nobs kind of like my old Maxis Minion / Mobster. Will report back assuming I survive....
View attachment 161326
..Interesting please do report back
 
So been riding the Bonti XR3 on SS put on a couple long and short rides... up to Santiago peak couple times, down motorway, The Jims and the Luge... like it predictable on climb and descend.. need to keep at correct Psi around 28 (looser trail) -30 (Firmer)

On another note : Got carried away and Did a Mod on my 29er HD... clipped the Trans Nobs the sets of outer 4 trans nobs... created a little more channel for the loose pack. Loved my 26 HD some reason struggling a bit with the 29... little loose..maybe pressure... but what the heck give it a whirl. Clipped one wrong nob... oops :) When I spin the tire I can see a groove / more of a channel now between the center and the edge nobs kind of like my old Maxis Mobster. May need to ride more like that tire now.. Upright or on edge ... one or the other...Will report back assuming I survive....
View attachment 161326


I found the HD 29 was very picky about the PSI. Anything over about 22 psi and it was horrible. Actually felt really good down to about 16-18 psi, but I wasn't comfortable running it that low.
 
Geax Gato 2.3 runs really fast over hardpack. But to really unlock its potential grip on loose and steep it needs to be run under 24psi or it will get sketchy, which I think is due to the round casing, and the stiff sidewalls.
 
So been riding the Bonti XR3 on SS put on a couple long and short rides... up to Santiago peak couple times, down motorway, The Jims and the Luge... like it predictable on climb and descend.. need to keep at correct Psi around 28 (looser trail) -30 (Firmer)

On another note : Got carried away and Did a Mod on my 29er HD... clipped the Trans Nobs the sets of outer 4 trans nobs... created a little more channel for the loose pack. Loved my 26 HD some reason struggling a bit with the 29... little loose..maybe pressure... but what the heck give it a whirl. Clipped one wrong nob... oops :) When I spin the tire I can see a groove / more of a channel now between the center and the edge nobs kind of like my old Maxis Mobster. May need to ride more like that tire now.. Upright or on edge ... one or the other...Will report back assuming I survive....
View attachment 161326

I tried the cut HDs on my 29 and it seemed to perform better on the soft stuff but I did not like it on the hard-pack. The tire I cut had some wear on it. It will be interesting to hear your feedback.
 
I found the HD 29 was very picky about the PSI. Anything over about 22 psi and it was horrible. Actually felt really good down to about 16-18 psi, but I wasn't comfortable running it that low.

Geax Gato 2.3 runs really fast over hardpack. But to really unlock its potential grip on loose and steep it needs to be run under 24psi or it will get sketchy, which I think is due to the round casing, and the stiff sidewalls.

I tried the cut HDs on my 29 and it seemed to perform better on the soft stuff but I did not like it on the hard-pack. The tire I cut had some wear on it. It will be interesting to hear your feedback.

Thanks guys for the good input.

Yeah I am thinking I didn't lower the pressure enough... I mean it wasn't terrible it just wasn't awesome like on the 26er at 2.35 @ 25 lbs.. Was running 25 lbs on the 29 2.35 looks like I need to go lower the Nobby Nic 2.25 @ 25lbs seems great for me. I get a little concerned about go to low into the 20s PSI the whole point is to be able to push hard into the turn (which I do on occasion)... don't want to be doing that and roll off the tire...
Maybe I am being a bit paranoid, I do a good job of mounting and maintaining my tubeless but also want to stay upright.
WTH a little experimentation... will take it across the Main Divide and down Motorway on Sat.
 
Currently running 29x2.3 schwalbe Hans Dampf front and a 29x2.2 schwalbe knobby nic. Haven't really gotten a chance to put it to its test
(this weekend for sure, turnbull) but I did Fully last weekend and it did fine.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
63,933
Messages
979,885
Members
16,229
Latest member
maxaril47
Back
Top