29er Tire Combos/Recommendations

I'm running a Rampage up front and a SB8 in the rear. The Rampage is sweet no complaints at all. The SB8 I actually find it has a suprising amount of grip except for braking. If you ride down anything steep and/or ride aggressively like I do this tire just will not stop for sh*t. I am riding a Sultan just for reference, and once I get a job I'll be shopping for a new rear tire.
 
2.2 Nevegal fr/2.3 Exiwolf rr.

I ran dual 2.2 Nevegals for awhile, but hated the way the Neve felt in the rear--too aggressive and slow. I went to a 2.3 Exiwolf in the rear and love it. It rolls well and still hooks up pretty good. The 2.3 Exiwolf is not as wide as the 2.2 Nevegal either.

I like running a bigger, more aggressive tire in the front on my 26ers and it is working well on the 29er too.
 
i ran the wtb tire that Neil recommended and on climbs like cholla it really has some good grip considering i'm not the best when it comes to weight transfer the rears do hook up well.

I do like being able to run low tire pressure as well
 
I run Ignitors front and rear, and they seem to work for me. I used them last year in the VQ, and other than their inability to block the howling wind, they hooked up fine.
 
TURNERob said:
I'm running a Rampage up front and a SB8 in the rear. The Rampage is sweet no complaints at all. The SB8 I actually find it has a suprising amount of grip except for braking. If you ride down anything steep and/or ride aggressively like I do this tire just will not stop for sh*t. I am riding a Sultan just for reference, and once I get a job I'll be shopping for a new rear tire.
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I have an extra almost new Igniter I will trade you for the SB8 if you interested. Ive been wanting to try that tire on the rear. Im on a rigid SS, so Im not descending to crazy. Thats what the RFX is for.
 
I have been really happy running Small Block 8's f & r. Light, fast, hooks up in just about all conditions. Ran them on the 29er SS and geared. Plenty of traction on both.

Have also run the Nanoraptor.....again, it is another favorite of mine. More so of a rear tire than a front in my opinion.

Exiwolf is a pretty nice front tire with a little more volume. Seems a little slow as a rear tire.

Getting ready to try the Nevegal just to try a larger knobby tire. I have run these on the 26" bike and figure they will have a similar feel on the 29er.
 
On the RIP, Rampages.
On the One-9, Ignitors.

Happy with both setups and I have tried many differnent tires.

Dean
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm riding nanoraptors and they're not bad. I was wondering if there was something with less rolling resistance, something for racing. I'm tempted to ride the loaner Air9 I have at the VQ just for the hell of it.
 
Mario,

For fast rolling?

Maybe a Maxxis Crossmark 29er?

This is definitely fast. Scary fast though. Stan's Crow.


thecrow26_big.jpg


So far for 29er tires I've tried the Bonty Jones DryX Front/Rear, Spec. Resolution Front and Capitan Rear.

I like the Capitan a lot so far. The Resolution, I need to ride more but I ran it tubeless and that was a bad bad idea. Stan's burp = Tacod wheel. I'm really hopeful for the Resolution. I loved it as a 26" tire. 26 Resolution worked better than a Kenda Blue Groove. But these Resolutions are getting hard to find.

Dry X's easy to setup tubeless. Not liking it at all as a front tire as it washes for me up front in that Main Divide gravely stuff. Rear tire it's not bad. Big volume tire for a 29x2.1.
 
tkblazer said:
i think i'm gonna run rampage up front and crossmark rear
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Shoot a PM to LoisMustDie - that's the combo he's currently running on his 29er. I think he's loving the Rampage, but at last notice he was struggling a little to find a pressure for the Crossmax that gave the right combo of rolling speed & traction. Friday on Blackstar/MD ride he went down once and was saying that under braking a few times he felt like the rear was gonna pass the front. I think he dropped pressure for yesterday's Maple ride, but I didn't ask how that felt.
 
Pho'dUp said:
The Resolution, I need to ride more but I ran it tubeless and that was a bad bad idea. Stan's burp = Tacod wheel.
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what rim setup are you running? I'm running mine tubeless too, no probs so far (Arches), but only went tubeless about 60 miles ago.
 
Burner said:
what rim setup are you running? I'm running mine tubeless too, no probs so far (Arches), but only went tubeless about 60 miles ago.
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Stan's Arches. I was running about hi ~35psi tubeless on a Resolution 2.3 on the front. Stan's sealant too.
 
I know we all have our own opinions, but I for the first time, I have finally found a set of tires that I would be happy putting on time and time again. I have ridden this set of rubber on the Summer dust to wet Winter mud and have yet to not be amazed.

Put a Weirwolf LT 2.55 up front and a Rampage 2.35 in the rear and you are set.
 
Yup --- dropped the pressure to 35 psi and it gripped a lot better. I still have the scrapes to prove that 40lbs is too much for that tire. It also felt a lot more cushy --- I have the tire on a hard-tail.

So here is my 2 cents about the Rampage/Crossmark combo...The Rampage might not roll as well or be as light as some but the extra grip is a must (for me) for the Coup. Besides the Rampage rolls really well. The Crossmark is a great roller and grips enough for a geared climb.

I will be experimenting with running them both tubeless to get the pressure a little lower after the Coup. I tried the Rampage at 28psi once and it gripped better than some 2.5 down hill tires I have run. I worry about pinch flats, though, at that pressure so I am going to try tubeless.

The Crossmark is likely to be my favorite fire road x-country race tire. It rolls well, is light, and grips enough to keep you over center -- as long as you are not trying to completely bomb down the trail. I am not sure, though, that it will hold up for my single speed. It tends to slip while out-of-the-saddle climbing at its lowest pressure. Maybe running it tubeless will make it hook up a little better and make it acceptable for my SS. If not I am going to try the Captain in the rear (oops). ;)

:beer:




Waldo said:
Shoot a PM to LoisMustDie - that's the combo he's currently running on his 29er. I think he's loving the Rampage, but at last notice he was struggling a little to find a pressure for the Crossmax that gave the right combo of rolling speed & traction. Friday on Blackstar/MD ride he went down once and was saying that under braking a few times he felt like the rear was gonna pass the front. I think he dropped pressure for yesterday's Maple ride, but I didn't ask how that felt.
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With all the love for Ignitors in this thread, I may give them another try. I had them stock on my 26er and they wore out quickly and they sucked on out of the saddle climbs when I needed traction the most. What pressures do you all run Ignitors at? Tubed or tubeless conversions?
 
I just got in a set of Conti Mountain Kings from Speedgoat. Both tires are 29" x 2.4" and weigh in at 736 grams and 718 grams, respectively. I'll put them on my AIR 9 tonight and see how they run for the next few weeks. I don't think they will be truly 2.4" wide.
 
After trying 29er Motoraptors, Nanoraptors, Exiwolfs, Nevegals, Fast Traks, and the Captain, I have determined:

Nevegal is a great front tire, Nanos and Captains are great rear tires.

Riding down Blackstar, the Nano had a tendency to slip a bit when leaning during turns, whereas the Captain never does.

I had a Nevegal in the back for a while and when I put a Captain on there, I could not believe how much faster I was rolling. It felt like I had a tail wind everywhere. I didn't notice any lack of climbing traction either.

I do plan on giving the Rampage a try in the front this summer.
 
DeeZee said:
Sam why do you want really wide (heavy'ish) tires on that bike:?:

For normal CC trails a 2.1 or 2.2 is more than enough.

I rode SJT last night on my HT with 600g 2.1's and they hooked-up great:bang:

Remember with the bigger hoops you have more contact with the trail:)
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I think these 2.4s will be closer to 2.25" in reality. We'll see.

I like the increased grip of wide tires. I know the 29" wheels give me a bigger contact patch, but I don't mind an even larger contact patch with a wider tire, especially up front.

Also, the tread on the 2.4s looks deeper than the 2.2s, not sure why though.
 
I have been racing a 29er since 2006.
I've used one combo for every condition, course, etc. My results have been pretty good.
KENDA KARMA 1.9s for racing period.
From Sagebrush to Humbolt, from Sea Otter to the Santa Fe Big Friggin Loop, they are golden.
paz afuera
For training I love the Nevegal, and the Bonty XRs.
 
BrewMaster said:
I think these 2.4s will be closer to 2.25" in reality. We'll see.

I like the increased grip of wide tires. I know the 29" wheels give me a bigger contact patch, but I don't mind an even larger contact patch with a wider tire, especially up front.

Also, the tread on the 2.4s looks deeper than the 2.2s, not sure why though.
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sam, i've had some 26" 2.4 MK ss on my trail bike for about two weeks and they're not too bad of a tire. the one issue i have with them is that the side knobs are very soft. i can see shredding the side knobs if you ride in rocky areas a lot. also the tire is pretty skinny for a 2.4 and the volume isn't really there as well. i should try and get some calipers to measure, but i'd guess its a 2.2/2.25 at the biggest. i'm testing it out since one tire saves me about 360 grams compared to my schwalbe big betty that i normally run.. it does roll fairly well and the grip is pretty good as well
 

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