29er Tire Combos/Recommendations

I found the following tire combos to be a good mix between rolling resistance and traction for my two 29ers mounted tubeless on ZTR Arches.

Rigid SS 29er (Emphasis on reasonable lightness, good mashing traction, and decent volume):
Front: WTB Weirwolf LT 2.55 @ 18 PSI
Rear: Maxxis Aspen 2.10 @ 23 PSI

FS geared 29er (Emphasis on stable cornering at speed, good braking/pedaling traction, decent sidewall and tread durability, and burp resistance):
Front: Rampage 2.35 @ 22 PSI
Rear: Specialized Captain Control 2.2 2Bliss @ 28 PSI
 
im using this exact combo and have really been happy with it.

2.2 Purgatory up front (2bliss, Control)
2.2 Captain on the rear (2bliss, Control)

trails include aliso, el moro, lcwp, santiago oaks, whiting, stt, luge.

these have a pretty large volume for a 2.2 and have excellent grip. i dont like using the cliché of saying these are predictable, or unpredictable. however, i will say they haven't slid out on me when leaning into turns. the captain has excellent bite when climbing the steep stuff, whether its on dry dirt, or rocks with a light dusting of dirt.

Just went with this per Brandi @ The Path and I noticed this is the stock tire setup on the 2011 or 2012 Stumpjumper FSR 29er. So far, so good, but it's probably too early to tell for sure--I've only ridden them a few times thus far. I was initially concerned with moving away from the 2.3 I had on the front and was considering if I should even go to 2.4 upfront as I'm not a racer, just a trailrider and am mostly concerned with traction and handling than resistance/speed/weight.
 
I've been running a 2.25 ardent up front and a 2.25 ikon rear on arches and it's a pretty good combo for the OC dirt. It was terrible in snow but I was too lazy to swap the rear tire out
 
Anybody have a High Volume 29" front tire to recommend.?

I went out on the inaugural ride of my SS rigid. I was surprised that the front wasn't harsher. That being said, I'd like to try a high volume tire up front; like a 2.3 or so. I also don't need too much tread. Any good tires to try?

thanks,
 
Im partial to Maxxis Ardent 2.4 EXO, its has a tougher sidewall, can be run tubeless and looooow pressure.
 
If you can handle the weight, i really like the roll and grip of a 2.4 Ardent. Probably not as supple as a RR or the smaller Ikon, but, with the EXO protection it feels like you can run it into and through just about anything.
 
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Hans Dampt Trail Star. 29x2.35 Tubeless Snakeskin 820grams. Good front tire slow back tire very tough tire. I also use Racing Ralphs Evo's 29x2.35, 645grams but even with snakeskin sidewalls I am always afraid that I will slice the sidewall.

What is the weight of Ardents? I have never found Maxis tires to have high volume but very tough tires, Schwalbes very big volume tires.

http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/off-road_tires/hans_dampf


 
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What is the weight of Ardents? I have never found Maxis tires to have high volume but very tough tires...


I just put a set on my new bike, the 2.4s weighed in at 840g each. Seemed to run slightly smaller than the Purgatory 2.4 I have on the other bike.
 
On a side note. Does every thread need to be merged. What a PITA to search through the info on 12 pages to get what you want.
This is a "sticky" and all you need to do is click on the BLUE arrow icons of that thread on home page to get to the most recent replies.

I don't want this thread to become about that so if have any questions or comments, PM me. Thanks.
 
Riding Main Divide and trying to get dialed in on those steep, loose sections - PITA climbing for me.

Currently on 29'er (tubes): front: 'Captain' 2.2
rear: 'Renegade' 1.95

Rear is sliding around in the steep sections when I have to punch it and get thru/over rocks etc.. This combo works fine in Moro but, I gotta try something else on MD to see if it's the tires or just that I suck in that kind of mashing.

LBS guy said try the new Fast Trak LK 'Control' (Competition XC). I've used other Fast Traks on/off for two years and like them for mixed road/dirt but found them a bit dodgy as a front. Tread design on these new 'Controls' is pretty much the same as others, best I can tell.

Anyone got some combos that work well for them on Main Divide?

Going wider in the rear more important than narrow/better rolling in that kind of climbing?
 
I really liked the captain front fast trak rear combo, ran that last year for both vq and the traverse. For this years vq I am going to run continental x king front and race king rear.
 
jabberwocky SS:
2.2 Nevegal up front so i can sit on the front weel in the corners.
2.1 Small Block 8 in back- which keeps me from sitting on the front wheel in the climbs. The smallblock is grippy as hell in the gravelly stuff and on rocks but you have to keep it weighted. Poor technique will get you lots of spinouts on rocks, roots and the like.

both set up tubeless on ZTR Archs so i can run low air pressure when needed.

Have used Ignitors and liked them- but those sidewalls are just too easy to tear. I have one out in the garage with no less than 6 tire patches inside!
 
Anybody have any suggestions for a lightweight front tire, around 600g. I have tried and Aspen 2.1 on the front before and it was OK. I was wondering if anyone else had any suggestions. My current setup is XTC 29er 1 with Maxxis Aspen 2.1 rear and Geax Saguaro 2.3 front. The Saguaro is a great tire, but is 720g.
 

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