Looking for suggestions for a better tire as these are sketchy, unsure of themselves and inspire zero confidence when shit gets out of hand. I don't like their cornering at all, they seem to want to wash out regardless of pressure* and I can actually hear them scrubbing and scratching for traction. Braking is atrocious as the tread just floats over the terrain and hunts for something to bite. I hate them and heard they were terrible from the get-go but my love of Continental was overwhelming.
Riding happens in two environments: California, the hot part and the wet part. Redwoods, Sierra and deserts. I don't need heavy mud control or any help with rolling resistance (centerline) and the bike never sees pavement. Something forgiving at higher pressures would be helpful (90s rider).
*The Contis actually work well at lower psi in all areas outside of cornering.
I rode a similarly built bike on Mezcals and loved em' but I'm wondering if there are other rubbers out there worth looking at.
by onlyrelevantlyrics
22 Comments
Always go to your local shop and ask what they’re selling the most of to the local rippers who ride your same terrain.
Huh. I like ’em a lot.
The new maxxis dissector corners great. Still rolls pretty fast
Those are XC tires that are the tire de jour for gravel at this point. Just about the bottom limit of traction, but they’re fast.
There’s 100 tires up range with more traction… Basically anything described as trail will have significant improvement.. My favorite light trail combo is Maxxis Forekaster F/Rekon R.
Forekasters are pretty damn good for how fast they roll.
Rolling resistance is proportional to tread aggression & cornering ability. If you want the ultimate cornering machine then you need to be okay with the much higher rolling resistance of more aggressive tires like Maxxis’s DHF/DHR. Most tire manufactures have options covering the full Grip <–> Speed spectrum, all you have to do is decide where you want to be on that spectrum. If cornering is really all you’re after, maybe you want to swap to a more aggressive front tire while keeping the same tire in the rear?
I don’t know much about the tires but I would like to ask about the brakes. I assume those are some of those super nice cable brakes so what are the differences from hydraulic brakes and what makes you stick with these
I’m a fan of Maxxis tires but anything with more grip and confidence inspiring than your current tire will be at the cost of straight line speed.
I would recommend a Maxxis Minion DHF for the front in a 3C MaxxTerra (soft) instead of 3C MaxxGrip (extra soft). For the rear a complementary Maxxis Aggressor in a Dual Compound (medium) is the way to go. This combination will give you a great balance of speed and cornering.
Sounds like you love continental and vittoria tires so just get a knobbier option from one of those companies. The cross king is the next step up for continental. Idk what there new name for it is tho. Lots of knobbier options from vittoria that aren’t too severe. The Barzo or the syerra could be good for you. It’s hard to actually recommend what you’d need in your area without seeing it. California Isa massive state with tons of different riding environments.
It’s hard to see the tread pattern so I had to look it up, but that looks like an XC pattern or a SemiSlick, if I’m not mistaken. personally I would never let a tread pattern like that see my front wheel, but I’d be happy to run it in the rear.
Try a radial in the front. Any brand I’m sure will be fine as there a a couple brands making radials now. I run a Schwalbe Radial Albert out front and it’s the best front tire Ive ever had. Rolls fast, wears great and it’s never unexpected broken loose or washed on me. I run it at a stupid high psi too so it holds well in corners all without inserts.
Lotta folks run the Albert out back as well, but I’m a big fat guy and the Albert (and actually a wicked will as well) failed at the trail casing, so I went to a Radial Romy Gravity and I think I have now found my favorite rear tire ever. Holds in corners and the traction is crazy. I can grind up techy steeps like spider man. Again, I run it with very high psi, cuz I’m fat, so there is no need for inserts.
I’ve read that Schwalbe is the softest or most radially of the radial offerings. Other brands like ethirteen and specialized seem like they are striking a middle ground in how plush the casing is so if you are unsure of going full radial with schwalbe maybe give them a try.
For what it’s worth I’m like 250lbs with gear, I enjoy riding chunk but I have to do a lot of pedalling where I am. 160/135. I hated DHF style channels on my front tires and avoid them like the plague, which is why the specialized radial offerings don’t interest me even a little.
lol these are extremely well loved XC race tires, some of the best on the market.
Sounds like you bought the incorrect tire for your terrain and riding style…
If you’re doing things like a bike park those are not the tires that you want those are really meant for cross-country and meant to be fast rolling not have an aggressive tread.
They’re pretty much an xc race tire that prioritizes rolling resistance over anything. So yeah not a lot of grip.
You would be better off with something like a cross king on the back if you still want better rolling and maybe a mountain king on the front.
I run a mountain king on the front and a Maxxis ardent on the back for local trails, single track with a few downhill sections and I’ve been happy with the grip.
Um, send them to me!
I find maxxis Rekons to have far more grip than you’d expect. Rolling speed is good too although there are faster options. I run a rekon race on the rear fir some extra speed
Those are fantastic cross country tires – I think you are maybe using them for the wrong purpose/riding too aggressively for what they are. Get the Kryptotals if you are doing heavy trail/Enduro/downhill
I’m a big fan of Trail Kings but as always YMMV
This must be a troll?
You’ve got Paul Klampers and an Ohlins fork and used to work as a mechanic and can’t figure out tires but you want something to run at higher pressure?
Yeah ok.
I never used them, but seems like cornering hard into berms would be sketchy af.
Check out the Pirelli Scorpion XCRC for an XC tire that still rolls fast but has good cornering grip.
Try a mountain king on the front and the race king on the back (I loved the Conti Mountain king I had on my old 26er)
I ride mostly cross country in the midwest. I ride Continental Xking in back and trail king up front. I have plenty of traction and still roll fast.