Magic Mary experience…

Oey12

Well-Known Member
Just wondering if anybody has experience with the Magic Mary 2.4 soft for the NNJ (Sterling, Graham, Ringwood, Blauvelt, etc)?

I am currently running the Vigilante 2.5 light, if any one has experience with both…

Curious because I prefer 2.4 (even though the Vigilante is very good in 2.5) and the Mary is a little lighter.
 
Magic Mary is heavy and slow rolling. Always felt like i was pulling a boat anchor when i ran it in the rear and mine was a 2.3. I think it was heavier enduro casing though.
Edit: my tire was from like 2019 though so other than tread pattern, probably different than today's version
 
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I run a MM on the front in that size and compound on my Stumpjumper Evo. It's a great tire for that purpose. I ride a lot of XC stuff as well as CR. I'll be using it when I go to Moab as well.
 
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I am looking at the super ground (lightest casing for the MM) in particular for the front only.

I still think most of the stuff I ride is XC…not sure what the heck to call it anymore lol.

I generally run faster rolling tires in the rear like the XR4. Big difference from the Vig but it works well together IMO.
 
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if you think the XR4 is a fast rolling tire you will be fine with the Magic Mary, I run the mary up front on both of my full suspension bikes, and the xr4 f/r on my hardtail.
 
The only time I ran MM in the rear was on a park bike. Also XR4s are on the rear of 3 other bikes. Trying SE5s in the front, cause they were on sale, so far so good. Moving away from Maxxis as I've torn a few beads in the last few years. Would like to try the other 3, 4, 5, 6 series tires
 
In my experience the MM soft wears out quickly on NJ rocks. I've lost sidewall knobs after only 3-4 rides. It's also pretty slow rolling.
 
I ran Magic Marys in Super Gravity casing on my Megatower when I first built it up. Worked well enough as trail tires. Not so well for park riding - as they pinch flatted a few times before I switched to Maxxis DH casing tires. I ran them on my DH bikes a bunch of years ago and didn't cause me too much grief, although were I to run them today for DH I'd install inserts F&R.

I also agree with a.s. the compound seems to wear quickly. I didn't really ride them often enough in situations where rolling resistance was a concern.

As an aside, I'm running the Schwalbe Shredda Gravity, Ultra Soft Radial F&R tires on my e-bike. Wear has been great and they definitely grip like crazy. However, there was a noticeable increase in rolling resistance compared to the Maxxis tires that came with the bike.
 
In my experience the MM soft wears out quickly on NJ rocks. I've lost sidewall knobs after only 3-4 rides. It's also pretty slow rolling.
How about the colder months? The harder compounds roll like rocks in this weather.
 
In my experience the MM soft wears out quickly on NJ rocks. I've lost sidewall knobs after only 3-4 rides. It's also pretty slow rolling.
Was this the newer casings/compounds or the older?

I have read many similar complaints that mimic yours with the older versions. However it’s very difficult to tell because many internet posts don’t clarify…
 
I haven't had the issue with the knobs tearing off the Mary's or the short lifespan. But I run them on the front which is a completely different wear profile that the rear. The softer the compound the faster it will wear it just the compromise you make for grip
 
the new radial version of any schwalbe tire varies from prior tires with the same tread design

Although the tread is the same, they ride differently

This is deeply discussed in the recent podcasts from Pink bike.

In fact PB gave the radial tire design an award for product of the year

I’ve had various versions for over a year and they get very high marks from me and from many of our customers who try them

I’d do a Albert super soft on the rear and a MM soft on the front.

I also like the Vittoria light insert on the rear

Good luck. And report back.
 
Was this the newer casings/compounds or the older?

I have read many similar complaints that mimic yours with the older versions. However it’s very difficult to tell because many internet posts don’t clarify…
I was running the MM tire front and back. They were the older (14 months ago) non-radial version. Gripped well enough for me but the rear wore out quickly. It felt like a real waste of money.
 
How about the colder months? The harder compounds roll like rocks in this weather.
If I recall correctly, I had them on in the summer and swapped back to Maxxis. Can’t really say how they perform in the cold.

I’m curious about the new radial tires but still have concerns about wear. I weigh 210 so softer compound tires don’t last long under my fat ass.
 
If I recall correctly, I had them on in the summer and swapped back to Maxxis. Can’t really say how they perform in the cold.

I’m curious about the new radial tires but still have concerns about wear. I weigh 210 so softer compound tires don’t last long under my fat ass.

yea the schwalbe soft tires dont have a long life as a rear tire IME (500 miles or so is about it), that said i dont notice any huge difference in the winter that makes me want to take them off.

that said i may have to try a set of those new radials next time i need to buy . . .
 
yea the schwalbe soft tires dont have a long life as a rear tire IME (500 miles or so is about it), that said i dont notice any huge difference in the winter that makes me want to take them off.

that said i may have to try a set of those new radials next time i need to buy . . .
500 wow. I'm lucky if I get 250 miles on a rear tire. That's running DC or 3C compound. I've shredded MaxxGrip knobs after 100 miles.
 
While I don’t doubt that the radial tires are good…I have no interest in that weight for my use.

If I am understanding everyone correctly, the Magic Mary are good (performance wise) for NNJ but the soft compound wears quickly in the rocks??

I am fine with the wear as long as they “grip” the rocks and roots. The Vigilante really is great at that.
 
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