Tire choices?????

Turbotrix

Well-Known Member
So I picked up a new Pivot Trail 429. I hate the front tire and not really fond of back tire, not a Maxxis guy. So I will be riding the bike more cross country with very lite enduro, pushing my downhills a little more though. On my Niner SS I ride Bontrager xr3’s in 29 x 2.4 and love them. Prior to those I was a diehard Racing Ralph guy.

I rode the Hans Dampf on a demo bike. They were 29 x 2.6. I liked the tread but the 2.6 seamed really wide to me. Does anyone run the 2.35?

What are you guys riding on a set up like this?

I've been running a 2.5 Maxxis Aggressor (R) and 2.5 Assegai (F) on my Pivot Mach 5.5. I'm really loving this combo for the dry, rocky stuff out here.
 

JonF

Well-Known Member
You can also walk into pretty much any bike shop here in the US and find the wall of Maxxis tires if you need a replacement in a pinch. :shrug:
 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
I’ll add something here that many don’t talk about.

Maxxis tires are the lowest cost oem tire. They actually sell their tires to the bike companies for less than any other brand and consider oem to be a loss leader and marketing expense. The plan is that most people will just rebuy what came on by he bike when they wear out.

Their strategy works.

Ive never been a fan of their tires. They aren’t horrible, but they aren’t the best or better than other brands.
Isn't it true that the OEM Maxxis tires that come on new bikes are of a lower quality than if you were to just buy Maxxis tires separately? I heard that somewhere i think. I like Maxxis and will always run a 2.5 DHF on the front but tend to experiment with rear tires. I like the Aggressor though. I've had good luck with Schwalbe as well. Back in the day (early 2000s?), Kenda was the "cool" company and I ran a bunch of their tires but they seem to have fallen off the radar in recent years.
 

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Isn't it true that the OEM Maxxis tires that come on new bikes are of a lower quality than if you were to just buy Maxxis tires separately?
There was a thread about this somewhere on here not too long ago... Maxxis OEM tires wearing or even failing twice as fast as the same model purchased aftermarket...
 

JonF

Well-Known Member
Dunno if its true for all OEM buyers, but when my Ibis got to the dealer, other than the frame and wheels, the "build kit", meaning all the balance of the parts that are non-ibis (brakes, drivetrain, post, tires, etc) are all in retail packaging. Dealer even said that they have a PILE of Assegai tires that come with many of the bikes that the customers just dont want so they have a ton of retail carded Assegai's they swapped out for something lighter.
 

Cassinonorth

Well-Known Member
Have 2 wheelsets currently in needing of advice.

One super enduro bro (DHF/DHRII), one super XC sketchy sliding all over (Specialized Fasttrak's). Looking to change out either the rear of the enduro or the front tire of the XC wheelset to give me a better overall experience.

I'm leaning more towards Purgatory or Butcher up front on the XC wheelset since I made the mistake of picking tan walls on Maxxis which are apparently few and far between (think I'd like the Minion SS or Rekon's though) and I care about those things like matching tires.
 

Tim

aka sptimmy43
I’ve got Forekasters on my trail bike right now and they are better than I thought. 2.35 rear is fast and 2.6 up front is also fast but does provide a little more grip. Things get sketchy when the trails are super dry and dusty.

I may try a Dissector on the front again just to see how that compares.
 

extremedave

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I like the butcher up front but in the stiffer sidewall T9. Kinda hard to get the right pressure/feel on the standard sidewall on the front. Maxxis aggressor rear seems to be the no brainer. Maxxis seem to run small while the 2.3 Specialized are pretty beefy.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Have 2 wheelsets currently in needing of advice.

One super enduro bro (DHF/DHRII), one super XC sketchy sliding all over (Specialized Fasttrak's). Looking to change out either the rear of the enduro or the front tire of the XC wheelset to give me a better overall experience.

I'm leaning more towards Purgatory or Butcher up front on the XC wheelset since I made the mistake of picking tan walls on Maxxis which are apparently few and far between (think I'd like the Minion SS or Rekon's though) and I care about those things like matching tires.

I run this same combo on 2 wheelsets. DHF/DHR and Sketchy Death Fastraks. A Rekon up front with a Fastrak in back seems cool. Try it and let me know if it sucks.
 

Cassinonorth

Well-Known Member
I run this same combo on 2 wheelsets. DHF/DHR and Sketchy Death Fastraks. A Rekon up front with a Fastrak in back seems cool. Try it and let me know if it sucks.

Glad I'm not the only one out there risking their life on that tire combo. I'm actually ordering a Rekon for the rear and going to try the dhr2 up front.

I think that makes logical sense for an all rounder
 

a.s.

Mr. Chainring
@ibike73 ... I like the Hans Dampf tire but find the Maxxis DHF to be better up front for almost all conditions. It’s definitely better than the Rekon. How’s your tire pressure? That can make a big difference. For reference- I weigh 210 lbs and run 19 psi in my DHF.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Glad I'm not the only one out there risking their life on that tire combo. I'm actually ordering a Rekon for the rear and going to try the dhr2 up front.

I think that makes logical sense for an all rounder

I basically only ride that bike at 6 mile and south where the Fastraks will not result in instant death.
 

Tim

aka sptimmy43
Glad I'm not the only one out there risking their life on that tire combo. I'm actually ordering a Rekon for the rear and going to try the dhr2 up front.

I think that makes logical sense for an all rounder
I had a Rekon on the rear with a DHF up front for quite a while. I think Rekon/DHR will be a really solid combo.
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
@ibike73 ... I like the Hans Dampf tire but find the Maxxis DHF to be better up front for almost all conditions. It’s definitely better than the Rekon. How’s your tire pressure? That can make a big difference. For reference- I weigh 210 lbs and run 19 psi in my DHF.


hans dampf is a great rear tire, i didnt care for it on the front, id suggest the magic mary if you want a front tire in that category.
 

Monkey Soup

Angry Wanker
So I picked up a new Pivot Trail 429. I hate the front tire and not really fond of back tire, not a Maxxis guy. So I will be riding the bike more cross country with very lite enduro, pushing my downhills a little more though. On my Niner SS I ride Bontrager xr3’s in 29 x 2.4 and love them. Prior to those I was a diehard Racing Ralph guy.

I rode the Hans Dampf on a demo bike. They were 29 x 2.6. I liked the tread but the 2.6 seamed really wide to me. Does anyone run the 2.35?

What are you guys riding on a set up like this?
I run the Aggressor 2.4 in the back with either a DHF or Assegai in the front, in EXO + at a minimum. If you crash, it won’t be due to lack of traction from the tires. If you plan to ride hard on difficult terrain, this is your combo, you will just be throwing money away with Hans Damphs and Nobby Nics because they have the fortitude of styrofoam cup.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
I run the Aggressor 2.4 in the back with either a DHF or Assegai in the front, in EXO + at a minimum. If you crash, it won’t be due to lack of traction from the tires. If you plan to ride hard on difficult terrain, this is your combo, you will just be throwing money away with Hans Damphs and Nobby Nics because they have the fortitude of styrofoam cup.
I’ve had good luck with the new supertrail casing on the Schwalbe tires. I also like the assegai on the front. Less so on the rear.
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I run the Aggressor 2.4 in the back with either a DHF or Assegai in the front, in EXO + at a minimum. If you crash, it won’t be due to lack of traction from the tires. If you plan to ride hard on difficult terrain, this is your combo, you will just be throwing money away with Hans Damphs and Nobby Nics because they have the fortitude of styrofoam cup.

personally i feel the exact oppsite of you, i have had absolutely NO positive experiences with MAXXIS tires, I run hans dampf rear and magic mary in the front, the only complaint i have is that the hans wears down quickly (500-600miles), but thats the price you pay for a soft sticky rubber compound, there is no issue with the casing at all.
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
Granted they were the old evolution compound but I managed to slash the sides of every single nobby nic I used after a few rides (you know you can trust me when I say few). Since switching to Maxxis EXO+ (both for the Rekons and the DHRII/DHR combo) I never had an issue with plenty of side hits on the tires. Longevity is not really an issue for me because...I don’t ride much.
 
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