Best all rounder front tyre

Hallo!

I have tested many tires and i am a fan of all rounders, the 'install and forget' type!

and when i say all rounder, i mean every situation except for deep mud.

My style is hard mtb riding, enduro and very light dh. (26 wheels)

My best front tire (the last 5 years) that i have experienced is hans dampf (trail star). i have it for about a year, and really is a jack of all trades.
Only disadvantage is that it has a mid to high rolling resistance, especially noticeable in climbs.

Do you have any suggestions on a similar tyre but with less rolling resistance?

My thought is to try the trail king (rubber queen) 2.4 apex
+protection. The black chili compound is awesome, have read that they grip and roll amazingly well. They are 200g heavier, but you also get almost a 27.5 result hehehe.

What do you think?

Hans dampf or trail king? (or something else?)

I've been using WTB Vigilante TCS AM for the last year or so. They roll very well, harder compound centre tread, softer shoulders. I use it for everything short of deep mud. I can't compare rr with Hans Dampfs as Schwalbe have an awkward habbit of falling apart in my experience.

I like the Trail King quite a lot. I only ride the 2.2 however.

The Black Chili Compound is indeed pretty good.

The weak points of the tire are that the side knobs are rather small and really have a weird shape (I suspect they are the way they are for esthetic reasons more than function…). They don't really hold well on off camber stuff and if you want to lean the bike over to corner. Also, the Protection version is a bit of a PITA. It is very porous and Stan or homebrew sealant can never fully seal it. I prefer dealing with the weight of the UST version and not having to add air all the time and riding with a tire oozing sealant through the sidewalls.

One promising tire is the Mavic Charge 2.4. I just bought one and it ticks all the boxes: UST, good volume, nice side knobs, etc. I only have one ride on it, so I have no idea on the durability. Initial feeling it that it is a really nice tire that very good traction. It look and feel like a proper DH tire. I find however that the bead is surprisingly loose with 819 rims and I managed to burp the tire with 30psi in a corner. I am not sure if it is a freak incident or not at this point. I will need to ride the tire more to make up my mind.

Specialized Butcher is a good option, I have a hard time picking holes in how that tire performs. The DHR2 from Maxxis is another that I'd recommend.

i tried a bunch of tires last year including the trail king which is a decent tire.. it handles many conditions well and rolls nicely… i don't ride in deep mud that often , but i do ride in the wet..i have chosen to stick w minion dhf… they might roll a bit slower but meh….maxxis cross mark also an option..

I've been using WTB Vigilante TCS AM for the last year or so. They roll very well, harder compound centre tread, softer shoulders. I use it for everything short of deep mud. I can't compare rr with Hans Dampfs as Schwalbe have an awkward habbit of falling apart in my experience.

That's good to know. I've got a fresh pair of those waiting to go on.

Maxxis DHF

/end thread

for those that are suggesting the minion or hr2, come on guys…have you ever ridden hans dampf? those 2 maxxis tyres have much more rolling resistance… learn some shit :flame::agree: if going that way, then it'd be easily a magic mary!!! much better than any maxxis tyre.

trail king 2.4 here i come! thank you!:fruit:

What Shirk said, Minions! The 2.5 exos 3c are my go to tire, both DHF and DHR2. I did spend the summer on the newer 2.3 DHF casings, and I found they rolled even faster as the tread was a little shorter overall, but the casing was actually, or appeared to be a little more volumous oddly enough. The new 2.4 DHR 2 are amazing as well. A nice, slightly rounder profile than the DHF, that climbs better, and seems to roll the same. Bigger volume than the 2.5 as well.

Freeriiding: yes I've ridden the Damph. For the price of them, they should hold onto their side knobs longer than ten hours, seriously. And I've learned a lot of shit over the years, and one of those things was that the HD is slower, unless you trim the transition knobs off. A nice consistent tire with a lot of biting points for slow shore riding. And come one, that big fat sucker is faster than the minion rolling on those narrow centre knobs, really? ;)

Edit: what D (C) said, the Butcher is a nice alternative. A bit lighter, a lot cheaper, and the new Grid casing feels quite supple, although collapses a bit more than the EXO, but not a whole lot different. They have a flatter profile than the DHF as well. Seemingly impossible to find locally once summer comes around (thanks Specialized Canada?)

I am a huge fan of the Specialized Butcher. They wear well and have a bunch of casing options. Tubeless setup is a breeze. The DHF is good as well, tried and true. The EXO TR version has been reliable for me so far.

no hard feelings my friend!:agree: (it's just a phrase, no insult intended)

personally i have ridden both, the minion and the hd, and the hans dampf seemed decently less draggy.

well, the conclusion is that tyres are such a personal thing!!!

thank you all! :agree:

the conclusion is that tyres are such a personal thing!!!

Truth. Hard to recommend a tire to anyone; they all have different expectations.

Defiantly personal. One thing I do want to try is a trimmed HD on the front and a Rock Razor on the back next year for summer XC cruising (or smooth Enduroing?:). They are quite a bit lighter than the Maxxis and are huge, so I'll feel less guilty on my 26er.

I find most tires are pretty much all round…