how bout a good ol fashioned tire thread

for retro aesthetics you could go with the panaracer smoke / dart reissue. tho i'm assuming they suck from a performance standpoint.

I gave serious consideration to a vintage tread option, something like a Farmer John or Ground Control or the Smoke so the look is right but damn, I’d be giving up A LOT of performance.  I ran those tires a lot and they were bad vs what we can get now. 

Pains me ‘cause I love skinwalls in general but I’ll sacrifice the sidewall colour instead of tread this time.

Posted by: fartymarty

Has anyone tried a Tough Fast Rolling WTB Riddler?

Ran a Riddler couple summers ago. So much weight for what it is. Feel like there's not much engineering in WTB's tires in general, Riddler is just a solid row of tightly packed side knobs that unnecessarily makes the tire a boat anchor.

In the all out beefy 3 1/2lb tire category WTB do great, but their lighter offerings are definitely lacking.

Maxxis has got the faster lighter category dialed. An Aggressor feels about as fast as a Riddler but still brakes, and a Dissector is quick enough and has all the traction. Even a Rekon rear grabs pretty damn well...for a couple weeks. Most importantly Maxxis comes with properly engineered midweight casings.

Thinking about how we want our tires to be supple when possible AND supportive under load AND tough AND light and wondering - what if there was some of that non-Newtonian material in there?  Couldn't the carcass be supple when not being strained then stiffen up under load (corners, impacts) that way?  Maybe it would also provide some puncture protection, as it would stiffen up when something sharp hits it?  Great opportunity to really get the price point up there as well, so manufacturers should love it.

So who is back to, or going back to, assegai front and rear with how loose it is out there? :D

I just put on a 2.3 DD Maxxterra Aggressor and it's surprisingly good. I needed a rear tire and it was the closest thing I could find. It worked really well. I guess Vancouver is a proper 'dry conditions' place now.

I have a Minion SS 29x2.5 DH Casing sitting in the closet. Even with the dry conditions, I’ve been riding some steeper trails where I’d prefer to have good braking traction, so I have kept the DHR II on for now.

I think the Aggressor would be ideal.

Posted by: craw

I just put on a 2.3 DD Maxxterra Aggressor and it's surprisingly good. I needed a rear tire and it was the closest thing I could find. It worked really well. I guess Vancouver is a proper 'dry conditions' place now.

i'm running the 2.5 iteration of that currently (with maxxgrip assegai front, which i run year round). transitioning off a MG dhr2 was a bit entertaining in the loose, as the side lugs are considerably less aggressive, but it does roll a bit better, and the compound is lasting surprisingly well, despite the shorter knob height. would love to see something between the SS & the aggressor - proper side lugs, with a nice rolling, mid height center (the semi slicks just don't cut it when things get properly steep & loose). like a cut dhr, i guess.

Posted by: xy9ine

Posted by: craw

I just put on a 2.3 DD Maxxterra Aggressor and it's surprisingly good. I needed a rear tire and it was the closest thing I could find. It worked really well. I guess Vancouver is a proper 'dry conditions' place now.

i'm running the 2.5 iteration of that currently (with maxxgrip assegai front, which i run year round). transitioning off a MG dhr2 was a bit entertaining in the loose, as the side lugs are considerably less aggressive, but it does roll a bit better, and the compound is lasting surprisingly well, despite the shorter knob height. would love to see something between the SS & the aggressor - proper side lugs, with a nice rolling, mid height center (the semi slicks just don't cut it when things get properly steep & loose). like a cut dhr, i guess.

The Dissector looks to be close to what you're after, but some reviews suggest the side knobs are a bit wimpy and prone to tearing relatively early on.

Wonder if that's true though. Been running one a few weeks, wear seems normal. 

Maybe in the Maxxgrip compound they'd wear faster. Then again if wear is a top concern could always run a Dual compound.

The side knobs on the Dissector are just standard Aggressor/ High Roller 2 knobs, nothing there to make them wear faster that I can detect.

Posted by: Hepcat

Wonder if that's true though. Been running one a few weeks, wear seems normal. 

Maybe in the Maxxgrip compound they'd wear faster. Then again if wear is a top concern could always run a Dual compound.

The side knobs on the Dissector are just standard Aggressor/ High Roller 2 knobs, nothing there to make them wear faster that I can detect.

I rode an Exo Dissector 29x2.4 last year. It lasted maybe 10 to 15 rides in the Lower Mainland area before the side knobs starting degrading and undercutting significantly. IME the rumours about Dissector knobs are true, at least in that version of the tire. I also have a 29x2.6 Dissector in Exo + though and that tire did not have the same problem at all (it is wearing very nicely). I'm curious to know if the side knobs are a problem on the Maxx Grip DD version of that tire.

Posted by: Bushpilot

Posted by: Hepcat

Wonder if that's true though. Been running one a few weeks, wear seems normal. 

Maybe in the Maxxgrip compound they'd wear faster. Then again if wear is a top concern could always run a Dual compound.

The side knobs on the Dissector are just standard Aggressor/ High Roller 2 knobs, nothing there to make them wear faster that I can detect.

I rode an Exo Dissector 29x2.4 last year. It lasted maybe 10 to 15 rides in the Lower Mainland area before the side knobs starting degrading and undercutting significantly. IME the rumours about Dissector knobs are true, at least in that version of the tire. I also have a 29x2.6 Dissector in Exo + though and that tire did not have the same problem at all (it is wearing very nicely). I'm curious to know if the side knobs are a problem on the Maxx Grip DD version of that tire.

Can confirm. I installed a set of 27.5 x 2.4 on my hardtail for the longer gravelly rides I was doing down the Sea to Sky trail to Squamish. The do roll better than tires with more oomph and traction. I put them on my Remedy a month ago as conditions here seemed good for that. I noticed the side knob undercutting pretty quick. But mostly on one side. I’ve never really noticed that I turn differently or better in one direction or the other but there it is. Not sure if the trails I ride have a turn directions bias or if it’s related to being left foot forward and right handed or if I just turn different. Anyway I bought some 2.6 Minnions like the rest of the world. Volume on all this loose seems to be a good thing.

Posted by: Hepcat

Wonder if that's true though. Been running one a few weeks, wear seems normal. 

Maybe in the Maxxgrip compound they'd wear faster. Then again if wear is a top concern could always run a Dual compound.

The side knobs on the Dissector are just standard Aggressor/ High Roller 2 knobs, nothing there to make them wear faster that I can detect.

The Aggressor usually comes in Dual compound rubber, the Dissector in Maxxterrra or even Maxxgrip.

Anyone on here have much experience with the Rekon? I decided to go for a faster rolling setup on one of my bikes. I have 2.6 rekon on the front and 2.5 aggressor on the back, both with cushcore pro. The sidewall is less supportive on the Rekon than I am used to so I run them at about 4psi higher pressure than I would with a Minion DHF for instance. I find with the small knobs I don't trust the tire leaning over as much. I'm running them on FLOW i30 rims so I believe the tire shape is pretty typical. I haven't taken them to the point of washing out and biting it. Do I just need to trust them fully, like I would a minion or do others find that the tire starts to feel nervous when pushed to your max?