Rear tire recommendations for wet weather North Shore riding - anything better than Maxxis DHR II.

As the title says, anyone found a tire that works better on North Shore roots, rocks, woodwork and generally light sandy mud when things get cold and wet ?

The DHRII (dual compound EXO) has been my 'go to' summer and winter do everything pretty well rear tire but before I buy some more I thought I'd ask if anyone has found anything that has better traction without significantly more rolling resistance.  I'm totally happy with my Magic Mary up front, but the DHRII in the back seems to spend most of the time sliding and skittering about when it's wet, with the main thing in its favor being that it does this in a fairly predictable manner and generally still maintains some traction even when slipping and sliding.

Dhr2 is a great choice, but that compound isn't, have you tried a 3c (ideally maxx grip, although maxx terra would be an improvement too), it's really hard to beat minions for sea to sky riding IMO

Agreed, big difference between the dual compound and the 3c Maxx grip

Truth.... 3C Maxx Grip or even Maxx Terra is better than 2C...

3C Maxx Grip front /  Maxx Terra rear works great for me.

Any idea how much you lose in terms rolling resistance and tread life going from the Dual Compound > 3C Maxx Grip > 3C Maxx Terra?  Is it a big difference or barely noticeable?  I've heard Maxx Terra is really draggy....so if that's the case it better stick like glue at least :)

I went from a dual compound HRII EXO to a DHRII 3C MaxxTera EXO and it felt pretty close to me, maybe slightly worse (as in 10%? Hard to say). Have not run a MaxxGrip out back other than DH bike.

For the rear, you aren't an Assguy are you?

I went from 3C 2.3 DHRII to DC 2.4WT DHRII and noticed more RR- I assume its more to do with new tire & Weight more than compound

Not that you asked for front tire, but I went to an e13+ tire in the front and have been loving it over the 2.3 DHF DC that it replaced

@ehfour:  I've tried both the DHRII (2.3" DC and 2.4"WT DC) and agree that the WT seemed significantly more 'draggy'.  I had to go up at least 6 psi higher on the WT to get it to feel close to the same.  However, I run Procore inside my tires and this got me wondering if I'm not actually riding / sagging partially onto the internal procore casing on my normal 2.3 DHRII all the time.   With the WT, there is more height as well as width so maybe it sags more before hitting the Procore casing causing a lower pressure 'draggy' feeling.  I know a lot of other people are big fans of the WT sized tires and I haven't heard this complaint a lot so it makes me wonder.

@Endur-Bro: All joking aside, Greg Minnaar's Assegai tire probably would have awesome traction but given the size, weight and super soft rubber, I think I'd need to get an ebike to ride uphill with these ;)  Aaron Gwin's Onza Aquila is another similar option that would be interesting to try if it wasn't so heavy.

@grambo: The 3C MaxxTera seems like the next one for me to try as well; I don't think I would like the rolling resistance of the MaxxGrip.

I only feel the difference in rolling resistance when commuting to the trail on flat(tish) pavement when rolling resistance is the main 'enemy'. When climbing on dirt, I don't notice much difference, it's mostly gravity your are fighting uphill (and maybe roots and rocks on e.g. No Quarter) and the difference in rolling resistance between different tires is totally insignificant compared to that. Even if you think you do feel the difference, I'd say the benefits of the softer compound on the way down are still way more significant. Just my 2 cents.

Posted by: Xorrox

@Endur-Bro: All joking aside, Greg Minnaar's Assegai tire probably would have awesome traction but given the size, weight and super soft rubber, I think I'd need to get an ebike to ride uphill with these ;)  Aaron Gwin's Onza Aquila is another similar option that would be interesting to try if it wasn't so heavy.

I'm currently sucking the Michelin tittie. But if I was searching for Maxxis tyres, especially a front for aggro applications it would be at the top of my list.  I have a 2.4 Wild Enduro Magic-X 29 to pick up soon and swap the Rock'R2 out back (pealing the 2.3 DHRII 3C TR blah blah blah blah off) and a Wild Enduro rear to play with this winter.  Picked up Power All Season 25ccs for the road bike as well. 

Hard to deny the price of MM from zee Chermans though.

Posted by: Endur-Bro

Posted by: Xorrox

@Endur-Bro: All joking aside, Greg Minnaar's Assegai tire probably would have awesome traction but given the size, weight and super soft rubber, I think I'd need to get an ebike to ride uphill with these ;)  Aaron Gwin's Onza Aquila is another similar option that would be interesting to try if it wasn't so heavy.

I'm currently sucking the Michelin tittie. But if I was searching for Maxxis tyres, especially a front for aggro applications it would be at the top of my list.  I have a 2.4 Wild Enduro Magic-X 29 to pick up soon and swap the Rock'R2 out back (pealing the 2.3 DHRII 3C TR blah blah blah blah off) and a Wild Enduro rear to play with this winter.  Picked up Power All Season 25ccs for the road bike as well. 

Hard to deny the price of MM from zee Chermans though.

Yep em er good them Michelins. I have the 650 version and they are better I think than the DHF/DHR2 that I run on my other bike.

I've run the 2.4" Conti Trail King as a winter tire the last 6-7 years on Van Isle. Great traction. Rolls fast.