Wet conditions (front) tire

I’m in Minnesota, and our local trails are (mostly) closed when wet, so I don’t get a lot of practice riding wet trails.

I figured I’d ask you folks in the Pacifc coast, for your experiences with tires.

I am not talking about riding pure mud top to bottom. Most of the time, the trails we are riding in the wet, are rock, roots, some loam and short bits of clay based mud.

Specifically I’m wondering about width:

My thought is that wider tires (lower pressure) can fold around rock edges and roots more easily, meaning you don’t get bumped off line so easily. Also, with a larger contact patch, there is a better chance that at least part of the tread is on something more grippy.

However, I have never compared similar tires wide vs narrow in the wet, and I know many people prefer a narrow tire, even for wet trails.

I don’t ride fast, and am a cautious rider, so I am not worried about stability at speed, during big G-outs or high speed berm smashing. I’ll probably run inserts anyway to help stabilize the casing against rolling/squirming. Tires like the Tacky Chan, and Cannibal, that are made to handle the high forces of WC racing are not gonna work for me. Also need cornering grip at intermediate lean angles, no empty transition zone.

I have 30mm rims.

Considering Assegai Maxxgrip, 2.5 or 2.6, Magic Mary 2.4 or 2.6 Supersoft, Eddy Current Front Super Soft 2.6 among others.

Your thoughts?

Wide or narrow?

Eddy Current too much of a gap before the cornering knobs?

Other tires with even stickier compund and good tread design?

Conti Kryptotal all day long.  IMO the best wet roots and rocks tire on the market.

Posted by: bux-bux

Conti Kryptotal all day long.  IMO the best wet roots and rocks tire on the market.

Thanks!

I had forgotten that the DH Krypto is lighter than the DD Assegai!

In Bike Magazin they rate the cornering grip of the Supersoft version lower than the Maxxgrip Assegai though, and stiffer casing, vs the more comfortable double down. 

Since I’ve never had an issue with support or pinch flatting even with double down or lighter casings up front, I had figured I’d stick with Double down.

That’s the problem with mtb tires. Riding style, terrain and temp/moisture play such a huge role, different people often rate a tire almost opposite.

The Kryptotal in Supersoft ist magic, the Argotal in Supersoft is even better in wet conditions in my experience. But both are so good that you can‘t go wrong with either. The Conti casing is comfortable, I ride them with 19-20psi on the front and they feel great. 

That said, a Magic Mary Ultra Soft (lightest sticky rubber, because available in thinner casing) or an Assegai Maxxgrip Exo+ will work great as well for what you describe. (as front tires)

Assegai has most rolling resistance out of the named, the Contis and Magic Mary roll about the same.

I‘d go regular soft compound with some nice knobs on the rear. Works fine. Supersoft on the rear is gone too fast.

Yes, currently I have a Magic Mary Supergravity, with Ultra soft compound, in 2.35, bought last fall for a wet enduro. I also still have a WTB Vigilante 2.6, that’s about toast. I liked the idea of the 2.6 Vigi, but I have had problems with WTB casings “sweating” on all of their tires, and I am not sure their “high grip” compound is quite as sticky as the others.

My biggest question is size: if you tried 2.6 versions (of one of these tires, with the grippiest compound), what did you (dis)like about the size?

I'm running 2.5x29 Maxxgrip Shorty's on both my hardtail and FS bike at the moment up front. They were amazing through the slop of the winter and I haven't bothered to change them to something else yet for the summer. Rolling resistance isn't amazing, but they do feel stuck to the ground grip-wise.

big fan of Butchers from S.  30% off right now so kind of a no brainer.

For what you describe, 2.6 would probably ride great. I've tried them and find their downside is the unwinnable compromise between squirm in corners and bouncy feeling at speed on chunk. This is in higher-speed conditions when pushing hard, and I was on EXO or EXO+.

I probably wouldn't run EXO or EXO+ in a 2.6. Schwalbe Super Trail is likely supportive enough for you, it's got a fair bit more support than the EXO flavors. DD would probably work well.

Specialized Hillbilly in their T9 compound is very good on wet roots and rocks. Quite good in dry dusty/loose conditions too.

Posted by: LoamtoHome

big fan of Butchers from S.  30% off right now so kind of a no brainer.

thanks for that - just ordered a butcher/hillbilly combo

Riders running Continental tires in the Val di Sol slop were on Argotal front and rear. I'm keen to try the Argotal as a front in DH supersoft configuration, just waiting for my Assegai to wear out.

The PNW go-to front tire is still the Assegai Maxxgrip 2.5 for all conditions. While there are occasional Ultra Soft Magic Marys, Specialized and an increasing number of new Contis in Super Soft, you can't go wrong with an MG Assegai. Minions are also still popular but for your riding style the Assegai is probably the more predictable choice.

Maxxis 2.5 are a bit wider than the 2.4 Contis or Schwalbe too.

Posted by: Timer

The PNW go-to front tire is still the Assegai Maxxgrip 2.5 for all conditions. While there are occasional Ultra Soft Magic Marys, Specialized and an increasing number of new Contis in Super Soft, you can't go wrong with an MG Assegai. Minions are also still popular but for your riding style the Assegai is probably the more predictable choice.

Maxxis 2.5 are a bit wider than the 2.4 Contis or Schwalbe too.

wider isn't necessarily better.  Lot of the DH pros are on 25mm rims and 2.3 tires.    I find the Assegai pack up with dirt much more compared to the competition.

Posted by: Timer

The PNW go-to front tire is still the Assegai Maxxgrip 2.5 for all conditions. While there are occasional Ultra Soft Magic Marys, Specialized and an increasing number of new Contis in Super Soft, you can't go wrong with an MG Assegai. Minions are also still popular but for your riding style the Assegai is probably the more predictable choice.

Maxxis 2.5 are a bit wider than the 2.4 Contis or Schwalbe too.

Yes, I measured the 2.5 Assegai to be about 1 mm wider (at the casing) than the Magic Mary 2.4, both on an 30 mm rim. Not quite the 2.54 mm that the claimed sizes would say, but to be fair, that’s knob to knob, and I didn’t measure that.

And agree, DHF was nice for me on the 2.8 plus bike, but never seemed like a good option for my riding style in general, let alone on the ice rink like trails I’m heading to this week. Lean angles will be (mostly) very moderate.