winter xc/am tire options

I installed a set of Purgatory Control 2.2 front and captain Control 2.2 29ers tubeless for last night's ride. So far, one ride on Bridle and S[HTML_REMOVED]S awesome. And on this other trial that does not exist which may or may not be loamy. Awesome.

Remember the old days when there was one tire that was any good at any one time and it ruled the roost? First it was IRC Racer X1 in a 2.125. Then it was Ground Control 1.95 for several years, then 2.1 Smokes, WTB Velociraptors front and rear or Dart/Smoke then all hell broke loose and there were a million tires out there none of which compared to today's tires were any good.

has anyone ever tried the Michelin WildRock R ? . . . Looks right, weight is decent and if its anything like the old michelin back in the days it should be great :

http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=wildrockr.view

AND . . . They're pretty cheap on CR as well :

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=48162

I would assume the 2.25 should be pretty close to a minion 2.35 but lighter.

Does anyone know anywhere that has rampage sc in stock? I ordeded one from summit here but they are saying that norco are on back order.

happy with specialized 29er tires. captain rolls pretty good but still has good sized cornering knobs, purgatory is a bit slower, bit more bite, and eskar is bonkers, like a little minion but with even better cornering glue. must get "control" sidewalls though, all their others are paper-thin.

backwards ardent brakes well enough around here. climbing traction is a bit better for sure, but biggest difference i noticed was a more predictable transition to the side knobs (located for some reason on the sidewalls!), making cornering far less scary.

super tacky minion/high roller 2.35 single ply are incredibly slow rolling, weigh about 1000g (wire bead), measure more like 2.2 in size, and the sidewalls are flimsy. your priority would have to be sticky rubber over all these downsides. not a fan. you might as well just run minion 2.5 dual-ply UST's (kevlar bead saves 150g over regular version, so they're about 1200g).

rampage SC has rubber that's nearly as sticky, better sidewalls, more width, rolls a bit faster, and is only 700g. trim every other transition knob for a bit more cornering bite for loamers.

I have a highroller and a dhf I want to use in the fall/winter but can't decide which end to run them, both are super tacky 2.35 single ply and I like traction going up and down the mountain. I was thinking dhf front and highroller rear?

be a pioneer. high roller front, DHF run backwards on the rear.

BAM!

That's the way I'd run them. The High Roller tracks better.

I was thinking dhf front and highroller rear?

be a pioneer. high roller front, DHF run backwards on the rear.

that's the way i have them set up with the dhf running forwards. climbs pretty well, but i hadn't thought of running it backwards :idea:

The High Roller brakes better.

fixed that for ya

backwards ardent brakes well enough around here. climbing traction is a bit better for sure, but biggest difference i noticed was a more predictable transition to the side knobs (located for some reason on the sidewalls!), making cornering far less scary.

I remounted my Ardent EXO backwards this evening. I've been running a High Roller LUST 2.35 on the back for the last couple of weeks and it's noticeably slower rolling than the Ardent run regularly, as was expected. Hopefully the backwards Ardent will be a little less sketchy in the turns and not increase rolling resistance too much.

I will report back at the end of the weekend. Front is still a 2.5 DHF EXO, won't be changing that anytime soon i don't think

Ardent backwards does corner better and more predictably. Didn't notice any difference in rolling resistance climbing but there was a bit more grip/less slipping. Straight line braking was reasonable, although on the looser trails up here it's kinda hard to find any AM tire that will slow you quickly

I'll be running it like this for a bit longer until it gets greasy out

Yea in loose (ie: Pemby) the Ardent is one of the worst tires you could run.

Yea in loose (ie: Pemby) the Ardent is one of the worst tires you could run.

There's only a couple of really loose trails though so for everything else it works pretty good I think.

Anyone know how well the DHR2 rolls/grips/brakes in loose conditions?

Rode first ride on a 26x2.4 Purgatory Control today - great traction in loam and hard rock of Vancouver Island. Bit too much air pressure for really slick rock.

Cleans well and provided confidence on downhill hard corners.

Look forward to getting the new Ground Control for the rear.

Anyone know how well the DHR2 rolls/grips/brakes in loose conditions?

Umm… really good? ;) That's how it was designed.