Official XC/AM Tire discussion

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Official XC/AM Tire discussion
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O+
Posted: May 16, 2019 at 8:54 Quote
Almost anything you'll be riding will be more enjoyable on an AM bike. Whistler would be miserable on an older hardtail. If the budget allows for it get a proper bike. If not, a rental would be a cheaper alternative.

Posted: May 16, 2019 at 9:52 Quote
dirtnapped wrote:
Almost anything you'll be riding will be more enjoyable on an AM bike. Whistler would be miserable on an older hardtail. If the budget allows for it get a proper bike. If not, a rental would be a cheaper alternative.
As far as budget... I had a good bit of money, parents took it, so it's whether I can get that back and if any how much they'll spend/let me spend... it's gone back and forth between nothing, tires, don't get tires just get a new bike, ... it's a bit of a mess, so I'm just trying to figure out a potential ratio for ease of convincing to impact the upgrade will have. Obv at either extreme:
Easiest to convince and lowest impact:
Nothing, ride the hardtail. Umm, no improvenment. My hardtail is ok for the smaller flowier trails but big jumps drops and bumps will/may hurt, traction is iffy, and I'll probably have to go slow and stand a chance of dying on anything truly tech. lol
vs
Hardest to convince and biggest help/impact/improvement
a new bike + tires, designed for and capable of that use. Nuff said.

If the rest will be too off-topic, I don't want to be trouble, so please point me to the proper place or message me...
As for the tires, since this is a tire thread...
Tires are of course in the middle of the two extremes. My question is, where in the middle, and how effective will it be?
Obviously tires will help loads over my current setup, at least I won't have to worry about traction, but it's still the same bike. The big plus is that it's a relatively easy and inexpensive option... My dad did say I could get a better bike, but now it seems he's gone back on it and it's looking less likely... before he had said no tires b/c it's a band-aid fix, just get an appropriate bike, but it'll still be a lot easier to get the tires. Anyways, there I go rambling again, sorry. So, will tires suffice? How effective will it be, and where do they rank in the middle between those extremes? Thanks! Smile

O+
Posted: May 16, 2019 at 13:48 Quote
What kind of riding do you do aside from these trips? If the hardtail is perfectly adequate for your local riding I'd rent for the trip (s). If you end up just being able to swing tires for the trip get some Minion's/e13 TRS's/Butcher etc in double down or equivalent and call it a day.

Posted: May 16, 2019 at 14:08 Quote
dirtnapped wrote:
... I'd rent for the trip (s)..
Whoops forgot to mention the rental option; thanks for catching that. I've already considered that... I could be wrong but as far as I can figure, when rentals are a good $120 a day that would add up to the price of the used bikes I'm looking at fairly quickly. For my dad, a rental makes more sense... he is perfectly satisfied with his current bike, it's slightly burlier/slightly better tires, he mostly rides xc, he's got way more experience, and he just doesn't ride that much anymore... he'd rarely if ever go to the parks, so the rental is best. Myself, I'll likely/hopefully be making multiple park trips this summer (5 day Leavenworth for one), then going off to college, where I'm in very close proximity to the Rockies, Moab, Park City, Southern Utah, Vail, you name it... I'm just getting into prime riding years and'll be riding this thing for life. If I get a rental for a trip or two, that'll burn through my money and I won't have bike money until I get into a better financial spot and save up somehow through student years.
dirtnapped wrote:
If you end up just being able to swing tires for the trip get some Minion's/e13 TRS's/Butcher etc in double down or equivalent and call it a day.
As far as tires... I did find some E13 TRS+ /TRSR 's for cheap... so unless I find other options I guess that'd be it. Throw a TRS+ on my hardtail.
dirtnapped wrote:
What kind of riding do you do aside from these trips? If the hardtail is perfectly adequate for your local riding ...

I should note: I live in the PNW/Western WA. My hardtail is a 2011 Marin Alpine Trail. Ideally I'd like meaty tires, a dropper post, fewer chainrings than the 3x9, rear suspension/maybe longer travel than the 100mm Dart III... It's good as is for what it is, but has room for improvement...
The hardtail is great for my XC rides, which is most, but if nothing else I lack traction due to the tires, and when I go to the park... and that's just flow. I like gnarly stuff, but I can't ride fast, and I'd like to start racing... idk. For my only bike the hardtail is great. But if I can get something additional that'll handle rougher stuff, that'd be great.

Posted: May 16, 2019 at 14:54 Quote
If you really need to, get some cheap tires. However, my vote goes for saving your money and looking into a better bike. Could still do a hardtail, I just don't think that frame is worth throwing that money at it.

Posted: May 16, 2019 at 15:02 Quote
StUone7 wrote:
If you really need to, get some cheap tires. However, my vote goes for saving your money and looking into a better bike. Could still do a hardtail, I just don't think that frame is worth throwing that money at it.
So. Trying to rank these as previously mentioned, doing nothing is the worst option, and getting a better bike is the best. From what I've heard, getting cheap tires if needed and saving is better than a rental? I guess that's what I was trying to weigh.
So in order: Get a better bike - If that can't be managed, get good tires and keep saving - get a rental - stick with what I've got if all else fails. ?

O+
Posted: May 16, 2019 at 15:26 Quote
I'd say that's reasonable.

Posted: May 16, 2019 at 15:28 Quote
mtbikeaddict wrote:
StUone7 wrote:
If you really need to, get some cheap tires. However, my vote goes for saving your money and looking into a better bike. Could still do a hardtail, I just don't think that frame is worth throwing that money at it.
So. Trying to rank these as previously mentioned, doing nothing is the worst option, and getting a better bike is the best. From what I've heard, getting cheap tires if needed and saving is better than a rental? I guess that's what I was trying to weigh.
So in order: Get a better bike - If that can't be managed, get good tires and keep saving - get a rental - stick with what I've got if all else fails. ?

Pretty much. Only thing I have an issue with is the tires vs rental thing. Only trails I’ve been on that you’ve mentioned are in Leavenworth, and at that only the lower part of Rosie Boa, part of Devils Gulch, and Xanadu. The former two would probably be fine, Xanadu, you’d need more than better tires. And from what I’ve seen of Whistler, my guess is you’d need be better off with a rental. Just my 2 cents, I know not of your skill and comfort level.

Posted: May 16, 2019 at 17:33 Quote
StUone7 wrote:
mtbikeaddict wrote:
StUone7 wrote:
If you really need to, get some cheap tires. However, my vote goes for saving your money and looking into a better bike. Could still do a hardtail, I just don't think that frame is worth throwing that money at it.
So. Trying to rank these as previously mentioned, doing nothing is the worst option, and getting a better bike is the best. From what I've heard, getting cheap tires if needed and saving is better than a rental? I guess that's what I was trying to weigh.
So in order: Get a better bike - If that can't be managed, get good tires and keep saving - get a rental - stick with what I've got if all else fails. ?

Pretty much. Only thing I have an issue with is the tires vs rental thing. Only trails I’ve been on that you’ve mentioned are in Leavenworth, and at that only the lower part of Rosie Boa, part of Devils Gulch, and Xanadu. The former two would probably be fine, Xanadu, you’d need more than better tires. And from what I’ve seen of Whistler, my guess is you’d need be better off with a rental. Just my 2 cents, I know not of your skill and comfort level.

So yeah I guess my biggest question is with the new tires vs rental, when/where/why/how/ whatever would I need what? In what conditions should tires be fine, and what would necessitate a rental?

Oh and yeah I totally assumed rental for Whistler... I'm more deciding on Leavenworth now, I know Leavenworth is happening, but Whistler is still up in the air anyways. I thought I'd just throw the TRS+ on for Leavenworth, as it seems more remote/primitive/singletrack? and I'll be there longer, and if I go to Whistler w/o a better bike get the rental for that, because Whistler lol. Also, how would the rental work at Leavenworth trails? I thought it would be better at Whistler with the dedicated park, shops, rentals, all-inclusive, etc just more infrastructure in general. I think a couple shops do rentals in the Leavenworth area, I'll have to double check...

Honestly I'm just out of my depth with no clue of what I'm doing lol, I'm a decent rider but pretty much only have western washington experience, so mostly lots of dirt, lots of roots, some rocks, and lots of moisture. Dust and stuff only in the summer. This dust and rocks thing on trails with k's of feet descent and miles long is completely foreign to me.

Posted: May 16, 2019 at 18:16 Quote
continued:
So disclaimer, if I'm going on too long and it's bugging people for some reason please let me know and I'll move the discussion to messaging.

About Leavenworth:
Oh hallelujah finally someone who can tell me about Leavenworth trails! Fab I kiss your feet... everyone's so tight-lipped, and a lot of those are "unsanctioned" on Trailforks, so that's useless. Great to hear about those.. we're going to be there for about a week so we'll be riding everything we can... Xanadu was a possibility on the list... iconic trail. To answer your questions about comfort/skill level, I think I'm pretty decently comfortable on my current bike now that I've had it a while. I'm probably solid upper-blue square/black diamond territory, or I like to think lol. Some of my friends in the group I'll be with aren't as comfortable, and a couple are more advanced... idk. It's my Scout troop High Adventure... one leader is a big biker, black trails all the way and has gone to Whistler multiple times etc, he's the best in the group... My dad's pretty good... out of the scouts, I'm toward the upper end if I do say so myself, there's a few other guys about at my skill level/technical capabilities, I'm tops in sheer physicality/fitness/power. At the first meeting the guys were a bit gung-ho and going crazy about Xanadu and some crazy hard trails.. I've managed to slightly increase the sanity, but... I'm in charge of the bike portion. Going with the "a group is only as strong as its weakest member", I'd have to check on who's going, but assuming everyone I can think of is going, we're probably blue square with a little black diamond thrown in; nothing insane or suicidal. Assuming that with the pedaling my friend might not bring his Stinky (lol), no one has hugely capable/new bikes, and renting them is cost-prohibitive for most/all, so... Trying to balance that with the side of we've noticeably improved lately and this is our one big chance for those awesome trails, so I want to make the most of it... I just don't want anyone severely hurt. Also trying to research and watching the videos, from what the videos show even say Tres Hombres doesn't look that bad... the ratings seem more for exposure than for technicality, sure there's some scary ridgelines, and I know I haven't looked at some of the more/most advanced trails, but maybe the videos didn't show the truly crazy parts or they just looked super tame? Any tips on where to get more info? I'll try contact the local shops.

Posted: May 17, 2019 at 2:47 Quote
Currently weighing up choices on a new front tyre, trails I ride are mainly dry, loam, loose over hard and hardpack with a fair few roots thrown in.

I have just switched to 31mm internal rims and currently running Maxxis DHF 2.3 3c dd front and Griffin dd rear (will keep the rear, best tyre ever), but now I live somewhere that doesn't have as many steep, loose and aggressive trails I am finding the DHF to be a bit vague on the flatter corners and on loose over hard stuff, this seems to be inkeeping with all reviews I have read as well.

I'm currently looking at the new 2.5wt Assegai 3c in Exo+ or the 2.4 Michelin Wild Enduro Magi-x for the front, but the Assegai is quite heavy (albeit lighter than my current dhf) and the Michelin seems to have issues with the side knobs peeling prematurely.

Another option would be the Magic Mary I guess but its only in 2.35 or massive size. Does anyone have any experience with these tyres, any recommendations? Mainly riding trail with the occasional downhill track thrown in so why I prefer a heavier duty casing so I don't have to swap tyres.

Posted: May 17, 2019 at 6:51 Quote
mtbikeaddict wrote:
So, I think I may have asked this or something similar before, if so apologies... as a lot of you probably know I've got an older XC-ish hardtail. It's from 2011, and it's still got the stock 2 inch Conti Race Kings. I'm going on bike trips this summer... Leavenworth for almost a week, maybe Whistler, Stevens Pass, possibly Yellowstone but not sure. The Race Kings are acceptable for the majority of my blessed western wa/pnw riding, but with the much drier, gnarlier, higher speed/exposure/risk trails I'd assume I probably need/would definitely benefit from something more capable. The question is, would just getting a knobbier tire or two work, or would a proper AM bike be best?
If your going to Whistler rent a bike!!!

Posted: May 17, 2019 at 8:42 Quote
brncr6 wrote:
mtbikeaddict wrote:
So, I think I may have asked this or something similar before, if so apologies... as a lot of you probably know I've got an older XC-ish hardtail. It's from 2011, and it's still got the stock 2 inch Conti Race Kings. I'm going on bike trips this summer... Leavenworth for almost a week, maybe Whistler, Stevens Pass, possibly Yellowstone but not sure. The Race Kings are acceptable for the majority of my blessed western wa/pnw riding, but with the much drier, gnarlier, higher speed/exposure/risk trails I'd assume I probably need/would definitely benefit from something more capable. The question is, would just getting a knobbier tire or two work, or would a proper AM bike be best?
If your going to Whistler rent a bike!!!
Oh definitely, I'd rent for Whistler if I didn't get one by then. Please see updated posts above. Smile

O+
Posted: May 30, 2019 at 16:17 Quote
Is the Maxxis Aspen still made in 27.5?

I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Posted: May 30, 2019 at 19:15 Quote
edventure wrote:
Is the Maxxis Aspen still made in 27.5?

I can't seem to find it anywhere.
try some German websites.
https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/maxxis-aspen-27.5x2.10-tr-exo-dual-120-folding-732182


 


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