Wider front tire than rear?

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
Wider front tire than rear?
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flag BikePilotOne
Posted: Sep 12, 2017 at 19:16 Quote
I'm running matching 2.6s on the DH bike and 2.35/2.25 combo on the AM/xc bike.
flag brianl
Posted: Sep 12, 2017 at 19:28 Quote
MaineFat wrote:
snowwcold55 wrote:
Just got a 2.5 DHF for the front and a 2.35 Nobby Nic for the back of my '17 enduro 29er. Taking it up to killington this weekend to see how it fares. Running tubes in at this point (big dent in the rear rim) but I think I'll be able to get a good feel for it. I'll let you know how it runs!

How did you like the new set up?

I just bought a 2018 Giant Trance Advanced 0 and swapped out to the 2.6 Minions front and rear. This bike is a lot more slacker than my previous and I am having a learning curve in the turns. I am also washing a bit in the turns so I was thinking of getting the 2.8 for the front but I don't want to make the turning any slower than it is. I am coming from fat and then 650B 3.0 tires on a rigid. But the bike had a steep head tube angle and was fast turning on single track.

Thoughts?
if you are washing out Minion 2.6s on a new bike (assuming you know your tire pressures coming from Plus and Fat), I would first dial in your cockpit and suspension setups before changing tires again.
flag olethematador
Posted: Jun 11, 2018 at 1:51 Quote
Getting to the party a bit late on this one but I've got a Spesh Enduro Comp 650b and I'm curious about the mixed tyre size debate.

The bike comes with Spesh's Butcher tyres at 2.6 front and back but I'm wondering if there's any benefit going to 2.4 or 2.5 on the back?

I like the idea of the faster rolling in a smaller rear but wasn't sure if 2.4 at teh back vs 2.6 at the front would be too much of a difference?

Also, probably a really stupid question but is bigger generally better in terms of sizing? Is it worth ditching the 2.6 up front in favour of a smaller one there?

I understand the idea that bigger is supposed to be grippier/smoother over rocks and roots but I've not been riding long enough to know for myself so any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks.
flag jeremy3220
O+ FL
Posted: Jun 11, 2018 at 10:06 Quote
olethematador wrote:

Also, probably a really stupid question but is bigger generally better in terms of sizing? Is it worth ditching the 2.6 up front in favour of a smaller one there?

So plus tires tend to be wider but also have a lighter casing. This applies to a lot of 2.6" tires. The pro DH and enduro riders tend to run 2.3-2.5" tires with a stiff casing because the lighter tires fold/squirm too easily. So no bigger is not always better because either the weight increases or the casing gets too flimsy if you're a fast rider. A 2.8" tire might have more "grip" than a 2.4" but experienced riders are probably going to struggle more with folding/squirming tires than anything. If you and can run a typical 2.8" plus tire below 20psi, you're not cornering very fast unless you weigh like 120lbs.
flag olethematador
Posted: Jun 11, 2018 at 10:46 Quote
jeremy3220 wrote:
olethematador wrote:

Also, probably a really stupid question but is bigger generally better in terms of sizing? Is it worth ditching the 2.6 up front in favour of a smaller one there?

So plus tires tend to be wider but also have a lighter casing. This applies to a lot of 2.6" tires. The pro DH and enduro riders tend to run 2.3-2.5" tires with a stiff casing because the lighter tires fold/squirm too easily. So no bigger is not always better because either the weight increases or the casing gets too flimsy if you're a fast rider. A 2.8" tire might have more "grip" than a 2.4" but experienced riders are probably going to struggle more with folding/squirming tires than anything. If you and can run a typical 2.8" plus tire below 20psi, you're not cornering very fast unless you weigh like 120lbs.

That makes total sense, really appreciate the advice.
flag adespotoskyli
Posted: Jun 11, 2018 at 10:47 Quote
From my experience wide tyres tend to grip better on dry loose surfaces at low pressures but once pushed the weak carcass folds and squirms like shite, if you add more pressure you get a baloon that bounces uncontrolable over ruts, roots and whatever comes in it's way, due to the fact that carcases are bigger tend to be flimsy as manufacturers don't want an overweight tyre. Also feedback is less and that's why are called sluggish, tyres with less volume tend to be snappier and stronger as you can add moreprotection and be in reasonable weight limits. Try and see for your self!
flag adespotoskyli
Posted: Jun 11, 2018 at 10:50 Quote
* By Wide tyres I mean big volume tyres like maxxis 2.5wt or schwalbe 2.6 and above
flag brianl
Posted: Jun 11, 2018 at 11:40 Quote
adespotoskyli wrote:
* By Wide tyres I mean big volume tyres like maxxis 2.5wt or schwalbe 2.6 and above
Actually Maxxis 2.5" WT are not the same casing/profile as their 2.6" plus tires, and many of the new Schwalbe plus tires have Apex sidewalls, so there are options for mid-fats.
flag olethematador
Posted: Jun 12, 2018 at 2:21 Quote
adespotoskyli wrote:
Also feedback is less and that's why are called sluggish, tyres with less volume tend to be snappier and stronger as you can add more protection and be in reasonable weight limits. Try and see for your self!

The sluggish thing I totally get... I notice when riding tight back to back berms that it definitely takes a lot of effort to transition from one berm to the next. I've only been riding a while so part of it is definitely my lack of skill BUT would the 'sluggish' factor of a wider tyre (I'm running a Specialized Grip Butcher 2.6 up front) be part of why it's so much effort to snap between berms and out of tight corners?

I'm thinking of getting a 2.3 for the back and taking the front down to 2.5 or even 2.4, hopefully got get a bit more of a snappier feel.

Thanks, again.
flag adespotoskyli
Posted: Jun 12, 2018 at 2:46 Quote
Well that depends on your skills level, you have to try and see what you like and what not, there is no right or wrong as long as you can distinguish the difference in set ups, casings, tread patterns etc. Also bear in mind that the 2.5 isn't a true 2.5 when measured, some 2.4 or even 2.3 from x brand maybe bigger than 2.5 from other brands.
Maxxis was well known to be on the small size of things as schwalbe closer on the stated size but not in all models! Go figure!
Things to know, thicker side walls offer more support on berms at low pressures and dampen vibrations better giving a more accurate feeling, bigger volume on the other hand give less feedback as have the tendency to give alot more and squish rather absorb the impacts as they have more volume instead of rubber.
Thin and light skinny tyres are worthless as are skittish and dob't give you much room to experiment on tyre pressure.
flag olethematador
Posted: Jun 12, 2018 at 5:18 Quote
adespotoskyli wrote:
Well that depends on your skills level, you have to try and see what you like and what not, there is no right or wrong as long as you can distinguish the difference in set ups, casings, tread patterns etc. Also bear in mind that the 2.5 isn't a true 2.5 when measured, some 2.4 or even 2.3 from x brand maybe bigger than 2.5 from other brands.
Maxxis was well known to be on the small size of things as schwalbe closer on the stated size but not in all models! Go figure!
Things to know, thicker side walls offer more support on berms at low pressures and dampen vibrations better giving a more accurate feeling, bigger volume on the other hand give less feedback as have the tendency to give alot more and squish rather absorb the impacts as they have more volume instead of rubber.
Thin and light skinny tyres are worthless as are skittish and dob't give you much room to experiment on tyre pressure.

Thanks dude, just ordered a Maxxis Holy Roller II in both 2.3 & 2.4 so I can see how big the defference is vs my 2.6 front tyre. I’ll send back whichever I decide not to go for as I’m keeping the 2.6 up front for now.

If Maxxis come up skinnier compared to others then I guess the 2.3 may be too narrow for what I want.

It’ll be good to gauge vs the 2.6 Specialized tyre I have on the front though (which looks bloody huge as it is!).
flag SamJi
Posted: Aug 29, 2018 at 1:42 Quote
I'm looking at a 2.2 on the rear and up to 2.4 on front.. Is there any major difference/impact good or bad running it this way? (more so, 2" difference between the two) cheers
flag lepak1corner
Posted: Aug 29, 2018 at 3:42 Quote
SamJi wrote:
I'm looking at a 2.2 on the rear and up to 2.4 on front.. Is there any major difference/impact good or bad running it this way? (more so, 2" difference between the two) cheers

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/rim-widths-comparison-test-mountain-bike.html

very good article. depends on few factors tho,
wheel size
rim width
fork/shox travel
terrain
skill level
flag brianl
Posted: Aug 29, 2018 at 11:35 Quote
SamJi wrote:
I'm looking at a 2.2 on the rear and up to 2.4 on front.. Is there any major difference/impact good or bad running it this way? (more so, 2" difference between the two) cheers
maybe or maybe not. There can be more than 0.2" difference between different tires of the same size, even the same model tire in different sizes don't always scale up exactly.
flag sonofawil
O+
Posted: Apr 27, 2022 at 7:37 Quote
Paxx wrote:
Ha ha ok I'm sold!

Next set of tires is a 2.5DHF in the 3C and a 2.4DHRII in a dual!

Really appreciate all the feedback from you guys!

Hey, how'd you like that setup? I'm trying to decide the same for myself.

 


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