Complete Guide to Downhill Rubber

[dreads]

when the pros raced bromont the majority of them ran dry tires (minion DHF's since the butchers were not made yet). dry tires at bromont for sure. for mt. saint anne i would say butchers in the dry but if it gets wet some hillbillies would be great, especially if the dirt is still loose and hasnt hardened up too much

[marshalolson]

michelin wild grip'r descent 2.5 measures 57mm knob to knob, on a 22mm internal width rim at 30psi. basically the same width and height as a 2.5 minion.

the compound is about as hard as a 60 duro maxxis. maybe slightly firmer.

[rpet]

hmm the Miche is really that hard?

[Gelbwurstbrot]

I would not say that Michelins are that hard
They are for sure softer than 60a Maxxis.

[marshalolson]

sorry, the 60 duro is slightly firmer than the michelin. bad typing my bad. michelin is maybe 55 on the maxxis scale, give or take, in my estimation.



more:

minion DHF 2.5 ST - 57mm tire width on 22mm internal rim
minion DHF 2.7 3c - 60mm tire width on 22mm internal rim

[jarider]

Is the DH24 even made anymore?

i believe this is now the michelin hot.
http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/m...event=hot.view

[StabprimoMonkee]

Since we're on topic of compounds.

I have always wondered if going softest is always the best performance wise decision?

If we disregard better rolling resistance of harder compound. What do tire monkeys have to say?

[Percy]

Since we're on topic of compounds.

I have always wondered if going softest is always the best performance wise decision?

If we disregard better rolling resistance of harder compound. What do tire monkeys have to say?

Rolling is over-rated, I loiek cornerers.

I other words you can be as fast as a fast thing in the straights, but its irrelevant if you crash in every corner/ gnarly bit cos your tyres wont grip!

[StabprimoMonkee]

@Percy: I specifically asked not to focus on rolling resistance. My question still stands.

[luckyluke]

Great thread!

Regarding the new Michelin Wild Grip'R Heavy Duty Descent 2.6. The newcomer has the same ERTRO (62-559) as the old DH32, but the tire is different

Smaller/narrower.
Less profile depth.
Smaller knobs.
Apparently different, harder compound too.

So not the golden standard anymore for those who swore by it...

[Jeremy R]

Great thread!

Regarding the new Michelin Wild Grip'R Heavy Duty Descent 2.6. The newcomer has the same ERTRO (62-559) as the old DH32, but the tire is different

Smaller/narrower.
Less profile depth.
Smaller knobs.
Apparently different, harder compound too.

So not the golden standard anymore for those who swore by it...

Everything you just wrote is wrong.
The 2.6 is the same size as the old comp 32. It always measured 2.6.
And the compound is the same as the old one as well.
The only all new tire Michelin is offering is the wildrock'r DH which comes with same compound as the rest of the DH tires.
The one change I heard that they made is on the old comp 16's (which is now the wildgrip'r dh 2.5) is they stiffened up the outer knobs so they would not flex so much on hardpack.
I have the 2.5 wildrock'r tires on the way, and I will comment on them after I have some runs on 'em. That tread is great on my trail tires, so I can't wait to run them with the DH compound.

[rockofullr]

Decline did an issue on cutting the Clutch and Chunder tires; is that something we can get added in here as well?

If I remember correctly there is a how to on cutting the Excavators/Nevegals as well that may be worth posting is someone knows where to find either.

Just found this the other day.

CUTTING MAXXIS MINIONS (R and F) FOR WET/LOOSE:

http://www.leelikesbikes.com/cutting...-wetloose.html

[zdubyadubya]

nice find. added to the maxxis section

[Sandwich]

Interesting on the minion cutting. Adding that kind of spacing to the knobs kind of approaches "hillbilly"/cut spike range, doesn't it?

[kidwoo]

Since we're on topic of compounds.

I have always wondered if going softest is always the best performance wise decision?

If we disregard better rolling resistance of harder compound. What do tire monkeys have to say?

If you disregard how slowly softer rubber rolls, then what is the point of wanting a tire that grips less?

That's kind of a silly question because 90% of the reason to NOT run a stickier version of a tire is exactly that.....rolling resistance. The other 10% is squirm on hardpack or rocks but that varies wildly between tread designs. And the more companies come out with 3C like compunds that deform a little less throughout the entire knob, it's less of an issue.

So yeah it would be great to say 'regardless of difference in rolling resistance' but that's not reality. The difference in speed between a 60d and 40d tire is huge.