DH'ers AM/Trail/Enduro tire

[Rhubarb]

Guys,

I really need some help picking out some tires for a new build. Still love to ride DH but after a year of desert riding I have really enjoyed pedalling again and see myself definately moving more towards Super D, AM and enduro type stuff. Basicaly drive up, throw on my lid and ride. Getting a little tired of always pushing 45 minutes up to ride DH and just dont feel I am getting time on my bike. I feel tires and brakes are crucial to me feeling confident so I dont want to screw up my tire choice. I run Minion dual plys on my DH bike and love em. On my FR do all bike I have loved Muddy Mary FR casing for a front tire but destroyed any Schwalbe on the rear. This past year I have been on Minion Exos and the drop in weight has been great and they suited the lose conditions perfectly. Now I am back home where conditions are more hard pack, a little lose over hard pack, lots of roots and rocks and with summer here and surface is gravel it will be mostly dry conditions. I am looking for light weight, fast rolling tires that will still give confidence since I will be hammering up the XC trails and bombing down the DH runs.

My priority is to have an aggresive front tire that is light and rolls well. I am not convinced the Ardent is for me and the HR 2 in ST/3C is out of stock, dont run 60A in the front. So far I have found:
Schwalbe Hans Dampf trails star 2.4" - great reviews, tubeless ready
Rubber Queen BC 2.4" - mixed reviews
Minion Exo ST - a tire I know but would like something faster and more suited to the rear choices below

Really struggling for a rear tire. I need something that will handle fast riding through rocks but roll faster that the Minions. Again no Scwalbe on the rear for me. Durability is very important since I need to ride some tarmac to reach local trails if I plan to cover weekly milage and not always drive out to the local trail center. I dont like High Rollers on the rear because they wear too fast. I need a tire that has some breaking abilities and grips when leaned over but I am not worried if it is a little lose, I like to slide and steer with the back. What I can see as options:
Rubber Queen 2.2" in BC UST - 2.4" will be too big I am sure and maybe uneccessary.
Larrsen TT 2.35" Dual Ply 60A. Ridden a Larrsen on the trails a coupel of years ago but now on my track bike.
Bronson AM 2.30" TCS - dont know anything about this tire but looks like it would work on the back and suit the fr4ont tires mentioned above

We all know the price of tires so I dont want to dump cash on a tire that will suck. I have Minion Exos for my FR bike to use away from home in very mixed conditions. I have Dual ply Minions for my DH bike. I just dont have anything lying around to put on the new build so any help will be great. I will set these up tubeless and run around 27-28Psi front and 29-32Psi rear.

[b.utters]

You want something that doesn't exist.

[FlipSide]

I would advise a Rubber Queen BC 2.2 front and rear. They are already quite big for a 2.2 and they are quite a bit lighter than the 2.4. 850 grams for the 2.2 and 1100 g for the 2.4 (both UST version) if I remember correctly.

This is what I run and I absolutely love this setup. I already tried the 2.4 up front and the weight penalty is seriously noticeable for trail riding. I will put this 2.4 on the rear of my DH bike next season. It will be better suited for lift-assisted enduro-type riding, compared to pedal-powered climbing and general trail riding.

[chillindrdude]

Schwalbe Hans Dampf hands down. Amazing grip. Wears well. Pricey, but performs.

[Rhubarb]

How do the RQ 2.2s size up to a minion 2.35 or 2.5? I found the HR and Minion 2.35" to be a little small. I like a little meat to have the Xtra suspension front and back but mainly to save my rear rim. I have a 2.35" Larrsen and 2.25" Advantage on my track bike and they seem to have more volume than a 2.35" Minion rear I had some time ago.

Chillindrdude - you run a Hans on the rear? How did it last. I have run BBs and a WW on the rear and aggresive riding/breaking on hard pack seems to chew them up. Ran a MM up front till it was about 60% done and threw it out back and the wear rate was bad. I find Schwalbes dont wear down so much as brake up - ripped chunks to whole knobbies. The siping seems to have a big part in this from what I can see.

One of the thinks I have notice about Minions is they really wear down well. My Larrsen also wears down evenly but the advantage is okay out front but on the rear also suffered from aggresive riding. The Advantag makes a nice front tire but the single ply is thin. HRs dont break down but wear fast.

The Black Chilli compound gets great reviews for durability.

[FlipSide]

RQ 2.2 UST on Flow: 2.28" (casing...which is wider than the outer knob)
Minion 2.5 DHF UST on 721: 2.18 (casing), 2.35 (outer knobs)

Measured with a cheapo but relatively reliable electronic caliper (i.e.: not a Mitutoyo )

I don't have the measurement for the mounted 2.4.

I concur for the nice wearing of the Black Chili compound. It is quite remarkable actually!

[chillindrdude]

The latest compound of the Hans damp (trailstar I think?) Wears better than the previous iteration. I also agree that the black chili compound is amazingly durable. I ran RB/DK combo on my dh bike and was impressed by their grip and durability, which I thought was mutually exclusive. The only reason I stopped running contis were their rarity. It was hard to find us retailers with them in stock.

[saruti]

Hi
I 'm just in your situation
Past six months enjoys riding AM
I'm on a hi roller 2.35 front and back. Ghetto tubeless.
Probably will try the ONZA IBEX 2.2 soon. They are lighter and on my DH bikes they feel great. (2.4 on the DH bike)

[RoboS]

Hans Dampf for sure. Rolling resistance is just like my Ardents 2.25 60a, but Hans got a lot more grip and protection. I've been riding all season on them and had only 1 snakebite. And it can be bought as set (front and rear) for a great price on www.bike-components.de

[cecil]

Panaracer fire fr they are cheap they grip and wear great

[Huck Banzai]

Schwalbe Hans Dampf hands down. Amazing grip. Wears well. Pricey, but performs.

^^^ This cubed.

Also:

Panaracer fire fr they are cheap they grip and wear great

15 year old tread - mega grip. Mega knobby with super rolling resistance, but if you want the grip BOOM.

[marshalolson]

you want a 2.1 kenda happy medium UST rear tire for fast/hardpack, and a kenda BBG 2.1 ust for rough/rocky riding.

combine with a BBG 2.35 front tire for super shredding.

best trail tires on the market for dry conditions. rock 2.5 DHF front and rear in the wet.

[Cant Climb]

I was in similiar boat.

I run Conti Baron 2.3 (apex sidewall) front and rear.
But will on occasion run the HR 2.35 Dual ply on the rear.
The conti's are excellent, not sure about the rolling resistance part though.......seems ok.

One tire that i found but have yet to try is the Bontrager FR3.
Supposedly the rolling resistance is great because of the center knob ridge....

[norbar]

I've had huge problems with mounting schwalbes tubeless on ztr flows. Had to use a tube

[slyfink]

I've had huge problems with mounting schwalbes tubeless on ztr flows. Had to use a tube

with a floor pump or a compressor? I've found Schwalbe and Special-Ed tires to be the easiest to mount on Flow and i23 rims. My Flow EX has been a little trickier.

re the Hans Dampf, I completely destroyed a trailstar HD in the rear in less than a month in rocky terrain (riding 2x/week in the wet rocky rooty north east). I tore off the knobs. I've been using a pacestar compound HD on my front wheel for the whole season, and just did 7 straight days of riding 4-6 hrs/day in Phoenix, Sedona and Flagstaff, and almost no visible signs of wear. I think it would be superb as a rear tire, I'm just far too pleased with it on the front to swap it out to the rear wheel.

I've been having issues with cutting sidewalls of the rear tire this year, so I've gone to a full DH-casing 2.35 High Roller on the back. Mounted to a Flow EX, it's been great tubeless, including said vacation to AZ last week. I needed my compressor to mount it, and had to remove the valve core to get it to seat. It's been bombproof compared to the Trailstar HD, Pacestar Fat Albert, Spec Purgatory, and WTB Moto I used this summer. And it's only 150-200g heavier than those tires. I'll take the weight penalty for the stronger sidewalls.

Another tire to consider is the Super Gravity HD in the pacestar compound....