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Complete Guide to Downhill Rubber

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
They really don't look that different on the 2.3s (and they may not be). Grab an old 2.5 minion DHF and hold it next to a 2.4 DHR2. They're a tad bigger. When I first got those things, when the dh casings were the only ones around, that's the first thing I noticed.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Oh is that what was happening in that pic? I thought it was just a single cut sipe.

If that's the case then yeah, sorry monarch.....obviously that does open up that channel more.




Or you could just buy some bontrager G5s and not worry about it. #besttireevah!
 

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
Or you could just buy some bontrager G5s and not worry about it. #besttireevah!
did i dream it or was there some info recently about the G5 coming in a trail version soon? thinking it was going to be 29r though, maybe it was a nightmare.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
did i dream it or was there some info recently about the G5 coming in a trail version soon? thinking it was going to be 29r though, maybe it was a nightmare.
A buddy of mine who runs a shop that does trek told me over a year ago those things were coming in trail casings.... All I've seen is some 27.5 dh ones.....on the team bikes. Vital has some pic up from leov's bike hinting that they might be proto trail tires on there. I would guess he's on 27.5s. I'm gonna kick puppies if they pull a specialized and don't make any 26" versions.
 

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
A buddy of mine who runs a shop that does trek told me over a year ago those things were coming in trail casings.... All I've seen is some 27.5 dh ones.....on the team bikes. Vital has some pic up from leov's bike hinting that they might be proto trail tires on there. I would guess he's on 27.5s. I'm gonna kick puppies if they pull a specialized and don't make any 26" versions.
yea my buddy at a trek shop has told me same thing for the last year. this was recent though and in 'print' so i was hopeful it was true and i just misread the diameter situation. i thought it was bikeradar or bikerumor or one of those all encompassing bike sites...just can't find it now.
 

shirk007

Monkey
Apr 14, 2009
499
354
My new fav trail bike tire.

http://www.onzatires.com/21-1-IBEX.html

Rode a pair of the 27.5 yesterday. Rolling felt faster than my usual goto DHF (2.5 EXO). Corner grip felt good in the mix of soft fresh loam, sand, and hard pack bike park.

Now to figure out how to get a pair of my own as I was riding a borrowed bike.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
My new fav trail bike tire.

http://www.onzatires.com/21-1-IBEX.html

Rode a pair of the 27.5 yesterday. Rolling felt faster than my usual goto DHF (2.5 EXO). Corner grip felt good in the mix of soft fresh loam, sand, and hard pack bike park.

Now to figure out how to get a pair of my own as I was riding a borrowed bike.
will love to hear updates in the future. looks like a good tire with lots of options.
 

supercow

Monkey
Feb 18, 2009
969
128
Has anyone had any extensive experience using Onza Ibex tyres - particularly on the soft compound DH version?

Looking at these to replace my Magic marys - the MMs just don't last long enough :(
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
^I've been riding those for a few months on and off my trail bike. I have a 'tough guy' set of wheels I put on when I want to beat the shlt out of my trail bike and those are the tires on them.

They are friggin ridiculous in corners.Those sideknobs are so stout that even in a full hold on for dear life slide you can bunny hop out of it.

All that silly raised line stuff between the knobs and on the outside of the tire really really holds mud though. If you ride in a bunch of glop, it's kind of a deal breaker. Which is a shame because they're the best solid cornering tires I've ever ridden.

They're kind of small volume too which is a little odd. But it's why they're not on my dh bike.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Really similar width, they're just not quite as tall. Which I guess is normal for a 2.35. With those sideknobs though it just makes the tire look like less overall volume. I just went and measured and and yeah, they're actually really close to the same width. More of that is sideknob on the michelin though.

A 2.5 dh casing of this tread design would absolutely destroy. Especially if they drop all that weird raised ridge stuff between the knobs.
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
nice kevin, i rode a pair for a bit on my trail bike too. obscene cornering.

i agree they kinda suck in mud along with wet sand, the little sipe things just grab that stuff and hold it.

also, if the surface is soft enough that the tire sinks enough to start engaging the corner knobs, they get really damn slow.

unlike a butcher or similar, they don't need a super wide (i.e. 30mm) rim. i would suggest something like 23-25mm internal. just squares it to the point of slowing those things down due to engaging the corner knobs when tracking straight.
 

Verskis

Monkey
May 14, 2010
458
8
Tampere, Finland
Did you two ride the Michelins in Magi-X or Gum-X compound? I've heard the Magi-X rolls really really slow, any truth in this? How about the Gum-X, does it have any grip on wet rocks and roots?
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
I've got one of each. gum in the rear and magi on the front.

They don't seem any different rolling-wise than any other brands hard in the rear, soft in the front setup. I did ride a few days in the rain and honestly never really thought about how they gripped on rocks (which means to say they weren't noticeably better or worse than anything else, not magic and not dangerous)

There's a lot of surface area on those centerknobs. I think anyone griping about rolling resistance might just not be used to running big knobbed tires or maybe they're running silly wide rims and getting the problem marshal was talking about.
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
i actually think people might think they are slow if they are replacing normal trail bike tires, especially in wagon wheels. the 29'er tire is almost 300g heavier than a DHF, and its over 350g heavier than a butcher grid… you notice that all day long while climbing, especially if its front and rear.

i rode a pair of 26's on the DH bike for a bit, and that was pretty rad -- saving 250g a tire from a DHF 2.5, but i would not run it tubeless in the rear on a DH bike unless you are the smoothest rider on the planet. i exploded a rear setup tubeless off my bike on the first run at a bike park. it was fine with a tube after that.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...

I'm assuming he's rolling the bead off the rim in mid-schralp. I'd actually love to run these tires on my Megajizz, but damn they're good 200-300 grams heavier than a DHR2 tubeless agreeable.
 
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marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
define "explode"
Shot gun blast sound, 1 side of the bead removed from rim after landing a couple feet beyond the transition (but not all the way to the flat) on a hip.

It's a super burly tire, but it does not have a particularly stiff sidewall imo
 
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kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
I had a hard time seating one of mine too. I haven't burped a tire in years but I did one of these. Only on the first ride though......they've been fine since. Was on the face of a jump so it was in a really good spot to have that happen.

I've got no complaints with the sidewalls, they feel fine and really supported to me. I think the bead may just be a little diffrnt.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
True story: I had a schwalbe tabletop tire blow off the rear (thankfully) up the face of a relatively large, steep dirtjump on my hardtail. Full tubed, less than a year old, on mavic 721 rims......no excuse.

I pedal for fear of the shlt quality schalbe ghost I think is always chasing me now. :D
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
True story: I had a schwalbe tabletop tire blow off the rear (thankfully) up the face of a relatively large, steep dirtjump on my hardtail. Full tubed, less than a year old, on mavic 721 rims......no excuse.

I pedal for fear of the shlt quality schalbe ghost I think is always chasing me now. :D
I did that with a folding bead High Roller, set up tubeless, years ago. Scared the everloving shit out of me.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Yeah I heard it pop right as I was going up the face. I knew something had happened with a tire so I just ditched the bike and rolled down the fuggin 10ft high landing..........that was bullshlt. I've seen that happen a lot with maxxis tires tubeless on stans rims. Sketchy.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
Yeah I heard it pop right as I was going up the face. I knew something had happened with a tire so I just ditched the bike and rolled down the fuggin 10ft high landing..........that was bullshlt. I've seen that happen a lot with maxxis tires tubeless on stans rims. Sketchy.
Ha, yeah, it was on a Flow rim. No bueno. I tried to ride it out, but the tire wadded up in the stays and I skidded to a stop. Managed not to eat it too hard but it was not an experience I am eager to repeat.

The newer Exo casing Maxxis tires work awesome tubeless.
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
I had a hard time seating one of mine too. I haven't burped a tire in years but I did one of these. Only on the first ride though......they've been fine since.
The tire was fully seated. I weigh about 50lbs more than you though.
 

yd35

Monkey
Oct 28, 2008
741
61
NY
Are the Wild Rock R2 DH worthy tires? Love those aggressive side knobs but at 1000 grams I'm guessing they are 1.5 ply, kinda like the Specialized SX tires? And me and the SX don't get along on a DH bike.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
They definitely feel burlier than the specialized SX tires. I think they weigh less than 'normal' dh tires because they're kind of small and they don't have a wire bead.

Pierre Edward Ferry was using them at Rampage. I saw a pic of one of the Ians (Jenn or Collins) on vital with a pair on a dh bike.

I'd say so. They need a 2.5 before I'd run them in the front on my big bike. The crappy thing is that if you run one only in the rear, whatever you have on the front will push through corners sooner.......:D
 

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
They definitely feel burlier than the specialized SX tires. I think they weigh less than 'normal' dh tires because they're kind of small and they don't have a wire bead.

Pierre Edward Ferry was using them at Rampage. I saw a pic of one of the Ians (Jenn or Collins) on vital with a pair on a dh bike.

I'd say so. They need a 2.5 before I'd run them in the front on my big bike. The crappy thing is that if you run one only in the rear, whatever you have on the front will push through corners sooner.......:D
So you like the Wild Rocker more than something like a G6? Err...G5
 

yd35

Monkey
Oct 28, 2008
741
61
NY
So you like the Wild Rocker more than something like a G6? Err...G5
Yeah, what he said. I'm on the new Highrollers and them side knobs are too squirmy for my taste. Maybe the Michies are the ticket.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
For the complete package it's kind of hard to the compare the two. The michelins hands down have the kind of thick sideknobs that every single tire made should have. There's nothing like them. Schwalbe has some bigguns but they have their own problems, like wearing weirdly, angled stupid, and still not quite as thick as the michelins. Plus there's that whole mud grabber thing with the michelins.

The G5s brake so insanely well though. Better than the michelins for sure. It's crazy how much braking control (and hence traction) you get with those on ass dragger steep skidder trails. And the sideknobs are still great, even if not as supported as the wildrockrzz. They're still really really solid cornering treads. You ride that thing yet mtg? The g5s have more volume, hence more surface to wrap around things when they deform accross the ground. Like I said, I still have no plans to put the michelins on my dh bike. I don't think they'd be out of place however. I just want a bigger better braking tire for all the other stuff besides just cornering hard.

If you could just take the wildrockr2 sideknobs and put them on a g5, that would be the shlt. But you could say that about a lot of tires.
 
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mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,071
3,780
sw ontario canada
SideKnobs

Put some 2.35 MagicMary's on the big bike this spring. TrailStar in rear and VertStar in front
I have about 8 days on them this year and after the last ride I noticed the side knobs on the rear are starting to rip at the base - just like the smaller MuddyMary's did. Fronts not ripped, but you can see a discoloured crease at the base.

Kind of surprised because they are not a small knob, as well, due to multiple concussions due to car accidents - I'm riding at maybe 70% of normal - can't process the speed - get warp drive tunnel vision...

So the ripping is quite surprising.

Riding is on packed clay with some rock and alot of roots - natural DH and machine make jump/flow trails.