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Complete Guide to Downhill Rubber

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,057
1,298
Styria
Man, I live currently in Switzerland. Victorinox is where it's at!
Because MacGyver, ya know! :D
I'm from Austria, which is quite close to the official C&C Paradise of the World [1]. This leads to me owning 3 different kinds of Swiss Army Knifes made by Victorinox™. Unfortunately none of those is nearly as ridiculous as your Uber Knife meaning I'm screwed. Damn it. But thanks for the reply anyways.



[1] Cheese & Chocolate
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo
I'm currently running the Mich Wild Rockr 2 front and rear on my trail bike. Took me a little to get used to it. The drift/catch point when you lean them over is a little more than a Minion, but less than a High Roller. Rolls fast, works in all kinds of conditions. Being in CO we have mostly loose over hard pack, sandy, mostly dry and rocky terrain. But I did get a chance to run them in some mud and slick roots. Solid and predictable all the way around. Casing is nice and tough. No flats (knock on wood). Mounted to 30mm internal rims w/ 24-30psi tubeless. Have done all my locals trails on them, as well as an "endurbro throw down" (race), and several days at Keystone and Vail.

Before I got the Rockr's above, I did the Specialized Butcher/Slaughter combo. That set up was really good too. Going from Minion to Butcher is seamless as they feel very similar. The slaughter tends to kind of wander on certain terrain, but you get used to it. Not a fan of them on really sandy or gravely trails. Really easy to square off a turn as they will slide effortlessly then catch on the side knobs. They were the grid casing. No flats. But I tend to error on side of more psi than pressing my luck w/ low psi. Plus it is the Rocky Mountains.
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,067
3,778
sw ontario canada
Is Maxxis dating Schwalbe?
Five different tread blocks before repeating?
That tread pattern looks more like something Schwalbe would come up with.
 

MmmBones

Monkey
May 8, 2011
272
84
Porkland, OR
name of that tread pattern is "aggressor". it was debuted at taipei bike show a few months ago.
some goober posted a picture of it two pages ago. complete conjecture confirms It is their first step into what I like to call a "28+/-.5" tire. Designed around 2015's version of the Doublewide, which is why it is so hot, they had to put flames on it.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,189
19,155
Canaderp
So I got some new tires for my trail bike and was wondering if anyone noticed this with their Ardents.

Before switching to these newer Ardents, I was using 2.4 3c compound DH Ardents and other than the weight, they always seemed to do the job. I had zero flat tires on my trail bike over the 4 years of using those tires and only 1 flat tire on my downhill bike, which used the exact same tire except in 2.6 sizing.

Today was my first ride on the new Ardents that I picked up; these one still in 2.4 sizing, but with the EXO casing and what I think is the 70a compound (no clue really, Maxxis' packaging is pretty crappy and their site doesn't help)?

After mounting the tires, the first thing I noticed was how round the tire profile is. I don't remember is being like that on the previous tires? The little transition knobs seem huge now, also something that stuck out. Did they change this tire over time?

Granted, I had these tires pumped up pretty hard, but the lack of grip was a little unnerving on the trail in some sections today. Before, I would just plow right over the roots/rocks that criss crossed most of the trail. Today I tried that and the back wheel seemed to be sliding everywhere.

Here is a profile picture of the tread. Didn't the diamond shaped transition knobs used to be a lot smaller?

One good thing about these tires is that they no longer have that green Ninja Turtle font. The little bit of a drop in weight from those previous DH Ardents was slightly noticeable too.
 

cecil

Turbo Monkey
Jun 3, 2008
2,064
2,345
with the voices in my head
So I got some new tires for my trail bike and was wondering if anyone noticed this with their Ardents.

Before switching to these newer Ardents, I was using 2.4 3c compound DH Ardents and other than the weight, they always seemed to do the job. I had zero flat tires on my trail bike over the 4 years of using those tires and only 1 flat tire on my downhill bike, which used the exact same tire except in 2.6 sizing.

Today was my first ride on the new Ardents that I picked up; these one still in 2.4 sizing, but with the EXO casing and what I think is the 70a compound (no clue really, Maxxis' packaging is pretty crappy and their site doesn't help)?

After mounting the tires, the first thing I noticed was how round the tire profile is. I don't remember is being like that on the previous tires? The little transition knobs seem huge now, also something that stuck out. Did they change this tire over time?

Granted, I had these tires pumped up pretty hard, but the lack of grip was a little unnerving on the trail in some sections today. Before, I would just plow right over the roots/rocks that criss crossed most of the trail. Today I tried that and the back wheel seemed to be sliding everywhere.

Here is a profile picture of the tread. Didn't the diamond shaped transition knobs used to be a lot smaller?

One good thing about these tires is that they no longer have that green Ninja Turtle font. The little bit of a drop in weight from those previous DH Ardents was slightly noticeable too.
image.jpg

This is last years exo
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
Conti Barons? Specifically the 2.3 bitch version? I'm running one on the back now, but it was previously used and I never could get it to seal up due to stans breast milk leaking through the sidewalls (and I was not conservative about the amount of Stans I dumped in there). Was wondering if an actual new tire wouldn't weep tubeless juice, or are Conti singleplys just crap (even with the Apex sidewalls).

Aside from having to run a tube (which I had thankfully forgotten how shitty that is), I've liked the tire. Rolls kinda slow, but grips well, especially in dryish conditions.
 
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dtm1

Monkey
Apr 11, 2015
101
2
Conti Barons? Specifically the 2.3 bitch version? I'm running one on the back now, but it was previously used and I never could get to seal up due to stans breast milk leaking through the sidewalls (and I was not conservative about the amount of Stans I dumped in there). Was wondering if an actual new tire wouldn't weep tubeless juice, or are Conti singleplys (even with the Apex sidewalls) are just crap.

Aside from having to run a tube (which I had thankfully forgotten how shitty that is), I've liked the tire. Rolls kinda slow, but grips well, especially in dryish conditions.
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/continental-mondraker-american-classic-eurobike-2015.html
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
Word, didn't know they even had a new version. Unfortunately I was looking at (and currently using) the older version as chain reaction is blowing them out. My guess is they're not a great tubeless choice even new, and perhaps Conti addressed that with the new model (i.e. listed old weight is 800 grams and new weight is 980 grams). Although at 980 grams I'm inclined to stay with my previous tire - Michy Wild Rock'r2, which despite the unfortunate name, is a ripping tire.
 

dtm1

Monkey
Apr 11, 2015
101
2
Word, didn't know they even had a new version. Unfortunately I was looking at (and currently using) the older version as chain reaction is blowing them out. My guess is they're not a great tubeless choice even new, and perhaps Conti addressed that with the new model (i.e. listed old weight is 800 grams and new weight is 980 grams). Although at 980 grams I'm inclined to stay with my previous tire - Michy Wild Rock'r2, which despite the unfortunate name, is a ripping tire.
I rode my wild rock r twice and decided for that weight and rolling resistance I'd just stick with the MM for teh supra-grips. Delightful tire.

Anybody know when the 2.5 exo DHF's are going to be available??
Wondering that too... I'd like a 2.35 dhf :lighten:
 

Trasselkalle

Monkey
Oct 28, 2014
138
25
Sweden
That's just ground up pencils right?
You mean the graphene (rhyme not intended)? However they make it is beyond what I've looked into, but it's a single layer of honeycomb bonded carbon atoms. Idk if that's worth it in a tire or not. Only actual testing would tell, so my only nod towards them was that they've done good thing in another area so it will be nice to see if they actually manage to do the same for DH/AM purposes also.
 

jimw

Monkey
Aug 10, 2004
210
24
Santa Cruz, CA
In other news:

Interesting! Didn't think they'd do that for 26", might have to try that out. I've been running Butcher Grid 2.3 front/rear for trail, and been liking it, but wanted to try that Slaughter since they first released it.

On the bummer side, it looks like they are discontinuing the Butcher SX (it's now in their "Outlet" section). I've been running that for DH, 2.5 front/2.3 rear and loving it. Haven't missed not having the full DH casing (and weight). I guess Grid is the new SX? Only problem is SX had deeper tread and a 2.5 size.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,504
In hell. Welcome!
Yeah the Slaughter 650b GRID is among the best 650b rear tires I have tried so far, still going strong after couple of hundreds of miles in east coast rocks. It's a bit heavy though for a trail tire, the 26" version should be moar fun.
 

captainspauldin

intrigued by a pole
May 14, 2007
1,263
177
Jersey Shore
Looking to replace my nobby nics on my hucktail, any recommondations? I was thinking of ardent or ardent race up front and an ikon in the back.. I don't need super aggressive tread, just something predictable that will last longer than your average schwable
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,479
4,719
Australia
Anyone running 2.3 Minion DHR IIs as a front on a trail bike? Any good? Currently running HighRoller IIs, but looking for better cornering without the weight of a Minion DHF.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,536
5,470
UK
Anyone running 2.3 Minion DHR IIs as a front on a trail bike? Any good? Currently running HighRoller IIs, but looking for better cornering without the weight of a Minion DHF.
What's wrong with a single ply DHF? they're all I run on the front all year round on my hardtail and short travel bike.