Mountain Biking - advice on Maxxis fat tire setup

Thinking about going to semi-slicks, at least on one tire for now. I was thinking about putting one Maxxis semi-slick 2.35" in the rear, since I don't need as much cornering traction there. Also thinking about putting a fatter tire in the front, maybe a 2.5", but I want it to roll as fast as possible. Anybody know which type is the fastest yet has lots of traction? Would this setup work for "aggressive XC", sometimes 12 mile XC races?

Im running a maxxis semi slick on my front and a panaracer fire XC on the rear. Works pretty well for the riding I do. This summer I will put a fire on the front also for downieville and northstar

Could you notice a significant improvement in rolling speed with that semi-slick compared to other tires such as knobbies?

Yea, and it still gives me the cornering traction I need.

The only time it got kinda squirly for me is when I was at angwin one time and was going down muddy trails in the rain that were like this \

The dirt was really loosley packed also. At annadale which is a really muddy place I have absolutley no problems because it is fairly hard.

Cool. I've been thinking to just put the semi-slick on the rear, but I'm wondering if I should get a matched set if there is lots of cornering traction.

If you're racing XC, why do you want such a fat tire? Most people I know use a 1.9 or up to 2.1 for racing, not a 2.5!

L8R

I just can't see putting 1.9's on this bike below. I'm not like ultra-competitive or anything, mainly enjoy just flying down hills. In a year or two when I've got more racing experience, I'll get a light bike with skinny tires. It's got 2.35's on it now and I like them, it's just that the knobbies are huge.

http://www.harobikes.com/2003/images/bikes/large/ex3.jpg

I've never heard of The Maxxis Ignitor and the Maxxis Dy-No-Mites, and I swear by Maxxis Tires.

I just found out that the Maxxis tires that I've got are an OEM tire that are only carried by Haro.

I think semi-slicks rule, but they have a very narrow range of conditions. They work awesome in hard/medium pack, but when things get muddy or rocky... they just SUCK. I've had to ride them in the rain a few times.. and they absolutely suck over wet rocks, roots, and mud in general. The only positive thing is that they won't load up. If you ride on the street/hardpack alot, I'd deffinitely recommend a set of Michelin Jet S semi slicks.. they're awesome. They really corner quite well for a semi slick. Very predictable as long as you run them in the right conditions!

I have a Maxxis Mofo Dh 2.5 in front and the semi-slick in back on one of my rigs. They both roll nicely and the semi works great on hard pack and bolders. If you are riding in soft stuff, grassy areas or mud I would not use the semi.