Mountain Biking - best dirt tires?

what dirt tires do yall recommend?

knobbies........

WTB Velociraptors.

Goodyear Wrangler AT

That's a very broad question to ask.

I would suggest some tires that have a consistently good reputation, like WTB Velociraptors or Kenda Nevegals

Panaracer Smokes are nice. Don't know if they are still in production.

Thornbirds rock!

I always figured it depends on what kind of terrain you ride on mostly. Widely spaced knobbies are good for mud, closely spaced for hard packed dirt/clay, paddles for sand, etc. I think you have to decide which type you need before you should start worrying about the brand and model.

OK i am in the market for some new tires as mine are dry rotted. I have a cannondale prophet and live in florida where we can have some very soft sand in spots. I am thinking i want to get the widest agressive tires i can put on the bike without causeing issues with rubbing. what would you guys suggest? most of the trails here are a mix of packed soil and areas of sugar sand, I do climb as well as jump.

Ironhead, I'm not a huge expert on this, but I imagine the Velociraptors (http://wheelworld.com/product/wtb-velociraptor-folding-tires-2167.htm) (here (http://wheelworld.com/product/wtb-velociraptor-comp-wire-bead-37209-1.htm) if you don't mind wire bead) would serve you well. The rear has slight paddles to help out in the fine sand but they aren't too spaced out to be annoying when you hit the packed dirt. I'm not sure exactly how well the front would corner in the sand... I rarely see soft sand where I ride.

nice price on those..... hmmmm

Anything KENDA. The correct answer used to be anything maxxis; but it is now Kenda. Trust me.

well the places i go to have soft mud,hard mud,lost of tree branches and steep hills. yesterday my puppies landed on the rail of the bike and man did hurt that like hell, because the rear tire slip when i was climbing up steep hills.

Anything KENDA. The correct answer used to be anything maxxis; but it is now Kenda. Trust me.

You know damn well that the correct answer is still Maxxis...you're just getting paid to say otherwise! ;)

You know damn well that the correct answer is still Maxxis...you're just getting paid to say otherwise! ;)There is no High Roller . . . or DHF . . . or Wet Scream . . . there is no . . . . http://www.vpsingles.com/pics/coverears.gif

You can ride my bike at Whistler this summer and get your fix! :P

is maxxis crossmark tire good? just bought one for 60buck :( think i got rip off from bicycle world

Thats a god tire but you can get a better deal than that.....

yeah imma return it tomorrow,seen some online for 30 or 35bucks. but my uncle recommend me to get the panaracer tires.

any1 here order stuff from biketiresdirect?

This Panaracer (http://wheelworld.com/product/panaracer-firexcpro-kevlar-bead-5653.htm)? The bike I just bought had one of those. I'm using it on the rear and it works fine, but it will probably hold onto mud a little bit since the knobbies aren't as widely spaced as they could be. Still not bad, though.

yes that's it

There is no High Roller . . . or DHF . . . or Wet Scream . . . there is no . . . . http://www.vpsingles.com/pics/coverears.gif

There is...with judicious use of a sharpie

I can't believe people are still riding, let alone recommending, Smokes and Velociraptors. Psycho skinwalls FTW!

<<<<<<<<<< Nevegal

There is...with judicious use of a sharpie

If Peaty can do it, I'm sure Doug can too!


I can't believe people are still riding, let alone recommending, Smokes and Velociraptors. Psycho skinwalls FTW!

+1!

larsen tt, nevegal, small block 8, the captain, fast trak....those are good.
currently running sb8 in the rear and captain in the front....i'll probably run this setup for a long time to come.

There is...with judicious use of a sharpie.Big, fat Marks-A-Lot is faster :D. Had to do that at the Silver Mtn. Super-D this year, since I pressed the DB into service at the last minute.

what's the biggest tire size i can use? 26.2.1 is the standard size right?

U should go with a 1.5 or a 1.62.

The best answer for you individually depends on your riding style and the trail conditions you will see most. Personally, I like the WTB Exiwolf tires. They have a lower roll rsistance for longer rides yet still enough knobby for the corners and a little mud.

i got bontrager xr4 26x2.2 a pair for 65, i should of gone with 2.3 but 2.2 already look meaty:)
http://i49.tinypic.com/29pdtf6.jpg

I rode the Maxxis Ignitors front and back last season up here in the mountains and in the sandier climes of Gunnison, CO and really liked them. I rode 2.4s. Under 2.0 is real skinny IMO. 131431

Ignitor's a good tire. Ignitor front/Larsen TT rear is a killer combo. But I didn't say that.

Yes you did!

I have a kevlar 2.35 Minion DHF/DHR combo on my trail bike and it rocks...great all-round setup. I used to ride Nevegals on both my trail and DH bikes and I will never use them again!

U should go with a 1.5 or a 1.62.
that's pretty skinny, because the original tires came with trek 8000 is 1.9something.

I rode the Maxxis Ignitors front and back last season up here in the mountains and in the sandier climes of Gunnison, CO and really liked them. I rode 2.4s. Under 2.0 is real skinny IMO. 131431
how much did u pay for them? from the look of the picture seem like it can bite the dirt very well.

First, the tires I use are the best, the rest of you are just wankers when it comes to tire selection. In other words, my favorite brands will kick butt on your favorite brands. The tread design, tire compound and size I like is what is best for you, don't fight it, just go with it. My recommendation will work in all conditions all over the world on every wheel on every mountain bike for all riders, because everyone should ride how/were/what I know. And you will like it. I really like tire recommendation threads; they're just so informative:rolleyes:

Overall getting tire recommendations is pretty useless without specific information IMHO, or at least knowing the how/what/where of the guy recommending them. One good way for a new rider to select tires might be to go talk to local riders that share your riding style on the trails you ride and see what their favorites are, or check with local shop employees that ride, or other forums (there's a whole forum dedicated to wheels and tires on mtbr.com). Searching this and other forums for the already existing threads on the subject might help, too.

I don't have enough time or money to really test a bunch either, not that I'd mind but I have a box full of tires now... There are a few tire junkies who really do spend a lot of time using a lot of different tires with a lot of different bikes, try shiggy's www.mtbtires.com for an example of someone who is. I really don't like changing tires a lot, either.

Okay, now that all the wind has escaped:

I ride in northern California and central Oregon for the most part, mostly in forested areas on fairly sweet singletrack, with some chunk thrown in and as well as roadtrips to completely different places, like the desert for example. I ride a variety of bikes, but lean towards higher volume tires on all of them. I don't race or dedicated dh, more somewhere in the aggressive xc/all mountain kinda riding, although I have xc raced, I do love a fast chunky downhill but I'm an older fart so no big air or stunts for me. Damn, didn't think I had this much wind left, but I'm wide awake and there's nothing on tv.

My tires have been WTB for the most part the last few years, they're local and a lot of guys I ride with use them and we used to sell them exclusively in the shop I was a co-owner of (and that was for only a year, but I actually did not add any tires to the quiver while there outside of replacing a few Timberwolfs, go figure). Here's the tires in use on my bikes now:
Pacenti NeoMoto 2.3 (650b size)
WTB Timberwolf 2.5 race
WTB Motoraptor 2.4 race, 2.24 race
WTB Weirwolf 2.4, 2.24 race
Schwalbe Fat Albert 2.4 duraskin
Ritchey WCS Z-Max 2.1

There's a few heavier casing tires I've used when I lived where there was more sharp rock to watch for, or for when I go roadtrip to such places, or for some resort riding so there's some Maxxis Mobsters in 2.7, 2.5 and some Motoraptors in DH and version along with a variety of older regular old xc kinda 2.1 range WTBs like Velociraptors and a few others I can't think of names or models for. I really need to go thru the tire box one of these days.

What would I recommend to someone else? I have no ******** idea...:o Okay, now it's time for bed, road trip to Annadel in the morning!

Holy crap . . . all your choices are wrong.

well the places i go to have soft mud,hard mud,lost of tree branches and steep hills. yesterday my puppies landed on the rail of the bike and man did hurt that like hell, because the rear tire slip when i was climbing up steep hills.

You got mud, tree branches AND steep hills? Daaaamn. You are HARDCORE.

I can't believe people are still riding, let alone recommending, Smokes and Velociraptors. Psycho skinwalls FTW!

I had a pair of psycho's.. in '92 I think.

You got mud, tree branches AND steep hills? Daaaamn. You are HARDCORE.

....and his bike has rails.....LUCKY!

i have those parancer whatevers and they work pretty well. I have mud and tree branches here too...............more branches than mud, though the woods around here are known for branches.

Damn, you're hardcore too. I just ride my bike on a trainer in my living room. I don't know anything about good dirt tires.

I don't know anything about good dirt tires.
Although I love reading up on and knowing everything, I have noticed that nothing helps my traction and cornering better than good technique. For that reason, I don't worry much about tires and just buy whatever kevlar bead tire is on sale.

Although I love reading up on and knowing everything, . . . .You know EVERYTHING? I think we better sticky you and just get rid of them other threads ;).

You know EVERYTHING? I think we better sticky you and just get rid of them other threads ;).
Everything and then some ;)

xr4 are pretty good tires yall,have traction on muddy,hard dirt and ok on soft sand. worth the money.