tyres for slippery clay

[whenin_rome]

Hi everyone,

With a bit of rain in my area the tracks I ride have turned to slippery clay...
Im inexperienced in MTB but ive caught the bug and I want to continue to ride my local firetracks over Winter when everythings really damp

Ive got a 29er with Racing Ralphs (tubless ready but running tubes) but just want to know if there are any tyres people recommend for this mud.
I suppose clay is slippery for any sort of tyre so a lot comes down to tyre pressure also; which is why id probably want a tubless set of tyres that clean the mud easier

Thanks in advance

Josh

[Duck!]

Is it the kind of clay that remains really hard, but just gets a very slick surface, or does it go really soft & sticky?

If it's the former, you don't want to go too aggressive on the tread, because you want to maximise your contact area, but on the other hand you do need something a bit coarser than the "RaRas" so they don't clog up - something like the Maxxis Ignitor or Monorail works well.

If it's really gunky stuff, the bigger & more open the tread the better - Nobby Nic, Kenda Nevegal, Maxxis High Roller for a few examples.

As you suspect, dropping tyre pressure a bit will also help, regardless of what tyres you have on.

[trailgumby]

Maxxis Ignitor is another option that works well as an allrounder.

If it's slick over hardpack there's not much you can do except be very careful even with chunky open rubber. If it's soft then perhaps the Maxxis Wet Scream is worth a look but I'm not sure if its available in a 29er size.

These days I stick to the road when the trails are messy. Riding in wet conditions trashes your bike, especially with our coarse grained abrasive soils.

Also, it's best to avoid singletrack as you'll trash it... even just one bike can do a lot of damage when its wet.

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[Marmoset]

I used to use conti survivals in the UK, similar to the ignitors. As long as the tread pattern is pretty open and able to shed the clay it should be okay, otherwise the tyre just turns into a massive slick.

[magilla0_2]

I've used Maxxix Ignitors and Ardents around Forrest and am pretty happy wit them, we dont have big pluggy sticky clay here though

[SuperSix]

If it's muddy try Maxxis's new 29er mud tyre the Beaver. It clears and grips really well and actually rolls quite well.
Don't go too wide in muddy conditions. A skinny tyre will dig in better, cutting through the slop. I run the Maxxis Beaver in a 2.0.
Nobby Nics grip well but wear quickly and are expensive.

[PapaJohn]

I'd agree heartily with that SuperSix. My Endomorphs are hopeless when it is slippery clay.