XC Tyre options?

[janus77]

Hi All, just bought a 2nd hand XC bike, dualy 10cm travel front and rear.
Am looking at tyre options as the rear's very worn and the front's half done.
I'll be doing some trail riding, more often will be dry and hopefully not too much gravel etc.

Am thinking Kenda Nevegals 1.95 front and rear, however doing a bit of reading i've found some prefer to go a slightly wider tyre up front for steering. Would it be worth gettin a 2.1 up front and run the 1.95 on the rear? Or would 2.1's front and back be good too?
Basically i'm not looking to win any races, but i want the bike to roll well enough, and be a bit of fun on the downhill sections.

ps. not running tubeless.

Thanks

[RobM]

i run Maxxis Crossmarks 2.1 up front and Maxxis Larson TT 2.0 on the rear. Got them both for under $50 from Cell bikes (i think Torpedo7 have them as well). Loving em. Theyre more for dry hardpack trails and handle loose surfaces fairly well. Nice and fast rolling. Wouldnt recommend them for wet mud paths.

Rob

EDIT: i run a 2.0 rear not 1.95

[Jean]

Maxxis Crossmarks are good in the dry and on hardpack, and quite cheap (I use 2.1s). Cell Bikes has them very cheap regularly. I've ridden Nevegals once on a mate's bike and quite liked them so I am considering them for my next tyres. The Panaracer Fire XC Pros also seem to get rave reviews OS (see the Wiggle site for eg) and I'm also thinking about them.

[ireland57]

Larsen TT is a good front for dry weather and hardpack.
Nevegal 2.1 is a great front for almost any slippery surface (haven't tried ice or snow) but takes a little more to push (due to knobs).

Crossmark 2.1/Aspen 2.1 Larsen TT 2.0 good rears for dry smooth ground. The Aspen is decent in "light" mud too surprisingly.
Nevegal 2.1 is a very good rear tyre too for amy condition (see above disclaimer).

I've not tried any 1.95's but suspect they'd be a little skinny for a lot of off roading.
The bigger tyres also work nice over rough ground.

I've also run a 2.35 Nevegal front and it was brilliant over rough ground but took some pushing. It punctured on a pile of glass or I'd still be using it someplaces.

I run tubeless though (standard tyres on ghetto system).

At present I run the Larsen front and Aspen rear....I'm happy with it. Haven't run serious mud though.

[Nobody]

Geax Saguaro 2.2 front and back for mainly dry conditions. Great roll. Good grip on everything but wet hard surfaces as they are a 65 compound and therefore fairly hard.

In the wet I put a Nevegal 2.1 on the front for a bit more grip and for a more sure-footed, confident feel. As said above, they are slow rolling though. That is why I only put them on the front.

[janus77]

Thanks all

Maybe i should buy 3, a good fast running rear, then 2 font end combos for wet and dry?
or just buy 2 x 2.1 Nevegals and 2 x 1.8 Panaracers, oooh ooh..

hmm

[Nobody]

If you want something that rolls fast for MTB use, go bigger with close spaced, low height knobs.
http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/ ... resistance

[nickobec]

I run a 2.35 Nevegal front and 2.1 Nevegal rear, and far better than anything else I used on my MTB but then I ride on softer sand and loose gravel on 100mm travel dual XC bike.

[janus77]

So basically you either get a good all rounder (ie. "jack of all trades, master of none" as i read on another site), or you get tyres good for specific riding and swap them around depending what you're doing.

The all rounder is my preference, so i've got it down to either the Panaracer XC Pro, or the Kenda Nevegal. Seems like both are an excellent all purpose tires.

A mate recommended the Nevegals, might just go 2.1's front and back with the Nevegal DTC's and see how it goes.

Thanks all for the advice, much appreciated.

[janus77]

So basically you either get a good all rounder (ie. "jack of all trades, master of none" as i read on another site), or you get tyres good for specific riding and swap them around depending what you're doing.

The all rounder is my preference, so i've got it down to either the Panaracer XC Pro, or the Kenda Nevegal. Seems like both are an excellent all purpose tires.

A mate recommended the Nevegals, might just go 2.1's front and back with the Nevegal DTC's and see how it goes.

Thanks all for the advice, much appreciated.