OEM Tyres?

[Pikey]

Long story short, after a couple of years off the bike, and several years not riding mtb I treated myself to a nice little hard tail a few months back.
Back along several years, the OEM tyres on bikes used to be a bit poo, plus I wanted something a bit quick whilst I built a bit of bike confidence back up on the road and a bit of towpath / hardpack, so I took off the oem tyres as they looked a bit aggressive and replaced them with Michelin jets.

So yesterday, Feeling a bit more confident, found a knarly little bridlepath with some craters and looser gravel sections. The jets were fine, front only dug in once, but Made me wonder Whether for winter and a bit more off road to put the OEM tyres back on. They are a wtb ranger on the rear and a trail boss up front, both 29er 2.25 but with wire bead and non tubeless compliant.

Are the OEM tyres likely to be ok? Or are they as cak as I remember from back in the day? Reckon I’ll notice any difference? I’m not running tubeless so the compliance doesn’t worry me.

Sorry if it’s a dense question, I haven’t bought and mtb or mtb tyres for a good 8 years or so

 

[DCLane]

OEM tyres are still often one of the weakest points. WTB are OK but there are far better tyres out there.

 

[fossyant]

They usually fit more budget ones. WTB are OK and you may be a bit rusty.

My bike came with Nobby Nics which are fast rolling and OK, but on adverse cambers they would slide out due to the tread pattern. Changes to Maxxis Minion DHF and DHR2 (specific front rear). Miles better grip, slightly slower, but much more expensive.

 

[I like Skol]

TBH Just get on and ride. I usually buy tyres mostly on a balance between price, weight and visual judgement where price is the most heavily weighted factor. OEM tyres often get used until dead and then replaced like for like. Unless you are riding at an extreme level or have some specific requirement the OEM or mainstream tyres are more than good enough. If they are found lacking it is most likely to be the user at fault rather than the tyres!