What MTB tyres are we running for muddy winter?

[Tom B]

I've just got back from my first curtailed (snapped gear cable) MTB ride for a while.

I'm in Northwest England with lots of moorland tracks paths. It seems the landscape has got a bit soft and squishy in the time i've been away and my 2× Rocket Rob Tyres which are increasingly worn, particularly the rear are not up to the job any more and are spinning out and sliding about. I've been generally pleased with to date.

I've got a new Nobby Nick kicking around in attic so was thinking of putting that on the rear and getting a magic mary for the front.

Pondering Hans Dampf too.

What are you guys riding?

I mainly ride gritty routes with some soft mud and some muddy foresty type trails. I am also the sort of person who rides the road to the off road route but am willing to put up with sub-optimal road performance - to an extent. Any suggestions, ideally from the Schwalbe stable.

I use wire bead, non folders as generally the added cost of folders doesn't stack up for me and i run tubes.

 

[rockyroller]

I try to stay away from mud. it's evil. plus riding in mud is bad for the trails. my MTB has 2.25" WTB Riddlers until ice time, then it gets Schwalbe Marathon Winters (not as wide, 2"?)

 

[DRM]

My MTB, when I had it, had Maxxis Detonators, after the front wheel slid out from under me with the Specialized tyres on it that the bike came with, the Maxxis were pretty good in the mud

 

[Mrs M]

My Maxxis Rekon are not bad in the mud but had a scary moment yesterday on Mr M’s e bike with Schwalbe Smart Sam

 

[fossyant]

Maxxis Minion DHF and DHRII. Run them all year TBH. Not the 'fastest' but by heck to they grip, which is more important. I did find the Schwalbe Nobby Nics a bit prone to sliding - look at the tread and it's all lined up side to side, so once it starts sliding, it goes. The Nobbys roll fast, but nothing like the grip of the Minions.

 

[fossyant]

I try to stay away from mud. it's evil.

Eh, Mountain Bike = Mud. It's the law.

PS you'd not be riding 9 months of the year if you avoided mud in the UK.

 

[rockyroller]

Eh, Mountain Bike = Mud. It's the law.PS you'd not be riding 9 months of the year if you avoided mud in the UK.

hehe oh, OK. when I 1st got a MTB I was into the mud, but then a cpl things happened. 1- I was riding 1 handed, w/ a camera in the free hand. hit a mud hole & the front wheel stopped moving but I didn't (*ouch*) & 2- my bike, for whatever reason (I have some thoughts) when the chain rings & chain get dirty, I get "chain-suck" where the chain doesn't let go of the small chain ring & jams between the small chain ring & the chain stay. this mostly happens on high torque climbs, when that is a big problem. if I keep the chain clean, I'm OK. so I just ride around the mud, as best I can. I have a front fender & even a DIY mudflap, but I still get just enough goo splatter to cause the problem

the other part, about it being bad for the environment, I heard from the guys in Vermont mostly, they have a bad mud season, for cars, 4x4s & ATVs as well as bikes. it's a whole thing up there. so I do my best to work with nature here as well

 

[Deleted member 23692]

I now run either Hans Damph or Magic Mary on the front, depending on terrain/water content, (both in orange Addix soft ) and always a Nobby Nic (blue Addix speedgrip) on the rear. They've always been grippy enough for me, and TBH I can't tell any discernible difference in grip between the above and Maxxix DHF/Aggressors or Conti DeBaron/Trial King F/R combos I've ran previously.

 

[johnblack]

Just put on some Vittoria Barzo tubeless on the 29er, only been out a few times since but I'm pretty happy with them, feel nice and grippy on the tracks but not too resistant on road. Lets see how they perform as things get dirtier.

 

[flake99please]

Panaracer Fire XC Pro for my mtb. They sound like a swarm of bees on tarmac.

 

[Notafettler]

I don't use mountain bikes off road just my tourers (or as they like to call them expedition bikes). They take wide tryes. Marathon plus mountain bike tyres on one, ice spikers on the other. Not happy with the Marathon plus mountain bike tyres. The shops only sell one type should have bought them from ebay where they have some old stile ones ie nobblies. I have to climb a grassy hilly struggle on wet grass. The bikes both have mud guards but no problem on one the other one hs33 Jamed up with mud the other day. Turned out a mix of leaves and mud was the problem. First time its happened so not going to worry about it.

 

[DCBassman]

My mtb has only one small experience of mud - and it tried to throw me under a tractor. I may also have been going a bit fast for the conditions.
Added to which, I was on City Jets!
I'm with @rockyroller on this. Mud is evil.
PS: it still has those same CJs, nearly 5 years later. Really must use it more often...

 

[Tripster]

Same tyres I run in muddy summer

 

[Bechdan]

the guys I ride with use either Maxxis minion DHR / DHF or Panaracer Wild Enduro
Ive just opted for a Bontrager XR Mud as my rear tyre, pros - it grips well in the wet, inexpensive. clears mud well yet still rolls well on hard surfaces. cons - narrow (2.0" or this could also be a pro), not as aggressive as other mud specific tyres.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I used to have trailrakers on my mtn bike. Great for this time of year.