One thing about riding a mountain bike: I am always afraid my tyres might slip. This is probably the defining characteristic of how I ride.

Naturally, I tested all sorts of tyres, to find the ones with the most grip, to be on the safe side.

Default: WTB Vigilante & WTB Trail Boss

When I bought the Vitus, it came with WTB Vigilante Comp 2.3 in the front, and a WTB Trail Boss Comp 2.25 in the back.

I rode these for a good while, not knowing there could be differences. Let's call them solid.

The Pile of Tyres downstairs in 2022

Autumn 2018: Maxxis Shorty

Then autumn came and it was muddy. My neighbour Kev suggested I try the Maxxis Shorty, so I bought a Maxxis Shorty TR EXO MaxxTerra 2.5WT for the front, and a Maxxis Shorty TR EXO MaxxTerra 2.3 for the rear.

I rode that combo exactly once.

A Shorty in the back is bad. It feels like you're riding through a tar pit.

So I went to Vigilante/Trail Boss on dry days, and Shorty/Vigilante on wet days.

Spring 2019: Maxxis Minion SS & Maxxis Aggressor

When dryer weather came, I read about faster rolling tyres, and I bought a Maxxis Minion SS Dual 2.3 and a Maxxis Aggressor Dual 2.3, both for the rear.

I did not like the Aggressor at all, but the Minion SS was cool.

The Minion SS rolls really well, and for what I ride - nothing too steep - the braking was ample. I used it in an old quarry in the South of France, on dry, rocky, dusty, sketchy trails, and it worked well.

Summer 2019: Maxxis Assegai & Maxxis DHR II

In August 2019, my fork gave up. I bought a new, boost, fork, and front wheel, and a Maxxis Assegai 3C MaxxTerra EXO TR 2.5WT with it. I also bought a Maxxis DHR II Dual 2.3 for the rear, to get better braking on steeper descents.

Two weeks later, my neighbour Kev gave me his Assegai 3C MaxxGrip DD 2.5WT, which has more grip, but was harder to mount on the rim.

I rode the Assegai for over a year, and I like it a lot! It is not perfect in wet wheather, but it is not spectacularly bad, either. On dry ground, it is great!

The DHR II was spectacular. On the first ride, I kept checking air pressure, because compared with a Vigilante or a Minion SS, it felt like I was riding a flat tyre! But on the way down, that thing just worked so well!

I went tubeless with this change, too, and have never looked back.

Summer 2020: Surly Bud & Surly Lou

I built a fatbike in 2020. The bike sports Surly Bud in the front and Surly Lou in the back, one of the best tyre combinations out there.

They are on 100mm rims, which makes them really good with fairly low pressures.

An absolute pleasure to ride, in any conditions!

Even with snow and a lot of rain in November & December, they still make me feel safe.

Winter 2020: Michelin Wild Enduro Front, WTB Verdict & WTB Judge

When the wheather turned wet, again, I decided to look for a front tyre with more traction, but not as mud-oriented as the Shorty. We have a lot of roots and rocks around here, and the Shorty is frankly not that good on those.

I bought a Michelin Wild Enduro Front 2.4 GumX3D and a WTB Verdict 2.5 Light/High Grip.

The Wild Enduro was ok, probably slightly more confidence-inspiring than the Assegai in wet loam, mud, and on roots and rocks.

The Taival is now equipped with the WTB Verdict in the front and a WTB Judge 2.4 Tough/Fast Rolling in the back.

The Judge is rock-solid. It rolls, it accelerates, it brakes. No issues. Is it better than a DHR II? I think so, yes.

The Verdict is a rather good tyre, too.

2021: Consolidation

When the (harsh) winter was over, and Verdict/Judge were too much for dry trails, I went to Wild Enduro Front, with either the Judge or the Minion SS in the back.

I do now prefer the Wild Enduro Front over the Assegai, it makes me feel more confident for some reason.

So the current setup is like this:

Fat bike: Bud & Lou, no changes there, and none to come.

Hard tail, on wet days: Verdict & Judge

Hard tail, on dry days: Wild Enduro Front & Minion SS or Judge

2022: Going soft

I took down the HT to build a full-sus in 2022, see Pole Evolink.

Since then, I had the Wild Enduro in the front, and the WTB Judge in the back. A winning combination, I think.

But the Judge is hard to find in Switzerland, and so I'm now trying the Continental Kryptotal Re in the Trail version, just in case.

End of 2023: More testing

The Wild Enduro Front / Judge rear combination worked really well on the full-sus, but WTB decided to no longer build the WTB in Tough/Fast Rolling. On a trip to Davos in July 2023, I switched the rear to a WTB Judge Tough/High Grip, and the front to a Michelin Wild Enduro Front MagiX. Both are great tyres with tons of traction. With lift assist: brilliant. On my local trails, the combination is hard to pedal up the hills.

The Kryptotal was not for me, so more experiments were/are needed. I bought a Schwalbe Tacky Chan Super Trail/Ultrasoft for the front, and a Wild Enduro Rear GumX3D.

March 2024: Mud vs Michelin

In the meantime, the bearings in both 29" wheels died, and I bought new wheels before I learned how to replace those. As a result, I now have two wheel sets for the full-sus.

On the old set, I have the Tacky Chan and the Judge Tough/High Grip. For a day at Lac Blanc, or the annual trip to the Alps, I'll pop those on. On the new wheels, I have Wild Enduro Front and Rear, for "normal" riding around local trails.

(Side note: it is so weird how quiet the DT Swiss E1900 rear wheel hub is, especially compared to the Hope Pro 4 Fatsno on the fat bike. It's almost as if the Evolink is now a stealth bike!)

The WE Rear is a good tyre, until it encounters mud, and then it just slides. It's still the tyre of choice for my local trails. On wet days, I usually take the fattie, anyway.

jan-exner.de
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