UKC

I'm a seasoned roadie but I've been getting back into MTB a bit recently, just for fun rather than competitively (I raced a bit of XC back in the day).

I mostly ride at trail centres on Blue and Red graded trails (I normally find blue pretty easy but some reds stretch me technically) a mix of hardpack and rooty natural ground. I'm riding a hardtail which used to be a GT Avalanche with hydro discs and Pace RC40 fork.

My back tyre has reached the end of it's life - no tread left and now a giant cut in the sidewall, so it's time for a new one. Conti trail kings get good reviews, but for some reason it seems impossible to buy them in 26x2.2 right now, only the 2.4s are available. Given that the 2.2 is supposed to be on the big side, 2.4 seems a bit crazy. I like the idea of going fatter to give more 'suspension' in the rear, but perhaps 2.4 is too far??

I'm open to other recommendations, I'd like something not too slippy on damp hardpack and I don't care about mud shedding as I have some mud tyres from my racing days if I ever feel the inclination to ride in gloopy stuff.

In reply to Oujmik:

I would say 2.4 is too wide for general trail/xc riding. You may find that you wont even be able to fit it in the frame without it rubbing or leaving very little clearance.
2.2 has become the 'norm' for trail riding and I wouldn't think of it as a particularly wide size.
I run 2.4 tyres on my bike, but it is set up with 160mm travel and orientated to the downhill riding with some slow climbing in between.

In reply to Oujmik:
I ride almost solely at trail centres, though i'm more lightweight racing snake than DH loon.

I've got 2.4" Conti's on my Boardman FS. Good volume for avoiding pinch flats, but don't like the way the outer lugs roll under hard cornering.

The Maxxis advantage 2.25" on the back of my HT is a similar volume, without any of the cornering drawbacks.

No issue with either clearance wise, but dislike the Conti's corninering attributes sufficiently that I've ordered another Advantage to replace it on the FSer.

In reply to BikeClimbWalk:

I finally found a place with stock of 26x2.2... but now I can't decide between the £15 wire bead version or splashing almost £40 on the lighter, better compound, more durable RaceSport version. I'm no stranger to spending cash on bikes, but even for my racing bike £40 for a tyre is pushing it!

In reply to Oujmik:

Will it be more durable? Whilst often tougher in terms of taking damage the compound can be considerably softer so if you go onroad it will start to hurt.

Unfortunately with the outbreak of new wheel sizes 26 seems on the way out and hence tyres are getting restricted.

In reply to Oujmik:

Racesport isn't as durable in terms of the sidewalls, and I think* depth of compound as the primary focus is on low weight), having said that, you really should go for a model with the Black Chilli compound - this stuff is amazing, it even gives good grip riding wet roots. The difference between the standard Mountain King 2s and the blacjk chilli version is astonishing and well worth the extra££££s. They also last well (I've done 1500 hard miles on my rubber queens, and I think they'll probably go another winter season (I've just switched to brand new X Kings ready for my trip to the alps in a few weeks)

I would suggest dumping the idea of the trailkings unless you are riding in Muddy conditions (which hopefully you won't for a while now) and go for the X King I suppose it depends on whether you want an all round tyre or one for the season. (As an all rounder, the rubber queens are hard to beat - a bit draggy, but loads of grip and shed mud well)

also look at some of the german websites like
http://www.bike-discount.de/en?currency=3&delivery_country=190
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/

which tend to be 10-20% cheaper than uk on-line shops especially for conti tyres.

As others have said, 2.2 on the rear is plenty. I currently run rubber queens 2.4 front, 2.2 rear for winter conditions and X kings 2.4 front 2.2 rear for summer. I am doing mainly All mountain and alpine downhill riding at the moment (on an xc bike), and would probably go a bit thinner and lighter if I was just doing XC stuff a bit more

In reply to balmybaldwin:

X-kings look appealing, and much easier to find. I like the idea of black chilli as I've used the road version and found it to be a good compound. However I'm still not sure my wallet can take the hit! If it was a front tyre I might be more convinced as I don't enjoy my front washing out on greasy surfaces.

In reply to Oujmik:

i'm going to quote my much-missed riding buddy, Dave Hooper "these high rollers are amazing, like 5.10s for your bike"... we started out mtb-ing together and we were riding the same kind of blue and red trails that you're doing now; when we both switched to 2.35" high rollers our ability and confidence went through the roof. At first we just had them on the back wheels, but eventually ended up with them on both. very, very good rubber. I'm trying my best to wear out the mountain kings on my new 29er so that i can stick some high rollers on

In reply to Oujmik:
I look at it differently... tyres are the cheapest and most effective upgrade you can buy... whats the point of a bike worth thousands on cheapo tyres?

Where are you based? I still have the non black chilli ust mountainking 2.2 front and xking 2.2 rear kicking around in the shed if you want to try them? God knows why they equiped them on a £4k bike to save £20 on the price

In reply to Dom Whillans:

What compound are the mks on your 29r? If original spec, they probably are the cheapo ones...which means they will last forever!

In reply to balmybaldwin:

I think you overestimate the value of my mountain bike! But I take the point.

I'm west of London, in Slough/Bracknell area.

The high roller looks cool, but maybe a bit too chunky in the tread for the type of riding I'm doing.

In reply to Oujmik:

If you are Bracknell way, I'd be happy to let you have these tyres if you want to try the non-black chilli compound - could meet up for a ride at Swinley... its been a while since I went round there - drop me a PM

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Thanks, I've PM'd you.

In reply to Oujmik:

you can get mountain king or trailking 2.2 on ebay delivered for less than£15 good value tyres!