maxxis tires

How to pick the right tire setup for your trail bike

Picking tires for xc racers and dh rigs is easy. Find the lightest or biggest tires for your ride and taylor them to the conditions you are riding in at the time. Other than that…ride it like you stole it. For recreational riders on trail bikes in the 130mm – 150mm travel range, life is not as easy. You want the grip of the heavy set from the DH rigs but you also want the low rolling resistance of the XC weight weenie tires.

So what are you supposed to run that will give you the best of both worlds?

The answer is a little bit easier than you would think, but you need to take into consideration what is actually happening with your bike while on the trail to make an informed decision that works.

How your bike works on the trail

When you ride a trail bike, you take it everywhere. From long climbs to long descents and pedaling rollers, the modern day trail bike is touted as the do-it-all option for riders looking to get out on the weekends. It has cemented itself as a great one bike option or the bike you grab when you just want to have a day of fun on the trail. Whether it is a 120mm travel 29er or a 150mm travel AM monster, the bike is not meant to be on the podium of an XC race or do big drops…it just works really well in almost all conditions.

When you ride your trail bike, there are certain fundamental things that are happening that allow it to do everything. The geometry is relaxed enough to give you stability on the downhills, but the bike is also efficient and light enough to sustain all day climbing. So how to we optimize both characteristics with your tire choice as it can be the #1 part that speeds you up or slows you down?

The Front Tire On A Trail Bike

The front tire on your trail bike is your main source of grip and braking. When you go blasting into a turn or have to brake hard for obstacles, the front tire is what keeps your bike upright and brings you to a stop. The front tire is also the source of most “oh shit” saves in conjunction with the front suspension fork, so increased volume is always a goal as that increases the bikes ability to pull you out of hairy situations. The front tire’s cornering grip is also essential in preventing front end washouts that leave you performing a huge yard sale on the trail.

On the flip side of that equation, the front tire has very little to do with climbing other than weight on your bike. For this purpose, when we think of front tire choices, we think of the DH side of the equation.

How much grip and volume can we get on the front without attaching an overweight boat anchor to the front end of our bikes?

Luckily, the tire industry has caught up with the latest trends in biking and has released large volume, grip filled, lighter weight tires that are perfect for this application. These tires (while heavier than their narrower counterparts) provide the balance between volume, grip and weight that we really look for in a front tire for a trail bike. With widths typically in the 2.3 to 2.4 range, these tires will transform your bike into a DH monster without carrying around a DH tire.

Bike198 Recommendations

• Maxxis Ardent 2.4
• Specialized Purgatory 2.4
• Continental Mountain King 2.4

Recommendations are the same for 26″ and 29er

The Rear Tire on a Trail Bike

The rear tire of your trail bike is what puts the power to the ground. The chainline is direct attached to the rear wheel that drives your bike forward, so the more tread and weight you have…the harder you are going to have to work to propel the bike in the forward direction.

Under braking, the rear tire is typically used as a momentum scrubber that often times locks up and skids. This makes some tread a good thing, but going overboard with a grippier tire does not pay the dividends like on the front. Also, your “oh shit” moments are greater aided by the stiffness and rear weight bias on the rear suspension. While the increased volume on the front saves you weight weight shifts forward, the rear is more stable and capable of handling big hits with ease.

When you take these into consideration, the rear tire lends itself towards a lighter, narrower and faster rolling setup to optimize efficiency. Depending on trail conditions, you might even want a really light, mid volume tire with a really low tread pattern (think hardpack trail conditions) so you really maximize the amount of power that is coming from your legs that reaches the ground. If the trail is rockier and more technical, look for a tire with increased sidewall protection to prevent flats. If you followed the same setup as your front tire, that efficiency could be lost. Tires for the rear typically range from 2.1 to 2.25 (2.35 sometimes depending on manufacturer) widths.

Bike198 Rear Tire Recommendations

• Maxxis Aspen 2.25
• Continental X-King
• Specialized The Captain

Recommendations are the same for 26″ and 29er

The Overall Tire Setup

So what have we done here? We analyzed exactly how each end of the bike functions and optimized the tire selection to match that purpose. By doing this, we are able to increase efficiency while not losing the overall grip we are ultimately wanting out of a trail bike. Overall weight was also kept at a minimum without much sacrifice.

There are too many times we have seen 150mm trail bike setups with very small tires up front on big forks in an attempt to save weight when…in reality…the savings are trumped by the lack of grip. With the latest tire designs and technology, we are now able to bring that grip back without the weight issues due to how the front tire actually interacts with the bike and effects your ride.

Which tires are you using on your setup?

Maxxis Ardent 2.6 3C and 2.4 60A – Tested

I have finally gotten enough time on the new DH Ardents from Maxxis to give a full review. This impressive new tread pattern from Maxxis should be making its way to the public soon. This sample set is the 2.6 3C (run as a front tire) and the 2.4 60a (run as the rear). The test bike was my Ventana El Terremoto 6.0. The TM is a 6″ coil sprung bike, and it is probably the smallest travel bike you will find these tires mounted to. According to the guys at Maxxis, the downhill versions tested here are designed for hard pack dh courses.

The other posts on the Maxxis Ardent DH Tires

• Maxxis Ardent 2.6 3C and 2.4 60a
• Maxxis Ardents Mounted

THE TEST CONDITIONS

First, I have taken these tires all over the place trying to get an idea on how they will react in all situations. The first ride out was a cross country course in Georgia followed with a trip to a small freeride/dh area. After trying out these local areas several times over, I took the tires up to Pisgah Forest and Asheville in North Carolina for some long, extended, rocky downhill runs that you have to climb to get to. These tires saw everything from hard pack to loose and rocky, but I have not used them in wet or muddy conditions as of this review.

HOW DO THEY PERFORM?

ROLLING RESISTANCE

Like the 29er versions tested earlier this week, these tires roll very fast for their size. The Ardent tread pattern has a very low rolling resistance for its size and weight. This helps a lot in the flats and while climbing. Granted, most users of this dh casing will not climb regularly on these tires, but it is good to know you can if you need to. If you are riding on dh courses that have a lot of flat pedaling sections, the Ardents will perform above your expectations.

CLIMBING

The weight of these tires does become a factor in extended climbing situations, but that is to be expected with heavy dh ready tires. That said, these are probably the best climbing downhill tires I have ever been on. You can use these for mountain epics where you want to have a lot of tire for the downhills and are willing to get them up there. Unless you are an extremely strong rider, expect to be in the middle to the end of the pack going up, but one of the first going down. For me, it’s worth the pain of the climb on a heavy bike to get the payoff at the end.

CORNERING

Maxxis did a great job on the design of the transitional and side knobs on these tires. Even though the angled transitional knobs are almost half the height of the surrounding knobs, they keep grip while bringing the bike from flat to hard angle cornering. The tires did not slip at all during this crucial point. Once you are in full cornering mode, the multistage side knobs are hooked like Velcro. There was not one time that I can remember where they gave way to a slide out. A lot of tires run a solid line side tread, but I tend to like the staggered, multistage design like you see on the Ardents better. This design seems to have more versatility in different loose cornering situations. Even running low pressures (mid to low 20′s), the casing does not roll over during hard cornering, but this is expected out of downhill casing tires.

ROCK GARDENS/DROPS

One of the biggest surprises with these tires was the size. They are almost dead on to the quoted width with plenty of volume. In the past, I have gotten used to Maxxis tires being smaller than quoted. The large volume and width really comes into play with the rock gardens and drops. These tires just ate them up like they were nothing. Pilot Rock has a really long rock garden towards the middle of the run that you hit at full clip. The large volume and sticky rubber of the 2.6 3C up front carried the bike through the boulder sized rock garden with ease and confidence. Large drops (5 ft. +) had solid landings and the smaller drops ended up being almost uneventful.

THE COMPOUND

60A – This ended up being a perfect rear tire compound. It is soft enough that it doesn’t slip under hard pedaling and cornering forces, but hard enough that it won’t wear out prematurely. One of the biggest draws to the Maxxis tires are their longevity and the 60A does not compromise in this area. You could run the 60A in the front as well, but with the 3C option…I would be hard pressed to even try it out.

3C – This is where my prototypes are going to deviate from the production runs. The 3C tire that I was testing was mostly 40 series rubber. You can play with the side knobs like play doe. Even with the extremely soft rubber, I have not lost a knob or seen any premature wear. This is great news of the production runs that will see more of a true balance between the different compounds.

OVERALL FEEL

These tires are fast. If you are looking for a lighter downhill tire that is going to perform on hard pack or slightly loose courses…this is the tire for you. On race courses that have pedaling sections, racers are going to cut down times with these fast rollers, but not lose any in the technical sections. I would not recommend these for muddy or extremely loose conditions because the Minions are going to fair better for those situations. The Ardent tread pattern is showing to be very useful for a number of different riding styles. When Maxxis increased the tread size and added the downhill casings, they created a monster. I am so happy with these tires that they will be staying on the Terremoto for awhile. Even though they can be punishing on the climbs, it is worth it for the downs.

Maxxis Ardent 29er – Tested – 29×2.25

The second ride on the Ardents changed my opinion on their performance due to a critical change in air pressure. I lowered the front another couple psi to the 26 lbs. range and the tire performed so well that I had to re-write this review.

I took the Ardents up to Pinhoti 2, 3 and 4 up in the north Georgia mountains over the weekend to get some long mile testing in. The Pinhoti’s are known for providing some of the best single track that Georgia can provide. Great tight, twisty downhills with long steep climbs get your heart rate peaked no matter which way you are headed.

To get full use out of these new tires from Maxxis, I mounted them up to the Flow rims on the Moots Mooto-X 29er 1×9 previously reviewed on this site. Luckily, a birthday ride for a fellow riding friend provided the perfect excuse to get up there and really throw the tires around.

MOUNTING

These tires went on very easily, almost too easily. Using my floor pump, I was not able to air up the tires tubeless, so I threw in some light 26″ tubes. Everything air up perfectly and the bead popped into the rim. I left the tires at 40 psi over night and then lowered them down to 28 psi for the ride. For the next ride, I am going to release one of the beads and attempt the tubeless route again.

THE RIDE

The first thing I noticed with these tires is that they roll incredibly fast. The center tread has very little rolling resistance which makes pedaling very efficient on climbs and flats. During the climbs, there were a few instances that the tires lost traction, but these were in very steep sections. This bike is also set up 1×9, so I don’t think the tires would have lost it in a granny ring situation climbing correctly. When the trail started pointing down, the tires did not disappoint. On the straights, the tires felt great. The low rolling resistance and consistent center tread made for a fast tire in the flats and straight downhills. When the trail got really twisty, they started to lose traction and pretty easily. I was struggling to keep them on the trail at speed. After letting some air out from the 28 psi baseline, the traction got a little better, but not much. The tires were actually making me nervous about going off of these tight trails. Now, the trail was dry and there was a lot of lose dirt and leaves that makes any tire a bear to handle, so this had an effect on the tires handling. At this point, I lowered the pressure some more down into the 26 psi range and the front tire came alive. The traction in the turns increased 10 times over and it was no holding incredibly well in the loose turns. At this psi, I would normally be worried about pinch flats, but even through rock gardens and jumps…I had zero issues with pressure loss or flats.

HOW IT STACKS UP TO THE COMPETITION

These are the other tires that I have ridden on 29er’s.

• Specialized Resolution 2.3
• WTB Stout 2.3
• Kenda Nevegal 2.2

The Ardent tread pattern has huge potential. After I lowered the front pressure, these tires are at least on par and in certain situations better than their competition. In the future, I would like to see a 2.4 version with the specs below for a true AM 29er tire that can really do anything.

My 2.4 Ardent 29er Proposal

1. More Tread – The tread height is pretty low for an all mountain tire. Add a little bit of height and they should be set.
2. Tread – Widen the tread blocks. This added with the increased height should square the tire off a little bit more and really let the side and transitional knobs do their job. It will also bring the transitional knobs closer to the side and center tread which will increase the grip.
3. Volume – Increased volume will help even more in rock gardens and jump situations.

CONCLUSIONS

Maxxis has a real winner with the Ardent tread pattern. It is a fast rolling tire that also grips incredibly well in the turns. For the average 29er rider, these are going to be the perfect tire for everyday riding. Even pushed to the limit, these tires perform incredibly well for a 2.25. I would like to see a 2.4 offering out of Maxxis to fulfill my want/need for a big 29er tire, but in the meantime, this 2.25 Ardent has turned into my favorite 29er tire so far.