New Tire Review

[benwitt11]

Alright, I've got a couple of months of riding on the WTB ExiWolfs, and the new Jones XR's under my belt. I'm really liking both of them, different though they may be. I've been very impressed with the ExiWolfs. They are, first off, the largest 29 tire I've ever seen. You couldn't squeeze a larger tire in my geared Monkey. They're awesome. The profile of the tire is very round, vs the very square profile of the Bontrager ACX's I'd previously been running. They roll much smoother in both on road and hard pack situations. I've been riding them with about 30-35 psi and that seems to be the sweet spot. If you like big squishy tires and lots of traction, go buy a pair, you won't be dissapointed.

The Jones have also been a great tire. I have a pair on my Fisher Tam and for the fast, cross country type of riding that bike does, they work excedingly well. they have enough tread that they grip well enough in adverse conditions, they shed mud fairly well, and the compound is downright sticky. On hardpack they really shine though. The decresed rolling resistance makes they just fly. I've been running about 45-55 psi depending on conditions, and they just go forever. They're going to be a great race tire for me this year.

So, for the discriminating 29 rider, there are other good options out there other than ACX's. Give 'em a try.

[DosNueveMan]

I put in some serious miles on the Jone XR tires also and have a slightly differing opinion. I think that the percieved tire speed or rolling resistance is dependent on your local terrain, air pressure, and soil conditions. In my area the XR tires are slow in comparison to IRC Notos (fastest), IRC Mythos (2nd) and Jones ACX. I run 28-36 psi depending on the potential for pinch flats (i.e. on rocky trails). I usually run the Jone tires (ACX and XR) at 36 psi since they tend to pinch flat in much easier than other tires I have. The XR is far superior to both IRC tires in cornering traction, but the XR has wussy sidewalls that tends to fold under a bit when railing hard through turns. I have even had the bead break loose in hard cornering (it's always interesting to find leaves stuck deep in between your rim and tire sidewall/bead = bead was floating off the rim allowing the leaves to get in there). Because of this it would be suicidal to run the Jones tires tubeless (which is why both Bontrager and Stan's recommends against it). I do like the larger volume of the front specific XR and wish the rear specific was similar (it is smaller) since the rear always takes more abuse it seems. I will probably run a front specific on the rear (something I normally do anyway - just turn it around to rotate in the opposite direction for more traction). These tires will not make it to any races for me due to their slowness, but I do like them as an everyday, do-it-all mountain tire.

[Loren]

Anybody tried the new Maxxis tire?

[Cloxxki]

I like the XR's, although I've not been able to test them in all conditions. To me they are clearly faster than AcX's, as they were designed to be also, grip slightly less on gravel (better than AcX can't exist), but still the WTB Nanoraptors roll better, even the steel ones.

On MTBR I did a write-up on how I took over 50g off the tops of each XR front and rear, and how it now seems to roll even better than the Nano, while offering still nice grip in dry race conditions. Must be the sticky rubber. My XR's are now down from around 1316g to 1210g. They do need a it of extra psi to not fold over (rear especially), and too much psi makes them harsh it seems.

Someone should try the bigger front XR as a rear. It looks like it might even roll better. I haven't yet, but someday propably will. Hope to soon compare my cut down XR's to the originals on one course, the same day.
For now, my XR Specials are the dry weather race tire of choice, if only because I "made" them myself.

[benwitt11]

That sounds like a good idea to try. I might do that next. My race bike is set up almost like a big tired cyclecross bike, (rigid and hella light.) I'm going to be getting in a pair of the new panaracer fire crosses today. It's a 45/45 profile tire with the really aggressive fire xc tread. should be interesting. I'm curious to see if the higher psi and higher traction make a good match. Of course, I'm not expecting the ride quality to be the same as with a big squishy tire, but it'll be fun to try them.

[Cloxxki]

I used to think narrow tires would make me faster, I learn over the years that that only counts in wet conditions, or if the narrow tires have way less tread than the fatties they replace.
If you give up the climbing traction of the AcX Jones tires, you get them down to 500g I think.

I've also managed to open up the Nano's tread, by removing knobs altogether, 35g worth a tire. Seems to hook up better as well as roll faster through the loose.
The new folding Nano's could be brought back to 600g that way, and as far as I can tell, only make them better.

Anyone near Specialized? Their Fast Trak 2.0 isn't in production, but probably the fastest and lightest 29" tire on this planet.
Kenda HAS a Karma 2.2" proto batch, for weeks already, still waiting for the very first riding reports.

[qtip]

I've got a buddy at Specialized and he can't get anyone to fess up ever producing a 29er tire.

[benwitt11]

It isn't really the narrow tire profile that has me intrigued, it's the tread pattern. I agree, narrow tires don't make you faster, but this would be a tire for those wet and muddy situations. That's mostly what I've been riding in lately, so it'll be nice to try something different.

[Cloxxki]

Proof of 29" Specialized tires to be seen here : http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=46718&highlight=fast+trak

For really wet courses, I now have the Schwalbe Black Shark 1.85's. Really 38mm carcass and 45mm knobs. Not sure why they were ever made, and there can't be many in existance, I only found them at one discount e-store. 635g, wire bead, liek an anchor, but ultimate traction. Need to shave some of the knobs off those one day as well, to find a nice balance between speed and traction.

[qtip]

Thanks Clox...I remember seeing that thread a long time ago and that is why I keep asking my friend to dig into the story....but now that I have the thread I'll send it to him so he can have something more concrete.

[benwitt11]

I tried the Panaracers today for the first time. Sadly, I wasn't very impressed. They seem to just cling to shit, by that I mean they don't shed mud well at all. I really don't like them right now. The same trails I had been riding feel terribly slow. I'll be giving them a try a few more times, but these might end up in the basement or on Ebay.

[unclefuzzy]

I've got a set of the Panaracer Smoke 45c's (Ha! Try find those!)that I've used in muddy races, and they worked great. I've also got one Fire 45 sitting in the garage, unused at the moment. Someday I'll try it out.

I've got 4 Notos with little to no use on them. I'd like to trade out two of(or one if that's all you've got) them if anyone is interested. I want to try the Maxxis tire for sure, and maybe the Motoraptor again. PM me if you wanna trade.