# What's a good light weight tire?



## hardwarz (Jun 12, 2009)

I have Nevegals right now.... I hear a lot of people say that they are heavy. What's a good XC tire?


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## sasquatch rides a SS (Dec 27, 2010)

Conti Mountain King Supersonic's


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## manabiker (Jul 18, 2010)

Rocket Rons work great for me in Michigan, light, fast, good in mud, good in all conditions, except pavement the will wear out there..


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## jpeters (Nov 19, 2010)

Race king supersonic 2.2 are good but all of the tires listed are good the continental speed kings are good as well but dont last on the road


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## pfox90 (Aug 8, 2010)

Depends how much you want to spend.

If you got the dough this tire is super lightweight. My buddy has one and it feels like the fastest rolling tire ever. Oh and since this is a 2.1 this would probably be your rear tire.

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=57082

The kenda small block 8 is a good alternative if you don't want to spend that much on one tire, even though I haven't seen a lot other ones like it in person. You could also try the rocket rons out I know a lot of racers in Michigan use them.

We don't know what type of terrain you are riding, its always good to stop into a shop and ask what the popular tire choices for the area are. And buy it from them.

Those nevegals are great for traction, but that is about where it stops and ends. They roll terrible and are like boat anchors.

Good luck

~pfox


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## hardwarz (Jun 12, 2009)

Where I ride it's a lot of roots, only a few rock sections. The rock sections may last for 20 feet or so. There's a few sections with dirt/rock mix (75/25) but otherwise just hard pack dirt and roots. I've been eyeballing the Small Block Eight...


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## Larry_K (Jul 10, 2010)

The fairly new Kenda Slant Six is worth a look also. It's in between a Nevegal & Small Block 8 as far as tread. Much faster rolling than the Nevegals but still good traction when it's dry. No rocks around here but they do great on the mix of hardpack/pine needles and tons of roots we have around West Tn.


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## Amazing (Jul 9, 2011)

I just bought a Specialized S-Works Renegade today for a front tire and I love it so far. It should wear a little better than the Small Block Eight because I think it's got a harder compound. If you do a little research it seems like it's worth the extra money to get the Renegade. It has low rolling resistance and is super light, so it is a really quick tire. It seems like the ultimate front mountain bike tire for me.


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## pfox90 (Aug 8, 2010)

Uh. It should probably be in the rear. I would put something with a little more traction in the front. The renegade only goes to a 2.1 I believe, and it would be nice to have a 2.35 or something in the front. The bigger tires are hard to fins that are really lightweight like the renegade.


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## Amazing (Jul 9, 2011)

pfox90 said:


> Uh. It should probably be in the rear. I would put something with a little more traction in the front. The renegade only goes to a 2.1 I believe, and it would be nice to have a 2.35 or something in the front. The bigger tires are hard to fins that are really lightweight like the renegade.


No, I like the traction in the rear. You don't need a big knobby tire up front. Just go big and knobby in back for traction and cornering and go light and low rolling resistance for up front. Plus, that Renegade is grippier than it looks. It's great.


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## pfox90 (Aug 8, 2010)

I think you got it backwards. It's the front that does all the traction and cornering. You want a fast rolling tire in the back.


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## Amazing (Jul 9, 2011)

It works well for me. I put grip in the back because thats where I land and that where all the torque is. A front tire needs to do it's job and roll fast.


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## STT GUY (May 19, 2009)

Amazing said:


> It works well for me. I put grip in the back because thats where I land and that where all the torque is. A front tire needs to do it's job and roll fast.


Mmmm. Pretty much the entire bike industry is doing it wong then. 

Lets examine a few "what if's".

If you "lose the rear" most of the time it is no biggie and you can save it with weighting the pedals and?or some body english or even make a dab.

If you lose the front it's a bit more urgent and lots of times BAM!! WTF was THAT all about. If you loose the front under braking you're in trouble.. if you lose the front under cornering you're in trouble. The rear under these same evolutions... no biggie.


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## jsalas2 (Nov 29, 2008)

*thanks*

Thanks for the good info on tires. it will help me make a decision.


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## Amazing (Jul 9, 2011)

I didn't say any body was doing anything wrong. Just the way I roll. Plus the front is a lot easier to correct.


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## jpeters (Nov 19, 2010)

Amazing said:


> I didn't say any body was doing anything wrong. Just the way I roll. Plus the front is a lot easier to correct.




Sorry I do not agree the front is not easier to correct. When the front goes out you fall on your face when the back goes out you fall on your ass. This is not a car in a drag race its a mtb you go for the meaty tire in the front and the faster thin tire in the rear. You pedal a bike its not a V8 and when you go to spin up you dont need the extra weight and resistance of a big heavy tire on the back. In my opinion if you want to be faster use a nice light weight thinner tire on the rear and a thicker on the front. I tried a smaller tire on the front b4 and it felt really funny like it did not want to turn as sharp it was weird.


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## Amazing (Jul 9, 2011)

jpeters said:


> Sorry I do not agree the front is not easier to correct. When the front goes out you fall on your face when the back goes out you fall on your ass. This is not a car in a drag race its a mtb you go for the meaty tire in the front and the faster thin tire in the rear. You pedal a bike its not a V8 and when you go to spin up you dont need the extra weight and resistance of a big heavy tire on the back. In my opinion if you want to be faster use a nice light weight thinner tire on the rear and a thicker on the front. I tried a smaller tire on the front b4 and it felt really funny like it did not want to turn as sharp it was weird.


To me it feels nimble. And it deals better with the torque created by pedaling.


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## pwoods (Jul 22, 2010)

Amazing said:


> Plus the front is a lot easier to correct.


If you're "correcting" the front a lot, you might have the wrong tire up there. In my opinion/experience, the quality and characteristics of the front tire's contact with the ground are far more important than the rear's. That's not to say you can throw any rubber on the rear and be fine - your choice of rear tire also matters. But in many cases, the rear will sort of "self-correct" if it looses traction/goes sideways, as long as your contact up front is still good (and you don't have horrible riding skills, like me ).

To the original question, you'd probably be fine with any of the suggestions given so far. Also, talk to locals to see what they're using on your trails.


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## STT GUY (May 19, 2009)

Amazing said:


> To me it feels nimble. And it deals better with the torque created by pedaling.


Is it a chopper?


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## darth biker (Jul 8, 2011)

i researched this quite a bit and decided on hutchinson pythons--less than 500g i believe. 
i only use them for the rear and run w/ no less than 32psi to avoid flats.
i run them w/ tubes, but there are heavier tubeless versions.


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## False (Feb 18, 2011)

Intense MK2s are really fast, and light and actually surprisingly good on trails considering what they were made for. I would never use them on anything wet or loose, but for hard packed and dry trails they're great. I haven't had a problem over rocks or roots or on climbs.


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## matuchi (Jun 9, 2008)

STT GUY said:


> Is it a chopper?


I know this is a four year old thread - but that just cracks me up! :lol:


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