XC race
Maxxis Crossmark - from £21.59
The Crossmark is a fast rolling but surprisingly grippy tyre that will probably work for you on a road. I have used one on the back over the last winter and only the most extreme conditions defeat it.
Specialized Fast Trak from £19.99
A nice fast rolling tyre with good lateral grip, the Fast Trak won’t hold you back or cause you to slide out in corners and at just £19.99 you can’t go wrong.
If it rains?
Maxxis Medusa £29.69
The Medusa is effectively a shorter spike than a Maxxis Wet scream DH tyre. If you turn up at a summer XC race and the weather forecast is wet, you are going to need slightly more grip than a regular XC tyre can give.
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Trail
Specialized Captain – from £19.99
The Captain is the tyre of choice to a lot of our staff. It’s low price and relatively high performance makes for a great value for money tyre for extreme XC and trail use.
Maxxis Ardent/Crossmark combo from £35.99/from £21.59
This is my chosen tyre combo – In the summer I use a fast rolling rear tyre with a wider tyre at the front. The front does the gripping while the back rolls along nice and fast. Perfect in the summer months but you might want to go for something with more rubber in the winter.
If it rains?
Schwalbe Dirty Dan £22.49
Available in 26x2.35 as well as 26x2.5 (downhill) widths, the Dirty Dan will shred mud and grip hard in the wet- also great for steep, loose terrain.
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Freeride/All Mountain
Continental Rubber Queen – from £14.95
Not branded strictly as a mud tyre, the Rubber Queen features a chunky and widely spaced tread pattern – great for gripping and shredding the mud or loose loamy terrain on the forest floor. This Tyre is especially good if you like to take it ‘off-piste’ as well.
Maxxis Highroller from £19.97
The Highroller is probably THE most versatile tyre around. It’s ramped edges and fast-rolling characteristics combined with excellent cornering grip make it a great option for pretty much any kind of riding. You can get away with a Highroller in dust and the wide pattern shreds mud. It’s like a Jack of all trades, only it’s a master of most of them.
If it rains?
Man up! No seriously, if you are looking for more grip than these tyres provide when doing AM or freeriding you’re doing something wrong. You might want to look at your suspension setup (ask a pro at Mojo or TF Tuned) and failing that, get some lessons.
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Downhill
Schwalbe Muddy Mary – from £22.49
OK I know it’s called a MUDDY Mary, but this rubber is really a great all round tyre. This is the tyre choice of UCI winning 19 year old, Danny Hart, so it’s good enough for any rider.
Maxxis Minion DHF - from £26.99 /Highroller - from £19.79 (combo).
I have used the Minion F front/Highroller rear combo for years on my DH bikes. Not because pretty much all the DH world does, but because it works. The Minion up front provides brilliant levels of lateral (cornering) grip and the Highroller rolls fast and gives the bike a lightly looser rear end – giving a really nice cornering feel.
If it rains?
Maxxis Wetscream – from £40.49
What do you need when you are racing in thick mud? Big spikes! And that’s effectively what the Wetscream is. Pros will cut the centre knobs down but I wouldn’t risk it with a £40+ tyre unless you know what you are doing.
Photo credit: Ischgl.com
