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TIRES TO MAKE YOU SMILE

Tires are a pretty big deal for us... They can make a bike feel more comfortable, more agile, faster, more confident... They can make a ride better and can make you feel like a hero. Tires are SO important to the overall off-road experience it's hard to fathom.

We're tire whores, lets get that out of the way right off the bat. We test more tyres (that spelling was especially for Nat) than anyone we know, we spend SO much time on tires that it's hardly logical.

Some prefer big tires (most do) some prefer narrow tires (these folks are a dying breed) some prefer aggressive knobs and some like their smooth treads... Some are ok swapping tires every year so these folks play with softer compounds for more grip, some like long lasting compounds and accept that the wet root might be more treacherous... but that's ok.

The one thing we all agree on: Hutchinson Off-Road tires suck (especially the Spyder, Mosquito and Scorpion models).

While tires don't cure all, they certainly do make an appreciable difference. Drop by, ask our staff what their experience has demonstrated and what others have been saying. There IS a perfect tire for you... all you have to do is find it. We can help.

SHWALBE BIG BETTY
Test in progress... So far though? Running through the treacherous Pine Ridge trail at Falcon Trails blew me away. We now have a full year of testing under our belt and it's been proclaimed by many as THE tire of the last few years. Only available in a large 2.4 The Big Betty is quite superb for technical riding. The ORC compound being the best all around, the Triple good for added traction and the Gooey for extreme stick (but quick to wear on the rear). I can't say enough about this tire. It's the one-step-up from the Kenda that you can read about lower. The only knock on it is that it's not a super fast tire... but even at a low low 25 psi it rides NICE. "The closest thing to a perfect tire I've ever tested, period". 9.5/10 Simply amazing.

KENDA NEVEGAL and BLUE-GROOVE
Never thought a tire would make such a difference to my riding until I weaned myself off of Specialized tires onto something called a Kenda Blue Groove and Nevegal a few years ago. Wow... what grip, what flexibility and what comfort... I have owned 2.35's and 2.5's and both were superlative in their ability to climb and grab onto wet rock... perfectly suited to my slow climbing style, they were my high water-mark. Then I went out to the desert and tested Ellsworth bikes with several types of tires... Liked some of the tires, hated a few... (Kenda Cortez, Ritchey Motovaders) loved only two: The before-mentioned Kenda Nevegals and Blue Grooves and the Maxxis Minions and Advantages (more on those later on down here). The big thing around here was matching the Blue Groove to the Nevegal... The latter on the rear with the Blue Groove in the front... the justification being that the BG is smoother when laid on its side... Although my propensity would now be to put a Nevegal on the front as well for more lateral grip. These tires are simply put hero makers... especially in the Kevlar bead variety... Light, sticky... they make anyone feel safe, secure and firmly planted. Put a set under a Jamis XLT and you have THE bike for the rider looking to make giant leaps forward in MTB'ing. I score them a 8.5 because I value grip and technical climbing ability over speed.

MAXXIS ADVANTAGE
I started the season with a set of Maxxis Advantages, a tire described by Maxxis this way: "Alison Dunlap designed the ADvantage as a high-volume, aggressive cross country tire that corners great on big side-knobs. It also climbs and brakes with authority thanks to the opposing parallelogram centre tread design. Ramped centre knobs keep rolling resistance minimal and the wide lug-spacing sheds mud easily." I also read in some of Maxxis' ads that they were the 'ultimate' climb to the top of the hill and then let a bit of air out and hammer downhill... My experience with that tire would support that claim... Plus the fact that this tire has an outer diameter that's roughly 1.5 cm's larger than the Kenda Nevegal... With all the advantages (faster, rolls over more stuff) and disadvantages (tight to fit in some frames, heavy-ish) that come with a larger diameter tire. All in all I'd call it faster and better wearing than the Nevegal. I score them an 7.5 because while some people have become better riders (like the love of my life, Catherine) on this tire, I took a slight step back.

MAXXIS MINION
The second set of Maxxis tires I liked were the MINION. I rode these in the desert in Vegas and previously at Panorama... Two more different setting you could not imagine. Regardless, these tires excelled in both situations. A fast tire that really needs to be ridden at speed to be fully appreciated, The Maxxis Minion is after all a DH tire. Rocky specs it on their most excellent Slayer family. The tire comes in front and rear configurations and never misses a step in the lose stuff... The rear just dug in and offered a nice smooth transition from locked-in to sliding out. At warp nine, under an RMX, they are my tire of choice, unflappable... in the rear. The front was less than excellent, it is worth noting is how narrow this tire feels for a 2.35 tire... and no, there is no bigger size available. Not a bad thing for most applications, unless you're used to more meaty tires like some of us are... a 2.5 would be just about perfect. I score it a 7.5 in the front a 8.5 in the rear.

VREDESTEIN KILLER BEES
My latest rubber fling is called "Killer Bee". It's from a Netherlands-based company awkwardly called Vredestein (I can't pronounce it either). They are, like Maxxis, a full-line tire company that produces tires for cars, trucks and all kind of wheeled devices http://www.vredestein.com/. Other than the fact that these tires had a very cool name ("Killer Bees" how cool is that?), I knew nothing of these guys... Oh yeah, I did know that they made some sweet road tires. Out of the box Dave D. and I were marveling at how beautiful the workmanship on this tire was, how perfect the tread blocks were... Super-high quality product throughout.

I sold 3 sets of these low-knobbed 2.4 tires to my buddy Darcey for his 25th anniversary Blizzard just before he moved to Bermuda (or is the Bahamas? I always get those two mixed up) They feature this wacky tread pattern that looks like oddly spaced honeycomb... I thought they would be a good all-around tire for the types of conditions I imagined he'd be riding on that island (I had no clue... thankfully it turns out he loves them). So when I was looking at my upcoming ride to Spruce Woods and wondering if I should take out the Maxxis tires out again I tripped over these black and yellow-boxed things... they did say 2.4 on them... and they were kinda odd looking... So onto the Norco EXC 2.0 they went. And whoa! and did they ever go! I can't remember a tire other than the Nevegals that impacted me so much. Crazy fast, lots of grip on single track (surprising to say the least), nice floatation on sand and super stable and predictable. I don't remember when was the last time I allowed my bike to lean into a turn so much. This test is far from over... I am so insanely curious to see how this thing performs at Ingolf or on tonight's Wednesday Night Ride.

Check back... I may be in love. So far, after one dry XC ride on hardpack, sand and grass: 9.0