Trail tyres for loose conditions

[Splatter Paint]

My brother-in-law just bought a 29er bike with a Maxxis High Roller / Rekon combo. We were riding in sandy, muddy, loamy woodland, he said the grip was poor. We were doing little jumps drop-offs etc, trail not enduro. He’s ~70kg and I set him up with 23/21 psi tyre pressures. Sag was 20%, damping settings same as my bike.

Anyone running these tyres and can offer some thoughts / opinion?

I was running a Schwalbe Nobby Nic / Magic Mary combo and grip was good. My tyres were 24/22 psi.

The Rekon was clagging up whereas my NN was clearing just fine. I was wondering should he try a different rear from Maxxis?

SP

 

[bikeworkshop]

Tyres seem to be a personal choice, (otherwise all brands would offer the same tread pattern)
The maxxis are good - some riders don't like them.
You've got low pressure.
Lend him your nobbies

 

[clubby]

Rekon is a good summer rear, but not great wet option. I he wants matching carpets and curtains then I’d swap the HR to the rear and get a DHR2 or Assegai for the front.

 

[Splatter Paint]

Thanks, I actually have an Assegai 2.5" he could use. We'll try that and swapping him to the NN / MM combo for comparison.

 

[clubby]

Sounds like a good idea. Never been a fan of the HR as a front tyre. Needs a lot of lean angle to get it to bite, which isn't good if you're not confident in it.

 

[Cloverleaf]

High rollers are okay in a straight line but not amazing laterally until really leaned into the edges, and combined with a rear tyre that's more summer oriented the grip levels won't be consistent unless you're able to hold an edge and create balance between the two. Even then I never rated them although they were the de facto DH tyre of choice for many years. I much preferred the Minion which had a far more progressive grip threshold. The Assegai is a very good all round tyre so if you've already got one I'd stick that on the front and the HR on the rear for a bit more winter traction. Also, if it's pretty cold all but the softest compounds tend to turn to plastic, making an already not-soft compound even worse.