I have some friends that ran Rocket Rons, I ran a conti something in front and Panaracers something in back. I also ran the widest tires I could get into my forks/frame.
I'm probably the wrong person to ask.

There are a few shops in town that are 50/50 or maybe even slightly more mtn bike knowledgeable/focused vs road. Can/t remember the name but it's at St. Phillips Plaza Campbell/River on the SE corner diagonally across the bridge from Trader Joes and next to The Loop. You could ride your bike there..and back ;-)

---

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

In my particular bit of Northern New Mexico we have a lot of "loose over hardpack", with plenty of rocks but fewer cactus.
On a recommendation from a friend I switched out my crappy Bontragers for a Kenda Honey Badger Pro front and and Kenda Nevegal rear. It's not a light and fast-rolling combination, but they're durable and have all the grip. ALL the grip. The Nevegal now has a new version which rolls faster, the Nevegal X Pro. If I was going to change anything about my tires I'd switch the Nevegal out for the Nevegal X Pro.

Also, they tend to run bigger than listed (which I like). My Honey Badger is listed as 2.2 but is as big as many other 2.4s. My Nevegal is listed as a 2.1 but is wider than whatever 2.2 WTB tire is on my lady's bike.

I know some other folks who swear by the Schwalbe Hans Dampf for the front (but I forget what rear) in our local conditions. A workmate swears by his Conti setup of Mountain King/X-King. The Honey Badger was probably the best investment I made for my MTBing, so I'm going to recommend that. The Nevegal is grippy and tough, but slow. The Nevegal X Pro should roll much faster.

---

----------------------------------
http://ironvision.blogspot.com ; @drSteve1663

You should ask the people that ride out there or the LBS as they have first hand experience

I have, and they have offered opinions. I'm looking for more of those.

Plus, and I say this from experience on the sales side of the counter, most LBS' are going to have an agenda. It's not possible to not have one. If I sell conti only, I'm probably not going to recommend a Schwalbe because I have no experience riding it because I have no way of buying it with a discount.

I am also the wrong person to advise on this but I just picked up a couple Rocket Rons from Jenson for $26 each. If you're looking for something to try without breaking the bank

I used the HB for a little while back east. It was a great tire, super grippy. Unfortunately I shredded a sidewall on a downhill near Asheville. I thought they actually make a Honey Badger XC model now or something... There are honestly too many options. Think there are a lot of options for road tires?? haha...silly.

It seems as though you're on the XC end of the spectrum based on your previous tire choices. Therefore, nevegals, Hans Dampf etc are over-kill.

Think of tire choices this way:
The softer the soil the more penetration you need.
The muddier, the more widely spaced lugs.

Therefore in dry- hard conditions you can run tires with increased density of smaller knobs.

In hardpack conditions you can run a pretty dense tread. You want as much rubber on the ground as possible, like a racing slick.
In Loose Over hard, it is helpful to have some breaks in that tread to allow the loose to move and settle into the pockets allowing the tread good contact with the hard pack dirt.

The looser it is, say beyond "loose over hard" and toward dry loam, the more you'll want a channel between center and side knobs. This is a Kenda Nevegal (no channel) compared to Maxxis DHF (large channel).

Riding style also plays into it.
The more you lean the bike, separate it from your body, the more you'll like a channel. Those who run channeled tires and are not aggressive tend to find them very "loose" feeling. This goes away when you lean the bike enough to engage the side-knobs.
The less you lean the bike (which is the majority of ridres) the more you'll want a smaller channel gap between center and side knobs.

The rear tire can often be less aggressive than the front because of the increased weight on the rear and the fact that it doesn't deal with the same forces as the front.

Sidewall protection is good (No Sworks casings). Exo from Maxxis is a great happy-medium in my opinion.
I see no reason to run anything outside the 2.3ish range.

My favorite combination is:

Front: Maxxis Ardent Race EXO TR
Rear: Maxxis Ikon Exo TR.

Your experience may vary.

---

I talk a lot - Give it a listen: http://www.fasttalklabs.com/category/fast-talk
I also give Training Advice via http://www.ForeverEndurance.com

The above poster has eschewed traditional employment and is currently undertaking the ill-conceived task of launching his own hardgoods company. Statements are not made on behalf of nor reflective of anything in any manner... unless they're good, then they count.
http://www.AGNCYINNOVATION.com

This is some of the best information I have read regarding mountain bike tires. It's good to know that some things work but it's REALLY good to know WHY some things work (or don't work). I very much appreciate the insight!

Yea the only reason I currently have the SW level casing tire is because it came stock on the bike. I feel nervous with how quickly sealant dries out here that with weak/light casings my risks of failed tires/flats is much higher than back east!

I've been reading a few of Todd Wells' blogs, as he always does equipment selection recaps for his races (and lives in Tucson/Durango so at least rides similar stuff to me, just way faster) and he seems to prefer the Maxxis line. Sometimes I think he runs the Pace on the rear, which looks like a super super fast tire (similar to the Renegade I guess).

I'll throw out some more trail-ish tire ideas for you to mull over:

After 2.5 years of experimentation, I'm now running the following on my Ripley:
F - Schwalbe Nobby Nic (v.2) 2.35" w/ Snakeskin
R - Maxxis Minion SS EXO

Nobby Nic is a great, jack of all trades tire - but, it's also master of none.
It's not going to be quite as fast as an XC tire, but they don't grip and corner like this.
It's not going to hook up insanely well like a Minion or Magic Mary, but those roll slow and are heavy.
Rolls very well for a larger-knobbed tire, and about as light as you can get w/ knobs like that.
Snakeskin sidewall protection is mandatory - and also adds some stiffness to the sidewalls, if you like to run lower PSI.
(I do.)

I like the extra volume of the 2.35, but 2.25 is probably plenty if you have more of an XC bias.
Much better as a F tire - it works fine in R, but wears *really* quickly back there.

Minion SS RULES as a R tire. Holy F'n AWESOME R tires, BatMan!!!
Kick ass side knobs a la the Minion, but mini knobs in middle for much faster rolling, but still hooks up climbing anything you can muster the leg strength to ascend. It's not light, but you'll be glad of that when you're bombing thru rock gardens w/ impunity.
You'll give up a little R braking power w/ smaller knobs, but that's why you've got a beefier tire up F.

The Ardent Race and Ikon are also good R options, if you're a weight weenie, and/or more XC oriented.

---

float , hammer , and jog

 
From Idaho, similar conditions to where you are.

I run a Conti Mountain King up front as wide as I could get 2.4. And an X King in the back at 2.2. Has been great so far, durable and traction is great. Bike had Kenda Nevegal's on it when I bought it and the front end would wash out constantly with those tires.

A lot of my friends run Schwalbe Nobby Nic up front and Rocket Ron in the back.

One challenge in finding the right tire in AZ is that there are many different conditions. I ride in the Phoenix area. Close to my house is Phx mtn with hard trails, rocks, and a bit of loose stuff. In North Scottsdale (Brown's Ranch) it is all sand with almost no gravel and no rocks and constant turning. In Mcdowell there is hard packed dirt, some sand and some long rocky sections. Some trails are all turns with loose stuff and some are all turns with hard pack. So, hard to find something that works in all the conditions.

---

Andrew Inkpen

Spot on. Ikon and Ardent Race and you have 95% of your normal riding covered here in the Valley. up north on muddier trails and you might re-think that. For training, always carry a boot and go for protection in your tire, but don't overthink it. Yes you'll get the occasional cholla or sidewall tear, but its rare.

---

__________________________________________________

Looking for a place to swim? check out http://swimradar.com
Mountain Bike and Adventure Guiding - http://fivestaradventure.com

Minion SS, Slaughter and to a lesser extent Kenda Happy Medium (very loose in transition) are awesome tread patterns. I wish they made these as XC race tires, but they're typically pretty soft compounds and fairly heavy casings which makes them slow to roll.

The Schwalbe ThunderBurt LOOKS good on paper, but is way too pinner in real life.

---

I talk a lot - Give it a listen: http://www.fasttalklabs.com/category/fast-talk
I also give Training Advice via http://www.ForeverEndurance.com

The above poster has eschewed traditional employment and is currently undertaking the ill-conceived task of launching his own hardgoods company. Statements are not made on behalf of nor reflective of anything in any manner... unless they're good, then they count.
http://www.AGNCYINNOVATION.com

sorta OT but the Thunderburt IS great but... fairly fragile even w/ snake skin and not the best braking tire. A race only tire if you will. If you were racing say the 24HOP course it would be spot on. It's a damn fast tire but (IMO) the Maxxis Treadlite (more robust side knobs) is similar but a little more comforting.

would also throw in a 2.3 Ikon up front as a good tire in "most" situations

Lots of good choices mentioned and advice.

I used Specialized for many years, primarily Fast Traks. Although I got away with S-Works successfully, I eventually stuck with the Control version and the pretty small weight penalty. If you want to see an S-Works Fast Trak epic fail on tape, queue the highlight (?) video of Peter Sagan at Rio. That was some bad tire advice he got in my opinion. Back to the point, the last 2 years I have gone with Schwalbe Nobby Nic front and Racing Ralph back, both Snake Skin version. I learned this year that with my 26 mm rims and making sure the pressure is running at just below 20 psi (I weigh 160) I can run the Racing Ralph on the front too and stay out of trouble. I like the feel of this setup. You do have to stay on top of the RR condition, they are not going last all that long. I started using Orange Seal sealant this year in multiple wheel sets instead of Stan's, it seems to last longer in the tire.

While I think Sworks are uber-fragile, I will say one thing:
Considering Sagan's multiple flats and broke seatpost in that race you quickly realize he's missing one skill that XC and CX riders need: equipment management.
You can't ride like an idiot and expect everything to hold together.

---

I talk a lot - Give it a listen: http://www.fasttalklabs.com/category/fast-talk
I also give Training Advice via http://www.ForeverEndurance.com

The above poster has eschewed traditional employment and is currently undertaking the ill-conceived task of launching his own hardgoods company. Statements are not made on behalf of nor reflective of anything in any manner... unless they're good, then they count.
http://www.AGNCYINNOVATION.com