Posted: 4/29/2026 7:59:08 AM EDT
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I have a Santa Cruz Chameleon 29”. It has OME tubeless tires. I plan on using up these tires. But when the time comes what to go with. I do not hard ride MTB. I ride mixed trails. Dirt rocky roads and pavement. I need a tough enough tire due to the rock packed roads. But last well enough from being on pavement. I know nothing about bike tires. I do plan on going by the bike shop I got it from. But thought I’d would ask my brothers here also. And I posted several bike related questions on the General forum the last couple of days. Someone posted we have a bike forum. I guess I forgot. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By -Obsessed-: How gravely is the hard pack? Want a treaded tire or smooth? Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge in the Endurance casing is the gold standard for what I'm envisioning your use case is. Love my Rene Herse tires. Not cheap. But worth it. Just looked at them. Yeah sticker shock. lol. Since my 18 mile ride is mixed I think an all terrain style. I’m going by the bike shop and see what they have to just give me ideas. An |
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Any XC tire will do you fine for what you’re doing. XC tires maximize rolling speed but aren’t as knobby as trail/enduro tires. Cross country (XC) tires. Maxxis Aspen Continental Race King Vittoria Mezcal Schwalbe Racing Ralph/Ray combo Trail- more grip and durability but lower rolling speed. Maxxis minions DHF/DHR Continental Kryptotal Schwalbe Albert rear and magic Mary in front. There’s plenty of other tires out there but that’s a good start. |
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Originally Posted By WarDawg: Just looked at them. Yeah sticker shock. lol. Since my 18 mile ride is mixed I think an all terrain style. I’m going by the bike shop and see what they have to just give me ideas. An A light weight XC tire would be terrific, all of the big manufacturers make them. But as to sticker shock, cheap tires are cheap, the better the tire, the more expensive. I just blew $190 on a pair of tires for one of my kids' bikes. |
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Ok 10 miles of pavement , and 7 miles of this. I know it’s actually good surface to ride on. The tires I have does well enough. Enough knobby for dirt. Pattern decent enough for pavement. Here’s my dirt. Gravel sections . Then packed dirt with small rocks. Attached File Attached File |
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Originally Posted By WarDawg: Ok 10 miles of pavement , and 7 miles of this. I know it’s actually good surface to ride on. The tires I have does well enough. Enough knobby for dirt. Pattern decent enough for pavement. Here’s my dirt. Gravel sections . Then packed dirt with small rocks. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26301/IMG_1674_jpeg-3755329.JPGhttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26301/IMG_1677_jpeg-3755330.JPG Get a light weight xc tire. Low, smooth rolling tread, but just enough tread that hitting a little mud, wet rock, or loose-over-hard won't send your wheels out from under you sideways. Maxxis Aspen or ikon, specialized fast track, air track, or renegade, or pick whatever manufacturer and look at their offerings. Most all of their good offerings will be within a small margin of performance from each other for what you're doing. Tougher yet lighter casings will up the price, but worth it IMHO. Don't skimp on things that go between you and the ground - tires, beds, and shoes. 
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Originally Posted By GlutealCleft: Get a light weight xc tire. Low, smooth rolling tread, but just enough tread that hitting a little mud, wet rock, or loose-over-hard won't send your wheels out from under you sideways. Maxxis Aspen or ikon, specialized fast track, air track, or renegade, or pick whatever manufacturer and look at their offerings. Most all of their good offerings will be within a small margin of performance from each other for what you're doing. Tougher yet lighter casings will up the price, but worth it IMHO. Don't skimp on things that go between you and the ground - tires, beds, and shoes. Don’t t think I mentioned I’m running 29” tubeless. I also believe it’s a hooked rim. Don’t know if that’s an issue with tire selection. I’ll look them up this evening. Thanks. |
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Originally Posted By WarDawg: Don’t t think I mentioned I’m running 29” tubeless. I also believe it’s a hooked rim. Don’t know if that’s an issue with tire selection. I’ll look them up this evening. Thanks. Originally Posted By WarDawg: Originally Posted By GlutealCleft: Get a light weight xc tire. Low, smooth rolling tread, but just enough tread that hitting a little mud, wet rock, or loose-over-hard won't send your wheels out from under you sideways. Maxxis Aspen or ikon, specialized fast track, air track, or renegade, or pick whatever manufacturer and look at their offerings. Most all of their good offerings will be within a small margin of performance from each other for what you're doing. Tougher yet lighter casings will up the price, but worth it IMHO. Don't skimp on things that go between you and the ground - tires, beds, and shoes. Don’t t think I mentioned I’m running 29” tubeless. I also believe it’s a hooked rim. Don’t know if that’s an issue with tire selection. I’ll look them up this evening. Thanks. Anything that’s been recommended in this thread can be ran tubeless. Yes, your Raceface AR40 rims are hooked and tubeless ready. |
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Originally Posted By WarDawg: Just looked at them. Yeah sticker shock. lol. Since my 18 mile ride is mixed I think an all terrain style. I'm going by the bike shop and see what they have to just give me ideas. An Originally Posted By WarDawg: Originally Posted By -Obsessed-: How gravely is the hard pack? Want a treaded tire or smooth? Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge in the Endurance casing is the gold standard for what I'm envisioning your use case is. Love my Rene Herse tires. Not cheap. But worth it. Just looked at them. Yeah sticker shock. lol. Since my 18 mile ride is mixed I think an all terrain style. I'm going by the bike shop and see what they have to just give me ideas. An I love my Rekon Race tires. They are top-of-the-line and priced accordingly but holy shit are they fast. I'm faster on these 2.4" tires than I ever was on 35mm slicks. The difference is quality of tire design, materials and construction. Attached File |
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I don't buy anything but Maxxis tires. Their line of tires covers anything anyone might be searching for. The Rekons on my hardtail are fantastic. The standard Rekons have a little more bite than the race version but are a little slower than the race due to the slightly taller knobs. Each maxxis tire version has multiple options, which may cause a little confusion to those new to the brand. For instance, on the standard Rekons, I ordered the Maxxspeed version which is the fast construction. Rekon/Rekon Race is a Great tire, no matter what version. A few days ago I replaced the Dissector with a Forekaster on the back of the long travel trail bike to specifically look for less rolling resistance. Definitely noticed the difference. The bike is faster with little loss in bite. The relatively slow rolling Assegai on the front is staying right there due to the crazy good bite at any lean angle. It's on a rail in turns, and is completely trustworthy under hard braking at speed. Check out the Maxxis U.S. website. All tires are listed with explanations of all the options, and performance ratings in graph form; rolling resistance, cornering control, and braking traction. |
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Originally Posted By Anastasios: I don't buy anything but Maxxis tires. Their line of tires covers anything anyone might be searching for. The Rekons on my hardtail are fantastic. The standard Rekons have a little more bite than the race version but are a little slower than the race due to the slightly taller knobs. Each maxxis tire version has multiple options, which may cause a little confusion to those new to the brand. For instance, on the standard Rekons, I ordered the Maxxspeed version which is the fast construction. Rekon/Rekon Race is a Great tire, no matter what version. A few days ago I replaced the Dissector with a Forekaster on the back of the long travel trail bike to specifically look for less rolling resistance. Definitely noticed the difference. The bike is faster with little loss in bite. The relatively slow rolling Assegai on the front is staying right there due to the crazy good bite at any lean angle. It's on a rail in turns, and is completely trustworthy under hard braking at speed. Check out the Maxxis U.S. website. All tires are listed with explanations of all the options, and performance ratings in graph form; rolling resistance, cornering control, and braking traction. My Santa Cruz came with Maxxis tires. I was just looking at them and didn’t realize that a front tire and rear tires are different tires. lol. Understand I’m new to this knowledge and hobby. I’ve rode twice now on my particular ride. My tires actually seem to be fine. I was just concerned about the longevity of the tire going from pavement to gravel road surface. |
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Originally Posted By WarDawg: My Santa Cruz came with Maxxis tires. I was just looking at them and didn’t realize that a front tire and rear tires are different tires. lol. Understand I’m new to this knowledge and hobby. I’ve rode twice now on my particular ride. My tires actually seem to be fine. I was just concerned about the longevity of the tire going from pavement to gravel road surface. Originally Posted By WarDawg: Originally Posted By Anastasios: I don't buy anything but Maxxis tires. Their line of tires covers anything anyone might be searching for. The Rekons on my hardtail are fantastic. The standard Rekons have a little more bite than the race version but are a little slower than the race due to the slightly taller knobs. Each maxxis tire version has multiple options, which may cause a little confusion to those new to the brand. For instance, on the standard Rekons, I ordered the Maxxspeed version which is the fast construction. Rekon/Rekon Race is a Great tire, no matter what version. A few days ago I replaced the Dissector with a Forekaster on the back of the long travel trail bike to specifically look for less rolling resistance. Definitely noticed the difference. The bike is faster with little loss in bite. The relatively slow rolling Assegai on the front is staying right there due to the crazy good bite at any lean angle. It's on a rail in turns, and is completely trustworthy under hard braking at speed. Check out the Maxxis U.S. website. All tires are listed with explanations of all the options, and performance ratings in graph form; rolling resistance, cornering control, and braking traction. My Santa Cruz came with Maxxis tires. I was just looking at them and didn’t realize that a front tire and rear tires are different tires. lol. Understand I’m new to this knowledge and hobby. I’ve rode twice now on my particular ride. My tires actually seem to be fine. I was just concerned about the longevity of the tire going from pavement to gravel road surface. It’s common practice to have two different tires. More knobby in the front and faster rolling in the rear. The tires you have are good to go. White lettering Maxxis mean they’re OEM. Yellow letter Maxxis means they’re after market. There is no difference besides the color There’s no issue going from pavement to gravel. Tires are a wear item. The softer the tire compound the faster they will wear but will grip better. There’s a lot to tires and each company has their own magic. |
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I run Maxxis MinionDHF and Aggressor on my 29” hard tail. I keep them at 35psi when mostly doing gravel roads and hard packed trails. They roll ok at that pressure. I have Continental CrossKings on my 27.5” Stump. They are ok for in town city trails. Big mistake when doing fast downhill sections on loose rock and sandy trails. I was slipping and sliding. I’ll be going back to Maxxis Minion DHFs. But damn, tire prices are crazy. 
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Agree on the Aspens or Ikons, or another brand's XC tires. Honestly that is what I should be running too. I currently run the light versions of the Minion DHF and DHR, they are decent in loose stuff while climbing, but I would be faster on Aspens no question, 95% of my riding is fast dirt singletrack or dirt roads. When my Minions wear out I am either going to Aspens or Continental Dubnitals. |
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Originally Posted By Anastasios: Each maxxis tire version has multiple options, which may cause a little confusion to those new to the brand. "The whole alphabet soup"  OP, if you want to go all out, do an Ikon MaxxSpeed/EXO/TR. If your rim is >=30mm in internal width, do the 2.4. If it's narrower, do 2.35. Don't even worry about longevity with it being a "race" tire. My daughter has ridden a pair of those to where the tread is worn mostly gone and the rubber is cracked around what's left of the tread. Never had an actual flat because of the tubeless sealant. |
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Y’all definitely opened my eyes to tires. I researched what I actually have on the bike already and it’s not bad for my ass riding on the surfaces I ride in. Here’s my front. Attached File Here’s my rear. Attached File |
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You definitely don't have a tire problem for now, unless you want the fastest rolling tires possible. But what you have is a really good all around XC/Trail set up. Learn the bike and have fun for now. Or, those tires would sell fast on FB marketplace if you want to switch sooner rather than later. |
The man who cries out against evil men but does not pray for them will never know the grace of God.
-St. Silouan the Athonite
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Originally Posted By WarDawg: Y’all definitely opened my eyes to tires. I researched what I actually have on the bike already and it’s not bad for my ass riding on the surfaces I ride in. Here’s my front. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26301/IMG_1683_jpeg-3755931.JPG Here’s my rear. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26301/IMG_1682_jpeg-3755932.JPG The DHF is a heavy, downhill-oriented tire, the Ardent Race is definitely not as "heavy duty". Nothing wrong with that, but I can tell you from experience that the DHF is a heavy beast with a lot of rolling resistance, especially the MaxxTerra, which has a much heavier-duty carcass to prevent slices and punctures on sharp rocks. All-out on traction, but definitely more pedal-work. |