I’ve used both vittoria airliner and the tannus insert.
The Vittoria was more of a pool noodle style and took up a good deal of volume inside the tire. It gave a very muted/damped feel to the back of the bike. I never really liked how you had to zip tie it together. After a few weeks you can feel it moving around inside the inflated tire.
The tannus is more wing shaped and is supposed to give more sidewall support. It’s kind of wedged between the beads and sidewalls of tires. The shape is very different.
I don’t notice the tannus when riding at all. My tires aren’t folding on hard corners and no noticeable feeling of rim strikes when riding.
Late to the party here and located in New Brunswick not Nova Scotia, but love talking tires nonetheless.
I’ve run a few different setups over the years and have determined I prefer nobbier and grippier tires over fast rolling lightweight casings. I’ve run specialized fast tracks (hated them, sliced through them on every ride I went on), Conti x Kings (actually liked them until I tried something beefier, the black chili compound was tough and durable), Maxxis ardents (decent tires but always seemed to leave me wanting more) and then finally moved onto a Maxxis dhf/aggressor combo. Absolutely love the dhf/aggressor combo, but it was my first venture into a more aggressive setup and I was left curious as to how much benefit I would have gained from an assegai/dhr combo compared to the weight gain of it. The way I see it, a little bit of grip is worth a few grams.
All that being said I was talked into trying a set of specialized butchers with the trail t9 compound. 29x2.6 up front and 29x2.3 out back. I’ve been told they compare somewhere between a dhf and a dhr as far as grip is concerned. The 2.3 has the same size knobs but spaced tighter together as the 2.6 so it should roll marginally better. I’m excited to test this setup once the snow is gone, as the value of these tires can’t go unnoticed.
Should note that I mainly ride in Rockwood park which is known for its roots and rocks (aptly named) but venture to Sugarloaf downhill park but also to the local smooth flow trails, so a wide variety of terrain.
Sorry to revive an old thread, Anyone have any experience with something like a specialized Butcher/Eliminator combo? @steeves46 any feedback on the butcher front/rear setup you mentioned? Pondering branching out from Maxxis. I tend to prefer a DHF/Aggressor type setup for riding most of the usual suspects in the maritimes, with a bulk of McFight Granite. Will likely run something like a tannus insert on the rear.
Butcher/butcher was a fantastic setup(never tried an eliminator but I assume it’s a decent tire). If you like the aggressor in the rear though the butcher will be quite a bit grippier and likely to be slower rolling if that sort of thing concerns you (I found it rolls like a dhr2 but grips better for front usage as well). I’ve spent a good chunk of time on the new continentals too and if you like the DHF/aggressor combo, I would recommend a Kryptotal fr/xynotal combo (bonus points for how well they’ll wear on the granite of McIntosh run for ya)
I run that exact combo (butcher/eliminator) most of the time, its great, the T9 Butcher is quite grippy. Its a bit of a sleeper setup, especially cost wise, as everyone tends to want to see Maxxis on the sidewalls.
Also, EP is 100% correct that at Macrun, a more XC tire setup is WAY faster, my dry season (summer) setup is 2.3 Ground controls and its more fun at Macrun, more of a round profile on the rocks definetly handles better.
Pretty sure many of the mrwa regulars can testify that the granite is super grippy and so like already stated no need for dh tires… same token the granite chews up tires quick if your there 2x a week
certainly cool to see everyones different preferences and experiences on this thread. I agree re: preference for a faster rolling tire for McRun, which is where I probably ride the most. I also ride at Keppoch quite a bit, climbing under my own steam, followed by whopper/railyard/Gore, then whatever other trips I can manage throughout NS, PEI, NB, Quebec and Vermont. Certainly hoping to hit Wentworth a lot more this summer. I think I’ve shied away from xc-type tires due to combining poor bike handling skills during races with (possibly overinflated)Maxxis ikons/kenda small block 8s many moons ago, coupled with my likely subconscious susceptibility to PNW-centric media/marketing and what my bikes have come stocked with-leading me to stick with what I know and get stuck in a tire rut
My bike came with the Butcher/Eliminator combo but they were the previous generation and the harder compounds. They weren’t too bad but I am a big fan of Schwalbe tires so I swapped them out for Soft Nobby Nics in the lightest carcass available. I run an insert (ARD) in the rear. I love the rounded tires and they grip really well on the granite but do wear more quickly than the harder compounds. Rolling speed is pretty good. I like the confidence of sticky tires, especially on the granite. When I wore them out I tried the new Butcher T9 (soft) on the front and it was pretty good. Felt a bit slower and not quite as much grip on the granite but just as good or maybe better in loam and mud. I had to put my Maxxis Aspen XC tires on when replacing the bearing on the wheel with the Schwalbe tires. I was really surprised how well they worked on the granite. I rode them for a month or so at the end of the season including the Granite Fondo and the course setting for it. They are so fast! And fast is fun!
P.s. I have a barely used T9 Butcher for sale.
I think the real reason people are hesitant to branch out and try new brands is how expensive tires have become, possible difficulties with install and how important a tire is overall for ride quality.
I have tried numerous tire brands on road/gravel over Maxxis but cant really commit on the gravity side to another brand.
I will say, the one stand out tire that I have ever tried in all disciplines is the pirelli centuro. Blew my mind how much grip, and rolling speed it has.
Conti - is another brand alot of people are using now with great reviews.
While I like the idea of having different tires for different trail systems, having to swap tubeless tires frequently to do that would be a pain, and the casings deteriorate with each install/removal. The optimal setup would be separate wheelsets with lighter duty/heavier duty combos, but having both sets at the same quality level would be a bit cost prohibitive. Clearly, I need more bikes.
Going to try schwalbe radials this year. Will see how the ultra soft lasts. Trail casings with cushcore trail inserts. I would have opted for a harder compound for the rear but the availability wasn’t there. Easy to see the difference in construction when deflated. I feel like they will resemble my 27.5 x 2.8 rocket Ron’s with rolling and smoothness. Time will tell.
Can’t wait for a report on these! Super jealous.
I like to run the same tire and compound front and rear so when the rear wears out I put a new tire on the front and move the old front to the rear.
My last bike had 2.1" Michelin Country Grip’rs which sucked. No grip even at Macrun. My current bike is running the stock Maxxis DHRII/Assegai combo in 3c maxxterra compound and though it does roll a bit slower at Macrun it has incredible grip on wet/rooty trails and even snow/ice. It really does just depend which trails you are riding specifically. I’m considering getting a set of Ardents for my old bike as I’ve heard those still have plenty of grip but much lower rolling resistance.
I ride McIntosh run almost daily in season. Live across the road from it so why not right…I switched to the aggressor on the rear and the DHF for the front seems to work pretty good.
I recently ordered some of the Schwalbe radials as well – Albert trail ultra soft for the front and Albert trail soft for the rear. From the reviews, I’m hopeful that this will be the Goldilocks setup. Can’t wait until the snow goes and my currently mounted Hans Damphs wear out.
