The Wierwolf was a nice riding tire, I woudln’t say it was a terrible offender, maybe my second favorite tire after the RR, at least for XC riding.
I think it would be a good choice for your project, though I’m curious why you’d like one tire more than the other for your project
I’d like to see an Ardent 29er tire up close. Though I like the RR, I would still like something with a little more volume. I rode last night, was kinda tired, so ran lower pressure, and felt the RR was a little soft and risky for snakebites; thin sidewalls are like that.
The Dissent is an overkill for a 29er, too heavy, not that soft riding, likes to steer into sidehills. The 29" wheel is too tall for true muni unless you’re a giant, it’s really an XC uni, so a heavy treaded tire like the Dissent is wasted on it. On the other hand, a nice cushy tire which can be run with low pressure would make for a fast and relaxing XC ride.
How about a Larry’s Cousin 29 x 3, we’ll call him Moe
The terrain is pretty mixed with some technical climbs. Some of my rides include pretty rough volcanic rock that is hard on tires. Sounds like the Ardent might be a good option. Sounds like it would be ok for the DH bits and better for the rolling terrain.
Yesterday I was JRA (just riding along) the abandoned RR tracks/someday bikepath, when BLAM! Instant, total flat tire, complete with two finger-size holes in the tread of my WTB Stout. The tracks are gone, but this was at a point where there are still RR ties, and I assume I rode over some spiky pieces of residual metal.
This is a semi-emergency because I’m riding my KH29 in a race in one week.
As soon as I got home, I read this whole thread and, having trouble finding the Racing Ralph in stock, I followed danger_uni’s advice and ordered the Maxxis Ardent 29x2.4.
Arrived last night, first impressions are that the sidewall has some rubber on, feels more like a DH tire than an XC tire, tread is thicker than a Weirwolf or RR, but not as “hardy” as a Dissent or Kodiak. The Ardent has more of a DH pattern, though not as deep as the Minion, has a hard line of edge knobbies like a DH tire. Folding bead, takes some muscle to mount, but with work I was able to get on my KH FR rim without using levers. I’m running mine with a 26" DH tube, the really heavy doody ones that UDC uses.
Stats: 6’, 200#
Time riding" Started 2008, average 3x week, 5 hours/week
Riding location: Off road, single/double track 90/10 split
Riding style: Rolling, distance XC and light to moderate muni
Current 29er set up: KH frame, FR 47mm rim, KH fixed hub, 170 QuAx cranks, Schwalbe RR 2.4, DH 26" tube, running 18-20psi.
Previous Tires I rode: Dissent (too heavy for XC, steers into the sidehill), Kodiak (heavy, sucked all around), Stout (not enough tire), Weirwolf LT (okay tire, good all arounder), Mountain King (wimpy MTB tire, not worthy of muni).
And the review…
I started with 20psi, which felt a lot stiffer than the RR 2.4 at the same pressure, but it was not hardly as firm as the Dissent or Kodiak at the same pressure. Even at this higher pressure I didn’t find it unrideable, there was no steering into or away from the sidehill, it felt closer to a Stout than anything else I’ve ridden, but with more width and volume. If I was to compare it to another Maxxis tire, I’d say it’s more like a Minion, but lighter weight and more resilient, thinner tread, slightly softer sidewall.
Then I dropped the pressure to 18psi and the tire really came alive, more cush, more stability, smoother riding, and still far less sidewall collapse than the RR. This is one of my main complaints about the RR, the sidewall is just so soft that it collapses/rolls when run at lower pressures or when pushed hard. For XC this is okay, but get into some more tech stuff and it gets a little squirrely. I also worry about cutting the RR sidewall. I run the DH tube in my RR to help support the weak sidewall.
The sidewall in the Ardent has just the right amount of resilience for running at lower pressures without collapsing, while at the same time not being so stiff that it feels hard. The tread is moderately deep without overmatching the sidewalls. I’d call the Ardent a heavy duty XC tire, fitting nicely between the Stout and the Dissent. The sidewall in the Ardent is stiff enough that I could see running this tire tubeless or with a HD 29er tube, which would further drop some weight. Speaking of weight, the Ardent is not that heavy, about 1/2 the weight of a Dissent or Kodiak, just a smidge heavier than the very light RR 2.4. Maxxis, you done well on this tire
And yes, I left it on my uni, the RR is now hanging from a peg.
Another ride tonight, may be going tubeless on Thursday, another ride on Friday, then an eight hour race on Sunday.
Thanks for the review, Ben. Sounds like I’m going to like this tire choice. I have a race on Sunday as well - hoping to ride it in less than 4 hours, though. I can only hope I receive my Maxxis Ardent in the mail (from AEBike) in time.
My race, the Singlespeed-a-apalooza is two 12-mile laps on fairly flat, non-techy, buffed-out single-track. I hope to not win the D.F.L trophy.
The Ardent sounds good. When my RR wears out I’ll give it a try - sounds a bit like the RR 29x2.4 snakeskin that Schwalbe never made
I don’t find the RR too floppy though, but I don’t use my 29er for anything other than fast xc so I probably run higher pressures than NurseBen (usually around 25psi tubeless).
The sidewall vulnerability is an issue though - I’ve had to patch a rip in mine. So a slightly stronger tyre with similar tread and hardly any heavier sounds very tempting.
Most weights I’ve seen put the Ardent 2.4 about 200g heavier than the RR 2.4. It’s not a huge difference (and probably worth the trade off for most) but it is a bit heavier.
Ride number two last night, still really enjoy the Ardent, running pressures as low as 16psi, that’s with a DH tube and my 200#. This is way lower than I could run a similarly set up RR 2.4, it’d snakebite on the first root!
Climbing is excellent, more traction in the mud, more sidewall strength seems to help it track better, pretty fast, maybe a tad more resistance/slower on soft dirt, but I’m running the tread in reverse.
I’m going to swich the tread around for tomorrow’s ride, might go tubeless, still trying to decide…
Great tire for mixed XC, but would be a fantastic tire in a 2.6-2.7
I rode the RR 2.4 at 18-20spi, which is why it was floppy. The reason I used lower pressure was due to my desire to use it for muni, so more shock absorption. I did get the occassional rim hit, but no snakebites since going to the heavier tube.
The RR 2.4 is still one of my fav tires, but the thin sidewall is a problem, esp with my love of rocks and low pressures. I’d never run the RR tubeless, just too much risk of tearing a sidewall; it is a racing tire.
The Ardent is more than an RR 2.4 with snakeskin sidewalls, it has a DH tread pattern and deeper lugging, so I’d compare it more to the offspring from a Minion and an RR 2.4
OK - the picture I saw in a quick google the other day looked like the tread was very similar to the RR. Slightly longer spikes would be a good thing though (I find the RR can get a bit lively on mud), so still sounding good
I’ve only had one sidewall damage incident in over a year on my tubeless RR, BTW (and I still managed to limp it home with lots of pumping and oozing sealant). I’m a bit wary of taking it over rock gardens though (that’s how I damaged it - slipped between two sharp rocks), but I tend to use my 26" for the rockier stuff and keep the 29 for fast xc and racing so I’m not expecting it to be a do-it-all tyre. I think we’re doing very different things with our Ralphs
I have a Kenda Small Block 8 and like it a lot. Small knobbies give lots of traction with low rolling resistance. Not a high volume tire (2.1) but light and efficient. I will happily get another one when mine wears out.
Rcvd my Ardent yesterday and mounted it up on my KH29 with a “regular” WTB 29x2.1-2.5 tube. It feels very burly. I then rode to the bank on a brutal 0.75 mile round-trip over dry pavement and packed gravel. It truly feels fantastic over this very challenging terrain.
Tomorrow, I’m riding in an ever-so-slightly more demanding 24 mile mountain bike race, and there’s a prediction of 1-2 inches of rain there tonight. This should be interesting…
I put the Maxxis Ardent 29x2.4 on my unicycle yesterday. I took it for a hilly ride and had a lot of fun. My tire pressure was at 30 psi. I was nervous to run it any lower because the sidewall says 35 to 65 psi. I would like to run it softer. So it’s okay to ignore the rating on the tire? I weigh about 135 and like climbing. I don’t do anything too technical.
I am really not sure why tires have a stated lower pressure limit. While I wouldn’t want to go much over the max air pressure you can safely ignore the lower limit.
You will be able to feel when the tire is too soft.
Alright, so I did this race (24-mile, mostly muddy trails) with my new Maxxis Ardent 29x2.4. The tire perform beautifully, gripping even muddy surfaces better than I expected. I began with more pressure than I thought I’d need, and let some out as the trail’s obstacles - rocks and roots - made themselves more obvious.
Hey, you 29’er tyre expert bunch. I’m speccing out a new 29’er Guni. Initially to be used in Yunnanuni, which is all onroad but in quite mountainous area. Later probably also to be used in XC rides, for which I would be prepared to swap the tyre but not rebuild the wheel, so the rim has to be considered ‘fixed’. I was thinking to chose the KH XC rim of 38 mm wide, and a Big Apple 2.0" for onroad use. My questions:
Would the narrower rim unduly limit my tyre choice for possible future XC use?
Would the Big Apple 2.0" alternatively fit on the 47 mm KH Freeride rim?
Would there be a "compromise" tyre that is very good on asphalt but better suited for mixed use than the Big Apple 2.0"?
BTW, I shy away from the Big Apple 2.35", since I found a lot of sideways tendency with it, and others have reported that too. I ran it on a very narrow rim, but I think this issue is also present when run on wider rims. Comments?
I like the marathon supreme as a 29" road tire and have mounted it on a 38 mm KH rim. It is a relatively small volume tire and I do not think it would be a good fit for the 47 mm KH rim.
The Marathon Supreme 28"/29" is available in widths ranging from 1.1" to 2.0". Which one do you have?
Meanwhile, I welcome more replies (Not being impatient or anything.)
