Tires Falken or Maxxis

On my XC hardtail I have a Maxxis 2.4 Ardent on the front, and a Maxxis 2.2 Ikon on the rear. It is a great combo so far.

I just put some 2.25" Maxxis Ardent TR EXOs on my Trek 29er and they have been awesome so far. Tons of grip compared to the bontragers I had (cheaper ones that came with my bike).

Maxxis all the way. Seem to be the best combo of grip, price, durability, and weight.

Your trails sound pretty similar to what I ride. I have a set of Ardent 2.25s that I really like.

I love my aggressor on the rear, rolls and grips well.

I almost bought a set of those federals last summer, until I heard multiple stories of tread separation. Ended up going with Falken 950 ziex. Fairly cheap, and I have no complaints about them.

I also have a minion DHF for downhill and "rowdy" trail or wet/sandy conditions. It rolls a lot better than I expected for such tall knobs

just mounted a few pairs of maxxis tires, dhf, hr2, a dhr, and an ardent exo casings, all done by hand, found them quite easy to mount beads poped right on.

- Quiet when new - Reasonable grip dry/wet - Cheap to buy http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif - Lack of serious siping = don't bother in the snow - Gets noisy starting about halfway worn - If you have any autocrossing aspirations... don't.

Falken ZIEX 912 is the most over hyped tire I've ever had the misfortune of having mounted to my vehicle. Useless in the rain, greasy in the cold and noisy as hell as they begin to wear.