Tires Hankook or Maxxis

I bought a Trek Fuel EX this year, which comes with XR4 tires. I switched to Maxxis DHR/DHF after a month, and the improvement in grip is very noticeable. On technical climbs, its pretty easy for me to lose traction with the XR4 when I'm putting a lot of power down on a steep section. With the Maxxis tires on those same climbs, I never spin out. On the other hand, the rolling resistance is higher.

Hankook Ventus Noble 2. Good W-rated tires, high skid plate rating, wears well if run a few pounds hot.

My bike came with 27.5 **Ardent Race** tires and they are super fast and plenty grippy for most days. The side lugs grab corners really nicely. I have some 60tpi Ardents around and they are heavier and slower feeling.

ive been running the MT-772's for about 5k miles now and they are quite impressive. I have had BFG's and Nitto Grapplers in the past and these are just as good, possibly better (and cheaper). Quite impressive on the rocks and in the mountains as they air down quite nicely and super grippy. Throw in the fact that they're not really loud on the freeway and you pretty much have all you can ask for in a mud-terrain.

I rock the maxis ardent race on my rear wheel of my 29er. Great combo but Ive been ripping the hardtail on techical single track so maybe not the best for your application.

My best experiences have been with Hankook I-pike studless snows. I'd be willing to bet that they could hang with or out perform some of the pricier options listed here. They are great when roads are wet too.

Hankook Ice Pike's are the best all around snow tire that have used. Wear, road noise and dry handling were much better than Bridgestone's, and any of the others that I have tried over the years. No perceivable loss in snow traction on a TSX wagon under normal snow conditions.

Wears like iron, just like the R-S3, but doesn't need as much heat to work. I can leave the sprayer at home and just ignore them.

For Maxxis exo I couldn't go below 25 in the rear without bashing my rim and getting flats.

I used to run the ventus v12 and ran into the same problem. They would always wear down so fast, within two years.