All the coolest new mountain bike tyres for 2019
Fresh rubber from Schwalbe, Maxxis, Michelin, Hutchinson and more
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When it comes to mountain bike tyres, we are dedicated rubber fiends here at off.road.cc and like nothing better than sniffing out some new treads. We've rounded up some of the newest and most interesting 2019 patterns and casing from the likes of Maxxis, Michelin, Schwalbe, Hutchinson and many more for you to check out below.
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Maxxis introduce EXO+ casings and Wide Trail everything
Maxxis have quite a bit that's new for 2019, with some new treads, loads of new Wide Trail sizes and a new casing that sits in between the lightweight reinforcement of EXO and the heavier duty Double Down protection.
The new Recon Race is a fast and lightweight bit of rubber for the cross-country crowd, with the edge tread of a regular Recon married to a low profile centre tread for fast rolling. At the moment it's 29x2.25" only and it's been ridden to victory by none other than Nino Schurter.
The Assegai isn't brand new - it was released a while ago - but it's now available in a full-on downhill casing and 29" sizes for the new breed of downhill bikes. There's also loads of UK stock of this and other Wide Trail tyres, which is good news after a bit of a drought.
The exciting news for enduro riders and racers is that there's now a middle option between the lightweight EXO protection casing and the beefier Double Down. It's called EXO+ and it uses the same reinforced sidewalls as an EXO tyre with an extra bead-to-bead layer that uses the 'Silkworm' technology as Maxxis' road tyres. It'll be available for a whole load of the Maxxis range and we reckon it should be a nice Goldilocks casing for more aggressive riders.
Panaracer get back in mountain bike tyres
It'd be fair to say that Panaracer has probably fallen off most mountain biker's rubber radar since the glory days of the retro-tastic Smoke pictured above. They have a few new exciting looking off-road treads for 2019 however.
The Romero is their downhill and enduro tyre, with a tread pattern that you might just recognise - no bad thing as it's a basic design that works really well. It comes in both 27.5" and 29" diameters with a pick of 2.4" or 2.6" in both, plus a triple compound rubber and 'Anti-Flat Plus' casing.
Kenda's new Regolith Pro
The Regolith Pro is a new bit of trail rubber from another brand that's fallen off the radar in recent years. It's available in 2.2", 2.4" and 2.6" widths in both wheel sizes. A good edge with some open centre tread makes it look like it'd serve well as a do-it-all choice.
Fast rolling Hutchinson Skeleton - with tan walls!
The Skeleton is a brand new tyre from the French tyre manufacturer and, as the name suggests, it's had all the meat pared off it to leave a very lightly treaded cross-country race tyre. This tan wall option isn't quite a production-ready item, but we reckon it looks rather cool anyway.
Michelin go really pointy with the Wild Enduro
Another French brand with a long history in two and four-wheeled sports, Michelin has been bringing their tyre range up to date with the help of various pro-riders such as Nico Vouilloz and Jerome Clementz. This Wild Enduro tyre looks like a perfect bit of rubber for the sort of mixed conditions the UK specialises in, with a deep but broadly spaced tread with a robust shoulder. We're keen to give it a go...
Big fat gravel tyres from Schwalbe, plus e-bike rubber
It's not new, but this 2.8" wide version of the Schwalbe G-One is worth including just for it's ridiculous hugeness. It should be pretty handy for anyone wanting to make an extra chubby gravel bike or weirdy-fast mountain bike.
For cross-country fiends, the new Racing Ray front, Racing Ralph rear combo should tick some boxes, especially as they come in lots of different sizes and compounds.
The growth of e-mountain bikes and the ever-expanding universe of specific kit that goes with it shows no sign of slowing down. That said, these new treads look like they'll work nicely for bikes with or without motors, though it's the former they claim to be for.
The tyre on the top is the Eddy Current Front, and the one at the bottom is the Eddy Current Rear, which should be reasonably self-explanatory. They come with a tough Super Gravity casing and an Addix Soft compound, while the bug chunky tread should help give plenty of traction and cornering bite for the extra heft of an e-bike.
WTB Vigilante 2.5" and 2.6"
The Vigilante has been increased in size to keep up with competitors for 2019. Now available in 25" and 2.6" in both 27.5 and 29er tyres,WTB say these tyres are optimised for their i29 rims. Both the height and the surface area of the side knobs have been increased and the tyres feature the all new TriTec Compound which uses three types of rubber to provide different levels of traction, support or durability, depending on where they are used. In addition, the TCS Light versions use Slash Guard technology, a protective nylon insert spanning the entire sidewall to provide extra protection without the weight of a dual ply casing.
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