The Maxxis Assegai, Specialized Butcher, Continental Kryptotal Schwalbe Magic Mary and Specialized Hillbilly all on sale
I think of mountain bike tyres as expendable: to get the best grip, comfort and control those little rubbery lugs are going to take a beating, and I’m happy to scrub off a set in the knowledge I’ve put a ton of riding into them.
What I’m not happy about is the price, which is where the Black Friday deals come in. I like to think I’m savvy enough to dodge the nonsense around buying stuff you don’t really need, and stock up on the stuff I’m going to buy anyway: tyres for winter, tyres for summer.
The Assegai is still at the pointy end of tyre performance for my kind of riding, thanks to its brilliant blend of grip and comfort
Finding the best mountain bike tyres, with the decent carcass to fend off rocks and roots, and the best compounds to balance grip and rolling speed is really bloody hard though. To put it simply, there’s a lot of crap out there. I’ve done the legwork here then, sifting through the dual compound, EXO sidewall, Addix grip rubbish for the gold: tyres you actually want, at the best possible price.
All the tyres listed below feature in our buyer’s guide best buys and I’d happily put each of them on my bike, in the right conditions. I’ve even taken into account the postage charged to get the genuine best price out there right now.
1. Maxxis Assegai
26% off the Maxxis Assegai! Was £70, now £52
The Maxxis Assegai has been number one tyre pick for last last few years thanks to its perfect combination of grip, comfort, rolling speed and puncture protection. This is the real deal here, with the triple compound rubber and EXO+ casing. Read mbr’s full review of the Maxxis Assegai.
For me, the Assegai is still the most consistent and reliable tyre out there, the perfect blend of support, comfort and bite. And plenty of us agree too because it comes on all the best enduro bikes around, and you’ll find it in every bike shop for around £75. I’ve scoured with Black Friday deals to find something better than that price though, and there are plenty of dual compound options in 27.5in sizes with skinny EXO sidewalls. They’re the dross though, the stuff left over. The best pairing for UK riding is with the MaxxTerra compound and EXO+ casing, it’s the perfect balance of rolling resistance and puncture protection. Yes Double Down and MaxxGrip is great, but for most riding I’d say it’s overkill.
The Specialized Levo SL Alloy kills it on its ownbrand Butcher tyres
2. Specialized Butcher
Just £33.49 for the Specialized Butcher T9! 33% off, was £49.99, now £33.49
Don’t underestimate the Specialized Butcher just because it costs less than half the price of some of the best tyres here. It’s actually one of the best damped tyres out there, perfect if you ride somewhere rocky or like to go quick. This deal is for the Soil Searching skinwall tyre, don’t worry though it still has the same T9 rubber. Watch out for deals with the T7 compound, it’s OK but make sure it goes on the back. Read our full mbr review of the Specialized Butcher T9.
The Butcher was pretty roundly ignored when it first came out with the brand’s T9 rubber, probably because Specialized just isn’t a cool brand for tyres. It should be though because we’ve found putting the Trail Grid carcass with the T9 compound gives your bike an incredibly damped feel, better even than the trusty Assegai. It’s actually our best value front tyre here at mbr too.
One of this year’s hottest new e-bikes, the Santa Cruz Vala, is running one of the oldes tyres out there… and for good reason
3. Schwalbe Magic Mary
£41.99 for the Schwalbe Magic Mary! Was £63.62, now 41.99 with 34% off
Schwalbe’s made some really cool new DH tyres lately, in the Tacky Chan and Albert Radial Gravity Pro, but it’s the very untrendy but brilliant Magic Mary I still covet. That’s because it’s just so trustworthy thanks to those big squidgy shoulder lugs, there’s something really reassuring about being able to lean the bike over and let it bite in.
There are six casing options to choose from with varying degrees of support and puncture protection, and three compounds, and the one you want for UK riding is Super Trail Addix Soft: it’s the best balance of grip and speed.
My first taste of the Kryptotal was aboard the now sadly defunct Nukeproof Carbon Megawatt, and it blew me away with its grip and rolling speed
4. Continental Kryptotal
Continental Kryptotal at just £50! 14% off, was £58.14
Conti’s new Kryptotal is probably the most in demand tyre right now, and as such the discounts on them are few and far between. This is the best option right now for the rear-specific Kryptotal, although like Maxxis DHRII there’s nothing stopping you running them front and rear.
Read our full review of the Continental Kryptotal.
Probably the coolest tyre brand on right now thanks to its association with riders like Charlie Hatton and Bernard Kerr, Continental also happens to make really good tyres. It’s the Kryptotal Enduro R Soft version you want for now, which we’ve found mirrors the Maxxis MaxxTerra rubber and EXO+ casing combo. It lays down a heck of a lot of rubber and has proved itself calm and grippy, and surprisingly resistant to wear. If you want the stickiest rubber you’ll have to go with the full DH casing for now, but it’s probably overkill.
What mud? Just pop on a Hillbilly and you’ll be reet
5. Specialized Hillbilly
£39.. for the Specialized Hillbilly mud tyre! Was £50, now 20% off
The Specialized Hillbilly is my first choice when things are really sloppy out there, it’ll bite into soft stuff and hold high lines over roots, and still resist collapsing in berms thanks to its supportive lugs.
Read our full review of the Specialized Hillbilly.
Like the Butcher, the Hillbilly also gets the brand’s best rubber compound, T9. This time though it’s fashioned into mud spikes that are ideal for everything from soft terrain to full on carnage conditions, something we’ve seen a fair bit of recently with Storm Bert. One of the best things about it though, other than its low £50 pricetag before discounts, is how well it works in drier conditions and unyielding rocks where the spikes can’t dig in. The lugs are so well supported you never get that unpredictable squirm as the knobs collapse, instead the great compound just keeps on giving.