We all know that a tyre makes a huge difference to how a bike rides, but it’s at this time of year, when the trails are permanently covered in a thick layer of gloop, that tyre choice becomes even more pertinent.
As the wet weather takes a firm grip of the country, now is the time to remove those fast summer tyres, pack them away in the back of the shed for the winter months and invest in a set of new winter-specific treads.
But what of the choice out there? Well, mud tyres are typically narrower with pointy and generously spaced tread blocks are the best option. They bite through deep mud to find grip where wider tyres might now, will clear faster and be less likely to clog your frame. They style of the knobs, their shape, size, layout and spacing on the tyre’s carcass varies massively from brand to brand, as this round-up demonstrates. Not all mud tyres are created equal (but they are very similar).
The nature of your local trails has an influence on the type of tyre you choose. Wet loose sloppy conditions might suit a slightly wider tyre run at a lower pressure, while clayey claggy trails will suit a narrower pointer tyre run at a higher pressure.
Read on over the following pages to see six of the best mud tyres for your bike this winter.
Bontrager XR Mud £32.99
Available for both 26in and 29in sizes, with the former coming in either 1.8in or 2in widths, the Mud uses a classic and simple square shaped knob tread pattern. Generous spacing between the knobs encourages mud to shed easily, while the central section should give good rolling performance with little drag.
Bontrager use a proprietary tread compound that’s mud-specific, so it’s a little softer than usual. When all know that downhill world cup racers are fans of customising their mud tyres with a sharp knife, and Bontrager even go as far as saying “trimmable knobs for custom performance” so there’s scope for personalizing the tread pattern for your particular style of riding or terrain.
Michelin Country Mud £13.99
Michelin simplified its range this year and the Country Mud is its sole mud-specific tyre. It’s more of an all-rounder tyre than many of the others here, with wide paddle central knobs surrounded by smaller angled blocks.
It’s a 2in width tyre and weighs a reasonable 590g for this wire bead tyre, which does keep the price down if the weight is a little higher than Kevlar beaded tyres.
Specialized Storm Control 2Bliss Ready £29.99
Specialized’s offering uses a soft rubber compound do that it doesn’t come unstuck on wet roots and rocks, terrain on which mud tyres can traditionally prove hazardous unless treated with absolute caution.
The square knobs are well spaced to ensure mud clears quickly with a tighter packed outer edge knob pattern. The centre compound is 65a rubber while the shoulder section uses 55a compound for better corning grip. Tubeless ready, the tyre can be used with or without an inner tube.
Continental Mud King 1.8 £48.95
The new Mud King has a lot going for it. It’s been developed by the Athertons, so its available in a 2.3in 1100g downhill version or a lighter 570g 1.8in option. It’s the later we’re more interested in, but both share the same spiky tread pattern.
The 1.8in ProTection version uses Continental’s Black Chilli tread compound, which should help it stick to slippery obstacles like a limpet. The layout of the angular knobs should give good traction in all conditions. The shoulder blocks are siped to allow them to flex a little and find more traction when cornering over slippery rocks and roots.
Geax Gato Mud £30.99
Geax’s Gata Mud uses a tread pattern that features L-shaped blacks interspersed with rectangular blocks across the tyre, producing a design that’s distinctive from all the other mud tyres available. Reinforcements at the base of the central ridge reduce rolling resistance while similar reinforcements on the side knobs ensure stiffness when cornering.
It’s one of the narrowest here too at just 1.7in, so it’s best served for very extreme conditions or racing when absolute grip is right at the top of the list. The TNT casing means it can be used tubeless or with tubes, and weighs 490g.
Panaracer Trailraker £24.99
It’s been around for a while but Panaracer’s Trailraker is a solid performer when the conditions of your favourite trails dictate a change to an aggressive mud tyre.
Tall knobs dig through mud giving high levels of grip even in the wettest trail conditions. Angled shoulder knobs give good drive traction and cornering grip. A UST version is available, and in 1.95in or 2.1in widths.
Maxxis Medusa £29.99
Using a very open profile tread pattern with sparsely placed knobs, the Medusa is a tyre for the mankiest of conditions when clogging is a real possibility. For trails formed of clay like soil, the Medusa’s are a good option.
It’s available in loads of versions. The 2.1in Lust is our pick, weighing 675g. A lighter (640g) 1.8in Lust tyre is also available. We’d consider pairing the wider tyre on the front with a narrower rear for the best performance.
Schwalbe Black Shark £33.94
It’s been around for a long time, and the Black Shark continues to prove it’s one of the best mud tyres. An aggressive tread pattern with extremely tall spiked knobs ensures that it finds traction in even the gloopiest and stickiest conditions.
It can be picked up in 2.1in or 2.25in widths and both feature Schwalbe’s own Puncture Protection design. www.schwalbe.com
Onza Greina £36.99
Onza are a name from the past. Once enjoying a reputation as makers of the must lusted over tyres, they disappeared for various reasons. But now they’re back in business, and based in Switzerland they’re turning out some good tyre designs once more.
The Greina is pinned as a freeride/downhill tyre but at 2.25in we feel its still worthy for inclusion for those who want a bit more meat on their wheels. It uses an aggressive block tread pattern, with four rows of blocks and the sizes varying across the carcass. The outer knobs are siped for flexibility when banked over. Onza don’t quote a weight currently for this tyre.
WTB VelociRaptors front and rear specific mud tyres £17.99
WTB’s VelociRaptors are a legendary name from the early days of mountain biking, and this front and rear pairing are the only direction-specific tyres in this list.
That’s a good thing. The rear tyre features a generous paddle design for hoofing you up the slippery trails, while the fronts forward pointing long knobs can focus on steering duties.
Available in 2.1in with a DNA rubber compound, it’s a proprietary 60a durometer rubber, gives good grip on loose trails. Weight is between 700g and 760g.
Henry says:
Ref your comment on the Velociraptors – I think you will find that most [if not all] of the tyres are direction specific but only the Velociraptors are front and rear specific.
Tom Robinson says:
In my experience of riding in heavy clay soils around the Cambridge area. Small widely spaced blocks are best such as on the Maxxis Medusa. Conversely taller blocks on tyres such as the Trail Rakers are very hard work, as they have to be pulled out of the sticky soils. The Tall block tyres are best suited to very sloppy mud, organic and sandy soils.
neil warner says:
Big hand to whoever got the Geax write up past the sub editor to release my inner 12 year old. snert snert
David Arthur says:
Good observation there Henry, you’re quite right
We wondered how long it would be before someone noticed that Neil! Now that you have, we felt compelled to remove that line
nick3216 says:
IRC Mud Mads FTW
Kai Johnson says:
You missed one of the best mud tyres of all: the Continental Cross Country. It seems wrong putting a 1.5″ wide tyre on a mountain bike, but these babies hook up in the worst sort of gloop. We’re talking thick chalky clay mixed with barley stalks — while it’s raining. Their thick paddle-shaped knobbies keep you moving, the big side blocks keep you upright, and their thin profile cuts through the mess to whatever they can grab underneath. Recommended.
david says:
If only they made a 1.5 Continental Cross Country tubeless or tubeless ready…………anybody tried running a normal cross country 1.5 with no tubes liquid or similar?
James says:
I bought some Schwalbe Dirty Dans this year after concluding the Trailrakers are just too much hard work. The difference is incredible. So much lighter and faster. I suspect the downside will be the side walls being prone to rips. The Dirty Dans grip and clear well in all sorts of conditions although they are slightly more skitish over roots and rocks than the Panaracers. All in all, a brillliant tyre.
Matt says:
Just starting MTBing after 10 plus years out of the sport. Can’t believe ‘raptors are still going. I have a pair of Panaracer Smoke Lites still doing the business if anyone wants to make me an offer…
chris-m says:
I can’t recommend the Bontrager Mud’s enough. Reasonable price (better for two) and they roll well and last pretty good too – as long as your rides don’t include too much tarmac between trails.
They also do two options, the Mud XR with a slightly softer rubber and the longer lasting Mud X. Recommended!
Dick Barton says:
Raptors and early days of MTBing don’t go together unless you are fairly ‘new’ to the sport i.e. in the last 14 years…they are certainly long running but they aren’t that old…I remember running the Smoke/Dart (SC) and the Tioga Trail and Mud Dawg tyres…Farmer Johns before them…at the time, these were all amazingly good tyres, but things develop and progress (and also tend to cost far more money than back then!).
They are long running tyres but they aren’t that old, although they certainly appear to be one of the longest running tyres still available.