Trek is turning out some cracking bikes at the moment but one of the key aspects is that they're underlined with some excellent Bontrager rubber like the monster XR4 here.
Schwalbe's Mary has near magical grip in its stickiest, heavy duty VertStar, Super Gravity format but this much lighter version still retains a serious amount of composure and control in the most testing conditions.
Mavic's confident, super damped enduro tyre is a fantastic way to glue the front end of your bike onto any sort of ground, as long as you don't mind a slog on the climbs.
Specialized's Ground Control was one of the first really good tyres, and while the new tread bears no resemblance to the original it's still a good XC all-rounder at a cracking price.
Born on the downhill circuit, the Citius (Latin for faster) is designed as a rapid rolling tyre that you can still rely on for surefooted inline grip and slingshot cornering support.
WTB's chunky Vigilante is a great -Jl all-rounder tyre, particularly if you're into tubeless running. The tread pattern uses wide placed split top blocks that grumble a bit on the road but it accelerates okay despite its big size.
We used to dread seeing cheap Continental tyres on complete bikes but we started noticing they were sticking a lot better a few months ago. These affordable versions of classic Continental treads are now available aftermarket.
Hutchinson has always built some of the best tyre carcasses for XC work and its collaboration with Mavic has turned its reinforced tyres from clunkily wooden to smooth shock sucking control boosters.
Italian tyre specialist Vittoria has dropped the Geax name for its off-road range but the tyres stay the same. That means the Goma still features low, angled paired blocks that give it an ego boosting easy rolling speed once you've got the 810g weight turning.
We first saw a prototype of this tyre on the rear wheel of Jared Graves’s Yeti at last year’s Enduro World Series finals, where he clinched the overall title.
AT 1,112G, THIS soft-rubber version of the Vigilante with WTB's new Enduro casing really is hefty, meaning you'll probably want to run it tubeless. Luckily the Tubeless Compatible System bead makes fitting it a breeze.
PANARACER'S PIONEERING 650B-ONLY tyre ironically has a more '26in' feel than most mid-sized rubber due to its 560g weight, which means excellent acceleration, and its rounded carcass, which turns very easily.
AS YOU'D EXPECT from the chunky centre tread blocks and aggressive shoulders, the Minion DHR II is most at home being ridden aggressively and particularly shines on steep, loose tracks. Scream into a dusty chute at speed and you'll be surprised by just how much you can get the DHR II to bite in when you pull on the brakes.
PANARACER WERE THE first company to make tyres for 650b pioneer Kirk Pacenti's custom bikes so they're perfectly placed to supply the new wheel revolution.