Phil's Guide to Tyres for your Summer Adventures.

There isn't long now. Ardrock Enduro and the summer Alps trips are almost here, and the most important upgrade to your weekend is also the one most people leave until the last minute: tyres.

Here's the problem with waiting. The exact casing, compound and size you want has a habit of vanishing from the shelves in the fortnight before a big event — everyone else has the same idea at the same time. Order now, fit them, and turn up sorted. Leave it, and you'll be scrabbling for whatever's left.

Below is the setup I'd point any rider towards, with the Maxxis options first and the Schwalbe equivalents mapped alongside so you can run whichever brand you prefer or can actually get hold of.

Ardrock Enduro: Puncture resistance and rolling speed

Photo: Ard Rock

Two things to get right for Ardrock, and they pull in slightly different directions.

Puncture resistance. The slate is surprisingly aggressive — far more cutting than it looks — and every year you see riders' weekends ruined by punctures that were entirely avoidable. The fix is casing. A standard EXO is fine on the front, but the rear needs a tougher Double Down (DD) casing. The back wheel takes the square-edge hits and carries more of your weight; that's where the cuts and pinch flats happen.

Rolling speed. Here's what catches people out: the Ardrock stages are surprisingly pedally. There's real time to be saved with a tyre that rolls well, so this isn't the place for the slowest, draggiest rubber you own. Run maximum grip on the front where you want the confidence, but consider MaxxTerra on the rear — it rolls noticeably faster than the softest compound and you'll feel it on the pedally sections.

Tread. A great Ardrock combo is an Assegai on the front and a Minion DHR2 on the rear. The Assegai gives you serious cornering and braking bite for the steep, loose chutes, while the DHR2 in a faster compound keeps the rear rolling quick on the pedally sections.

Ardrock setup at a glance

Position	Casing	Compound	Tread (Maxxis)
Front	EXO	3C MaxxGrip (max grip)	Assegai
Rear	Double Down (DD)	3C MaxxTerra (faster)	Minion DHR2

Maxxis Assegai — specs: maxxis.com / Assegai · image

Maxxis Minion DHR II — specs: maxxis.com / Minion DHR II· image

The Alps: when in doubt, more casing

Even with a few trips under your belt, the Alps are hard to visualise — the sheer length and steepness of the descents is unlike anything you ride at home. The good news is that tyre choice is genuinely simple here, and it makes all the difference.

Run a DH casing. It's not just the puncture resistance, although you'll need that too. It's the extra damping and control the heavier casing gives you — the tyre settles over braking bumps and holds its line, and that translates directly into a calmer, more confidence-inspiring ride. And because almost everything is gravity-fed, you simply don't notice the extra weight as a hindrance the way you would on a pedally trail at home.

Compound: MaxxGrip, no questions asked. When you're descending steep alpine terrain all day, grip is everything and you're not paying for it in pedalling effort. Soft rubber front and rear.

Alps setup at a glance

Position	Casing	Compound	Tread (Maxxis)
Front	DH	3C MaxxGrip	Assegai or Minion DHF
Rear	DH	3C MaxxGrip	Minion DHR2

 Maxxis Minion DHF — specs: maxxis.com / Minion DHF · image

Riding Schwalbe? The same setup mapped across

Plenty of riders run Schwalbe, and it's just as capable — you only need to know which name lines up with which. Here's how the Maxxis recommendations translate, based on how the two brands' casings and compounds actually compare.

Casing

Maxxis	Closest Schwalbe	Use
EXO	Super Trail	Ardrock front
Double Down (DD)	Super Gravity	Ardrock rear
DH	Super Downhill (Super DH)	Alps front & rear

Schwalbe's Super Trail sits around EXO+/DD weight, Super Gravity feels close to a Maxxis DD/DH, and Super Downhill is full gravity casing — so this maps cleanly onto the advice above.

Compound

Maxxis	Schwalbe	Stripe
3C MaxxGrip	Addix Ultra Soft	Purple
3C MaxxTerra	Addix Soft	Orange

Tread

Maxxis	Closest Schwalbe	Notes
Assegai (aggressive front)	Magic Mary	The go-to gravity/enduro front — grippy and predictable at the limit.
Minion DHR2 (rear)	Big Betty	Schwalbe's blocky, braking-focused rear — their DHR2-alike. Nobby Nic if you want a faster-rolling rear.

Schwalbe shopping list:

Ardrock

•     Front: Magic Mary — Super Trail, Addix Ultra Soft

•     Rear: Big Betty — Super Gravity, Addix Soft

Alps

•     Front: Magic Mary — Super Downhill, Addix Ultra Soft

•     Rear: Big Betty (or Magic Mary) — Super Downhill / Super Gravity, Addix Ultra Soft

Schwalbe Magic Mary — specs: schwalbetires.com / Magic Mary · image

Schwalbe Big Betty — specs: schwalbetires.com / Big Betty· image

Where to buy (UK) — order before stocks dry up

Prices and availability change fast in the run-up to events, so it's worth checking two or three of these against each other.

Maxxis

•     Assegai — 3C MaxxGrip, EXO+ (Ardrock front): Tredz

•     Minion DHR2 — Double Down, MaxxTerra (Ardrock rear): Tredz · Pedal On · compare on idealo

•     DH casing tyres for the Alps: browse the full Maxxis range at Tredz and filter for DH casing, or the official Maxxis UK shop

•     Live deals roundup: MBR's best current Maxxis tyre deals

Schwalbe

•     Magic Mary — Super Downhill, Addix Ultra Soft (Alps front): Hopkinson Cycles · LordGun · Hardloop

•     Magic Mary — Super Trail, Addix Ultra Soft (Ardrock front): Winstanleys Bikes

•     Big Betty — Super Gravity, Addix Soft (rear): Merlin Cycles · Triton Cycles · LordGun

•     Official product pages (specs & images): Schwalbe Magic Mary

The takeaway

For Ardrock: a tough rear casing (DD / Super Gravity), max grip up front, a faster-rolling rear compound (MaxxTerra / Addix Soft), and an Assegai-and-DHR2 combo that's confident but still quick on the pedally bits.

For the Alps: DH casing front and rear and the softest compound you can get — the weight disappears and the control is worth every gram.

Sort it now while you can still get exactly what you want. If you're not sure what'll suit your bike, your riding or the specific trips you've booked, drop me a message — happy to talk it through before you order.

Ride hard, stay rubber-side down.

— Blackdown MTB Coaching