It’s raining today, which is lovely. But, traction where dust and liquid sunshine touch down on rock rolls, roots, and woodwork is a bit of a shocker. Conditions will improve with more rain and I’ll adapt to this more slip-and-slide reality as I do every year, but I can’t help but carry a bit of sadness in the back of my mind as I ride my rigid bike into the coming fall. 

I’ve had a great many months of riding on the same tire combination on my single-speed. A Schwalbe Rock Razor 27×2.6″ out back, which I actually just replaced, and a 29×3″ Bontrager SE4 in the front. And on hearing that I’ll understand if you point and laugh at said Rock Razor, but it’s really not the problem. For the back of a hardtail, that tire is a great compromise. 

The 3″ SE4 has great support in a big tire that somehow rolls quickly while also providing a surprising level of braking traction. It’s simply awesome. Until the firmish-is-fastish rubber compound can’t find any grip and then it’s the wrong kind of party in the woods. And yes, normally after a ride like today, the firmer rubber would be coming off and staying off until next spring. 

This normally isn’t an issue for me. In the past when I’ve been searching for greasy trail traction on my rigid Jerry-tickler I’ve been rolling a 29×2.8″ WTB Vigilante High Grip tire into the steep sections. Sadly, I’ve one more fresh one in a box and then, like the last couple SE4 tires I’m burning out, it doesn’t exist anymore. Yes, I will be mourning its demise.

I’ve not ridden the Fast Rolling version of the 2.8″ Vigi, which carries forward as a SKU and should be back in stock soon, as a front tire to say how it compares to the SE4. I’d like to be cautiously optimistic but let’s be honest, it’s not going to grapple like High Grip. And so it does make me wonder about how compound change is going to affect my rigid riding hours in the winter season. I’m not willing to give up big rubber for more grip?!

Between the companies still making 29+ tires none of them offers a true super-tach option. I could drop down to a big 2.6″ tire, like a Magic Mary, but that’s losing a lot of volume. Certainly on Tech-C trails the SE4 will be fine, but what about the steeper and more feature-heavy lines I like to ride? Folks bring up the 3″ Maxxis options, but neither of them has mega-grip rubber. 

I’ve been considering a suspension fork, wheel, and front brake setup for super speedy swaps between rigid and squishy front-end options on my single-speed. Then I could run an ultra-soft 2.6″ front tire on sproingy fork days and get on with it with the rigid fork reserved for more tame days.

But here’s the thing. Though the adoption rate is small there seems to be a burgeoning interest in rigid bikes with big brakes and modern geometry and rubber is going to absolutely play into who buys and rides those rigs. So, if you’re like Ryan and thinking about building a proper #JerryWillowsHatesMyBike bike don’t be afraid to let tire companies know that you need the rubber to go with it.