Maxxis  Ardent DC EXO TR 29er Tire

I've had these as front and rear on my short travel 29er FS and 29er HT for years. These are a great option for a beefy XC tire. If your riding preference is more on the aggressive trail/enduro side the Ardent may leave you wanting more traction and you may want a more aggressive tire on the front, but they will still be great as a rear tire. For what I ride they are great. I am in UT and the trails I ride are sandy, or packed, or loose, but not wet or muddy. They roll fast and carry speed very well. They work best if you really lean the bike over and hit the side knobs.

2.4 front and 2.25 rear is hard to beat tire combo for anywhere you’re not going really fast. The grip to rolling ratio is great and they work in a wide variety of condition. I think what gets over looked on these tires is how well they shed dirt when it’s wet. They have a lot of space in the tread... my favorite winter aggressive type xc tires. Downside to that: 1. In the front tread space can give it a little vague traction feel... That doesn’t bother me honestly. 2. If you’re really getting after it, an ardent 2.25 seems to puncture between tread on rocks much quicker than other exo tires... maybe just my luck, but have had several punctures from rocks in places I’ve had 0 problems with other more aggressive treaded exo tires

So far so good! Once I got the beads to lock with the rim these were great. Seem to have better traction than the old tires that came with my bike. They soak up more of the bumps/vibration too (they are 1/2" wider than my originals so assume that is part of it). Haven't been able to push them yet in dry dirt but in the soft slightly wet conditions and over damp roots and rocks they have been great! No leaks from the tubeless perspective either. I had to use a hair dryer to warm up the tires (mounted on the rims) as these were folded and the creases wouldn't allow a seal to the rim. Once warmed up I was able to inflate them easily (with a tire pump not an air compressor).

Great all around trail tire. Has done well on hard pack, loose over hard and wet conditions. Super tough too.

I bought this tire to replace one I had slit on a trail. I have run these tires for a year and that was the first flat I have had. I used to slide out on turns. I have not slid out since going tubeless.

In switchbacks and sharp turns I expected to slide, the wheels pretty much never lost traction. A perfect tire for downhill.

I've been running Ardent Race 2.35 tires over the winter for speed and lightness on hard/frozen roads and trails. I switched to a regular Ardent 2.4 in front for a little more bite during the summer months. So far, so good. I'm going to make the same swap on the rear in a few weeks because I need more grip there as well. I like Ardent's blend of lightness, speed, and decent grip.

I was deciding between this tire and the Minon DHF to replace my rear tire. I ended up going with the Ardent in the back and Minion DHF up front and this is the best combo for the variety of terrain I ride (XC, Enduro)

I love these tires. I’m running them tubeless, and they are awesome. They roll well on packed dirt, yet they grip on the slippery stuff. I’ve taken them in the mud too, these are all around great tires.

Got the 2.4 for a race in Marin and it performed very well. Minimal spin out--which is huge on SS--and it held the descents.