Intro
While 2027 isn’t here quite yet, it’s right around the corner, and it’s a good time to figure out exactly which tires are making the short list for next season. We’re spoiled with some big tire brands revamping their lineup this year, and of course there are some unchanged classic tires that might be perfect for you. No matter what kind of terrain you ride or what kind of bike lives in your garage, we’re here to help you figure out the best tires possible. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as the perfect tire setup, and there’s always going to be a compromise in some scenarios. It’s important to understand where the trade offs are, and help you maximize your grip for the majority of the terrain you ride. I've been riding all of these tires and more throughout 2026, and have put together this list of the best mountain bike tires I've ridden this year.
Best Winter Ebike Tires
Before my current stint of life in Bellingham, I spent my days enjoying the California sunshine. The thought of those dark, cold winters weighed heavily on my mind when considering the move up here, and it’s certainly been an adjustment. I’ve stayed committed to riding year round rather than stashing the bike in the garage during the big dark, and I’ve learned a thing or two about how to make the most of those rides between late fall and early spring. In fact, this last winter was my best yet, and while it’s taken me a while to tame the slippery roots and bottomless slop, I’ve finally figured out my winning rubber combo.
The Shredda Front and Shredda Rear certainly contributed to how much I enjoyed riding last year, and they lived full time on my Transition Sentinel. The Sentinel sure isn’t an ebike, but that taught me the Shredda’s preferred platform is the ebike. It’s no secret that they’re heavy tires, with the 29” variations reaching over 1600 grams, but their inefficiency is worse than other tires in the same weight class because of their tread pattern. If you want to throw on the ankle weights and hit the ground running come summer time, then by all means throw the Shreddas on your mountain bike, but the power of the ebike will cancel out the only real con of the Shreddas.
The Shreddas in their happy place
Even just looking down at the Shreddas, you can instantly tell that they yearn for the deepest, nastiest conditions you can subject them to. The Shredda Front especially, with its tall and widely spaced knobs clearly capable of finding the bottom of the loosest conditions. And the Shredda Rear’s massive braking surface is without a doubt the best tool for gaining control and confidence when you need to shut it down before the next slippery corner. You’ll only channel those riding characteristics if you live somewhere with loose or extremely saturated dirt that allows your tires to sink into the dirt and leave deep imprints behind them. Back in Southern California, I wouldn’t change my tire choice year round, but now in the PNW, the Shreddas have taken hold of my heart.
As for specific spec choices on the Shreddas, Schwalbe makes things very easy. Shreddas are only offered in their most heavy duty Gravity Pro casing and stickiest Ultra Soft rubber, which is exactly what you want for the conditions these tread patterns are designed for. Schwalbe rolled out some updates to their Gravity Pro casing and Ultra Soft rubber earlier this year, and those updates are coming to the Shredda Front and Rear. At the time of writing this, that exact spec isn’t easy to come by, but in the future all Shreddas will have that updated spec with more sturdy casing and even more sticky rubber.
Best Summer Bike Park Tires
Park laps with your buddies is what biking’s all about, and done right, you’re more concerned about boosting the lips than which tread pattern you’re burning through way too quickly. But there’s always room to optimize, and if you’re already slapping fresh rubber on to hit the lifts, let’s make sure you’re making the right choice.
Continental made waves with their revamped tire lineup a few years ago, and while you may need a chemistry degree to decipher their period table of tire specs, the Kryptotals are long lasting and easy for everyone to get along with on trail. As you might expect, all tires with a suitable gravity casing are going to work well in the bike park, but the trick up the Continental tires sleeve that makes them very well suited for the bike park is their longevity. It feels like they last twice as long before the knobs start to get undercut or start losing their edge and maintain a similar level of grip throughout their life.
It's been a while since I last rode the Kryptos. This Chromag is long gone but I still remember how long those tires lasted.
Continental has a whole slew of tread patterns available, but their Kryptotal Front and Kryptotal Rear are my recommendations for most summertime bike park applications. The Kryptotal Front uses a tried and true alternating 3-2 knob pattern down the middle with well supported side knobs. The transition knobs between the center and side knobs make for a predictable lean angle that lets you think about your tires less and schralping the next corner more. In the back, the Kryptotal Rear has wide and square braking surfaces that do a great job of dropping the anchor and scrubbing speed.
Like most tires, there are tons of spec options for Continental tires, and for the perfect bike park setup you’ll want the Downhill casing front and rear with their stickier Super Soft rubber in the front and Soft rubber in the rear. The Continental Downhill casing feels great, and is a huge improvement over their Enduro casing, which I find to not be suitable for Enduro riding, let alone bike park laps. The stickier Super Soft rubber in the front and longer lasting Soft rubber in the rear is the perfect compromise of speed, rolling resistance, and grip, and will last nearly twice as long as the competitor’s tire options out in the bike park.
Best Summer Trail Bike Tires
Taking advantage of those long summer days with an all day pedal mission is the best way to make your legs feel like jelly the next day, and your tire choice will make a difference in how much you enjoy both the climbs and descents. You’ll need to tow the line of climbing efficiency and descending capability, and prioritizing one will only compromise the other. To strike the perfect balance between the two, I’ve been enjoying the Schwalbe Albert in both the front and rear.
Everyone’s definition of a “trail bike” will vary, but my vision is a 130-150mm bike ridden on a wide variety of sanctioned hard packed trails. It’s your do it all bike that’s relatively lightweight and efficient but you also wouldn’t shy away from the occasional steep or gnarly descent. I think the Schwalbe Albert was specifically designed with that use case in mind, and I used them on my old Stumpjumper 15 a couple of years ago for exactly that purpose. That bike wasn’t particularly light, but it was remarkably capable considering its 145mm of rear travel.
The Schwalbe Alberts surprised me in my initial review by providing an impressive bite despite their relatively short knob height. Their profile doesn’t exactly scream maximum traction, but I’ve been consistently impressed by the grip on tap with the Schwalbe Albert. It rides like a scaled down Magic Mary, with all those little knobs banding together and keeping you glued to the trail. If you’re riding dry hardpack trails and want a snappy yet confident ride, there’s really not a better option than Schwalbe Alberts in the front and rear.
Schwalbe has tons of spec options for the Albert, and I think there’s more room for customization here than the other setups. It comes down to what you want from your trail bike, and I think my perfect Albert spec is an Ultra Soft Trail Pro in the front with a Soft Gravity Pro in the rear. You can bring the weight and rolling resistance down by opting for a Trail Pro casing in the rear or the Soft rubber compound in the front. There are tons of ways to modify the Albert setup to tweak it to perfectly suit your needs, so please reach out to us if you have any questions!
Best DH Race Tires
If you’re lining up for a downhill race next summer, tire choice is probably already on your mind. It’s undeniably one of the most important decisions you’ll make preparing for your one glorious race run, and it’s hard to say exactly what the right call is this far in advance. Every race track demands a different tire choice, and while it’s hard to make a blanket statement to cover your whole season, I’ll take a swing at it. My go to tire setup for dry racing next year will be the new Maxxis Minion DHX in the front and the Maxxis Minion DHR II in the rear. While it won’t be perfect for every track, it’s going to be fantastic for the majority of them.
The new Maxxis Minion DHX really impressed me this summer, and quickly became my go to front tire for the second half of my race season. Those bolstered side knobs give more grip than an Assegai or High Roller when leaned over and ridden hard, exactly what you’re looking for in a front tire when the clock is ticking. Even when the DHX starts to push out from under you, those L shaped side knobs feel like they keep their shape rather than folding over and do a better job of clawing you back into control. The harder you push the DHX, the better those huge center knobs feel, and it feels like it performs better the harder you ride it. That’s likely a result of the wide footprint of every knob making them relatively stiff and only conforming once loaded aggressively.
Of course you’ll want to run both of these tires in the New DH casing Maxxis released earlier this year and the stickiest MaxxGrip rubber available. The New DH casing is a standout performer, with that new plastic insert in the sidewall encouraging slightly lower pressures without the vagueness or unpredictability those lower numbers would typically bring. The move to 120 TPI plies rather than 60 makes the tread noticeably more active and supple, conforming to the ground more readily than the previous casing. While other tire companies are chasing radial plies to increase grip, Maxxis is sticking to their guns and it’s been a winning formula. Maybe you don’t need to reinvent the wheel after all!
Two very different corners, but the DHX handled both with grace.
Conclusion
Hopefully we covered enough options to give you some inspiration for your next set of tires. We’re lucky that there are tons of great options out there that we didn’t cover, and if you need to go off script and run a crazy combo, do what you must. I know everyone’s situation is niche and may require a unique tire setup, and we’re here to give you a more custom tire recommendation if you’re still unsure! Our customer service is top notch, and we’d be stoked to talk on the phone or exchange some emails to help you get exactly what you’re looking for.