What are some good mountain bike tires for slick rock conditions?

I'm going to Moab next week and I'm used to riding in dirt. What are some good rock tires to throw on my bike?

Hey Corran,

You are going to have a great time at Moab! I go every year and I use a different tire every-time. Last tire I used was a Kenda "Nevegal" STICK-E UST with 35 lbs. of air pressure. I weight 95 lbs. and these tires worked great!

But you know everyone had different tires on our last trip and no one had any problems with traction. Everyone ran a full knobby tire and most were using UST or tubeless. I can remember some riders were using the UST Panaracer Fire and Maxxis UST High Rollers. We ran into some off roaders who were crawling around the rocks with their off-road machines. Most were using the huge knobbied tires and were aired down to something like 10 pounds of air pressure. If you see the off-roaders take a break and watch them crawl up the rocks. Have fun and pack up all your essential goodies before you ride. Water, tubes etc.

Kimber

Ideally you want something with low knobs to reduce rolling resistance. Still, you need something with decent side knobs for good grip in turns and when you hit dirt and gravel patches.

I've had good luck with Specialized Fast Track LK tires. These tires have close enough tread down the center to act like a raised bead on hardpack and are very fast.

If you are working with an outfitter or guide, you might want to call them and ask, though.

Hope this helps.

NanoRaptor on front
MutanoRaptor on back.

It is a great settup for a mixture of sand and slick rock.

Depends. There's a lot of newer trails that have opened up as of late in the Moab area quite a few of which are on red dirt-fast long dirt single track. Otherwise a "Holy Roller" style or large block configuration tread works excellent on sandstone. Make sure to get low not tall blocks. Have fun. It's 70s and 80s there now. Fun!