The Ardent has quickly made a name for itself as being one of the most versatile trail tyres on the market. It has a tread pattern that combines low rolling resistance for its width and footprint with an ability to hunt out traction on a variety of surfaces and conditions.
While it occupies the drier end of the all-round tyre spectrum, but there’s enough space between tread blocks to hook up on loose or soft surfaces. There’s a slightly vague feeling as you come off the centre knobs and on to the edge ones, but once you’re there all is fine.
In good conditions Ardents at both ends will be okay, but if it gets sloppy, one of Maxxis’s more aggro tyres up front makes a capable pairing. Only thick, greasy mud throws it a control curve ball.
There’s tons of volume, and the closely-spaced ramped centre blocks deliver a healthy turn of speed. The EXO comes with reinforced sidewalls, using densely-woven cut-resistant fabric to ward off damage from rocks without the heft of dual-ply casing.
This article is compiled from reviews originally published in What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK magazines.