Best MTB Tires for XC Racing - Width & Tread Patterns
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- Опубликовано: 8 июл 2024
- Tires topic is so much important that it can't be ignored. Aside from technical analysis I covered generic things to be looked at when choosing the tire. Collection of these topics will give you a clue what is the best MTB tire for racing XC.
I have hope that performance driven people who are not yet, will begin to dig more deeper into this topic. It is always great to discuss these things with like minded!
00:00:00 - Why we are here
00:02:20 - Tires Width
00:04:37 - Tread Profile & Pattern
00:07:09 - Takeaways on Thread
00:07:45 - Do I have something against Maxxis?
@IG: / tom10crafted
@Strava: / strava
2023 Season MTB Races Analysis with EN Commentary:
• MTB Races 2023 - Analysis
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Insights about the bike & gear:
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Information about the gear used:
Footage captured: GoPro Hero 11 + Max Lens
Tracking device: Garmin Edge 1040
Power meters: Stages Cycling XT/XTR
Bike: Scott Spark RC Pro 2022
Part 2 - Weight, Casing, Rolling Resistance & Worst Choice: ruclips.net/video/svh4DCDwCrw/видео.htmlsi=hvZc9jgwYNmWXVXW
Thank you! Older rider looking for tires on the GDMBR at touring pace. Used Maxxis Crossmark II before and it is heavy, slow, but grippy, and durable. Just ordered a set of Continental Race King Protection model to try out before this summer. The Divide is a mix of surfaces from hard pack DG, dirt roads, pavement, and baby head rock in short sections. The rocky stuff I'm content to walk, so a lighter faster tire should be more comfortable overall.
What width Crossmarks come and which you had used?
I have used Conti Cross Kings for the last few years for general summer distance riding. The 4 Ply Protection version can put up with a lot of punishment when run tubeless with sealant. I just replaced my rear Cross King as I was having to put air into it every week and tread was down to 1mm. Incredibly it had 32 separate tread punctures from thorns, glass and flinty bits of gravel ! I also run the similarly tread patterned Schwalbe Rocket Ron on another bike as its shoulder knobs are slightly larger which is better in Autumn/early winter. That is also a good tyre but is slightly heavier and not quite as deflation resistant as the Conti's. 👍
The tread punctures were visible by wet spots on the tyre, or something else? That is a good spot that Cross Kings has similarity with Rocket Rons!
Good video. I will share my observations about my son's (10 years) performance. He drove all the Karma tracks with 2.25 tires Schwalbe EVO RAY/RALF and 1.0/1.2 BAR and max came in 2nd. In the Boar XC he rode a Schwalbe EVO RAY/RALF 2.1 (YEEEES) 1.0/1.2 BAR and smashed everyone in his group. Track wasn't dry. Arrived in 13 minutes. faster than his group second place. Yesterday I checked how far behind your time he was :) 22 min. Tom :). Catching up :) I was surprised. Mario from Estonia if I remember good, was on Schwalbes Ray/Ralph 2.25 , yeah e-bike, but still, two times lost the track, navigated back and did the best time.
Thanks for sharing, Andriau! Based on that, what conclusions do you think we can take? Everyone should ride 2.1??! Haha! Leaving jokes aside, one race is not enough data to make final decisions, especially when Šernai XC is very specific and uncommon course. However, for youngbloods topic is a bit different - their body types and ratios are unique still:)
On a different note, Mario been with 2.35's, but still impressive for e-bike usage.
@@tom10crafted No, you said everything right, but there is no place for schwalbes on your video. I thing lots of people do not use them because of imaginary better choices. Karma Šernai ir very good technical track with all possible terrains. And yeah, everyone have his own decisions but I will try Schwalbes 2.25 with 1.4/1.8 bar on my Scott in all Žemaitijos taurė 2024 stages, because Maxxis Aspens 2.4 didnt work for me :(
@@apuokas80That is not true! There been 4 Schwalbes on the right hand side @ 1:05, just not mentioned that much! :D In addition, I used Ray for majority of the season at the front, and Ralph is on my other wheelset too. Those are good enough all round tires:)
In regards to Aspens in ŽT23, in Lapiai - majority of tires would have failed there!
@@tom10crafted they was, hanging on the broom :) I'm a little bit partial, cos I'm a huge Schwalbe's fan. Anyway want to try Biekšos setup with Hurican on the back, and cheapest Nobby nic's on my ebike.
@@apuokas80 all were on the broom, so they are equal!! :D
Interesting opening. I used race king a lot. They are the fastest MTB tires ever tested while being grippy versatile and reasonably tough. They wear fast i get less than 200km of them which is pricey. At the front they're good only for easiest/fast rolling track, almost "gravel".
I went back to my vittoria barzo mezcal 2.25 combo which last a bit more feel a bit more tough and give great speed and control in most dry to reasonably wet conditions. Avoid mezcal in mud obviously.
I used 2.4 for some time but i feel a 2.25 with a tire insert is a better trade off even if it require a touche more precision in rocky stuff.
Great insights as usual, Antoine! Forgot to mention that I used Race King only on the rear, exactly for the same reason you mentioned. As for the wear - Continentals are known for fast wear, but it depends on the terrain. For example 2.3 Cross Kings lasted about 1000km in Tenerife terrain, while 2.2 at the rear I managed to destroy in 500km in Algarve. Race King in Lithuanian's MTB field lasts thousands, because we don't have any harsh terrain - which for soft compound is killer.
What inserts do you use and how much does that affect your preference of tires pressure? I haven't tried Vittoria's, and most likely it was because of their weight - never attracted too much, haha
Hi can I ask what tyre would you reccomend? I ride XC so decent terrain sometimes some trails but I also ride asflat sometimes and I thought the best would 2x2.25 or 2x2.3 but Don’t know what tyre if maxxis/continental/vittoria ….
Hey Matus! What terrain is mostly in your area and what weather conditions during majority of times you ride?
I went from 24mm to 30mm internal and found it increase performance all around.
2.25 vs 2.35 is a smaller differnce then tire casing or rubber compound. Tire tread #4 important with very low profile times IOM.
Try using 24mm when you have a chance after riding 30mm - it feels somewhat not right, haha!
2.25 vs 2.35 is only ~2.5mm difference, but when it comes to rolling it still adds up.
I’ve had decent luck running the Aspen / Rekon Race in dry / loose / rocky desert environments like in California and Arizona. Great rolling resistance while having safe levels of grip. I still have yet to try the Scorpion, but I hear they perform good here too. I’d love to hear your thoughts though.
Hey Drew! We mostly don't have this type of terrain in Baltics region (bit dusty/dry surfaces, but forget about super loose or rocky :) ), thus its hard to elaborate objectively. What I like about Scorpions though, is that their side knobs are pretty decent and they have smooth transition knobs (like, center is low, then increasingly moves up to sides). That should be advantage vs both of Maxxis in the corners. Feel free to share your thoughts if you manage to test them - its interesting to hear different opinions:)
Great review, would you have any hesitation running Rekon race front and back on a 140mm travel trail bike, I mainly ride forest trails
Hey, thanks! For 140mm bike I assume you are riding more aggressively anyways, thus I would stay away from recon race.. Forest it not equal to forest - what terrain is in your area?
I ideally should have brought a 120mm down country bike, but I have purchased a carbon Marin riftzone which is 140mm travel, the forest i ride in is in New Zealand, I ride loose over hard and sandy in summer, sand goes hard in winter with rain. A lot of climbing, tree roots in this area. Later in the year I will ride 50km which is hard and I would like a fast but confident tyre set up. I don't feel I am a very aggressive rider, what would you suggest ? Appreciate your response
@@brentmonastra9329 ahh, make sense, thus additional travel came by circumstances, not necessarily from a need.
The terrain does not sound like hard packed, thus having some more thread pattern would help in traction and climbing. What tires do you currently have and what experience it brings aka are you happy/not about them?
I have tried light tyres and the bike gets up and flys but descending the bike gets knocked off line a bit, I have tried dissector and Rekon but I found the bike a touch heavy, I might try the forkaster front and Rekon rear to see if I find a happy balance between climbing and descending. maybe forkasters front and rear would be ok? I tried Schwalbe wicked super race but sidewalls are very light. I have found it hard finding the ideal setup
Something you didn’t touch on in the video is rubber compound. The grippiness (sticking) more so than grip relative to traction (knobs, pattern). Compound absolutely plays a huge role as well in rolling resistance speed due to durometer, tread pattern deformation, how long it actually remains in contact before rolling/sliding/moving to the next knob in the pattern, etc…
This matters quite a lot in trail/Enduro/DH and I assume to some degree in XC. Just wanted to point out that an otherwise “fast” tire with a grip-centric compound version can be a complete letdown in the speed department and a godsend if you are seeking more grip in a certain situation or race scenario.
Awesome video as always!
Hey Jeremy - very great insights!! The main reason why I didn't even touched based it - is because I basically had almost no samples to compare - thus, have no direct experience of using them.
The only clear example was with Schwalbes, where blue compound vs red. I guess majority of "compounds choices" comes from Maxxis? Based on your comment it feels you have felt the difference under your own skin! Thanks a bunch for great comment though:)
@@tom10crafted yes, mostly Maxxis related experience, but friends who run Schwalbe say the same as they have many compound offerings.
It really does make a very noticeable difference, especially if you’re the type of rider who can perceive the small differences in loss or gain of rolling resistance, etc…compound durometer can make a “bad” tire behave better or a “good” tire behave poorly, depending upon elements you’re riding in.
Just a something else to consider. (As if there isn’t already too much to think about!)
@@jeremyprovonsil7886 the last sentence killed it - some people has a hard time choosing the tires width, not to mention anything beyond that, haha!
But the tires topic is something I really love - noticing the differences one can give over the other is nice! Like collecting the experience and figuring it out on your own skin:) Thanks for sharing man!
@@tom10crafted anytime, man! 👍🏽
I can do nothing but agree. The RaceKing [ProTection 2.2 black chili compound] at 2.2 & 2.5 bar is an insanely fast and grippy solution. Don't like Schwalbe's compound and weight penalty, Pirelli are ok but only in the dry and 10° C+ & some people like the Maxxis tires, i don't. Haven't tried Vittoria's offerings since i don't really need to.
But, as it was stated in the first comment, Continental could really do a 2.4" ~750g version of the RaceKing.
2.5bars sounds really high! Where do you use it in such setup?
On a sidenote, on RaceKings it is written optimal pressure 3-4bars - which, to me looks like recommendation for gravel usage, haha!
I recently purchased Spark rc, which is equipped rekon race 2.4. At the moment I don't have any problem with them. I've been to single trail few times only. Just experienced bit of slippery situation on the dry up hill for seconds. This makes me wander if the tire problem or my riding skill.
When it comes to slipping on DRY climbs, its most of the time technique, not the tire. Try to place your body weight at the end tip of the saddle while still adding pressure on the rear wheel:)
Lastly, make sure you do not go with too much tires pressure - 2.4's requires less air than narrower tires
Hi! Thanks for your Videos. Did you try 2.6 on the Spark already? Should produce more traction. At least one the Front. Yours
Hey, thanks! Haven't done that, as where I live and ride there is no need for anything wider than 2.4 - and even that is not properly used tbh :)) But, for front probably its doable to fit - in the end its about fork, not bike specifics. Rear surely won't fit! Cheers!
@@tom10crafted Hi! Thanks. My favourite tyre currently is MAXXIS-REKON-29-x-240-WT-3C. This one is more cross country orientated than the race variants you use. Yet it runs better than a Conti Mountain King. To have more traction at the front I am thinking about MAXXIS-Forekaster-29-x-260-WT-3C. No tyres for racing but for Transalp they should be optimum. Ciao!
2.6 for Transalp could be still but of an overkill I guess! 😎
Hi Tom, nice video and good collection you have there. What is your thoughts on pirelli scorpion xc for grip and in wett conditions? #hat is the difference between the L version and the other? :)
Hey Ivo, L I wrote there for LITE vs Pro Wall - its casing type. LITE is slightly lighter, like 50g+, but is very thin. In comparison, Pro Wall has stronger casing aka sidewalls.
IMO, for wet they would be close to no better than Rekon Race (which I assume currently on your bike?) Plus, wet is not equal to wet - what terrain it is? Does it have mud? :)
@tom10crafted Thanks for the info. Yes, you did assume correctly still riding on the recon race, but since yesterday we have in Vienna a real Winter Wetter with snow and ice and everything else and I almost fell a a few times fro the bike because the front tire is shit, absolutely uncontrollable in this Wetter 🤣.
I had much more fun with my car when I took around for a spin on the frozen streets since it's Quattro. I guess I'm gonna be sticking to the car until the snow ❄️ melted 🫠
@@ghostdog6471 thumbs up for Quattro, ha! To be honest its sketchy to ride in winter on paved roads, unless they are very well maintained and cleaned for public transportation (bike ways, pathways, etc) In case you would want to survive with Rekon's dropping air pressure significantly can make a difference.
But be aware that salt eats up components really fast :)
@tom10crafted Yeah, I had much fun with the car yesterday, but always with one eye in the rear mirror for the so much "loved" from me cops😇. Thanks for the tip. I never thought about the part with the tire pressure. Regarding the salt, that's why first thing today on -7 I went to the car wash to clean the bike from all those chemicals that are sprayed on the streets. On my way back, my calipers froze, or it was just the levers but rode basically without brakes. 🤣. I guess i will give it a pause for the bike riding, and maybe now it is time to take the bike apart to clean it and lubricate it. I still haven't done any service on the suspension components. I don't know if it's a big deal or not.
@@ghostdog6471 Ohh, so we have a bad guy here drifting in the public roads!!! :D
Car wash when its sub zero is poor choice to visit, be it with a bike or a car! Everything gets frozen.
In regards to suspension, if I were you I would break it apart - not because of this recent wash, but in general - everything will be dead-dry there :D
Vittoria Mezcal XC Race 2.25 for me is all rounder
I rides on steel rigged fork so this type of riding is more technical , when I want better cushioning I put on Syerra 2.4
ohhh, now that is hardcore without suspension, ha! What difference you notice on rigid fork 2.25 vs 2.4? Is it noticeable by feel as being more comfy?
@@tom10crafted yeeeep its cmofy on 2.4 almost like you were riding on a cushion but they are sluggish on the asphalt but in the forest area they pick everything up nicely and you can ride them fast they are faster then Mezcal but on asphalt, however, Mezcal rolls faster
I will experiment some more on the front put Syerra on the back Mezcal and we'll see what comes out of it
@@tom10crafted the terrain I ride on is very diverse to reach the nearest forest (a real forest) I have to ride about 30 , 40 km
through dirt roads,grassland,forests and asphalt roads
Part 2 please!!
Incoming for sure, stay tuned!
I love the new maxxis severe ... they are soooo awesome on my epic sworks ht!!!
I guess Maxxis has the widest product line among any other manufacturer in MTB - and then combined with different casings and compounds it can make electric circuit malfunction in the head to choose from, haha!
They made them with mud in their mind but in my opinion is a great all rounder
I daily a 31 lbs trail bike with 160/140 travel I retrofitted 25mm internal width xc wheels and run 2.4 and less tires contrary to fashion.
I ride pretty aggressively and I'm not experiencing reliability issues. I'm drifting a bit but overall much faster than my buddies tho 😂
In short, tires selection is personal preference thing. Some likes drifting and skidding - some don't. And those things combined we get into situation where A does not necessarily suit B and vice versa:)
Thx for confirming my thoughts! I’m sick of manufacturers saying 2.4s are faster and have less rolling resistance. I’ve been racing for over 40 years and don’t believe wider and lower pressures are faster, totally BS!
Great point! What I would add to this, is that faster (in terms of rolling resistance, and narrower) does not necessarily translates into faster all-round.
Reason being - depending on the terrain, wider tires can offer more traction/braking surface, etc, which in some cases makes you faster, even though on paper they are not. IMO tires is very interesting and complex topic :)
Maxxis exo forecaster 2.4 front and back works well for me but I'm more trail than XC.
Heard good things about forecaster in wet conditions! In XC it is good choice for front 🔥
Why do you like the race kings over the aspens
I’m on aspens right now and not very happy with them
Where/what terrain do you ride and what is the reason you are not too happy with Aspens?
It is worth mentioning that majority of my riding is in Baltics region - which is quite unique when it comes to mud and wet conditions. Now with all of that said, this is exactly the reason why I don't like Aspens - they have low profile center, which does not give ENOUGH traction for my needs.
People says that with Aspens you have to be very precise with air pressure for it to work though.
@@tom10crafted mainly dry dusty loose conditions. Yeah I just find cornering traction isn’t the greatest. Unless I’m leaning it way over
@@davidmcdowell2788 that is the terrain we have for like 1-2months / year at the best:)
I would say try playing around with the pressure, or alternatively, for example - for front try tyre with slightly more pronounced threads.
From Maxxis, it probably would be Ikon
@@tom10crafted thanks for this. I will try that
Aspen is a very specialized tire, race king has awesome rolling resistance, is more versatile and corner better. To me there is no match. Then world cup riders won on aspen many time and i'm not a world cup rider.
I wish they made a raceking in a 2.35. No reason for any other xc tire if they did
Tires widths selection by manufactures is also an interesting topic:)
For dry, dusty and rocky trails I use 2.4s
For all the rest 2.2s
(For XC)
And what about muddy and rooty XC? But I guess due to first part of the sentence, thats not applicable, haha!
@@tom10crafted2.2 definitely better than 2.4 in the mud yes
@@fra93ilgrande I find this contradictive - while in theory it should SLICE deeper with 2.2, I tend to think wider tire in such conditions could give bigger surface to grip .
It's most obvious to see with extreme width differences. I've tried 35 mm as well as 55 mm slick tires in the mud before, and while the first one turned out to be somewhat manageable the latter just slid around uncontrollably. CX tires tend to need less aggressive knobs for appropriate "bite" compared to MTB for that matter.
Why rekon race no go?
Lets take 2.4's for example with which Spark came from the factory:
1. Relatively heavy while being 2.4 (850g weighted)
2. Poor in wet conditions - recommended use: Dry XC trails
3. Suggested on rear by Maxxis themselves. Recommended installation: Rear
I know he can't cover everything but this seemed really vague & a shame he didn't cover Victorria tyres as they have some good xc tyres like the Mezcal and Barzo.
The only reason I haven't done it, is because I haven't tried any yet and there was already no space on the broom stick left, haha! Be sure there will be update on that, including different Pirellis I am rocking right now :)