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Try Maxxis Rekon or The Brand new Dissector new tread patten Maxx Grip Double Down Maxx Grip (Front) /Continental Xynotal either (Trail/Endurance/Soft) casing and compound (Rear)
Im currently rockin Continental Xynotal (Enduro Soft) and loving it
I really like the wicked will. Fast rolling and you can get it in a variety of casings. Pretty happy with this on the rear and a Tacky Chan on the front for my trail bike.
Will Radial come to trail tires? A few people here say they don't feel slower, but I'm not so sure. My radials are on the ebike so I have no idea.
I'm also trying to decide what to put on my shorter travel bike.
I've ridden the radials and standard schwalbes on my trail bike (trail casings on both). They radials definitely roll slower but offer better grip in the wet. I'm sold on the radials for the PNW winters and super trail casings for the drier parts of the year.
I'd be curious how the Tacky chan radials perform, but not sure I want a more malleable casing on a tire that's main selling point is precision/locked in cornering.
i'd say it depends, they feel slower on smooth terrain, road climbs, as you get to roots, rocks they're faster as they "hug"the obstacle rather than wasting energy going around it by bouncing on it, that's my experience while climbing, downhill i'm faster as they track better and grip more while being more comfortable
You can buy trail radials right now, they're definitely slower though.. Dual Alberts?
Ive been running Forekaster/Ikon on the XC trails here, and I think its a really solid combo. Honestly surprised how much I can trust the Forekaster. The ikon also has a lot more braking grip than I thought it would, makes me think I could scale down to an aspen or rekon race in the rear and still be good.
Ha, the Albert is hardly a trail tire
Just one short ride in. Removed ground control + rimpact out front. Swapped with Eliminator no insert. Was 20g heavier compared previous tire set up. As expected, rolling resistance is one notch slower climbing but it then pays dividends on the way back down. Noticeable increase in grip and more defined cornering edge vs ground controls.
I feel like this setup pulls it out of the xc and squarely into the light trail category but liking it so far.
This has been covered a number of times, but I'll update again since there seems to be a lot of bad info about rolling resistance. @Evil96 is correct in his analysis. Over rocks/roots, etc. Radials will be more energy efficient because of their supple casings. And yes, on pavement or hard pan smooth trails, the Radials will feel slower since there is more contact patch on the ground. BUT the size of the contact patch is determined by the pressure run in the tire. You CAN increase the pressure in Radials much higher than you would in a normal tire of the same volume and same casing compound, but still have a more supple ride. That is where the lines are blurred. The contact patch will shrink to that of about a 'normal' tire but it will still be more supple, and the actual deformation of where the tire is actually bending on the road is low, so they're likely just as efficient. The Schwalbe World Cup XC racers were on Radial casings last year and had an amazing season. So Radial CAN be efficient. Just like tubular tires in road and cyclocross. You just have to run higher pressures than if you want the absolute max grip out of them. The issue however, with the high pressures in lighter weight trail/XC casings is that they can become 'bouncy feeling'. So it's a balance.
I’m digging the Forekaster/Ikon combo a lot. I prefer the Ikon to the Rekon Race or regular Rekon for that matter. Aspen also tops the RR for me as the RR pushes in anything but the hardest, buffest terrain.
Great answer!
We just need something a bit lighter (in weight and tread) than the Albert
The Roamy
Agree with this assessment of the radial. Can't wait to run try the Tacky Chan radial front and rear on the enduro bike.
Agree with above comment on the Forecaster. I'm runnin one on the front of my Spur and it hooks up well, rolls well and is lasting too.
FIrst real ride on the MM+Albert radials. Started above what should be rideable. Muddy slop. Finished 3.1k feet lower where it's dusty, loose, and dry. The radials handled it all noticeably gripper than the Assegai. And, since I was running 5psi more, the tire held its shape really well too (I hate it when you feel a tire fold over)
TLDR hype is real. I want a Forecaster in radial!
It depends on which versions you are asking about.
The Magnotal grip is close to the same speed as the ground control T7 (assuming the "T7" compound is the same in both GC and purgatory etc). The magnotal I think is more of a hardpack/loose over hard tire. I haven't ridden it on the front, but I do have it in the back with a xynotal soft front, and the grip is insane. Loving it compared to the Assegai maxxgrip that it replaced. But I am riding hardpack with some slight sandyness on top, so it makes sense that the dedicated hardpack tire is better (less knob chatter/flex/etc). I think the xynotal might be closer to the purgatory from a knob style standpoint, but I think xynotal soft will be a bit slower, grip will be much higher though (T7 vs conti soft).
General rule of thumb is maxxis is slower than other brands. I haven't ridden the new forekaster but if you're looking for more speed I just don't think maxxis really does that. Heresy I know, but like all the rolling resistance data I've seen and testing I've done backs that up.
The confusing thing with compounds is that some brands really call a compound by one name and it's literally the same despite different tread patterns. And other brands (kenda) claim every tread pattern has a unique compound. I'm not sure how the new Conti stuff is. Does anyone know? Cause compound is the main factor with rolling resistance (hysteresis).
What I managed to throw together for the new pedal bike was a Trinotal rear and Xynotal E soft front. The trail casing on the Trinotal was way too flimsy as I expected, put a hole in it immediately. Almost as good as anything grip-wise on sand/granite though
I suppose what I'm waiting for is the "Roamy", whatever that ends up being, can't find any sneak photos of it. In the meantime, need to decide between a Forekaster and Nobby Nic for a rear. Anyone have any opinions either way on those two tread patterns or Exo+/Super Trail?
I was actually a bit underwhelmed with the forekaster. The one I used on the rear was undersized and didn't last terribly long.
In comparison the Nobby Nic has worn better and rolls faster, though I don't think it matches the forekaster for outright cornering grip.
i also like the looks of a xynotal for the front, but i dont want to have to run the enduro casing on the front to get a soft. Do we know how the endurance compound compares to the xc tires 'grip' or 'soft'? For that matter, is 'soft' the same on the magno as it is on the gravity tires?
According to continental, endurance compound is between rapid and grip in terms of rolling resistance but worse than both in terms of grip/damping. I just happened to have the Xynotal in the pile, Dissector 2 seems like a much better option for a fast-ish front
Yeah i'm in a similar boat - I don't need the puncture protection from the enduro casing where I live so it's a bummer you can't get the trail casing and soft / supersoft compound. I ran the xyno/trail/endurance for a brief bit when they first came out and it was fine - got more traction than a MT rekon but didn't run it long enough to get a real opinion on it. As far as compound is concerned, i too would be curious if it's the same. At the same time the knob sizes are so different I'm not sure how much it matters, whether we're talking about grip or longevity I don't think you can just pull the tread pattern out of the equation when evaluating performanmce.
As far as I heard, both the trail casing and endurance rubber are utter garbage. Enduro and DH casing, soft and super soft rubber are apparently disproportionately amazing in comparison.
I made the mistake of getting a Xynotal and a Kryptotal in trail casing and endurance compound and they went straight to the heap of tires never to be ridden again. They are horrible.
@schwalbai or others, anyone has the overall diameter of a 29" 2.5 Albert Gravity ?
My 2.6 is 758mm diameter and doesn't leave a lot of clearance on my RXF38m.2's arch. For comparison, my used Kryptotal Fr 2.4 is 751mm diameter.
I'd like to try a 2.5 Albert Gravity rear to get more rear tire clearance at the seat stays, and would probably keep the 2.6s that I have for the front even if it's a bit tight on the RXF with a mud guard. But if the difference between the 2.5 and 2.6 is minimal, I won't bother. Thanks for any info!
Yes, based on the hardness of Conti's 'soft' compound, their endurance compound is likely close to plastic
Mines are 752
Trail chasing, 30mm internal rim
750 for the latest Mary trail pro with the blue logo
Curious thing I haven’t noticed on the first round of radials
“Not tlr: mount only on hooked rims”
My carbon rims are hookless like the majority at this stage I’d say 🤔🤔
My Purgatory knobs are peeling off the casing with low mileage, maybe 200 miles mostly dirt roads. Similar to the old Eliminator. Specialized says this: That's part of how our tires wear unfortunately. It is normal and expected.
Bullshit reasoning. 200 miles is nothing, if you are not constantly riding dh trails or keep on skidding the tire on asphalt
The purgatory seems to be between XC and trail, I’m looking for something similar. Maybe Wicked Will, Agressor, Forekaster. Continental needs something between Magnotal and Zynotal.
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