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You are spot on about harder compound on the rear wheel will be faster.
Quick clarifier: My comments were more about casing orientation (radial versus diagonal) rather than casing layup (gravity, trail, race, etc).
"a softer and more grippy rubber compound has a larger effect on rolling speed when compared to choosing a radial casing versus a standard bias-ply."
The casing layup (number of carcass layers and their composition) has the biggest affect on rolling resistance.
A Gravity/Enduro casing will roll slower than a Trail casing because there is more material.
Practical example: a Gravity Soft tire will roll slower than a Trail Ultrasoft tire.
@jasbushey i think that answers your question?
I had one Maxxis Ikon DD years ago, it was a sad day when it wore out.
I share the desire for fast rolling, tough sidewall rear tires. Give me a Schwalbe Wicked Will Radial Addix Speedgrip, please.
Those were made basically because Richie Rude wanted them
Funny you should mention the Edge 22.
I tried one about 16 months ago.
That tire has phenomenal cornering traction and it rolls fast and brakes just fine as well. The dual row of long and stout but not that tall side knobs hook up really well for turning. The rubber compound was a bit hard and it had a weird way of slapping the ground when it hit the ground from being in the air and the casing was not very supportive but the tread pattern works very well in spite of its odd appearance.
If Maxxis made the Minion SS in Double Down or Downhill casing in 27.5 with a 2.4 or 2.5 width they would be on both my bikes. Sadly it’s just 2.3 EXO casing.
Having ridden the Ikon quite a bit recently, I think he was onto something! Obviously an actual steep trail would overwhelm the braking traction pretty quickly, but this tire is impressive in the dry.
I think semi slicks like minion ss and specialized slaughter are totally underrated. I was turned into these by ridemonkey DH forum guys and the combo of a fast rolling tread with big cornering lugs is addicting. way more grip than the appearance of the tire would suggest, but maybe that’s why it’s been so slow to catch on? People just assume it won’t grip?
I love the Slaughter, some people claim it is too draggy. 🤷♂️
An updated Minion SS in a 2.40” was on my suggested projects list for many a company meeting…
would def ride.
I think it would be a really popular tire if someone made some content explaining why it absolutely slaps in anything that’s not mud…
prototype specialized DH tire on finn's bike
Question to all tire experts in this forum. When you have a lot of rubber hairs from production on the tire like the one Finn has on his bike, will that influence the grip a bit before they obviously fall off at some point. Also seen a rubber centre "mohawk" on some tires from production as well and one should think the knob pattern suffers slightly from this.
Thoughts?
Tire hair implants incoming.
I swear there was a 2.5 DH casing version of the SS available briefly - am I hallucinating?
I definitely have a 27.5x2.3 DD in my tire pile, and would buy an updated 2.4 or 2.5 for sure.
There was quite briefly. The 2.5 profile was a little too square and the 2.3 had a better profile but not enough volume.
Venting in the tool to get rid of gas during the molding process. The Mohawk is a result of the tool flashing at the parting line, where the two half’s meet.
What happened to the griffin? That was a pretty sweet semi slick hard pack dh tire. I believe Jessie may have won an ews round with one.
You mean the tire with the ant 🐜 staircases??? That tread didn’t sell well, probably because it was ugly af.
You're not wrong they are tiny stairs but Jessie climb those stairs to the top step. Kind of surprised this wasn't a 29er in 2017.
But do we think those imperfections influence grip for a couple of runs before they wear off? I was thinking in the context of World Cup racing with incremental gains that it could matter. Just saw video from Paris-Roubaix as well and the mechanic took a sandpaper over brand new tires to ensure no release agent is left on the rubber from production.
My first thought is that the sandpaper thing is insane. Paris-Roubaix is 158 miles, and the mold release probably wears off in ones of miles.
But then my next thought is that it's actually a good idea for the cornering section of the tire tread. The center tread is going to wear off super quickly in the first few miles of the race, but if you hit a weird cobble section or damp asphalt in mile 20 on a leaned over tire with mold release still clinging to the edges of the tread, those far edges of the tread that you only hit when you're buried at maximum lean angle in a turn, it starts to make a lot of sense to pre-burn in those sections of the tread before the race when dealing with a brand new tire. Why risk it? Plus how long does it take to buff out a tire? 20 seconds? A minute?
I agree with you. But do you think brand new tires require a bit of "run in" to function optimal in DH as well?
https://www.schwalbetires.com/GRAVITY-PRO-Romy-Radial-11654708
Maybe more importantly, Tacky Chan! Talk to me about the Romy, where does that fit into the lineup? Thanks
Tacky Chan gets radial offerings, updated Ultra Soft compound, and a revised tread pattern (on just the radial variants).
This revised tread pattern makes it a lot more friendly during corner transitions. Check it out.
The Tacky Chan is also replacing the Big Betty.
The ROMY replaces the hans dampf. Trail / All-mountain tire.
It's our fastest rolling radial tire, and has a wide range of appeal.
Comes in a Trail 29x2.4" wide version, great for riders who have tight rear tire clearance.
It's my favorite right now.
Looks like the Romy availability in 27.5 size is very limited compared to the Hans Dampf. Any plans for adding more 27.5 options, or is 27.5 kaput?
You looking for a 27.5x2.6 i'm guessing? Because all other sizes should be covered.
Definitely not kaput, the Albert comes in a 27.5x2.6 Gravity version.
Limited mold capacity usually dictates new model sizes.
27.5x2.8 Radial versions of some tires are in the works.
When do we get the new 2,2,2 block front tire?
Excited to try out the new TC radial.
Do you prefer the romy as a front or rear? Radial or diagonal? Curious how it stacks up as a fast rolling rear.
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