Amazing tire but the wear rate is just unusable even when I’m finding them on sale for around $85. I know the Schwalbe rep in here...
Amazing tire but the wear rate is just unusable even when I’m finding them on sale for around $85. I know the Schwalbe rep in here said TC is for racing but that’s a lame non-answer. Plenty of racing tires last fine.
I just want a radial DHR-type tread pattern. I’m not asking for it to last forever but 300 miles (soft compound) for a tire that costs $100 MSRP is flat out unsustainable.
I’ll be switching back to Conti Kryptotal rears once their radials come out.
I was on MM/TC and when the TC wore out(soft,~350mi) I swapped on an e13 grappler rs radial. I'm really liking it, wet or dry. It's a firmer feeling casing than the grav radial, tread is KRR-esqe. Momentum/GR casing btw. Still waiting to get my hands on a front but it's spike season so maybe I'll wait until spring...
The trail casings are great because you can keep the total weight down and they are pinch flat resistant with higher pressures... protects the rim too. IMO...
The trail casings are great because you can keep the total weight down and they are pinch flat resistant with higher pressures... protects the rim too.
IMO the DH casings are less impressive, which is somewhat confirmed by their rolling change this year, where they increased the weight by ~100g per tire.
Certainly entitled to your opinion... I can think of a couple other tech evolutions I'd keep over radials since 2019.
honestly, all that separates the top tires is going to come down to opinions. tires do perform differently on varied terrain, but of the tires focused...
honestly, all that separates the top tires is going to come down to opinions. tires do perform differently on varied terrain, but of the tires focused on a style of riding they're more similar than not, and it's preference / riding style that makes one particular tire the best for a given rider.
every now than then, you'll see a top rider go from one team to another and be unhappy about the tires they now ride.. but generally, pros just adapt and get it done with whatever is under them. the most important element in winning a race is still the rider, by far.
the pros on schwalbe are riding radials in the front, for sure. you keep referring to a lack of support, but yes schwalbe reinforced the gen 2 casings (both gravity and trail), and pros are winning on them. rear is a mix.
it's not hype, there is more mechanical grip. this doesn't mean someone is going to value it over a tire with less traction but more support. weirdly, I can feel the grip but I haven't noticed increased rolling resistance, which is the #1 reason people report not liking radials on the rear. it could be there and I don't notice, this all adds up to someone's preference.
Ever heard of sharpies? There is a reason they are a big part of racing.
The new maxxis casing is more compliant in the tread with a stiffer sidewall towards the bead. The overall ride feel is more supple for sure...
The new maxxis casing is more compliant in the tread with a stiffer sidewall towards the bead. The overall ride feel is more supple for sure, not stiffer.
Getting into semantics but pretty sure Maxxis designer called it the opposite approach of radial.
His words not mine.
2supple is right about the new Maxxis DH casing being stiffer but he’s also missing a huge point: the added support allowed them to move to 120tpi, which is way more supple under the tread than the 60tpi they used before. This is actually very similar to radial and schwalbe adding more support to their tire is exactly the same move that Maxxis made in trying to tune how progressively stiff their tire is.
The biggest benefit of radial is that we can have tires with awesome puncture resistance and awesome traction, while having a lot of control of where we get flex vs support. Obviously designers are still optimizing and iterating, and also obvious is the fact that not all riders will benefit from radial (elite level dh riders may want more support than current radials offer,) but overall it has enabled an entirely new approach to tire design, which the new Maxxis DH casing embodies as well (just on the far end of the spectrum.)
2supple is right about the new Maxxis DH casing being stiffer but he’s also missing a huge point: the added support allowed them to move to...
2supple is right about the new Maxxis DH casing being stiffer but he’s also missing a huge point: the added support allowed them to move to 120tpi, which is way more supple under the tread than the 60tpi they used before. This is actually very similar to radial and schwalbe adding more support to their tire is exactly the same move that Maxxis made in trying to tune how progressively stiff their tire is.
The biggest benefit of radial is that we can have tires with awesome puncture resistance and awesome traction, while having a lot of control of where we get flex vs support. Obviously designers are still optimizing and iterating, and also obvious is the fact that not all riders will benefit from radial (elite level dh riders may want more support than current radials offer,) but overall it has enabled an entirely new approach to tire design, which the new Maxxis DH casing embodies as well (just on the far end of the spectrum.)
Agreed on the 120 TPI, but it only works because they stacked support around it. They used a harder apex, EXO in the upper sidewall, and more plies under the tread. So I wouldn't call it "way more supple under the tread."
And Maxxis doesn't see it as the same move as radial. Sean Day said it pretty directly. Radials are linear, so you add pressure to stop rim strikes, and the damping gets weird at the limit. Maxxis went progressive so you can run lower pressure. They tested both and picked theirs for predictability at the limit.
They're chasing the same goal of a better contact patch, but with opposite philosophies. It's not the far end of the radial spectrum.
2supple is right about the new Maxxis DH casing being stiffer but he’s also missing a huge point: the added support allowed them to move to...
2supple is right about the new Maxxis DH casing being stiffer but he’s also missing a huge point: the added support allowed them to move to 120tpi, which is way more supple under the tread than the 60tpi they used before. This is actually very similar to radial and schwalbe adding more support to their tire is exactly the same move that Maxxis made in trying to tune how progressively stiff their tire is.
The biggest benefit of radial is that we can have tires with awesome puncture resistance and awesome traction, while having a lot of control of where we get flex vs support. Obviously designers are still optimizing and iterating, and also obvious is the fact that not all riders will benefit from radial (elite level dh riders may want more support than current radials offer,) but overall it has enabled an entirely new approach to tire design, which the new Maxxis DH casing embodies as well (just on the far end of the spectrum.)
Agreed on the 120 TPI, but it only works because they stacked support around it. They used a harder apex, EXO in the upper sidewall, and...
Agreed on the 120 TPI, but it only works because they stacked support around it. They used a harder apex, EXO in the upper sidewall, and more plies under the tread. So I wouldn't call it "way more supple under the tread."
And Maxxis doesn't see it as the same move as radial. Sean Day said it pretty directly. Radials are linear, so you add pressure to stop rim strikes, and the damping gets weird at the limit. Maxxis went progressive so you can run lower pressure. They tested both and picked theirs for predictability at the limit.
They're chasing the same goal of a better contact patch, but with opposite philosophies. It's not the far end of the radial spectrum.
Radial = more compliant. Maxxis went more support, then more compliant. Schwalbe went more compliant, more support. Same end, different means. Tires are converging around compliance where you want contact and stiffness where you want support. With radial tech designers now have another way to tune tire feel/performance (aka even more permutations of the already dizzying selection of options…)
I was on MM/TC and when the TC wore out(soft,~350mi) I swapped on an e13 grappler rs radial. I'm really liking it, wet or dry. It's a firmer feeling casing than the grav radial, tread is KRR-esqe. Momentum/GR casing btw. Still waiting to get my hands on a front but it's spike season so maybe I'll wait until spring...
I can't find them on sale any where online...
Ever heard of sharpies? There is a reason they are a big part of racing.
2supple is right about the new Maxxis DH casing being stiffer but he’s also missing a huge point: the added support allowed them to move to 120tpi, which is way more supple under the tread than the 60tpi they used before. This is actually very similar to radial and schwalbe adding more support to their tire is exactly the same move that Maxxis made in trying to tune how progressively stiff their tire is.
The biggest benefit of radial is that we can have tires with awesome puncture resistance and awesome traction, while having a lot of control of where we get flex vs support. Obviously designers are still optimizing and iterating, and also obvious is the fact that not all riders will benefit from radial (elite level dh riders may want more support than current radials offer,) but overall it has enabled an entirely new approach to tire design, which the new Maxxis DH casing embodies as well (just on the far end of the spectrum.)
Agreed on the 120 TPI, but it only works because they stacked support around it. They used a harder apex, EXO in the upper sidewall, and more plies under the tread. So I wouldn't call it "way more supple under the tread."
And Maxxis doesn't see it as the same move as radial. Sean Day said it pretty directly. Radials are linear, so you add pressure to stop rim strikes, and the damping gets weird at the limit. Maxxis went progressive so you can run lower pressure. They tested both and picked theirs for predictability at the limit.
They're chasing the same goal of a better contact patch, but with opposite philosophies. It's not the far end of the radial spectrum.
Finally have both rear and front with front in both soft and ultra soft. Gonna try this week, will report back.
Radial = more compliant. Maxxis went more support, then more compliant. Schwalbe went more compliant, more support. Same end, different means. Tires are converging around compliance where you want contact and stiffness where you want support. With radial tech designers now have another way to tune tire feel/performance (aka even more permutations of the already dizzying selection of options…)
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