Locked in a set of XR3, my buddy is going to Ardents. I think I’ll get both of his, and then experiment with them on the back first, maybe the front on a more hard pack less technical trail, but they’re back ordered all over so happy to find a set
I’ve ridden Pisgah on bigger tires and also on XC tires. I’ve been thinking of throwing the XC tires on my Pivot Trail429 to see how well it does.
It came with a Dissector front and rear.
The last ride in Pisgah was up to Middle Black to Turkey Pen intersection. Turned around there and rode the downhill to the bottom. All on the XC bike with 2.35 Ikons front and rear.
Hump
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Huge fan of DHRs, really wondering how much slower they are than lighter duty Rekons. On the same bike I have a light set of wheels with Rekon and a trail day set with DHR and the latter is probably 5% slower on climbs according to the stop watch and power meter. Originally said no difference but it’s there though small. On nastier descents the DHR/DHF is totally worth it and I have no problem wearing lycra with those wheels on. Looking forward to putting something like Ikon or Forekasters on the light wheels to see if there’s a bigger difference.
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@mgrundmann I west Lycra all the time, even if I’m on a big suspension bike. It’s what I have from years of road racing, and I don’t care….
Hump
I wasn’t sure if I was the best person to respond since I’m firmly in the XC camp and dabble in the gnarlier stuff, rather than the other way around. But, I raced with DHR front and rear in March and whilst it was fast, at a high pressure, and gave heaps of grip. It was a lot more effort and I really noticed it when I tried to bump up the speed to ride with the competitive group or if I dropped off the beaten in line.
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Bike came with the Maxxis Dissectors. They are great tires and was happy with them. The issue was mine were coming apart. Side lugs and center tread on the rear was taking a beating.
Read some reviews on the XR4s and all were complimentary, so I decided to try a set.
Glad I did. I ran 17psi front, 19psi back. I’m 150lbs
The rolling speed felt significantly better. I never felt like I was giving up anything in the corners, and the braking was a lot more positive than the Dissectors. Less chatter, more bite. To the point where I had to adjust braking points for some corners.
These tires feel like you need less lean to get them to hook up on corners.
Very happy so far. Trails were a mix of hard pack, loose over, and then some rocky sections.
Hump
I realize this thread is old but I’d like to revive it. I don’t race XC, but neither am I a “gravity” guy. My local trails have a lot rocky and root-laden climbs and fast descents and while I like to ride hard and go fast, I’ve decided I like having a little more rubber under me than the typical lightweight, fast-rolling XC tire.
I’ll start: I’m running the OE Butcher T9 / Purgatory T7 combo that came on my bike (a Stumpy). I was all set to swap them out for the Maxxis combo that I’d previously favored, namely, Dissector front and Rekon rear, but I have to say – the Specialized tires are the best mix of grip and speed I’ve ever experienced. I absolutely love them and will replace them with the identical tires when the time comes. I’ll add they’re 2.3’s, though they measure 2.4 by my calipers.
Would love to hear others’ thoughts and experiences.
I’ve never tried the Butcher or Purgatory, but I wasn’t a big fan of the Ground Controls and Eliminators that I spent a lot of time on this summer. They were by no means bad, just not as good as Maxxis for my preferences. I found I had to run several psi higher than I’m used to to prevent the folding feeling in corners (even running inserts), and the tires felt a bit more wooden as well compared to all of the Exo/Exo+ tires I’ve used from Maxxis.
I did like that the 2.3s run big and were even totally fine on 35 internal rims. Maxxis 2.3s are way smaller and flatten out on wider rims. Apples to apples though, I’ll take a 2.4WT Rekon over a Ground Control, and a 2.4WT Dissector over an Eliminator.
Agree that the Dissector and Rekon are superb. They’re actually quite similar to the Butcher and Purgatory in tread pattern. If for whatever reason I can’t get my hands on the Specialized I’ll go back to that Maxxis combination happily.