The same tire can behave very differently at different pressures and for different riders. Lots of people think Aspens are sketchy, but the best rider I know on single track happens to love them and says they become a different tire once you get them down to about 16psi. Just another thing to remember when we talk about a tire being “good” or “bad”.
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This, but for every tire. Ray and Ralph can test awesome, but if you aren’t confidant in them it doesn’t matter, Same goes for every tire really. I know a guy who swears by WTB Nanos, on mtb, but I won’t use them for anything except winter training where losing traction is the point.
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I have a set, but haven’t put them on. Sacrificing 10 watts to the Ricks is a big pill to swallow for me, even if they do come in like 300 grams less for the pair.
I got a set of Peyotes to test against the Ricks instead. They come in close enough in crr, reportedly have pretty good grip, measure a full 2.4 and mine are 685g, which is light enough for me. Just put ‘em on so no rides yet. Still unsure if I’ll bother mounting up the Pythons.
For me, so far, the Ricks are my favorite. I have a couple months of training rides and one race one them. They’re a little heavy, but they handle well in loose, sandy stuff as well as sloppy wet, and muddy. Mine measure very close to 2.4, and they’re the fastest rolling tires I’ve tried.
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Not compared to the Ray. I haven’t tried the Ralph, but I have been quite pleased with the Ray’s grip. My only beef with it is I can’t run it as low as a fast trak because it’s smaller. This is in Colorado as a reference, so lots of loose surface, but generally more gravelly than sand. The reason I like tires like the Ray and fast track is that they have a fair amount of grip under braking, which is good for tight and/or steep switchbacks. It also increases my confidence to push downhills
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Also, I’m riding an element, which requires quite aggressive front weighting, and tires like this work well like that. My style has basically always been front tire oriented, which definitely colors my opinions
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Definitely riding conditions (as well as bike choice and riding style/skill) play a big factor in tire choice, but often gets missed in tire discussions. For instance, a long downhill for me is anything over 30 seconds and if I encounter a rock it’s rare and usually a feature, lol. Which is unfortunate for me as I seem to always catch everyone on the downhill as that’s my strength. However, I have tight twisty natural hand built forest trails with plenty of roots, sand, flat corners and punchy climbs.
So while rolling resistance is something to consider, I also need to be able to control that speed. I’m constantly re-accelerating after needing to brake because a tight corner can only be taken so fast. Finding flow is more about NOT constantly doing 500w…. coasting….. 500w… coasting, over and over again.
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Any new roumor about 2.4 Continentals… my A race is next month… 
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First WC race is april 3rd so i wouldnt be surprised it was released then
below are photos of Brayden Lange’s XC bike, showing off the new 34SL fork. Conti Race King 2.4" on the bike as well. Of course it’s all up for speculation, but with the WC a week and a half away, plus sea otter right around the corner, I’d expect conti to be finally discussing it.
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I see them
Has anyone tried the new Air Trak (I expect it’s an improved Renegade in essence)?
He won on those tires today
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Doubtful. Just new graphics and nomenclature for compound. Guess we might find out at Sea Otter
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I have few rides under my belt with Python Races, and i can definetly say they are the most supple tyres i have ridden, even more supple than Kenda TR casing. Over bumpy and rooty sections they feel crazy fast, you just glide over everything. Everywhere else they feel also fast, but some test suggest otherwise, but i am fairly confident Pythons are one of the fastest tyres on bumpy terrain.
Grip wise we have “hero dirt” conditions for a few weeks and on these conditions pretty much every tyre has amazing grip, so cant much insight about that yet, but so far all good.
And being fairly light rider ( 63kg ) i mentally just cant add over 300g weight to rotating mass 
After all , 300g is a difference between a high-end wheelset vs mid-tier wheelset.
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Nah I think its gonna be a new radial tire.
waiting on the BRR results before I buy, they look interesting.
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you should talk to Peter, he probably has some info
What’s the BRR tire for this month?
Specialized Air Trek Flex Lite 2.35 ?
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Should we wait one more week in the off chance that the new Race King is released at Sea Otter?
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