The ricks don’t have very much grip in very wet conditions but could work if the course isn’t very tight with inconsistent elevation. I’ve never used the Ralph’s but the Ray/Ray combo works great in the wet so I assume the Ralph’s would be similar.
I typically use 15f/17r and I’m around 155.
Thanks. I meant Ray/Ray not Ralph/Ralph. I ran Ralph/Ray last year, this year I’m running Ray/Rick’s.
I mean, yeah, that’s exactly the whole idea of it… really accurate aero and/or rolling resistance.
I don’t see that as a downside at all since I can just go ride and see how I like a tire subjectively.
I haven’t gotten thru the video so apologies if this is in there but with your method of testing are you running A-B or more runs like A-B-A-B? Also, are you getting similar differences between tires on different days. As in tire A is running faster by about this much on day 1 vs. tire B and that is pretty much replicated on a different day?
The reason I’m asking is that, for whatever reason, once in awhile I have an outlier lap (or rarely more than one) and if I didn’t have multiple runs I wouldn’t know that. The other thing is getting consistent and repeatable differences…have you proven to yourself that you get repeatable results?
I did some chung testing in the mid-teens and was never able to convince myself the results were reliable and repeatable with what I was doing back then…although I can easily see some problems with my protocol back then.
Joe
My own anecdotal experience in rain is that the Ray’s fully packed in with mud. I guess I didn’t fall so maybe they still had grip, but boy did the wheels get heavy. Changed my view on what defines a proper mud tire (for racing).
Within a single test, it is more like A-A-A-A, and you end up with a rolling resistance value that you can see repeated across the laps…and yeah, it holds up across different days also. Multiple A-B are fine, assuming the air density, wind speed, wind direction, and air temperature stay the exact same across a somewhat long time span with swapping tires, etc. That pretty much never happens, so picking wind sheltered courses and Chung it is my go to.
Here is an example. I did a rough cobblestone test a few months ago and had kind of gusty wind in the middle so redid it the next day on a dead calm wind day to see how off the prior day was. Went through both in Aerolab and the values were 0.0125 vs 0.0124 coefficient rolling resistance…meaning an error of under 1% even on a bad day, so to speak.
I do redo old tires here and there, mainly to recheck CdA values if other equipment has changed, or to double check I’m staying in the right soil moisture window to get good tests done.
If you have a power meter, speed sensor, and good courses, I’d revisit the Chung method stuff again. It takes practice to get good at it, but the results are SO good. Def watch that video as lots of this is in there also.
(Air Trak 2.35 results up today when I get around to posting btw)
It sounds like you’re getting solid results and I’ll check out the video and revisit that method. Thanks for the info!
Joe
I ran the Rick’s F/R in very wet conditions at Mohican (Ohio) and they were excellent on the wet rocks and roots. I was truly shocked on the wet roots, but the small knobs gripped when riders around me were slipping. In the true slop sections, they obviously were not great, but not sure anything but a fat tire would have been good there. So at least in these specific wet conditions, the Rick’s excelled.
How’s the durability on the Rick? My Ralph lasted 6 weeks of 3 times a week, which is pretty terrible durability.
It’s too early for me to tell. I’ve been swapping between two wheelsets, one with the Rick’s and one with Dub 2.4s (Trail/Grip), so not that many miles on them yet.
I’d be curious on both of those. If the dub is anything like the race king I would imagine it would lasts pretty well.
I have the red and blue versions of the Rick and haven’t had one puncture yet with plenty of racing/training miles this season. I’ve had a lot of luck with all of my more recent Schwalbe tires.
Air Trak Flex Lite 29 x 2.35 test results
Thanks, I could have been clearer, but I meant the time it took me to wear the knobs down.
Not super consistent lap times today but dubs and thunder burts ran the same. All laps at 165 watts +/- 1 watt and ran them TB-TB-Dub-Dub-TB-TB-Dub-Dub-TB-TB. My buddy ran the Dubs at 13:34 and 13:32, the TB’s at 13:31 and 13:34, and the race kings at 13:40, 13:43, and 13:45 all at 165 +/- 1 watt.
I think this is about what you’d expect!
Joe
Was it TB dub or RK dub? The data in the table doesnt align with the text.
I did TB vs. DUB and put it in the chart. I just wrote my buddies times in the text (he did TB, DUB, and RK)
Pirelli introduces new Race Compound and updates to XC RC and XC M Scorpions:
Got an email about race casing Barzo too. That seems like a good tire. Can’t find them yet on the webs though
Check Biketiresdirect.com, I just ordered the new Barzo this morning, plus they have the new Vittoria mud tire.
