+1 went to Vittoria Barzo 2.4 @BRR as there is no other MTB tire in the list that has real chance to make it to the top this month
@jkarrasch They claim this is 40% faster than the old XC RC you tested:
Any chance you will test any of the new Pirelli’s?
I am definitely interested. I talked to somebody who is sponsored by them yesterday I think and they said those tires were pretty hard to get in the US right now so I guess we will have to see what happens.
Listened to Dylan Johnson talk about using 2.6 tires for a recent race, looking through photos I assume it was the Mezcal, which is really interesting, I dont remember if I measured mine, but a super high volume 2.6, I dont think it will fit on my current bike, the element, although the 2.6 rekon is fine.
I have not found any intel on the goodyear peak in 2.6 yet.
DJ ran 2.6 Mezcals for Little Sugar yesterday. Hopefully he’ll talk about it a bit on BonkBros this week.
The 2.6” Barzos and Agarros both measure 2.45” on a 30mm rim. I’d bet the 2.6” Mezcals are similar.
Does anyone have experience with Rocket Rons in UK style conditions, particularly wet roots? They seem to be quite fast rolling for such an aggressive pattern.
no, my 2.6 mezcals were MASSIVE, I’m going to mount it up this evening, but I want to say 68mm, but even taller than that
I finally got some good singletrack CRR testing done recently on my Rick 2.4s and hope to figure out a good 2.6 soon for similar home track comparison.
I wish I had a good suggestion, I imagine the goodyears could/should be near the top of the list, but I havent used them. The kendas might be a good representation of a higher volume tire, but a fragile one. Wicked will could be smart, since you can compare it to a smaller wicked will, but folks here said the 2.6 is a 2.4.
Mezcal would likely be the most interesting, its a big jump in size, can compare it to a 2.4 mezcal trail (not race). The tread is a bit different, as I think they basically spaced out a 2.4 mezcal. I do quite like the rekon 2.6, but its a bit more trailish for sure.
In my head, I suspect they are similar, but a bit slower to a 2.4, which might come down to weight a bit, but the benefits come at specialist conditions, like lots of small-medium bumps in succesion, like roots and spikey rocks. But also for people at the fringes, ha, bigger riders. I for instance, had most my best race results at 210 lbs, and felt like I had to run double the tire pressure to my competitors, I guarantee the tires would have helped in a few scenarios.
Welp - I flatted my rear Vittoria Aggaro last weekend on the Whole Enchilada in Moab. Goes to show that even beefier than traditional XC tires are prone to flatting (maybe me riding like an idiot might have had something to do with it 
)
6 dynaplugs didn’t seal the hole. Pulled out the insert, put in a tube, and limped back to town on sand flats road. I was kicking myself, as I had been looking forward to this ride.
A sad pic after the incident 
A happy pic the day before on Captain Ahab 
OK, so building on my recent experiences with flat tires:
I rode this afternoon with a friend who had 2 flats in his last 4 rides - about the same as me. We rode a loop that is about a 1 hr climb, followed by a 15 min descent that is known to be rough on tires.
On the climb up, we both were lamenting our recent bad luck with flats (plus I had my brand new tire on the rear, no insert), and agreed to take it easy on the descent.
And what would you know, on the descent, he got a flat on his front tire. In a Minion DHF, so not like he was riding a fragile XC tire.
My own recent experience - plus for example hearing about Little Sugar - leads me to the following perspective:
Despite all the advances in tubeless tires, sealants, inserts - I think a remaining (maybe the biggest??) innovation in the MTB industry is how to prevent flats. Thoughts?
It sure would be nice to flat less often, but we used to ride tires at 40 psi with tubes and flatted quite often. Now with lower pressures, lower rolling resistance, lighter tires, better sealants a lot nicer compliance and I believe we get less flats than we used to. (Might be wrong)
Should the industry keep and eye on this? Sure!
I’ve been riding MTB for 5 years now, save from a piece of glass I was able to remove and plug from a sketchy rail trail I have never flatted a MTB tire before a Little Sugar pre-ride. I swapped to Super Trail Wicked Wills for the race and didn’t flat.
There’s clear distinct levels to the casings and with the XC realm prioritizing weight we’re giving up the sidewall protection something like an EXO+ or DD provides. Light and tough don’t really go together when it comes to tires.
Totally, I went through a string of sidewall tears during pre-covid times that soured me on anything other than thick, slow, Maxxis for a long long time. Currently in a tire limbo for my new aggressive XC-ish build. Want to try something new but also have old favorites. Love the 2.4 Rick and I have this on my HT with a TBurt in the back for climbing races. Durability could be questionable in rocky races tho. Used dual Kings on my single speed and they are phenomenally fast in a straight line but I don’t love how they corner (or don’t, I may just be going too fast!) I like to have a bit more meat out front. Want to try the Ralph/Ray combo as the grip you gain from the knobs seems like a good trade off in only loosing a few watts in RR vs some other brands but they don’t do a proper 2.4 (yet). Maybe Schwalbe has just cracked the good numbers on the BRR drum code? Been interested in Barzo/Mezcal/Peyotes. For now running some clapped out Rekon/Aspen hoping I can hold out till Spring. Maybe Sea Otter will showcase some new tires!
The recent results by @jkarrasch show these to have good rolling resistance. They come in Trail and XC versions - so can pick a version that prioritizes flat protection or speed.
I think a contributing factor to my flat woes is I have only one bike that I use for races and general trail riding. I pick a tire that is an “in-betweener”. Currently running Vittoria Agarros. Previously running Wicked Wills and Nobby Nics.
Maybe I just need a dedicated trail bike and put EXO+ or similar tires on there.
Could consider a second wheel set as a “best of both worlds” option. Don’t need a full bike if you’re comfortable with the setup - just a wheel set with the same hubs, a set of rotors, and then the other set of tires you want to run….
I’ve thought about this. Would want a cassette on the rear also, as would not want to swap cassettes every time I swapped wheels. Starts to get trickier if the cassettes and chain wear at different rates.
Or - I could adapt my riding style and dial things back a notch when riding through flat-prone terrain. My two recent flats have been on terrain where I should have known better, and slowed down a little.
Totally understandable. I have one-piece cassettes (SRAM) and I’ve found it takes about two minutes to swap a cassette between wheels. I wasn’t sure about it when I first started doing it, but now that I have some experience it actually feels very doable. Especially since it’s about the same amount of time as getting tire pressure or suspension settings adjusted
Given that I don’t change wheel sets every ride, it works for me to keep one cassette and swap between wheels.
But that may not work for you.
Second to this idea. I have two wheelsets for both my MTB and gravel bikes, allows me to have a both a '“trail” and “race” setup on the MTB and a “road” setup on the gravel bike. Kind of like four bikes in two. I have two different cassettes/chains on the gravel/road setup for gearing differences so a bit longer to swap over but on the MTB I have DT Swiss hubs so I just yank the whole freehub body off and pop it on the other wheels which luckily the brakes are lined up on as well. This setup is what really got me noticing the impact of tire rolling resistance when all else is held equal. Ruint forever and now eternally chasing the fastest tire with the best grip and durability…