Local here, and I ride about 80 miles a week on the Bella Vista trails. I’ve had great success with the Barzo/Mezcal XC Race. I put them on right before Little Sugar last year and haven’t had any issues so far.
I did try out the Tri/Dub Trail casing a few months ago, and the Dub sidewall tore after about 100 miles. I rotated the Tri to the back and put the old Barzo on the front. After about 500 miles the Tri shows a lot of wear and slices on the sidewall so I put the old Mezcal back on.
I’m am an n of one of course. I liked how the Conti’s rode but have had much better success with the durability of Vittoria here.
@Majoeric where do you see the biggest time gains? Is it uphill or more confidence in downhill?
If you comare it to Rick/Rick? Also I’m reading in reviews that Vittorias are not good for rooty terrain which is most of the trails in my area. What do you think about that?
Typically my courses are mostly flat so for me the gains are with cornering speed and confidence. The Vittorias are in a league of their own compared to the ricks or dubs on real XC courses. I would never go back unless I was on a gravel course.
I just had a race last weekend in Tennessee and watched a kid tear a dub. Last year I also tore a dub on the same course. Stay away if you want to finish races.
Are these the XC Race or XC Trail versions for Barzo/Mezcal? I use to run that combo many years ago and have thought about going back to test for breck epic.
The Vittoria race casing is working for you? I’ve been using them in the front range but was thinking they probably wouldn’t be good for bentonville. Not much sidewall
Thanks for sharing. I’m honestly surprised the Race casings have been problem free there, but if I’ve learned anything it’s that riding in Bentonville is kind of a roll of the dice. You can ride for a year on Race casing tires with no issues, then ride trail casing and slice a tire beyond repair on the first ride.
I think I’ve narrowed my Little Sugar tire selection down to Barzo/Mezcal 2.4 Trail or Rekon/Rekon Race EXO. I love the new Vittoria race casings but I’m not willing to risk it. I won’t be at the pointy end of the race and my goal is to maximize fun and minimize trail-side repairs. I’m planning to make the trip to Bentonville later this summer and will see how one of these sets of tires do.
I’m racing the high cascades 100 in July and looking for any other tire recommendations. I’m running 2.4 dubnitals rapid race at the moment - I put them on for a 5.5 hr gravel race where I used my epic 8 (worked flawlessly)!
The HC100 is a 100 mile single track race in Bend, which is mostly dry-desert-ish surfaces. I’m pre-riding in a week and a half.
Im well versed in obsessing over gravel tires but I’m pretty new to the MTB - so don’t have a lot of experience in what to look for. Fast - good traction - puncture resistance. My lack of mtb skills probably limits how hard I’m pushing in corners, but maybe better traction will help more? Maybe my dubnitals are totally fine? Rode some local single track last weekend (PNW outside Portland, which is dirt/loam) and it was great all except the wet slick sections.
Yes I wouldn’t have chosen the the XC race casing, but it was what the shop had a few days before the race. Also being a local it felt much lower stakes than if I invested the time and money into traveling here. But yeah I’ve been amazed at how well they have held up.
You should be fine on them. I honestly think the flat danger is over blown since the people who don’t flat typically don’t post about it or make the race report. I feel like I was far enough but not so far back to have seen a good sampling of people flatting. The whole day I saw less than 10 people, which out of 2000 or so isn’t that bad. Granted it does suck if you are one of those unlucky ones.
What is your take on inserts for Bentonville? I’ve heard opinions that they can actually make sidewalls more susceptible to rock slices because they don’t allow the casing to deflect as much, but it’s not something I hear mentioned much.
IDK. WTB is not a tire brand I’ve normally thought about but in searching for a loose over hard front tire for my gravel bike I came across their Raddler with tiny middle knobs and big edge knobs. I got the 120 tpi 44mm versions and have been very happy with it’s smooth ride and increased corning confidence. It tracks really well in deep loose and I’m going a lot faster on descents and through corners. Kinda makes we want to try their mtb tires.
I’ve never tried inserts before but have never felt the need for them for MTB (gravel is a different story). I don’t feel like the descents here are long enough to get enough speed going to rim strike on a regular basis.
You do bring about a good point on the side wall deflection. I’m guessing this is why my XC race casing has held up so well.
My own experience with inserts was not good. I went all in a few seasons back and had more flats that year than I ever did. Took them out and things have been much better. Silca has since come out and said you essentially need to double the amount of sealant you run with inserts due to the sealant coating both the tire and surface of the insert itself. I didn’t do this when I used them and found that whenever I popped the bead there was always very little sealant in the tire.
You do need more sealant, and it probably depends on your terrain and riding style.
As someone who is more prone to rolling tires and pinch flats they are worth it to me.
With respect to sidewalls, I think that depends in the insert, tire, and rim. I try to run tires that are true 2.4s so that the casing is wide and the tread is wide enough to protect the sidewall more. The round Vittoria ones in small are good if you are worried about sidewalls as they basically only help with pinch flat protection. Tires with tread that is narrower than casing and an insert makes the sidewalls weak though.
That’s helpful. I’ve had a pair of Vittoria Air Liners in the garage for a few months now. I bought them with traction in mind, thinking that the inserts would allow me to lower pressure a bit. It’s a long story, but I installed one on the rear wheel of a new wheelset, only to have to return the wheelset. It was such a hassle to install that I didn’t feel like installing it again once I received the correct wheelset and now I’m wondering if they’re just going to sit there staring at me in the garage. Bentonville seemed like a no brainer for inserts, but I’m not so sure anymore.
Once you get the hang of it, it’s a non-issue. I can install an insert in maybe an extra 60 seconds when putting on a tire now. Although, it does at times feel like you need a third hand to keep them from popping off.
I have the Cross/Race combo on one wheelset and another with Speed/Speed in 2.4". Really excellent tires in both grip and feel on the trail. The Speed feels noticeably faster than the Race so sometimes I swap out the rear wheel to ride Cross/Speed. Unfortunately no hard data yet on the RR AFAIK.
