The fastest rolling tires I’ve tested so far are the kenda booster pros 29x2.6. I’ve also found they roll faster with 100ml of sealant vs a 250g tube.
I have mezcals in the 29x2,6” size and they are 900g each fwiw. The casing feels pretty substantial vs the booster pros super thin sidewall. I haven’t tested them tubeless yet vs the booster pros unfortunately.
I have read the linked article on tire width and I believe it. Problem is….fast rolling tires in 2.6 or larger sizes are pretty rare and none in 29x2.8” size.
If 110# women are on 2.4’s these days (are they?) then I think the plus size seems like where heavier guys should be (I’m 195#s)
Hmm interesting thought to connect rider weight to tire size. But I think you should compare it to tire weight. The amount of force needed to accelerate a wheel feels rather important. For the same reason everyone wants light wheels.
With the current courses XC/XCM I’m really happy with 2.4 Recon Race front and back. They roll much like a Racing Ralf and cornering is very predictive with sufficient grip if you lean them over. Have not tested back to back with Schwalbe 2.35 Racing Ray + Racing Ralf, but maybe somebody has?
Those Kenda Booster Pro 2.6’s according to most internet sleuthing only measure about 2.4" on a typical 25-30mm XC rim. Kind of explains the weight etc.
As Joe mentions, the 2.6 Vittoria’s are heavy and feel it. I tried the 2.6 thing with Barzo/Mezcal and Mezcal/Mezcal but they felt hideous in terms of acceleration.
I’m a big advocate for volume for speed and grip for most of us but I think if you’re riding tight and somewhat technical single track that 2.6 is beyond the point of diminishing returns. 2.35-2.4" really does seem the sweet spot. I’m trying some Maxxis tyres to see if the added volume of the WT is worthwhile. The Rekon/Rekon Race are relatively heavy for what they are as it is so we’ll see how they perform.
I think (pretty sure) I measured the boosters at 64 or 65mm, I just checked my mezcals and they are 66mm on a 30mm internal rim. Both tires have a “small knob” pattern but the mezcals knobs are just a hair taller.
I have a previous gen nobby nic 2.3 on a 21mm internal that measures 60mm. I don’t think I’d want to go any more narrow but somewhere around 66 is probably as wide as I’d want so….somewhere in there at this time feels right for me.
I kinda pine for the days of 400g tires when I lift my bike but modern tires are better in every other way.
I haven’t got any personal experience, only internet research as I was dead keen on them after they were recommended here. It sounds like there’s an updated version this year that is true to size. If you can get a full 2.6" and still have the weight of a 2.4" tyre then we’re really cooking with gas. Assuming they aren’t nano tech thin to make that happen.
The Vittoria 2.35" tyres measure about the most true to size I’ve seen from my experience. My Rekon Race and Rekon measure 61mm (2.4" WT). They look pretty huge volume wise to be fair.
I think volume is fantastic. The 2.6" tyres had lovely grip and smoothness, but they felt like boat anchors.
It’s crazy how much difference such a small amount can make.
Just installed a 2.4” Bontrager XR3 on my front wheel.
My rim has an internal width of 23mm, and the tire installed comes out to about 2.15” width. That is surprisingly narrower than the 2.2” XR2 on the back wheel, which measures out to 2.25” installed. Did not get a weight on it.
The XR3 seems narrower in the sidewall, whereas the XR2 seems to “bulge out” on the sidewall (looks rounder, I suppose). The treads look about the same width.
I’ve ridden Leadville twice with race kings. Very well suited to that race. The sketchiest sections are the fast loose over hard descents - Powerline descent, and the forest road descent on Columbine. Just dial things back 5-10% on those descents - especially in the corners.
The new XC bike (YT Izzo Uncaged) came with a pair of Maxxis Rekon Race, which I found totally unsuitable for Irish rooty/wet terrain.
Very fast rolling tyre - would be great on dry grass I reckon but I don’t ride much on dry grass!
So I swapped the front to a Forekaster which was much better but the rear was still spinning-off roots even when seated so I’m gonna move the Forekaster to the back and use a part-worn E-13 TRS to the front for some really reliable front-end grip.
I think the E-13 may be overkill (and it’s quite a bit heavier than the Forekaster) so may eventually settle on Forekaster front and rear.
I may have mentioned it upthread but I’m running Forekaster 2.35 front & rear on 2 bikes. I’m in an area where it can be humid damp wet slick with roots & rocks & the Forekasters work great. They roll very well too. We seem to be going into a dry period so I may put a tire with smaller knobs on the back of my Oiz but keeping 2 Forekasters on my Vassago single speed I’m racing 100k on in a month. Rear tire grip is imperative on that thing, I can’t afford to be breaking traction when I’m struggling up a steep climb on that thing.
This weekend I used my Ardent Races that came stock on my bike in the Lake District (Whinlatter and Hamsterley). They were terrible on damp rock. Great on gravel and dirt, but useless otherwise. I put a Hans Dampf on the front and was instantly a lot happier. I think I’m going to go back to Schwalbe tyres after a brief dalliance with Maxxis!
Exactly my experience. Reckon race 2.4 came as stock on my Scott spark. Washed out the front end on my first or 2nd ride on them in Scottish winter, it wasn’t really that wet. Bought 2 forekasters, fitted the front and was miles better unless on roots or mud and then had loads of slippage while pedalling.
I would have fitted the other forekaster to the rear but it was drying out. I am testing Wolfpak cross front and race rear in 2.4 just now. I’m pretty impressed, although claimed weights were pretty off.
Just back from some taper intervals which involve hitting a hill very fast, then playing on a a DH on the way back. With a Barzo at 18psi and a Mezcal at 20psi all was very good as I tried to find my limits in the current dust before a race on Saturday.
I’ve softened my suspension to (Scott Spark) to 133psi @ 75kg or 30% Sag in open mode which seems to have provided extra grip in the downhill corners. Luckily with Spark you have Traction mode to ride in most of the time which props the bike up and firms the platform, its such a great combo.
Is 75kg your total system weight (bike+rider) or just rider weight?
18f/20r is what I’ve typically ridden tires like Barzo/Mezcal at 70kg and I recently put a tubolight in the rear after flatting a second Mezcal on a rocky trail I train on. I’ve been trying to find anything more scientific about what I could/should reduce PSI by with an insert and really can’t find anything more than anecdote about going 1-2 PSI lower than what you used to ride. Not that you’d necessarily have the answer to that, but in the absence of science trying to find what pressures other people of similar weights have been typically riding at.
Like most things, it depends. A tubolight doesn’t offer much sidewall support so with some tires (i.e. specialized 2.3”) I don’t drop the pressure at all (I find anything under 18-19psi has me folding the tire in corners).
For tires with enough sidewall support like Maxxis Exo I might drop as low as 14psi in wet conditions. This is for 2.35 and 2.4” tires, at 73kg body weight. But I wouldn’t run that low in dry conditions: about 2psi less than without inserts is as much as I drop.
I raced 2.35 mezcals last weekend on i25 rims, about 95 kgs system weight. I ran 19f/21r for pressure and thought it was great. Some rocky tech that was a non issue.
Barzos are my mud or loose over hard conditions tire, same pressures, maybe a shade more.
For hardback conditions with wet roots and wet rocks are Forekasters the fastest option that is going to grip well in the slick. I don’t expect to ever face deep soft loam or mud at any of the races in my area but have considered when I eventually upgrade my wheelset, slapping the racing ray/ralphs on the good wheelset and having Forekasters on the stock wheels during race season and Syerras on the stock wheels for the off season as training tires.
I’ve read that Barzo don’t do well on slick roots and rocks.
Good to hear that the Wolfpack tires made a good initial impression as it’s the very combination I have on my new bike which should see it’s first dirt in a week. In my case the weight was also higher than claimed.
