Awesome thank you!
Does anyone have real weights on Mezcal 2.35 black/tan? R2 bike has them weighed at 676g but vittoria at 725g.
My local trails are bone dry just now and I’m doing a lot of climbing so looking for something a bit faster rolling. I can’t get over my previous life as a weight weenie though.
Any suggestions for a more durable XC tire that is really good on predominately granite trails but also good on wet roots? Currently running Racing Ray/Ralph for racing and am happy with them but the trails I ride are mainly white granite with roots and packed clay. Wanted something a little more durable for these conditions. Was thinking a trying the Syerra but also was considering the Cross King 2.3, Mezcal TNT and the Specialized Ground Control. Any other suggestions?
Any thoughts on these? Ideally would like them to take the use and abuse of training/trail riding but maybe also be used for poor weather racing when I want something slightly more aggressive and am not as worried about weight and rolling resistance.
So for us Lovers of all things Forekaster. Other than buying a few tires of the old model, what are the next options to look at for substitutes? I’ve had a Barzo before, but like the Forekaster quite a bit more on loose over hard and damp conditions.
Ground Control?
Barzo is no where near. I’m using Wolfpack cross and race combo and it’s pretty much the same as Forekasters
Will take a look at Wolfpack, thanks for that.
The last generation Ground Control was pretty good. I haven’t tried the newest update.
I’ve heard the old Forekaster was great on wet roots and rocks, while the Barzo is bad on wet roots and rocks…
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Is ground control more of a DC tire? Saw it compared to the new Forekaster and Wicked Will, curious how it would compare to the Syerra.
I would say it’s kinda middle country if you get the normal casing. It might be a minus-duro tire in grid casing
To be honest, if you aren’t racing xc, the ground control is a great tire. It grips pretty well, and is not slow.
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Guessing you are joking with the middle country/minus duro terminology…
Looking for something a little more burly for trail riding in rocky/rooty, hard pack clay terrain with my XC bike outside of the race season, happy with my Racing Ray/Ralph combo for racing, found the Rekon Race wasn’t quite grippy enough in the front for my liking.
Was looking at the Syerra, wondering how the Ground Control would compare to it.
Not my video but this is my home trail system, it seems to be hard on tires and while I don’t require something that is going to dig into loam, something durable and slightly more aggressive than a typical XC tire might be nice, many of the corners are crushed granite gravel, loose over hard and some of the sections that aren’t really shown in this video are hard packed clay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxif4m2Iduc
I’ve just ordered one each of the Wolfpack XC tyres in 2.4".
I imagine it’ll be a while for them to get here but it’ll be interesting to see how they go. I think they’ll potentially be ideal for my A-Race in the forest, then go back to Maxxis for my loose over hard / shale and rock, late season racing.
The reviews are wildly positive. They’re very light. Hopefully they aren’t undersized by too much 
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Have you tried the Nobbly Nic up front? Works well and it will go witht he RR rear.
Have used it as a front with an Ikon in the rear, found the rock kinda shredded the knobs though, took pieces of them. Think I need something a bit more low profile than the Nobby Nick, I think the Syerra is but not sure if the ground control is maybe more like the Nobby nick
The claimed weights were way off from the tyres I received. 50g or so
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Let us know how you get along with them. I’m interested in the MTB Cross model, it looks like it may be a good replacement for the original Forekaster.
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The new Nobby Nic is HEAVY!
I run the Wolfpack Cross and Race combination on my Epic Evo which is my downcountry/marathon bike. It’s true that they are heavier than claimed which was a PITA with my weight weenie build but after some 200 miles I am quite happy with the choice.
They are true to size, easy to set up tubeless and on inspection tread and sidewalls don’t look too flimsy. So far they have seen dry conditions only and they did well on all terrain (loose over hard, rooty climbs and rock-strewn descents). They seem to have a good rolling resistance but I have no real comparison having a more gravity-oriented background and no familiarity with other XC tire options.
Weights:
CROSS TLR 29 x 2,4: 704 g
RACE TLR 29 x 2,4: 709 g
(still less than Forekaster, Aspen et. al.)
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It is heavy. It has good flat protection, however. I’ve pinged my rim multiple times with the Nobby Nic, and no flats. Compared to lighter Bontrager XR3 and XR4s, conti cross kings, and Racing Ralph which have all flatted after rim strikes, or just sharp rocks poking through the tire.