Makes sense!
FWIW, I could always run lower pressure that I expected with the M525s. I know they are technically 25mm IW, but when I put a tire on them, the tire profile looks more similar to that of 30mm IW tires. I assume that has something to do with their slanted rim wall, but not sure.
I miss those rims so badly!
Thank you @Jonathan. Please report back what you find on the tires.
Really looking forward to hearing how your your experience is with the new epic. Nate’s, “I told you so look” was funny to watch. I was shocked to hear that’s the route you went. Was the Scott Spark in your test fleet when doing the comparison? I didn’t hear it mentioned on the podcast but maybe I missed it.
Unfortunately not. I couldn’t get one to demo. Also, to be honest the Spark isn’t as future proof / appealing to me. Its geo just isn’t up to par with the Epic, Fourstroke, etc.
That bike was supposed to be superseded by a new model in 2020, but 2020 happened so that will come out this year. So it didn’t make sense to buy a bike that would have dated geometry within 12 months. As we all know, these bikes are darn expensive, so resale value is important to me.
To be clear, I would have been happy to test one, but since I couldn’t get one, that was a non-starter, and secondly, it’s a ton of work to test bikes, so I couldn’t test them all. I simply had to narrow things down by the numbers / trusted opinions of others.
Where do you get the Tubolight inserts from? I ordered them from one website in Spain last year, but they never arrived and I’m trying to get my money back. I can order them from r2-bike in Germany, but they cost 55 EUR to ship (the inserts are 58 EUR). Any suggestions welcome as to where to get them.
Thanks!
I ordered them from Bikeinn.com. I’ve ordered 4 pairs now from them and every time they have arrived within 5 business days. Pretty impressive!
Okay, thanks. That’s who I ordered from the first time (in October), and they never arrived, and they kept telling me they were in transit. I’ll give them one more short. Thanks.
Try pairing the 2.3 Renegade Control on the rear with the 2.3 Fast Trak on the front. I’ve seen many World Cup XCO racers use that combination. Personally, I think the Renegade rolls just a little better than the Fast Trak so it makes a good combination. I’ve read more rolling resistance comes from the rear tire when pedaling because you have more weight on the rear.
I really, strongly, very much dislike the Renegade 
. It is the opposite of a predictable tire. I feel the same way about the Maxxis Ikon.
You’re spot on with more rolling resistance coming from the rear, for the majority of courses I race, I wouldn’t make a tire change based solely on rolling resistance that would come at the cost of handling.
Anyone have experience using the 2.4" rekon race in the front? Looking for a front tire to pair with a rear rekon race.
Hey Jonathan,
I’ve been pondering this post for a few days now, and I’m really curious what you think the updates to the Spark might be.
Specifically Geo, since the Spark was quite a long way ahead of the curve when the current version debuted with the ~68° HTA and big tyre clearance etc etc. Do you think it’s just the over slack STA, fork offset, or something else?
I don’t mean to imply that you should have trialled it, I just am interested in what sounds like an intriguing prediction.
Sure! Seat tube angle is the big one, but see below for more:
In addition, I see Nino running a 110mm or 120mm fork at most races, and running more rear travel as well. My bike skills, fitness and speed aren’t even in the same galaxy as Nino, but when I see him making such big changes to his bike, it makes me think it can be improved substantially and is likely going to be with the next release.
This is a nice real-world test protocol.
Will be interesting to see the results.
Curious - why are Schwalbe not in your consideration set? (I think you’ve discussed this on the podcast a while back, but can’t remember your conclusion).
Schwalbes get “good scores” here:
FWIW - I don’t like that Schwalbes are almost 2x more expensive than other tires. I’ve been running Continental Cross Kings that i really like for $45 each.
Those are the old Schwalbes referenced FYI. The RR/RR combo currently with the Addix compound came out in 2018
Yep - unfortunately the newer ones are not in the dataset.
In general, the Schwalbe tires that are on the list score pretty well. So I was making an assumption that the new models would also.
The last two years I ran on Enve M525’s. One year on a hard tail and last year on a Supercaliber.
F: Schwalbe Racing Ray 2.25 Addix Speedgrip
R: Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25 Addix Speed
I did swap out to a 2.25 Thunder Burt for Leadville, but otherwise pretty much stuck to the Ray/Ralph combo. Ultimately I found the combo very versatile, predictable and reliable. Not sure if it is the tires, the M525s, or the combo of both but haven’t had a flat in two seasons running around 17 - 19 psi front and rear 19 - 21 psi.
As we get to the spring I am going to put on some fresh rubber to start the season off. Bike (Supercaliber) and wheels (M525s) will be unchanged. I’m leaning towards Super Ground in both the front and rear, which would be a Speedgrip compound Racing Ray front and Speed compound Racing Ralph in the rear. That would be the same I’ve used the last two years and have been happy with.
The question though is whether I should switch from 2.25 to 2.35 or not? I’d be really interested to know how much of a difference that jump from 2.25 to 2.35 makes in terms of the balance between weight, traction, and rolling resistance. I am planning to use them for some long events like Wilmington White, Leadville Stage Race, and LT100, but will likely use the Thunder Burt on the rear again for LT100.
I did order a set of Pepi’s Raceline tire noodles (S) that I wanted to try on the local trails last fall. They took forever to arrive from Germany, so by the time they came I wasn’t on the trails anymore. I may give them a go in the spring, but for events like Wilmington and Leadville, I’m not convinced the lower tire pressures will be much of an advantage since traction is not really an issue.
I couldn’t go back to 2.25 now. The 2.35 is a tiny difference really but adds plushness and sure-footedness that I think is pretty hard to go past.
Your mileage may vary of course, but personally the combination of speed through flat corners and speed carried over rough ground/roots far outweighs the weight penalty.
I’m looking forward to trying the SpeedRace (Skinwall) version of RR/RR 2.35 as soon as my current set wear down.
Did you drop your psi at all when going from the 2.25 to 2.35 Schwalbes?
Yes, though I’m running significantly lower now with a cushcore in the rear. My sweet spot seems to be around 18f/19r right now and the bike seems to really hum at that pressure.
For reference I’m 76kg
The new Schwalbe compounds are HEAVY and I’m sure slower. I think they came up with the new compounds to make them ok to use with the eBike craze in Europe. I guess if you have a cheater bike you’re not as concerned with rolling resistance.
Schwalbe has specific Eddy Current and Watts tire models for ebikes. I’d be surprised if they compromised all their tires to make them work with ebikes. 