Really, really looking forward to the Race King 2.4’s making it to the public!
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I need to branch out more.
The continental tires won more medals at World Champs. A bunch in Downhill.
Hump
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Great review thanks!
I’ve got a 2.2" RK and 2.3" CK ready to put on at the start of October.
I’m a little nervous about the reduction in volume. The Race King is noticeably skinny even compared to my relatively svelte Wolfpack Speed.
And Suntour suspension
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You’ll have to be careful with the rear Renegade. On a fast course I have to up the pressure a little over 20psi or the tire will fold.
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Good to know
I ran the Race Kings at Leadville in both SR and LT100. They are a great rolling tire and handle the course well. I do think some caution picking your lines on descents is needed though. I tend to be pretty aggressive and will take rough lines to get around people heading downhill and I managed to double flat on St. Kevin’s heading back to town on race day. The rear was easy and it the sealant took care of the leak and just needed CO2 to reinflate. The front however was much more problematic. I initially could find the hole and it turned out I partially sheared off a side knob and it was leaking from underneath it. It was more a series of smaller holes. Dynaplug didn’t work but a couple of Stan’s Darts slowed it. It really needed a boot and a tube but at that point in the race I opted to try and finish with it. I had AirLiner Lights in so could ride on the flat but not really turn, so I would stop and add more CO2 periodically and got the last 8 miles done, but I lost enough time to take me out of a sub-9 time.
I would likely run the Race Kings again, but would have to alter my approach desecending. I had a set of Maxxis 2.4 Aspens in MaxxSpeed mounted up on a backup set of Enve M525’s with my crew at Twin Lakes alternate. They look absolutely gigantic next to the 2.2 RK’s on the same rims in terms of volume. It was the 200gm weight difference per tire that made me opt for the RK’s at the start line.
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Adding to the chorus, I ran the exact same pair of Race Kings for 2 Leadvilles ( I don’t really use them other than that) with zero issues both years.
Running them at Silver Rush seems bold to me, lot more scree/rocks and sidewall risk.
Might as well add in my update with Race Kings. I initially had a sidewall tear in a Race King on my local trails, but since then ran them training, at Lutsen (Muddy), pre-riding the Leadville Course twice, and during the LT100. I use the Vittoria Airliner XC insert and had them filled with fresh orange seal for race day.
For me, worked great. But, admittedly I need to work on my descending skills on Powerline, Columbine, Sugarloaf descents as I lost time there. Carter descent fit me a lot better and I felt a lot faster there and wasn’t getting passed. I finished just over 9 hours.
I’ve been playing around with pressures, probably inadvertently ran them lower on race day because it never warmed up. Started at 16.5/17 and I’m 180# ish kitted up with water. On a warm day that would have ended up being 18/19 for me when it got hot.
I thought the 2.4’s had been mentioned somewhere else. It might be wishful thinking though.
There were mentions of Pidcock on 2.4 Prototype RK’s during prior World Cup events. Not certain of the source though.
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Anyone know what the deal is with the tires that some pros use for racing that aren’t available to the public? Are they prototypes, or do they super fancy and only single use or something? Always been curious about that.
I remember Keegan Swenson (I think) talking about racing on an Aspen that wasn’t available to the public.
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Aspen ST - i think they’re 180tpi. I saw on instagram recently from maxxis (can’t remember where exactly) that they won’t be available for purchase
I think it’s a mix. As above, Maxxis have stated that they won’t release the 180tpi Aspen as it’s too fragile. We see Schwalbe riders on prototype tyres which do/will end up at the market (like Wicked Will, and they are currently using a slightly faster Wicked Will/grippier Thunder Burt).
The Continental tyres look to me like they are prototype tyres that will come to market as they are looking more polished each time we see them. Plus the Continental CK and RK are very popular, but have lagged behind all the current tyre knowledge and trends by being stuck at small sizes.
Vittoria offer special rubber that we don’t get to public, but also use the prototype tyres we do get so 
.
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Schwalbe says Wicked Will is a rear. What is the front they are suggesting to pair with it? Racing Ray?
If you look at the BRR test results for the Maxxis tires as compared to the Race King:
They’re all heavier. They all score worse on rolling resistance, sidewall and tread puncture resistance. Granted, That’s not the Maxspeed compound yet…
Definitely would like to see a 2.4 RK, but all the pidcock photos I’ve seen recently are still the 2.2
One area where I support UCI rules is the one about equipment used by racers being available to general public:
“Equipment shall be of a type that is sold for use by anyone that practises cycling as a sport.”
Sometimes there is a grey zone, especially with stuff under development, but it is pretty B.S. that Maxxis has the pro’s run tires that simply will not be made available under any conditions to general public. Not cool in my eyes and sort of makes the gear they offer to the public seem much lower tier.
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At the rate pros get flats running supper thin casings they probably don’t want the bad reviews from some random dude who flatted and puts a bunch of negative reviews on their website.
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With 120# women pros running 2.4’s I’d think conti would make a wider race king. I mean…what’s the average weight for an amateur male racer, 160+? You could make a case they should make a 2.6 too.
Joe
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Thanks for the feedback. Ended up running front and rear Barzo 2.35 with tubolight SL inserts and had no problems over the week. No flats, no washouts, miraculously no crashes though I didn’t push the descents hard.
Unsurprising, seemed like 90% of the people I saw were on Maxxis. Looked like a lot of Rekons.
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