Some feel that an Ardent has a bit of a dead spot/vague spot as it leans over and doesn’t make a great front but I haven’t had too many problems with it in the past. That said, if you don’t trust it, I wouldn’t go to an Aspen. If you like Maxxis, try a Rekon, it’s more confidence inspiring than the ardent, in my opinion.
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I was thinking regular recon in the front but wasn’t sure if that would be enough of a well rounded tire for the northeast. At least for spring/summer/fall
I would give the Rekon 2.4 a shot. It pairs well with the Rekon Race.
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It’s very well rounded.
Are you racing? If not you could certainly consider something even more aggressive if you’re just out having fun.
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Yea I am racing. I am also riding on 23mm wheels so a lot of those WTs won’t work for me. My ardent is a 2.4 on the front and that kind of Looks like it’s pushing it
Our XC series upstate NY is also on the more technical side at times (relatively speaking) so I thought something more aggressive might help.
Will take a look at the regular recon though! Seems like the options are limited without WT
The ardent has a dead spot, and not that much grip after you get past it. The rekon is much friendlier, and I find that the ikon is faster and has more grip than the ardent unless it’s properly muddy. If you want more grip than an ikon and can find an old forekaster, those grip better than the ardent, and are just as fast (as the ardent)
I also thought that vittoria mezcal was great for the northeast, and you could run a barzo on the front for more grip
Edited for clarification.
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For intermediate to wet loam singletrack conditions, has anyone got any views on the Cross King Vs Rekon vs Barzo vs Mk1 ForeKaster?
Same size?
I’ve now had Orange Seal Endurance dry into massive fist sized stanimals / orangimals in less than a month in two different sets of tires with two different bottles of sealant.
In both cases the common element has been Tubolight SL inserts. Anyone else encounter specific inserts being ‘incompatible’ with a specific sealant brand?
I’ve got Tubolight insert in the the rear of my race bike and haven’t had any stanimals for a long time.
I’ve moved away from the ammonia based sealants but I think that I remember there being discussion about really dry environments drying up the high clump sealants very fast
Well as close as can be compared yes. For the front, I understand the wider cross king and rekons - 2.3-2.4 for example - have bigger knob height than their 2.2 versions.
I guess the real question is - is anything better (grippier, lighter) than the Barzo 2.35 (dry) or Forkaster Mk1 (wet) in 2.35 I currently use for UK wet loam?
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Here in Ireland most experienced XC/Trail riders that I know ride Mk1 or Mk2 forekasters.
I run MK2 front and rear for deep winter.
MK2 f + Mk1 rear currently
MK1 f w/ rekon race for racing.
Most of the races around me are very technical natural trails which are rarely dry even during the summer.
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It appears you are correct! This is swapping the rear wheel only and…too close to call. This is on a flat but twisty, rooty trail.
Joe
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Yeah, the Tubolight eats all the sealant. Can’t get the stanimal when there’s none left to clump.
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That’s what I was seeing with regular Orange Seal and TuboLights - no Stanimals but very little sealant after popping the bead after a few weeks.
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Vittoria better?
In my experience, absolutely. Just swapped tires yesterday and still had plenty in there from a few months ago.
Been my experience with the XC inserts. I switched to Vittoria mid-summer and seem to be a lot better in terms of not absorbing the sealant.
Gravel is the issue now as the Vittoria gravel inserts are pretty small relative to the Tubolight ones. Very different than the Vittoria XC ones.
Vittoria rep said there was going to be a new gravel insert along the lines of the XC lite. Same material and work for 38-48mm gravel tires. Date was TBD.
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I posted this before, can’t remember where, and just posted on another thread so will copy here. I have used both Tubolight and Vittoria, switching to Vittoria on my XC Bike race wheels this year, primarily for Lutsen and Leadville and associated training / recon rides on course. Paired with 2.2" Race Kings.
Reasons I like Vittoria better than Tubolight - Absorb less sealant, smoother less pourous surface. Tubolight have a “cavity” on the rim side where if you fill through the valve all the sealant goes there as opposed to between liner and tire (It does disperse, but like vittoria design better) and I had a tubolight tear at the “Seam” and the Vittoria seams more robust in that regard.
I can’t say they protect better than a Tubolight though, and are pretty much the same weight or very close.