I was on rails with Racing Ray/Ralf late year at the XL.
Only change I’d make is a 2.35 f instead of 2.25 so I could be more aggressive on the down hills.
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I’m eager to hear how people feel about the Maxxis Aspen MaxxSpeed’s after BRR finally got a chance to test them… I have yet to try them, but can’t really see a need now with the numbers looking way off the mark. I know a smooth roller drum test isn’t the end all be all, but 12w per tire over the Race King is hardly in the gray area. Maxxis just clearly isn’t on the same level with Conti, Schwalbe, or Vittoria in the compound department. Hurry up Conti with the 2.4" Race Kings…
2.4" RK really needs to happen.
I dare say a 2.2" Aspen rolls better on a drum than a 2.4" one.
I chickened out from trying Conti’s this season, but when the 2.4" Cross and Race King tyres are released I’ll definitely be interested in giving them a go!
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You are going to get either dry sand or mud & wet sand… depends on how bad El Niño is going to be.
I ride the trails on Fort Ord regularly. For me the race best combo I have found is fast track front and renegade rear. Ground Control is my favorite but a bit heavy for racing.
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Unfortunately Continental have been more concerned with bringing eBike tires to the market than updating their current XCO race tires (Cross and Race Kings).
After the bad showing for the 2.4 Aspen in MaxxSpeed (maybe should be renamed MaxxWatts??), now I’m really curious to see how the 2.4 Kendra Rush does on BRR. It’s getting close to getting enough votes to be tested. Despite get a bad side wall flat earlier this year, I may be willing to give them another go on the right course if they test well.
Last year it was a soupy mess until a week or so before so yeah 
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I keep voting for the 2.4 Rush, and I’m glad it’s been getting closer to enough votes for testing. I’ve been running them and really enjoying them, but I’d love to see how they test.
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Maybe we should just get everyone who subscribes to BRR to just vote for the same thing every month. I’d like to see the Wolfpack Speed reviewed, had good luck with them along side my Race Kings so far, but could get on board with trying to put our collective votes behind one MTB tire at a time.
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I’m surprised they tested so poorly. I went from the old 3C Aspens in 2.4WT to the new MaxxSpeed in 2.4WT and they feel noticeably faster to me. Maybe that’s just going from worn tires to new ones again.
I like BRR and I think it’s a useful data point, but I don’t know the last time I rode an MTB tire above 20 psi, let alone 25 or more.
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I really don’t believe the BRR drum test provides much relevance for singletrack trails on dirt, roots and stone. If racing your MTB on tarmac then the test results might be relevant for predicting speed.
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I’d be up for that too. If we had 10 people it might make a big difference.
Joe
Follow up for anyone who cares:
Me and buddy were able to seat Conti RaceKings onto the RaceFace AR 25 (maybe 27, not sure the internal width off the top of my head) on my bike. After we seated both tires, we noticed that one tire said “do not mount on hookless rims” and one didn’t?
Tire here: Continental Race King Performance Tire | Jenson USA
I’m curious if anyone knows why one tire would say that and one wouldn’t, and if it’s going to be safe to run them on these rims.
Could it be that the two tires you have are one “Performance” and one other kind?
Contis Performance-line is, contrary to naming, the sub-par version of of their tires.
I would guess that the performance tire is the one which should not be mounted on tubeless rims, and it is as far as i know not rated for tubeless use.
I would not risk using a tire marked as “do not mount on hookless rims” on hookless, as the production tolerances probably are more variable and you risk burping or worse, complete blowout.
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@stefanf looks to have got it. There are multiple versions of the tire. Here’s an other one for comparison (Could also be old stock of a version not being listed everywhere too)
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There’s a RaceSport version, that’s not TL. It’s like 550gr vs 650gr. There also a wire bead version (750gr?) that’s not.
The PureGrip performance tires are 0 - 4w slower than the Blackchili tires.
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Appreciate the insight from all.
Looks like it is the Performance PureGrip, so not Blackchili. It does say that it’s tubeless ready still. I just can’t get over that one tire is embossed with the warning and one isn’t. Honestly I’d give up the 4W to just be able to roll these tires but not if they are gonna pop off the rim.
Seems like I’m best off just going into the shop and handing the bike over. I may remount the 2.4 Aspen on the front and put a 2.25 Rekon Race on the rear now or something. Contis are too complicated for me I guess. This is a prime example of costing myself more $ trying save a bit up front.
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I just bought a few of the PureGrip Protection ones. They were a PITA to shop for as many of the merchants don’t fully describe them.
Tubeless tires can be used on hooked rims, assuming the rims are compatible. So that particular model may be for use on tubless ready hooked rims. While not perfect, a good method is to review the price as well. Usually, the higher-end tires are somewhere in the $75-85 range (list price).
Unfortunately the Kenda Rush Pro 2.4 fell off the voting list this month at bicyclerollingresistance.com. I emailed the site moderator and he said that the tires don’t stay on the list forever and eventually fall off. Bit of a shame as it seemed to be moving up the rankings.
I re-submitted it so it hopefully will show back up for voting again at some point. I’d really like to see how it matches up with some of the other options.
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