Has anyone here ridden the new Vittoria Peyote 2.4" ?
Would love to hear how it rides. Especially compared to the Thunder Burt/Race King/Aspen or Pirelli Scorpion XC RC.
Talked to two riders here for Leadville and they both say it hooks up way better than they expected. I may give them a try when they start showing up in stock at more places.
I know Vittoria says it should be Mezcal F / Payote rear, but I think I’d go for a Barzo out front just for some extra confidence while leaned over, but then again I’ve never ridden a 2.4" Mezcal so 
I have a new set but haven’t ridden yet, currently on t burt in the rear, trying to convince the wife to let ne buy a new wheelset 
So after 8 months on 2.35 Racing Ralph/Ray, and with the little experiment I posted some time ago in mind, I decided to give the 2.4 Aspens a go. Trail conditions were a bit mixed, quite hot in the last few days so the more exposed sections were quite dry, but it rained quite a lot overnight so the deeper singletracks were on the wet side.
First, had to drop a couple of PSI Vs what I run on the Schwalbes, most certainly related to the volume. Before the pressure adjustment, in the first 3km or so, the tires were feeling quite harsh and bouncy.
After this first adjustment, was able to break several PMs and get a KOM on a gravel c
limb. And this was supposed to be a recovery ride after yesterday’s 200km road outing. The Aspens feel more planted, more predictable and more comfortable than the Schwalbes to me. And in the end, this is faster. The climbing traction is considerably better and the bike feels calmer and less chatty mid corner. This is all most likely connected with tire volume.
Key takeaways :
- the Aspens seem to be faster and more comfortable, at least for me
- I believe this is mostly a result from the increased tire volume. The Aspens measure 63.5mm, straight on 2.5. I’m curious about the new Vittoria 2.4 casings as well and the 2.4 Rick XC
- for the time being, I’ll keep the Aspens
I did the opposite and regret it. I was curious about the super ground compound so I guess I needed to give it a go. Based on simple comparison in different sections I ride frequently, RR are also slower on straight and flat or semi flat sections on all surfaces: pavement, champagne gravel, fire roads, jeep roads, everywhere. I honestly don’t understand.
Are you running regular or ST Aspens?
I am curious about Pirelli XC RC. Somewhat curious about Contis Race King Protection.
Regular 120tpi Aspens
My next front tire will be a 2.4 Scorpion XC RC unless Conti brings a 2.4 Race King Protection to market. The XC RC will be replacing a HEAVY 2.4 Rekon Race.
I wanted to come and comment finally in this thread after riding a set of 29x2.35 Ray/Ralph Addix Speed (not grip) combo all season long.
I used these tires for my everything tire from training to racing to mud to dry slick marbles.
The tires are mounted to a set of 30mm IW rim and measure 2.3" OW of on the tire. I with bike am a combined weight of 220lbs (99.8kg) and in dry conditions ran 21.0F/22.4R and mud conditions ran 20.5F/21.9R.
I ensure consistent pressures with a homemade digital pump that is calibrated to be 1% accuracy.
So here is my statement before explanation - the tires are fast for a skilled rider
The Racing Ray is a very good tire that performed well in all conditions. It was able to handle the mud with caution and it stays planted enough in the absolute dry/sand conditions. This tire does best in what I call “hero” dirt where its slightly damp hard pack. The ray requires that you absolutely commit to a lean and get on the side lugs. If you cannot commit to this, the tire will feel unpredictable and as if it lacks traction.
The Racing Ralph is a loose tire, there is no beating around the bush on this. The tire will lose side grip well before the Ray does. Depending on the rider; this can be good or bad, I personally need the rear to slide if the corner is sharp enough. The ralph suffers on steep downhill grip so be prepared to drag it in these situations, it also is mediocre to good on steep uphill. It will hold traction, until it doesn’t and once it slips its game over in my experience. The Ralph is very fast in a straight line, and is a very good tire to “whip” the rear of the bike around in those fast flat tight technical trails. The Ralph seems to be consistent in all conditions, unless its a very deep mud bog.
My take after riding these tires all season is these truly are a great combination to put on your bike and “leave” on your bike regardless of where your XC adventures will take you. The will not perform well in very heavy downhill or enduro style events but are not intended for that. They are good to very good (not excellent) in most conditions.
The biggest improvements I think Schwalbe could make is to make these truly 2.4" tires. I will continue running this combination and they have helped take me to AG podium’s 3-times this season.
That said, I in a heartbeat will try a 2.4" continental derived XC race tire when its finally released.
I hope this helps others and please ask questions as I have a lot of time on these tires now.
I have a set of Peyote’s but so far only used in on the rear. In the rear, it hooked up well both on the midwest single track I rode, but also on gravel roads. I had the Mezcal XC 2.4 up front when I had the Peyote on in the rear. The Mezcal was fine on the trails, but really buzzed loudly on any pavement/dirty roads. At the time I was trying different combo’s as possible Leadville tires and ended up gong with the Thunder Burt 2.35’s in Super Race.
There is a small weight penalty for the Peyote compared to a Race King 2.2 or Thunder Burt Super Race 2.35.
Yeah, the new Mezcal/Peyote combo seems like a good and fast option.
But weird that the Mezcal is so loud on pavement.
I guess you picked the TB for Leadville as a compromise between tire volume and weight?
Do you think the Peyote front and rear woulb be as sketchy as the Thunder Burt, or do they have more grip?
Everyone who rides the Wolfpacks is always super enthusiastic about them. Would be nice to get one of their tires tested on BRR.
In my experience wolfpack has the most “mechanical” compound grip of every tire, on wet roots they have crazy grip, but on asphalt they feel draggy, dare to say they feel faster on gravel than they do on a asphalt. I mounted Wolfpack Cross for last 2 muddy races and this tyre has unreal grip, way above its weight class.
This thread is getting long, and I assume the answer to my questions are buried within alle the 1700 posts.
Does anyone have comparable width(for volume) measurements of the following tires on the same rim of about 30 mm id?
- Rekon Race 2.35
- Rekon Race 2.4 WT
- Fast Trak 2.3 (newest version)
- Ikon 2.35
- Race King 2.2
I used to really like the good old Ikon 2.35’s for their volume, but found the rubber a bit lacking for wet roots an rocks. Have used Fast Trak T7 for the last two years but I would really like some more volume and believe that one of The Rekon Race’s can be the answer for me
I have a 2.4“ Cross on the front and had a Race on the rear. Can definitely echo the draggy feel on asphalt and smother surfaces, especially coming off RaceKings. I have removed the Race and mounted a 2.25“ Speed, which makes a noticeable difference in feel. The Cross is coming in at 720g and feels like a semi-trail tire, at least way above XC imho. The Speed has been more than adequate as a rear tire so far and I bet it has more Grip than a RaceKing and sheds mud much better. I‘d be curious about BRR results for Wolfpack tires as well. So far I like them.
I bet they test pretty bad on BRR
Why do you think that? Sidewall feels „supple“ and not stiff at all. My Maxxis felt subjectively stiffer.
Everything that feels grippy in real life test bad there 
Wolfpack feels draggy, but I think it’s just a feeling. I switched to Wolfpack Cross/Race 2.4 from S-Works FT/Renegade 2.35 for this winter.
I felt slower and less responsive right after I started pedalling. But I was surprised when I looked at times in Strava segments. Times on climbs were comparable to S-Works or Pirelli XC RC results with same watts.
But there is a lot more grip and comfort compared to S-Works.
Before the racing season I switched to Pirelli XC RC and it felt a lot faster and responsive than Wolfpacks, but again, no visible difference in segment times.
I stayed on Pirelli’s for racing season but once they are little worn out and it’s super dry and dusty, it’s very easy to get into a slide when braking. I also crashed quite badly during last race on these.
Since Pirelli’s need to be replaced anyway, I’m tempted to go back to Wolfpacks or try new Mezcal/Peyotte.
I went from XC RC’s 2.4 to Race Kings 2.2 and RKs feels much faster and bike (spark evo ‘23) feels much more agile now but the lack of volume is more than obvious. They have good grip but on rocky downhills and technical climbs XC RC is better tire… i’ll leave RKs for now but if I’ll have rocky race before RK 2.4 is out i’ll probably switch to XC RC
Did 3 more rides this week with the 2.4 Aspens and honestly, I’m sold. The Aspens are as fast as the Schwalbes on rolling sections, grip much better on climbs, much comfier, and the bike feels calmer and more stable on all sorts of situations. Front grip in deep mud feels slightly worse than the Ray, but otherwise they clear mud much better.
Wish I did this change sooner, as I happen to have an almost free supply of Aspens. Know I know