Bummed it’s not any wider.
Hopefully this will make the tire a lot less prone to punctures 
Okay it was only a 14 mile ride, but covered a bunch of MTB surface types. Rocks, loose over hard, smooth hardpack, roots, and loose in the corners.
The Rick 2.4 Speed Grip out of the box is a very good front tire. When it starts to loose traction it happens very predicatively. I didn’t push it hard enough to get it to misbehave, but I did PR some of the DH sections I was testing it on.
It is a little slower feeling than a 2.25 Burt, but I was a size up. I could run the 2.25 Burts on my 75 mile race, but I think the bigger Rick 2.4/Burt 2.35 (both measuring 59mm inflated) are a better choice for over the distance. If I was doing the 25 (2 laps) or 50 (4 laps) I’d be tempted to run the narrower rubber, but 6 laps will be dishing it out. Better to err on the side of comfort.
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tks for the feedback… I have a speed on pre-order, supposed to come in the next few weeks. will keet my 2.35 burt in the rear
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Circling back to this post, I just finished the XC race and the XC TT was on Saturday. Both events were in pouring rain on a slick, wet course with tons of tree stumps. The racing ray’s did awesome. They were very predictable and gave me plenty of grip to win each event.
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Got 20 miles on the Rick XC 2.4 Super Ground front and rear today on my Epic Evo. Did some of my local roads and trails, many of which I rode yesterday on Race Kings. The Ricks feel similar on hardpack and pavement. The rear braking of the Rick is surprisingly good, significantly better than a Thunder Burt, but on sandy/decomposed granite, the Rick is left wanting a bit. There are a few sections that I can clear pretty easily seated on a knobbier tire(Wicked Will obviously, but even the Mezcal) that today I lost grip pretty early on in two sections and had to dismount. The front does drift quite a bit more than a Barzo or Racing Ray in this deep dg type stuff, but they do feel fine on firmer or even loose over hard stuff. Where I was pleasantly surprised was in some really rocky(baby head type chunk) sections. The volume made for a much more confident line choice, and the grip was much better than a Race King. On my pavement descent back down to the house they fly, with 52mph clocked, which is the same as I’ve hit on Race Kings and 1mph slower than Thunder Burts.
So, slightly mixed feelings for my specific terrain in Norcal, but I can definitely see a place for them.
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do you feel like changing the tire pressure to suit the dominate surface type would change your assessment?
I actually lowered it mid ride, twice… lol. I carry the small Fumpa Gauge during my Ultra races, and took it with me on my ride yesterday. I started with both tires at 19.5 which is what I had on the Race Kings on the prior day, albeit on 27mm internal rims versus 32mm internal for the Ricks. As soon as I hit gravel I knew it was too much, so I dropped it to 18 front and rear. An hour in, and I went 17 up front. I could likely go much lower and still be fine, and perhaps it’ll increase rear traction, but my typical routes are a majority double track or gravel so I don’t often go as low as I do on singletrack specific rides.
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Checking out the Wolftooth Tire Pressure Calculator. Nice to see they have a mobile app.
Specifically for Off road AND they have a setting for Inserts.
Haven’t tried them out in the dirt yet, but may do tomorrow to see if they’re in the ballpark or not.
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For me the XC/trail recommendation is almost bang on what I like my tires at. I’m running 2.4 Aspens on my XC bike.
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I played around with it for my MTB - it actually gets very close to what I use. I actually am going to consider its recommendation which is bump the front up .7 psi and drop the rear .4 psi from what I found in field testing.
I have been using the SRAM calculator and found a lot of success with it. Its always nice to try something else however
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Just tried it and it was exactly what I run (19 f/ 22r).
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same for me, their calculator seems pretty good!
Dang if that isn’t pretty close to what I’ve found to run.
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That’s a lot nicer to use than the silca one and seems to give close results. A little higher than silca but still reasonably low.
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The calculator is nice but the problem is gauge consistency. I’ve got 2 different pumps (one digital and one normal) and a low psi pocket gauge that all give different readings. At 20psi there is about 3psi difference between the units.
I would never trust a pump. A pocket digital gauge would be the most accurate and consistent.
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silca pumps are very consistent/accurate.
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both the Schwalbe and SKS gauges are both must haves and measure to the tenth of a PSI.
My Frump is close, but when I want to be spot on, I use one of these gauges.
