Sponsor lots of riders and they are OEM on lots of bikes.
Aspens were great tires before maxxspeed compound…
Why do you say that?
Are they so different than the triple compound?
I just ordered one in 2.4 variant
My body loves the huge, comfy 2.4 Aspen on my Epic hardtail. I’m 180 pounds and run it at 17psi on the rear. It removes so much trail chatter and makes my riding way more enjoyable. Although I admit I’m not skilled enough to run the Aspen on the front, it is my favorite rear tire.
Since I have the same bike and I weigh the same, I have to ask you what are all the tires you have tried?
My Epic came with 2.35 Fast Trak front and 2.35 Renegade rear. Although I thought that was a pretty good setup, I am happier with a 2.4 Rekon Race front with the 2.4 Aspen rear. I find the Rekon Race hooks up better for my front in off camber turns than the Fast Trak and the Aspen is more durable and comfortable than the Renegade Control on the rear.
Houston, we have a problem.
I’m generally not too concerned about cycling fashion, but even I can run two different color tires 
I have plenty of time to exchange however, as I won’t be back riding on dirt until March next year. I’ll try get 1 or 2 desert rides on these before Moab Rocks in early April
Do we think the Aspen is a significant volume increase over a racing ralph 2.35?
I’ve given up buying a FS frameset this year, and will be sticking with a hardtail for the foreseeable future. On top of that, being a bigger rider, volume seems like it would be the idea, and I’ve got room for 2.5+, what’s the biggest, fastest tire out there?
I’m not a fan of the Rekon race in my head, atleast for our conditionals, I almost feel like the aspen might be better.
Hmm, currently looking into the Mezcal (trail) in 2.6. Seems about 120g heavier than comparable tires in 2.35/2.4. Not sure what I would pair it with, maybe just keep my racing ray in the front, or ground control if I want the bike to be a bit more fun.
EDIT: Booster pro in 2.6 also seems to be an option.
Most racers running Aspens run Aspen STs. Aspen STs are a different thing than regular Aspens. Different carcass, different TPI count, different thread pattern, different sidewall protection. STs are racing tires, but I guess most people here already know that.
All but two Aspens I’ve seen in the wild are non STs and some (me included) are quite happy with them. Both riders on ST versions will not be replacing them. I am very much not a fan of Schurter, if that matters at all.
Then again, seems like some people are sensitive to their tire of choice. I’ve not had great experiences with Schwalbes and when say that people react just like when someone says they don’t like Maxxis.
I like to try different things and it’s nice that we have such great tires to run.
I have (and continue to) run both regular and STs in Team Spec. They are the same TPI and general construction, just different tread. Most often I’ve run a regular front and an ST rear but swap back to regulars f/r for some races. While I question the applicability at times of BRR, they have tested Team Spec STs and they test faster than regular 120tpi Aspens but slower than many of the tires discussed in this thread.
Yes, huge difference. On 30mm hookless rims, my 2.35 Racing Ray/Ralphs measure 57mm (2.25") and the Aspens 2.4 measure 63mm (2.5"). Huge difference in volume
My 2.4 Schwalbe Rick XC measure 58mm on my 30mm internal width rims. Schwalbe tyres generally are narrower than advertised and also rather heavy. But they sure roll fast.
My Hutchinson Python Race 2.4’s measure 61mm on the same rims and weigh 615/620 grams each. The Schwalbes weigh around 760 grams. I just did my first real ride on them and it’s too early to say the Schwalbes are going in the bin, but they are going to have to prove themselves.
Oh, wow. I think I settled on getting a set of these 2.6 mezcals for some big, 8ish hour rides, which usually connect a lot of singletrack and dirt road, but I may have to try something from maxxis for XC again, its been so long, I have absolutely loved the ralph/ray combo for so long I’ve had my blinders on likely.
Hi Joe,
Are you planning to do some comparisons against the other tires you have tested? (I follow the MTBR thread as well.)
I’m looking to change the Thunder Burts I have on my drop-bar MTB to the Vittoria Peyotes or the Hutchinson Python Race. I would love to see these tested and hear some experiences with these tires.
I wish there was a XC tire exchange. I want to try every tire mentioned for 50-100 miles and trade them around.
Right, I forgot about the other Team Spec. I was referring to this one though, so the regular regular, or something like that …
@Jonathan is one of the major advocates for the Aspen and seems to really like it and often sticks with it when others ride something more aggressive. I seem to remember that he was running Aspen’s at Singletrack 6. He is an exceptional rider though with reallynsharp technical skills, so something to keep in mind.
Jonatham did a fair bit of riding out in Bentonville durong Little Sugar/Big Sugar week. I dodnt see his bile up close but curious what tires he opted for there.
No I’m sorry. I decided a while ago that it’s too much work do fo all this testing and it’s hard to eliminate external factors like humidity, wind, temperatures, etc.
I tested several tyres after each other on the same day but even then, maybe the wind is blowing just a bit harder or from a slightly different direction, the soil is more humid in the afternoon than it was in the morning, or the other way around, etc.
Ultimately, the timed differences between the Continental RaceKing 2.2, Kenda Rush Pro TR 2.2 and 2.4 and SCT 2.4, Pirelli Scorpion XC RC Lite 2.4 and Maxxis Aspen ST 170 2.4 were at most 1 to 2 seconds over a rolling section of around 35 seconds.
In the end, I decided that too many external factors were influencing my test results to keep on putting so much time and effort into this.
Yeah, testing seems very time consuming.
What’s your opinion so far other then weight of the Hutchinsons Python Race compared to the RaceKings? How does the casing feel?
Like I said, thinking about getting these or the Vittoria Peyotes for mainly gravel use where the extra volume is appreciated.