Tyre recommendation please.

[Nofearnofun]

Had an xking on the front, was super happy with it for xc but since I only have one bike that I use as an AM bike I wanted something a bit phatter up front so I moved the xking to the back and put a Spesh Purgatory on the front. Not ideal for the race snake but I am LOVING the combo! The Spech makes for a nice all rounder (with a nice price) and the xking at the back gripps like a psycho ex to the boot spoiler of your car on the hiway!

[WayneO]

I have always ridden racing Ralph on the front and Race King on the back and I have run UST. My question though: is the UST really worth the extra weight?

[BergForce]

I have always ridden racing Ralph on the front and Race King on the back and I have run UST. My question though: is the UST really worth the extra weight?

 

Nope. UST is bad for 29ers. Massive unnecessary extra weight. The Exo of the Ikon and the tubeless ready system of Schwalbe is very reliable. 29er tires - 590g for a Ikon Exo 2.2 vs 835g of Crossmark UST. Too much heaviness.

[Mr SingleTrack]

My racing wheels are pimped out with a rocket ron SS on the front and a Racing Ralph SS on the back. It's the best racing tyre combi I've been on. I can get you some Rocket Ron evo's @ R290 per tyre if you want lighter and faster up front but I prefer the SS ron myself(better protection but slightly heavier). The ron is grippier than the ralph hence why I run it on the front.

[ChUkKy]

The main reasons why I hated the Ikons is that in the loose over hardpack I was all over the show, the other part was the punctures I had with them, I thought I had been cursed.

The start of the hate was getting those bastards to seat on the rims when putting them on, I swore in many different languages and I think the mothers genitalia of those tyres are still hurting from the language I used at them.

They are super light and roll very well but get a puncture where it deflates completely you better have a tube ready, whereas with a conti protection you can plug, bomb, then go.

 

 

[BergForce]

The main reasons why I hated the Ikons is that in the loose over hardpack I was all over the show, the other part was the punctures I had with them, I thought I had been cursed.

The start of the hate was getting those bastards to seat on the rims when putting them on, I swore in many different languages and I think the mothers genitalia of those tyres are still hurting from the language I used at them.

They are super light and roll very well but get a puncture where it deflates completely you better have a tube ready, whereas with a conti protection you can plug, bomb, then go.

 

Ikons with Exo? Been riding Ikon Exo for 2 years now, many rough kms and not 1 puncture that even required pumping it sealed so well. Also never had any problems with fitting Ikons to my Crest and AM Classic rims. Ikon tubeless setup was easier than with Ralphs.

 

Ikons are fast all round xc racing tyres with low profile knobbies, I find them just a bit better than Ralphs in grip on most surface types.

Edited June 16, 2013 by Berg Bok

[ChUkKy]

 

Ikons with Exo? Been riding Ikon Exo for 2 years now, many rough kms and not 1 puncture that even required pumping it sealed so well. Also never had any problems with fitting Ikons to my Crest and AM Classic rims. Ikon tubeless setup was easier than with Ralphs.

 

Ikons are fast all round xc racing tyres with low profile knobbies, I find them just a bit better than Ralphs in grip on most surface types.

 

These things are my enemy, still got one in the garage which I took off

 

 

[WayneO]

My racing wheels are pimped out with a rocket ron SS on the front and a Racing Ralph SS on the back. It's the best racing tyre combi I've been on. I can get you some Rocket Ron evo's @ R290 per tyre if you want lighter and faster up front but I prefer the SS ron myself(better protection but slightly heavier). The ron is grippier than the ralph hence why I run it on the front.

Where do you find them at that price?

[lyslexic]

I want to replace my crossmarks. On the rare occasion that I am able to ride fast, they just don't seem to have enough grip. Either the front or back starts to slide out.

 

Any recommendations? Was thinking of trying the racing ralph / rocket ron combo out. How much better would that be over the crossmarks?

[Nofearnofun]

I want to replace my crossmarks. On the rare occasion that I am able to ride fast, they just don't seem to have enough grip. Either the front or back starts to slide out.

 

Any recommendations? Was thinking of trying the racing ralph / rocket ron combo out. How much better would that be over the crossmarks?

 

Like night and day.

[Mr SingleTrack]

 

Where do you find them at that price?

I'll PM you in a sec

[Mr SingleTrack]

Where do you find them at that price?

I want to replace my crossmarks. On the rare occasion that I am able to ride fast, they just don't seem to have enough grip. Either the front or back starts to slide out.

 

Any recommendations? Was thinking of trying the racing ralph / rocket ron combo out. How much better would that be over the crossmarks?

they are much lighter than the crossmarks so you will be going faster without even trying

[Warren_G]

My butter combo is two ralphs snakeskin 2.25

 

They are everything enough, not brilliant at one thing but neither kuk

 

Tough enough

Light enough

Strong enough

Available enough

Grippy enough

Rolls enough

Seals enough

Beads enough

I can't agree with Rouxtjie more! Racing Ralph Evo Snakeskin 2.25 front and back, now just stick those on a Scott Spark 29er Dual Sus and you can pretty much ride anywhere fast:)

[lyslexic]

Thanks. 26" seems hard to find, but will try find some and ditch those useless crossmarks

[SwtCraigMachine]

I've ridden some tyres on 26" hardtail and dual-suss, but can't comment on 29er tyres I'm afraid...

 

I started my tyre testing with 2.1 Rons on front and back, but didn't like the skittish feeling of the back, particularly in loose-over-hard. I didn't feel like there was a good progression of grip on the rear - it seemed to grip pretty well, but then let go quite suddenly. Quite nice in mud and loose sand though. They were also noticeably light tyres.

 

I tried 2.1 UST Crossmarks on the front and rear. They may have rolled faster than the Rons, but I didn't test them. They felt heavy (I suppose they are), and just didn't grip as well as the Rons, especially in the mud! I found them quite nice on prepared/manicured surfaces, and the progression of grip felt pretty natural.

 

Then I tried the popular Ron/Ralph combination (Ron Evo and Ralph SS, both 2.25 width), with great success. You can really feel the lack of mass with these light tyres. I will say, however, I have had more punctures in the Ron than in any other tyre. It may just be bad luck, but I do suspect it might have something to do with the thin rubber used to keep the weight down. No problems that Stan's hasn't been able to sort out yet though The longitudinal (is that a word?) grip that the Ralph provides is good for powering over surfaces like rocks and roots. The lateral grip is very good in the dry, but does slide a bit more in mud and such. The progression of the grip from biting to flailing is very predictable and the feel is great. The Ron on the front grips really well in the loose and wet, with predictable grip on hard/dry surfaces. It is comforting for someone with my (lack of) skills to know that the back will slide more easily than the front

 

Through sheer luck, I discovered a pair of 2.25 width Schwalbe Albert SS tyres (not the Fat Albert, which is a different design). The tread pattern isn't dissimilar from that on a Schwalbe Nobby Nic. They don't make them anymore, but they are by far my favourite. I have them on front and back, and the grip is unreal. They bite hard in the wet and stick to roots and rocks (I'm sure this is largely thanks to the rubber compound used). They give great pedalling grip and a very linear progression as you lean over onto the side knobs or when you overcook it. They look like "knobbly tyres" and do weigh more than the Ron/Ralph combo, at about 650g per tyre, I think. Despite this, I reached the same speed on these tyres as I did on the Ron/Ralph combo on my "terminal velocity" test on a little downhill on the M3 (about 63kph, as opposed to 72kph on my Urban-style semi-slicks, so I think it's a fair test).

 

I was surprised by this speed result, as the Ralph (and even the Ron) are supposed to be "fast-rolling" tyres. I did a little reading and I discovered that, up until recently, the Nobby Nic had a lower rolling resistance than the Racing Ralph So, if I can't find anymore Albert tyres, I will probably be replacing them with Nobby Nic's!

[travisza]

I've ridden some tyres on 26" hardtail and dual-suss, but can't comment on 29er tyres I'm afraid...

 

I started my tyre testing with 2.1 Rons on front and back, but didn't like the skittish feeling of the back, particularly in loose-over-hard. I didn't feel like there was a good progression of grip on the rear - it seemed to grip pretty well, but then let go quite suddenly. Quite nice in mud and loose sand though. They were also noticeably light tyres.

 

I tried 2.1 UST Crossmarks on the front and rear. They may have rolled faster than the Rons, but I didn't test them. They felt heavy (I suppose they are), and just didn't grip as well as the Rons, especially in the mud! I found them quite nice on prepared/manicured surfaces, and the progression of grip felt pretty natural.

 

Then I tried the popular Ron/Ralph combination (Ron Evo and Ralph SS, both 2.25 width), with great success. You can really feel the lack of mass with these light tyres. I will say, however, I have had more punctures in the Ron than in any other tyre. It may just be bad luck, but I do suspect it might have something to do with the thin rubber used to keep the weight down. No problems that Stan's hasn't been able to sort out yet though The longitudinal (is that a word?) grip that the Ralph provides is good for powering over surfaces like rocks and roots. The lateral grip is very good in the dry, but does slide a bit more in mud and such. The progression of the grip from biting to flailing is very predictable and the feel is great. The Ron on the front grips really well in the loose and wet, with predictable grip on hard/dry surfaces. It is comforting for someone with my (lack of) skills to know that the back will slide more easily than the front

 

Through sheer luck, I discovered a pair of 2.25 width Schwalbe Albert SS tyres (not the Fat Albert, which is a different design). The tread pattern isn't dissimilar from that on a Schwalbe Nobby Nic. They don't make them anymore, but they are by far my favourite. I have them on front and back, and the grip is unreal. They bite hard in the wet and stick to roots and rocks (I'm sure this is largely thanks to the rubber compound used). They give great pedalling grip and a very linear progression as you lean over onto the side knobs or when you overcook it. They look like "knobbly tyres" and do weigh more than the Ron/Ralph combo, at about 650g per tyre, I think. Despite this, I reached the same speed on these tyres as I did on the Ron/Ralph combo on my "terminal velocity" test on a little downhill on the M3 (about 63kph, as opposed to 72kph on my Urban-style semi-slicks, so I think it's a fair test).

 

I was surprised by this speed result, as the Ralph (and even the Ron) are supposed to be "fast-rolling" tyres. I did a little reading and I discovered that, up until recently, the Nobby Nic had a lower rolling resistance than the Racing Ralph So, if I can't find anymore Albert tyres, I will probably be replacing them with Nobby Nic's!

Best tire review post I've read in awhile.

 

Just replaced my rear "The Captain" (Specialized tire that was on the bike when I bought it) with a Crossmark (cos it was cheap.

 

Contemplating replacing the front too (I have a spare crossmark in the cupboard)

 

If the grip is rubbish I'll try another combo. I am allergic to punctures though so I'll take a heavier/slower tire over one that punctures easily any day.