Currently on a ground control grid and a renegade grid. Rear is smoked and the front isn’t far behind.
Anyone have any recommendations, the slight caveat is that winter cross country is urban, so need a decent sidewall and carcass.
Anyone used the new conti Xc tyres in trail casing ?
thanks!
Go grid trail in Specialized or the grey wall xc-trail in Vittoria and you should be a bit tougher.
Not tried the Conti current range but the older Protection sidewalls were not as tough as you'd expect. I tore a Cross King Protection at Checkendon of all places (woodsy xc venue).
Bonty XR4 Team Issue are doing me well, but definitely more at the trail end of the spectrum.
Nobby Nic / Racing Ralph combo works for me. You can choose between tougher, grippier or lighter to suit.
Currently on Forekasters in 3CT/EXO flavour after previously using a DHF/DHR combo. Would I call them tough? Well, not in comparison to the DHF/DHR but maybe yes in comparison to a lot of XC rubber. And they have 'released' my bike from the draggy previous tyres. I'm still not a 100% sure what downcountry actually means but for trail centre riding or not super muddy natural riding I really rate them.
I put a forekaster on the front to replace a bontrager xr5. Bit underwhelmed thus far, need to give it a few more rides.
I use Bontrager se5+6 on my Tallboy 120tpi and well resistant to Lakes riding and bloody fast too. Debating them for my Highlander ,
I bought a Forekaster after the gushing reviews on here.
First ride today and it's wobbling side to side like it's been glued together wrong. Full inspection when I get home.
Bonty XR4 Team Issue are doing me well, but definitely more at the trail end of the spectrum.
This is what I have on the front. Perfect light trail tyre for my needs.
Wouldn't particularly recommend the Crossmark 2 that I have on the rear, but it was in my spares drawer and does the job.
XR4's on my top fuel, quite light, if after a tougher casing, use the SE4
good tyres UNTIL damp (pinging off roots) or steep and rocky (back tyre is easy to slide on steep smooth stuff)
SE5 and SE6 are very much enduro tyres, tough, heavy, aggro tyres, definitely the equivalent of DHF/DHR's IMHO
that being said i chucked an SE5 on the front of the Top fuel for Surrey hills and it did what it needed to and didnt notice any major issues climbing, out out speed probably would be hindered..., so i'm actually toying with xr5's front and rear (now Brevards) to cover the off months
Hard to look past the Specialized tyres IMHO. I've been using Ground Control Grid T7 front / Fast Trak Grid T7 on the rear of my Transition Spur for a couple of years now and they just work, and work for a great price.
Tried Maxxis Rekon / Rekon Race in MaxxTerra - great but the Specialized tyres do exactly the same thing for half the price.
Previous downcountry / agro-XC bike was a Giant Anthem 27.5 (130mm Fox 34 front, 110mm rear travel) and I ran Nobby Nic / Racing Ralph in the comparable carcass to the Speccy Grid casings. Great setup, but again, I don't feel like I'm losing anything (speed, grip) using the Specialized tyres.
BTW I don't work for Specialized. 😆
I'm using a Ground Control Grid T7 with a Rimpact insert on the rear of my Geometron. Performing brilliantly for 'summer' trails so far and I've not trashed it yet.
Conti Cross King Protection Black Chili with Cushcore XC insert on the rear of my Tallboy is similarly brilliant for me. Feels very similar to the Ground Control.
i havent tried any (yet), but Schwalbe Rick XC appear to get good write ups. And i would assume puncture protection is much more of a thing these days for XC tyres, as the courses they are developed on are getting pretty spicy in places!
I have specialized fast trak & ground control, both in T5 on my Chisel FS and the rear has about 4 bacon strips in it.
A mate runs them in T7 and doesnt seem to have puncture issues.
My favourite setup for XC/DC/light trail is a Hutchinson Kraken 2.4 rear and Wyrm 2.4 front. Fast rolling, with a big, supple casing that seems to take more abuse than most XC tyres (and Maxxis Exo casings in my case, although maybe I was unlucky there). I'm about 92kg and run them on my short travel full suss with no inserts at 25psi rear/22psi front and despite clenching my teeth and waiting for the flat on many occasions, they've not failed me yet. For just the sloppiest winter months, I'll switch to something with a bit more tread, but it's always a joy when that's over and can return to a bit of free speed and comfort for the rest of the year.
I have specialized fast trak & ground control, both in T5 on my Chisel FS and the rear has about 4 bacon strips in it.
A mate runs them in T7 and doesnt seem to have puncture issues.
The Grid T7s are noticeably beefier tyres than the T5 versions. Much tougher sidewalls, and I'm presuming more puncture protection under the tread. The only time I've punctured one is when a rusty 6 inch nail went into the rear, deflected off the rim bed, and came out the other side. Managed to seal with bacon strips and get myself home.