Loving my Whyte 29C at the moment, thought it might be a bit too XC for me, but it's way more capable than you might think, and I've embarrassed a few mates on their full sussers on the descents on it! Anyway...
Currently got a 29x2.25" Racing Ralph in the back on a 23mm internal rim, which realistically is as big as will go in there without any issues. Yes a 2.3" would go in, but it would be rizla paper tight which would cause lots of rub on the chainstays when cornering and zero mud clearance!
The Ralph is bloody quick, plenty of traction when climbing, but breaks out a bit quickly under braking (this I can deal with) or cornering (less so, this is what I want to fix). Ideally I don't want to lose the rolling speed, though would trade a little if I had to, but I want a bit more edge bite.
Anyone got any experience of the Maxxis Ardent Race 2.2 3C on the rear? How does it compare to a Ralph? What about the Vittoria Saguaro? Any other recommendations? Size is an issue here, if I had the clearance for a 2.3" Maxxis I'd probably just bung a Minion SS on there and deal with the weight penalty, but I guess as an XC race bike, it was never designed for such girth in the first place.
EDIT: Weight isn't too much of a concern, I'd rather a 750-800g tyre that's tough (I'm running Double Defense Ralph as it is) than a condom thin XC weight weenie. I know it's an XC race bike, but I've got a dropper on it and built it up around 24lb and use it as a fast trail bike.
Run the Ardent Race as my not racing race tyres, still gives out when you push it hard but works well enough for me unless it's muddy then it's hilarious!!
Ground Control 2.1? Big side knobs, not much in between. I always found spesh tyres a bit bigger than advertised.
EDIT: Not sure you can get the Grid version with tougher sidewalls in that size.
Rocket Ron 2.1/2.25
Maxxis Ikon 2.0/2.2
Crossmark II 2.1/2.25
Aspen 2.1
Maybe an EXO Pace?
Minion SS 2.3 not actually that wide on a 23mm rim
ime all of the shallow-tread tyres work quite well when they are new but deteriorate very quickly in every way when those little tread blocks start to get chamfered
Vittoria Barzo 2.25" are frankly awesome and at least as fast as a Ron, or a Petoye 2.25" for somewhere between a RaRa and a RoRo.
Straight RaRa equivalent is the Mezcal G+, just as fast (within a watt or 2 on rolling resistance tests), better puncture resistance, weigh about 10g's more and last for ages, mines done 1500km and is starting to look used now.
Ikon or Saguaro would be my go to choice.
Crossmark 2 in Exo 2.25?
Impressed with it on my HT so far.
Ground Control 2.1?
Hmmmm... Have used these before come to think of it and was quite good. I do have a pathological hatred of anything with the Big S logo on it these days though, which I can't shake!
Run the Ardent Race as my not racing race tyres, still gives out when you push it hard but works well enough for me unless it's muddy then it's hilarious!!
Sounds good, not too worried about mud performance, will keep a specific mud setup if it comes to it.
Rocket Ron 2.1/2.25
Maxxis Ikon 2.0/2.2
Crossmark II 2.1/2.25
Aspen 2.1
Maybe an EXO Pace?
Minion SS 2.3 not actually that wide on a 23mm rim
Ron's not on your life! Terrible tyre, and carcass so thin I wouldn't get out of the car park on it without holing it!
Ikon's impressed me in the past, but still looking for a bit more edge bite.
Crossmark 2 is an interesting one. May see if I can squeeze the 2.25 in there (Maxxis 2.25 seem slightly bigger than Schwalbe). Not known for their edge bite per se, but there's an interesting article online about cutting certain knobs off to increase the edge grip on Crossmark's. Besides, I have a brand new one kicking about somewhere.
Aspen's I don't believe they make any more, besides, was always a bit of a fragile high speed dry conditions race tyre.
Minion SS isn't that big indeed, but clearance in the back of my 29C isn't big either!
Vittoria Barzo 2.25" are frankly awesome and at least as fast as a Ron, or a Petoye 2.25" for somewhere between a RaRa and a RoRo.
I have a couple of these on my HT at the moment. Not something I would have ever paid for as I knew nothing about them, but hey, they were free so I thought I would give them a go.
They are really, surprisingly good.
i got an sworks ground control 2.1 2bliss tubeless ready
from rutland, on my lefty f29 grip is superb, although cornering is seat of the pants stuff.
i wish i'd got the standard (tougher side walls) but thats now sold out, no wonder at 15 quid. sworks still available
I've been running a vredestein black panther xtrac 2.2 which I like quite fast grippy etc. Worth checking out.
Maxis Beaver?
2.1 ground controls come up a bit small imo. Good for mud clearance, but the 2.3 isn't far off a 2.25 ralph. 2.2 saguaro is a good choice. Good volume and near enough identical width to a 2.25 ralph, but a tiny bit taller. A bit more durable than a ralph too, so good for winter miles. I would go for a saguaro.
They've supposedly fixed the size of those knobs on the CrossmarkII so that is no longer needed.interesting article online about cutting certain knobs off to increase the edge grip on Crossmark's
To a roadie, Vittoria making a good tyre is not a surprise at all.They are really, surprisingly good.
Fwiw, just measured a 2.25 raplh and a 2.2 saguaro, both mounted tubeless on pacenti cl25s. Ralph 56/57mm width and saguaro 55mm. So narrower rims than yours, but I would imagine a similar difference on your rims.
I run the Bontrager XR range with Team Issue casing for XC racing duties and general riding. So XR1, XR2 and XR3. Dependant on conditions.
They're often overlooked, but I can wholeheartedly recommend them!
Don't forget the onza canis 2.25. Comes up at 55mm width on the same (21mm int. width) rims. Still fast, but a decent all rounder with a durable sidewall. Less volume than a saguaro, not far off a ralph.
I run an Ardent Race (29) on the back of my Sherpa.
Cracking tyre. Straight line breaking can be a bit compromised but cornering so issues.
Its quick draining and soft around where I often ride and the tyre is fine. Quick & predictable. No experience of running it in mud ..... yet 🙂
Sizing wise its pretty bob on (as marked)- this is a good thing as the Sherpa would struggle to take anything wider:
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Good point, I really like the xr3 as a rear tyre, i might stick one back on. Its fast and preetty grippy
What compound, what conditions? Softer RR, or softer nobby nic (which still rolls quite fast).
WTB Trailboss would be my shout. Far more capable tyre than the tread pattern would have you believe.
I've got a similar tight clearance issue with my (non boost) kona hei hei.
Currently using a tnt saguaro on the back, before that an Ikon (fat carcass low tread), an X King (protection, but paper thin) and a bontrager 29-2 (sound but a bit small tread).
The saguaro is the best of that bunch for clearance, toughness and grip - on dry trails (it's not that knobby).
I have noticed that the standard (non race) 2.25 ardent measures up smaller than the saguaro when inflated on the rim, if that comparison helps! EXO wasn't tough enough on the local flints for me though 🙁
As above, next one for me to try will be the tough/fast wtb trail boss.
I've gone from a RaRa on the rear to a Mezcal G+. It is fine climbing, but I find it breaks away easier in braking and turning, so probably not what you want. I would love to go back to a RaRa but they are so loose on my rims it results in burping. I'm wondering if the new Addix tyres will fit better.
2.2 x king protection on the back of my carbon ht, race king if I know I don't need much in the way of grip.
880g iirc but there is the race sport version which I've got on ok with but I'm always scared it's going too light.
Ikon I found ok too and I want to try the onza canis next, mainly for the skinwalls!
I swear by the 2.2 x-King in pure grip flavour.....faster than the protection version (noticeably) and just as hard wearing. 98% of the riding I do, mostly cross country distance stuff, this is perfect for.
FWIW Mark, I have just changed from the S-works Ground Control 2.1 to the Crossmark II 2.25, the difference in cornering is night & day & the rolling resistance is mildly improved, I have not tried it in gloop yet but given that the GC's were shit in the mud then I can't see the CM11's being much worse.
HTH
Cheers,
Maxis Beaver?
Is a slow rolling winter tyre. Great for its intended purpose, but not for the majority of my riding.
Don't forget the onza canis 2.25.
Not tried one or even seen one in the flesh. Look ok, but not cheap are they!
WTB Trailboss would be my shout. Far more capable tyre than the tread pattern would have you believe.
I love the Trail Boss, problem is, they're BIG for a 2.25" tyre! I've run one before on a bike, it's bigger than a 2.3" Maxxis!
FWIW Mark, I have just changed from the S-works Ground Control 2.1 to the Crossmark II 2.25, the difference in cornering is night & day
Gonna give one a try as long as it fits I think. I was a big fan of the original Crossmarks (in 2.25" flavour at least) even if they were scary under braking! The mk2 version looks significantly improved in most areas.
So done some quick measuring with a vernier caliper, and am quite surprised... Found the following...
-Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25 on 23mm internal rim measures 56.6mm wide (outside of knobs)
-Maxxis Minion DHF 2.3 on 23mm internal rim measures 57.6mm wide
A mere milimetre in it! So I should be able to squeeze a Minion SS in there potentially.
More interestingly though... Trail Boss 2.25" is slightly narrower than I thought, comes up about 54.5mm on a 21mm inner rim width (couldn't measure one on a 23mm internal), and crucially the 2.25" Crossmark mk2 comes up just shy of 55mm too so is a definite candidate.
Conti X-King 2.2 Protection here. I use front & back all year round. Tried Ralph's & Ikon but much prefer the X-King, quiet too, compared to the Ralph that sounded draggy especially on road.
So done some quick measuring with a vernier caliper, and am quite surprised... Found the following...
Don't forget that brand new tyres usually measure smaller than ones that have been ridden a bit - just in case you're talking about critical millimetres.
