For my last few rides I’ve been using my old 26″ BFe instead of the 26+ Rocket.

Fitted some grippier tyres for the local slop – it did have a Purgatory / Captain setup that I’ve now switched for Chunky Monkey / Smorgasbord.

Are the On-One tyres known for being draggy? The bike just feels really sluggish and tough to pedal. Nothing mechanical dragging / catching and the gearing isn’t radically different. 32T oval chainrings on both bikes so it’s not that feeling different.

Only other difference is the new tyres have tubes as they were just too baggy to set up tubeless. Can’t imagine that would make so much difference to the ride feel and my fatigue (never noticed such a difference before switching between tubed and tubeless on this and other bikes).

Tempted to just sling the Spesh tyres back on and put up with lower grip and more sliding around…

I had a pair of smorgasbord on my bike a couple of years ago and did feel they were ‘draggy’ compared to the nobby nics they replaced. Never really got on with them and took them off after a few rides, they are still somewhere among my 26″ tyre mountain in the shed.

I’ve never noticed the CM and Smorg. as being particularly draggy, and I’ve used them on various bikes over the last few years and at pretty low pressures too.

Nor, for that matter, have I had any difficulty setting them up tubeless, though I actually like the CM, run front and rear, for dry, rocky stuff in Greece more than for wet conditions in the grim North.

But if you want soft compound, grippy tyres then you have to be prepared to put up with a bit of drag, I reckon. I much prefer them to the likes of Nobby Nics, anyway.

What those tires are is bloody heavy

Not near their advertised weights.

Fitted a set to the wife’s salsa mamasita -which is built up with full xt and light weight ringle wheels, mini pros carbon bars and +a manitou tower elite….. With real tires from a real company. 27lb. With those smorgabords on its north of 30lb

And they are slow.

I often wonder if they sent me the dual ply freeride ones instead of the ones I ordered.

Bought a new set of rocket Ron’s and the bike was back to its self.

colournoise

Are the On-One tyres known for being draggy? The bike just feels really sluggish and tough to pedal. Nothing mechanical dragging / catching and the gearing isn’t radically different. …
Only other difference is the new tyres have tubes as they were just too baggy to set up tubeless….

Try plentiful quantities of talcum powder on the tube. Slather it around.

Seems to help with my fatbike and 29er.

I don’t think that the 2.4” CM is any heavier than an Ardent of the same size and I believe that they are moulded on the same carcass anyway.

The claimed weight for a 29” CM is 920 grams – I’ve just weighed one at 930, so hardly that much different.

I didn’t know that they did dual ply versions either? Single or dual compound, you mean?

All this is from someone who uses 2.4” DHR ll and Super Gravity Dirty Dan tyres – what do I know (or care) about weight?

The Captain is very bloody fast, for the amount of grip it has so that could be throwing things a bit. Tubes do add a bit of drag (basically you have more tyre to push out of the way) and I think the on ones will be a stiffer carcass too which can have the same effect… (because there’s nothing to a Specialized Control carcass)

For me it always takes a bit of time before I’am able to decide if I like a tire or don’t like it. To find the right tire pressure, to bike on trails and in conditions where the tire is good or bad, punctures, stuff like this…

Generally: tend to like the tires with as much grip as possible – and yes, have to live with the drag. When I know that we go long, long uphill I put more pressure onto the tires and set the right pressure once we are on the top. Use a small Topeak gauge for that which I take in my backpack.

Like the Chunky Monkey – lots of grip for reasonable money…

They’re just draggier than the tyres you took off. Probably a bit heavier too, then there’s the weight of the tubes.

It’s all relative. I’ll feel like I’m flying when I take my Magic Mary off the front and replace with a CM in a few months time.

<span style=”color: #444444; font-size: 16px;”>When I know that we go long, long uphill I put more pressure onto the tires and set the right pressure once we are on the top.</span>

I must say that sounds massively overkill. I thought changing seatpost height via QR was too much of a faff, but this is next level.

I swapped a Nobby and Ralph combo out for enduro compound Chunky and Smorgasboard combo.

I’m much, much happier and faster on the On One tyres. They actually grip. And predictably.

The NN and RR are OEM and seemed to be an odd compound – the NN on the front would let go alarmingly quickly and unpredictably.

I’ll take a touch more rolling resistance any day.

Mrs_oab however is not liking the velcro drag feel the Specialized Butchers have given her Superfly compared with the XR2’s she had on, no matter how much extra grip they give…

“Mrs_oab however is not liking the velcro drag feel the Specialized Butchers have given her Superfly”

I’ve recently tried a Butcher on the rear paired with a Mary up front. My god the Butcher feels draggy on the rear. Previously used Butcher on the front of another bike with a Purgatory out back and that combo was fine, didn’t notice the Butcher being draggy on the front. Currently on a DHR2 rear and it feels way less draggy than the Butcher with similar levels of grip.

Adjusting tyre pressures for climbing then for descending? Not really overkill, imho – if you have say, 1700 metres of fireroad climbing followed by an equal amount of techy descending then why not adjust your tyre pressures to suit? I’ve done this before now, anyway and it’s not really a problem, just like not using a dropper post for this type of riding isn’t an issue either.

I’ve got the On-One combo on my Mega – and with tubes….

Really grippy and predictable – possibly slightly draggy, but don’t really have much to compare them too other than some single compound Conti Mountain Kings.