are they any good?
Do they come up wide or narrow?
Looking for something for my 650b hardtail.
how do they compare to things like the conti Xking and mountain king?
Price is good for me too, £20 quid cheaper than most.
Any others I should consider, On this bike mainly Xc/trailcentre stuff in scotland

Do spec produce them in 650b sizes?

yes now in 650b. I run one on the back. don’t come up too big but reasonable for a 2.1

I used to use mountain king front x king rear (both 2.2)
Now run spesh 2.3 purgatory front and 2.1 ground control rear
And find them loads better, lot more grip especially the front!!!!
And roll really well, easy to set up tubeless (2 bliss) and last well and cheap compared to conti’s.
Size wise front purg little bigger than a 2.2 mountain king, but 2.1 ground control i’d say about same size as 2.2 x king

jrm, thanks.
Not sure about hte purg, may be a littel big and heavy for this bike.
I’ll be doing the glentress 7 solo, so want something light-ish and strong-ish. Maybe ground control F&R?

Anyone got any comparisons with Spesh Captains, particularly on the back?

Did HONC a few weeks ago with Ground Control 2.3 F&R on a 26″ HT. Very impressed, rolled surprisingly well on the road sections and gripped everything else off-road, rocks, roots, mud, hardpack, loam, wet and dry. Great all rounder. I’m building up a 29er later this week to replace the above old 26 hardtail and I’ve already ordered a pair of Ground Controls for it.

I’ve ordered one for the front, only do 2.1 in 650 for now.
I’ll see what it’s like and then either get another for the rear, or a purg for the front.

Anyone got any comparisons with Spesh Captains, particularly on the back?

I’ve gone from a Captain to a Ground Control on the front – I’ve also gone from 26 to 29, which may affect my assessment, but I think that the GC is like the captain but better: just as fast rolling (although it doesn’t look like it should be), and better grip especially when cornering at shallow angles. I guess that this would make it good on the back.

Seems to shed mud slightly better (although this may just be the 29er not picking as much up, and I hardly ever ride in muddy conditions).

Good reading this. I’m about to get some on the amnesty deal but can’t decide between ground control front and rear or if should put a purgatory on the front.

Cheers Tim. I’m looking for a fast-rolling summer tyre that doesn’t lose too much traction on rocks and roots when climbing.

I’ve a Fast Trak on the back and Ground Control on the front (both with the “control” casing, run tubeless) – a good combination for dry, dusty, rocky, natural trails. But I’m quite XC.

use 29er here 2.1 GC used as both front and rear

on front with a bontrager 29-0 team and that is very xc combo fast but a little sketchy in the mud…excellent in the dry and firetracks

rear with a bonty 29-3 as a all day and pretty good all round through the winter

STW mag reviewed it and liked generally but felt it broke away quickly but to be honest I have been fine with it.

I’ve just put a Purgatory on the front of my Enduro – comes up narrow for a 2.3, but rolls and grips really well

I’m loving a 2.3 butcher and 2.3 ground control combo, the ground control rolls a lot faster than the purgatory it replaced and seems to have more grip under heavy braking, only loosing a bit on cornering grip. I did have a 2.1 ground control on there a while back and it was really small for the size and wasn’t a patch on the 2.3 on there now.

Butcher up front, purg at the back. Brilliant combo.

Ground Control S-works 2.1s here, front and back, tubeless style on my hardtail. I think they roll very well, and find them predictable in most conditions. I leave them on all year round.

I am running Ground Control front and back both tubeless, they are a good all round tyre , my front is an S works version and it doesn’t corner too well if pressure is low.
Previously had a Captain Control on the rear and that ran ok with lowish pressure.

Ran a 2.3 Ground Control with the control casing on the front over the winter. Worked well, but less volume than the 2.2 saguaro rear. Width was as stated, but for a front tyre, I was hoping for a little more volume. Will try a bonty 29-3 as a replacement at some point and swap the ground control to the rear.

I’ve found the ground control to be better than expected as a rear (both faster and grippierr than expected) but faintly terrifying on the front, with few redeeming features (no cornering spike, which is something spesh usually do well, not enough volume and not fast enough to justify either).

They’re alright, but I’d almost certainly buy something else in preference unless the price was good. That’s in 29×2.1