Spesh Ground Control / Purgatory

Are these still one of the best combos for a mixture of conditions?

My new bike came with Maxxis Ardent Race TR’s which should be good for dryer conditions but a bit scary in the mud. I usually go for Spesh Storms this time of year but they’re not available in 27.5.

I use GCs on the back all year round. I wouldn’t say they were anywhere near ideal for slithery conditions, they’re more a hardpack tyre, but I prefer them to the Rons that preceded them on mud and slippery stuff.

A lot of people rate Butcher over Purg for a front tyre.

I use GC on rear of both of my bikes. Good all-round tyre. Not perfect in the mud, but cheap. Leave it on all year.

To be honest I’ve been running Purg/Purg all year round for general trail riding. Climbs well, descends well, grips well.

Good combo, purgs clog a bit in mud though. I’m thinking of getting a pair of storms to see me through the winter.

Purgatory-F/Sauserwind-R is a good combo, but I don’t think they do the Sauserwind anymore. I’ll probably try a Ground Control on the back when the Sauserwind wears out.

My combo of choice on my 29er and 650b

Purg/Purg on the hardtail. Top all round tyres. Haven’t felt out of depth with them over the winter at all.

Butcher/Captain on the FS. Apart from in proper mud when the rear isn’t up to the job, a better combo for me than the Purgs.

Thanks everyone. I’ll order them tonight. Was tempted to stick with the Ardent Race TR’s that came with the bike but think the Spesh tyres are more versatile.

Double Purgs here. For everything. One less thing to think about.

I found purgs on the front are ok in the dry but crap on wet roots/rocks, I went back to a hans dampf and put the purg on the rear, much better.

I must be in the minority thinking purgatory’s are terrible in the wet. A great fast rolling summer tyre, but I found it didn’t offer much cornering grip in anything put perfect dry conditions. I found the butcher a better all rounder in the Specalized line up of tyres.

How about a Ground Control on the rear with a Hans Dampf up front?

I’m with smatkins on this , terrible on anything wet , off camber or rooty . There are far better tyres out there , even within Specializeds own range .

I like specialized tyres but not sure how good the purgatory is an allrounder – agree with others that the grip is pretty ordinary on the rear in the wet / mud (IME).
Butcher good up front on the FS and like the captain on the front for the HT.

Ive got gc front and rear have been a great all round tyre for me not brill in chalky wet clay but then nothing is.

Butcher and purg. Both grid versions. Great combo.

I wonder if spesh will run their tyre amnesty this spring again?

Pergs all round here , been good so far in the wet mudy stuff and also in that white stuff weve had , I will be dropping the one on the back to an Ikon when things dry out a little

Only ever run Purgatory’s on the rears, have a combination of Butcher, Clutch and the old Enduro tyres on the fronts. Combination seams to work well for most of the time. Run them at 25 psi on all the bikes.

If they run the amnesty this year we will be stocking up again.

Sorry for the hijack, but do Spesh sell a Purgatory Grid in 29″ here?

My Purg has had a couple of sidewall scrapes and is a little threadbare in places. It’s flinty round my way and I tend to kill rear tyres very quickly.

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/ftb/mtb-tires/xc-trail-tires/purgatory-grid-2bliss-ready

I have High Roller 2 up front and a purgatory on the back. Works well even in mud. For the price the purgatory is a great tyre.

I was running a Storm Control on the back of my Superlight, it was ace for mud, but very draggy. Just switched to a ground control 2.1 on the rear, and a Purgatory 2.4 on the front. Seems to work well everywhere and is much faster.

I was running a Storm Control on the back of my Superlight, it was ace for mud, but very draggy. Just switched to a ground control 2.1 on the rear, and a Purgatory 2.4 on the front. Seems to work well everywhere and is much faster.

Going to try this myself – the Storms are just a bit much .. the sort of track they come into their own I try and avoid through winter anyway. On everything else it’s like dragging a sack of coal around. If you’ve no choice though, they are a good cheap set of TLR mud tyres.

So whats best on the rear out of the Ground Control or Purg? Ive heard of people running GC’s front and rear.

A purgatory is my winter rear, GC rest of year.

Find the braking grip of the purgatory to be immense in all conditions, trade off that it can feel a bit slow at times.

Cant complain about the GC, fast and consistent, compound can feel a bit plasticy on hard slick surfaces, or wet off camber with roots/rocks, but more than adequate 95% of the time.

Wouldn’t fancy either on the front too much, side knobs don’t look like they’d have the bite. Well that and a butcher on the front feels too good.

Just had a look at the Purgatory Grid with more space between tread. Also tubeless ready and 27.5. What else is good on the front in mud that’s tubeless ready and 27.5?

Purg is a good rear tyre, defo not on the front though. I thought butchers were good front tyres until I tried a maxxis shorty. Fantabulous.

Or how about Rocket Ron Evos for winter?

There are much better options Front and Rear, have you looked at Maxxis?

I’ve tried both in 29 x 2.3, here’s my subjective view. The GC lacks braking traction and it’s lack of defined shoulder knobs means it lacks cornering grip and doesn’t signal that you’re reaching it’s limits; only suitable for hard-pack and rear wheel use.

The Purg has overly soft rubber which compromises braking traction as it gets a little squirmy under heavy braking especially on the front. The soft rubber also means it struggles to hold lines when cornering aggresively and again doesn’t signal your approaching the limits. Best on the rear, an improvement over the GC but not by much.

Compared to Maxxis/On-One/Geax both lack suppleness so again this compromises grip.

Hope this helps.

Just put a pair of 27.5 GCs on my hardtail, tubeless on Crests. They were fine on the Cannock pebbles at the weekend, certainly better than the OEM Ralphs they replaced.

I am running a Purg up front with a captain on the rear on my 29er HT since Bounty 24/12, I haven’t died yet. Before that it was Purg/Purg I like them.

This thread has become a perfect example of why I just fitted a decent set of tyres and stopped thinking about it.

I know I could get a front tyre that gives 18% better traction on a wet root at 45 degrees.
I know I could get a back tyre that has 13% more traction on a piece of Welsh slate.
But then of course, I’d be 6% slower in a straight line and I’d have to phone ahead to check the wind speed and enquire about the latest soil samples.

As it is I just chuck the bike in the van and go riding.

Sorry for the hijack, but do Spesh sell a Purgatory Grid in 29″ here?

Yes! I might have a spare one going if you are interested in it? Email in profile.

I run GC 2.3f/2.1r as a winter combo. No claggy mud here. Instead, more sandy mud, hardpack, roots and some rocks. The bigger 2.3 has a little more shoulder so the back goes first and when they drift they do in a nice controllable way. They are especially good in sand imo and rarely wash out. For me, and my local conditions – they are a chuck on and leave combo for the winter.

On the front: Butcher for straight line grip, or Purgatory for less rolling resistance in trade for that grip.

Winch & plummet: Butcher
Rolling trails or covering distance to get there: Pugatory

Hmm I’m happy enough with a Purgatory front.

What’s the Ground Control rear like? Worth a 2.3 rather than 2.1 for extra squishy grip? Or a 2.1 for speed?

I’ve been running a butcher front/purgatory rear combo for over a year now and its a good enough all round set up, can’t be arsed to chop and change tyres any more. I find the purgatory lacks grip on steep climbs, wet or dry, but other than that they’re alright.

Ive been using butcher/purg combo and for most situations they have been good especially the butcher up front, also relatively light and go up tubeless easy with just a track pump. I have found they struggle on wet rock so could be an issue depending on where you ride. For me riding in the lakes this did become a problem.
Now the cheeky bit… just bought some black chili contis so will be selling both the butcher, purg and a 2.1 ground control if anyone’s interested. All 26″ control versions.