Has anyone tested or even had a user poll about how tough tyre casings are and how they compare against others?
There’s so many to choose from:
Hutchinson hardcase, wtb light/tough, specialized control/grid, maxxis exo/dual ply, Schwalbe snakeskin/supergravity/dual ply etc etc
Is snakeskin tougher than hardcase?
Is a spesh control similar to maxxis exo or is grid closer to the exo?
I guess comparing weights should give you a clue but seeing as how pretty much everyone bullshits about weight it’s a none starter.

http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/ includes puncture tests on the sidewall for tyre reviews, bit of an eye-opening site.

wow, proper rubber geekery, cheers for the link, from a quick look it seems snakeskin beats exo.

I’d be wary of generalisations though, the EXO sidewalls on a 2.5 Minion DHF are appreciably thicker and presumably tougher than the ones on an EXO Ikon or a Beaver, so I suspect there’s a little more to it than just the branded technology.

The toughest non-DH casing sidewall tyres I’ve used are the WTB TCS Tough ones which feel like car tyres or something…

^What BWD said. Snakeskin in general is pretty pish in my experience though. Schwalbe seem to offset the added weight of the sidewall reinforcement by making the base of the tread paper-thin. Specialized Control tyres have, perhaps, slightly weaker sidewalls, but are better overall. If I was choosing tyres, of similar ‘meatiness’, based on protection I’d probably go with Maxxis EXO, but I have no experience of recent WTB.

Schwalbe seem to offset the added weight of the sidewall reinforcement by making the base of the tread paper-thin.

That’s not to offset weight, its so that it still rolls like a high performance bike tyre rather than a bargain basement tractor tyre.

As BWD says generalisations aren’t great but…
Ardent exo v NN ss v RaRa ss
Tread puncture resistance same for all, but side wall ss is better than exo even in skinny xc racer RaRa format.

I have a WTB tough carcass trail boss on my big bike. The tyre can stand up all by itself.

Yeah was considering a trailboss tough/fast, how do they weigh up against the competition? (literally and size wise) I get the impression they’re heavy, I’ve seen 870-1130g quoted, quite a variation. I also dunno whether wtb over or underestimate their sizes.

WTB trail boss are bomb proof. weigh around 1Kg for the tough fast. Great rear tyre for big rocky bastard Lakeland descents.

Size is pretty true as well.

Thats exactly what I got mine for. IIRC it weighed 1050 ish.

It was a moot point for me really, lighter stuff at the pressures I want were just cutting through.(think spesh grid, Hans dampf snakeskin).

Ditto Scienceofficer. I have a WTB Vigilante on the rear atm, in tough high grip, as it’s better in the grot than the TB, but for Lakes/Munro days, I’ll change back.

I’ve fannied about with lighter tyres too many times, I want a hardy bugger on the rear now, and if it’s slower and tougher to pedal, I’ll take that on the chin.

Never again shall a Schwalbe darken my rear wheel…. (MM on the front is fine though!) 😆

Specialized GRID tyres are good. They go up tubeless with a track pump first time and are pretty resistant to cuts. The weight penalty is pretty negligible compared to the Control casing.

Thats exactly what I got mine for. IIRC it weighed 1050 ish.

cool, currently run a dual ply DHF, over 1200 I think. TBH it’s overkill but zero punctures (except that drawing pin when I rode through the office) in quite a few years was good. Wanted something lighter but not too flimsy. Scraping under 1kg would be nice.

E13 worked for me where others failed and closer to 900 each. Uber soft though so ripped through a set in no time. Holiday use only from now in I think.

Bump. Any more thoughts on this? Thinking of trying a DHR II or Aggressor next but not sure if I should go dd or exo.

Found the conti apex protection to be inadequate but the e13 carcass has done well.

WTB trail boss are bomb proof. weigh around 1Kg for the tough fast. Great rear tyre for big rocky bastard Lakeland descents.

Size is pretty true as well.

More like 1200g on my scales (650b)

Specialized GRID tyres are good. They go up tubeless with a track pump first time and are pretty resistant to cuts. The weight penalty is pretty negligible compared to the Control casing.

Just weighed a Purgatory grid and it’s around 800g and way more flimsy than the WTB or the Shwalbes which come out around 1050g in Super Gravity Flavour.

Schwalbe Super Gravity and Max is dual ply or double down are the toughest tyres I’ve ridden and stand up to a bit of hammer. But like everything it comes at a cost and that is weight 1100 to 1250g.
I killed three grids and two EXO rear tyres in a row and gave up. I think they are largely the same carcass, as Maxxis make the Spesh tyres for them. Same to with On One Chunky Monkey.

Purgatory grid are lighter and not as strong as butcher and slaughter grid. I find butcher and slaughter at least as tough as WTB.

The 2017 versions of the Butcher and slaughter grid are the stiffest sidewalled tyres I have used (I’ve never tried the super tough gravity versions of any brand). I thought they were wire beads when I got them.

I’d rate them like this
Specialized GRID
WTB tough
Maxxis exo
Schwalbe Snakeskin
Specialized control
WTB light