Submitted by
jay bulanadi
a Cross Country Rider
from philippines
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2006
Strengths: great acceleration, low rolling resistance, climbs well, corners well. ride it with confidence
Weaknesses: yellow walls are hard to clean
Bottom Line:
this is the best tire ever... ive been using it for over a year now and it still works like new. who says there's no such thing as a great on and off road tire? they accelerate fast on pavement and hardpack much like a semi slick,grips well on corners and climbs very well. you can even use them on extreme trail as long as you have good handling skills.... .. ive experimented with kenda koyote, geax sedona and maxxis wormdrive and find myself going back to my ritchey zeds everytime.... cuz these are the best tires in the world.
Favorite Trail: mountains of leyte, palanog, kauswagan
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$8.00
Purchased At: avk, philippines
Similar Products Used: none
Bike Setup: custom alloy hardtail
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Submitted by
Tony
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2002
Strengths: Very good rear wheel traction for a semi-knobby. Comparable to a Velociraptor or Classic Dart when new.
Weaknesses: Lack of confidence on the front: poor braking and washes out on switchbacks or at speed. Wears out quickly.
Bottom Line:
This review is for the ZED Pro. When I first got these tires, I put them front and rear on my XR4 full suspension. I was pretty unhappy with the front tire as it washed out easily and just didn't have enough beef for the kind of riding I like (steep, rocky singletrack.) So I put them into the pile-o-partially-used-but-not-ready-to-toss-tires. The next summer, I was getting ready to go to Crested Butte for a long weekend and I decided to take my hardtail. It had a worn out Velocirapter on the back and I thought that I should change it. So I dug through my pile and came up with the ZED. I stuck it on the rear and immediately I determined that it climbed better than a worn-out Velociraptor (that means it actually climbs pretty well). In Crested Butte, I could climb anything I had the lungs for. The only place I had trouble was in the forest underbrush with leaf-scatter on top of moist rocks. Not a normal trail obstacle in Colorado. I also found it surprising good on Monarch Crest. About 2/3 of the way through Monarch Crest there is a long stretch of loose rock that normally causes numerous pinch-flats (our group had 4 pinch flats for 9 riders.) I knew about this obstacle and since I was riding a hardtail, I pumped the ZED up to 70PSI before the ride. This didn't cause a harsh ride and the climbing performance was not badly affected. I didn't flat the whole ride. We had 10 miles downhill back into town on road and the rolling resistance was very nice (I blew everyone else away... 58mph coasting in a tuck.) I'd be more inclined to buy another ZED, except that I wore it about 75% out in 3 days of riding 85 miles. There is still an okay amount of tread, but about 1/3 of the knobs are torn or shredded and I notice a reduction in climbing traction. I am a clydsdale (220lbs) and go through tires 2-3 times faster than my riding companions, so you might get decent life out of this tire anyway. If I ran across a wire-bead version for $15 on clearance, I'd buy it.
Similar Products Used: Mythox S-XC (crap); Continental Escape 2.1 & Vertical 2.3 (okay); Panaracer Fire XC pro (amazing all-around); Smoke Classic (Slow); WTB Velocirapter (Oldy but a goody)
Bike Setup: Diamondback XR4 Full Suspension and Specialized S-Works Steel Hardtail
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Submitted by
Thrawn
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2002
Strengths: — Low rolling resistance — Good casing — Relatively light weight
Weaknesses: — Doesn't have the traction of my old Panaracer Fire XC Pro (then again, very few tyres could ever hope to compare to that tyre)
Bottom Line:
Note: I only use this tyre on the rear.
After upgrading my bike with this tyre and Maxxis Flyweight tubes, my bike accelerated noticeably faster, due to the reduced rotating weight. I can also maintain a slightly higher speed, due to the lower rolling resistance.
On pavement and hardpack trails, this tyre simply hauls. In good conditions, this tyre performs just like my old Panaracer Fire XC Pro, just faster and more silent.
When the conditions become more adverse, however, I really need to pay attention to this tyre. It likes to slide more than I'm used to. I doesn't hook up in mud as well as my Panaracer, nor does it handle rocks and roots as well. Angled roots are this tyre's greatest enemy; it'll just slide along the root, forcing me to unclip and stop. Braking bite is acceptable, however.
If you frequently ride in muddy conditions, I cannot recommend this tyre. Buy a Panaracer Fire XC Pro or MudMax if that's the case. If you often ride on tarmac and hardpack, however, this tyre is perfect for you.
Similar Products Used: Michelin Wildgrippers, Panaracer Fire XC Pros, Panaracer Paselas (for the road), GEAX Sedonas
Bike Setup: '00 Schwinn Moab 1, upgraded with Thomson, Speedplay, Syncros, and other goodies
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Submitted by
Ooievaar
a Cross Country Rider
from Kansas City
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2002
Strengths: Rolls very fast, almost like a semi-slick Grips like a full knobby, climbs really well Corners predictably
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
I bought this tire about a month ago, and I haven't stopped grinning since. I ride mostly hardpack singletrack, with a lot of rocks of all sizes. This thing rolls super fast on the flats, but on those climbs with loose rock it hooks up wonderfully and just flies up the hills. Climbs that made my mythos spin out all over the place are just cake to get up now. I'm only using the ZED (pro) on the rear with a WCS speedmax alpha up front, which I love for its speed and cornering abilities. A great tire all around; five flaming habanero chilis.
Similar Products Used: Farmer Jones,Velociraptos,Ground Control
Bike Setup: Fisher Sugar 3
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Submitted by
mike b
a Cross Country Rider
from Sodom in the North
Date Reviewed: December 23, 2001
Strengths: rolls real fast climbs like a dickens corners pretty good gotta admit that ritchey tires look cool
Weaknesses: this tire don't like mud this tire don't like loose rocks (like downieville) this tire wears kinda fast in the back
Bottom Line:
this tire works really well on most trail surfaces i've ridden here in northern california. it brakes predictably and holds lines well at high speeds. i've found it to work especially well at places like el corte madera (skeggs) and china camp. the zed also has proven to be an exceptional tread to use while climbing the marin headland's two mile fire roads at a steady clip. since these tires roll so well, they also enable a rider to accelerate hard out of corners during the downhill side of these climbs, not to mention sliding around them pretty well. not quite as well as a full knobby like the velociraptor, but a lot better than something similar to the ritchey speedmax.
i don't like to run these tires during the winter, but i go ahead and do it anyway. the do clog up with mud, which causes the performance to deteriorate a little, but they seem to fling the mud off pretty easily once the trail surface hardens a bit. note this--i have only once found a tire combo that works in mud--front velociraptor, rear mud max. my experience with them on fast, rocky surfaces has also been sometimes harrowing--i definately noticed the difference at downieville when i rode there with big knobs.
all in all, the zeds are one of the better tires i've tried. these are an excellent combination of racing slick rolling resistance and full knob grippiness. i'm finding that the zed wears a bit fast in the rear, so i'm trying a new zed race back there to see what happens.
ride this tire with confidence--it's one of the few products i'll give a five star endorsement to.
Similar Products Used: i am a forty year old mountain biker. you figure out how many tires i've tried in the past ten years
Bike Setup: sc superlight 25.5lbs dog dick red without stickers and all the good stuff you can think of
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Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: December 1, 2001
Bottom Line:
This tire seems OK and I'm planning on sticking with it. It's fast enough, Grips pretty well in corners and uphills, sheds scat, it's wearing well. Good all around.
Submitted by
Les
a Cross Country Rider
from Toledo, OR.
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2001
Strengths: Low rolling resistance, climbing, side hill traction, cornering, front or rear use.
Weaknesses: Slings objects off the trail, can plug up in sticky stuff
Bottom Line:
Have been using these tires in every condition and I'm always suprised with there performance. They climb great and hold a line on the downhill. They have saved me a few times when I should have went down but they hooked up and pulled me thru. I put one on the front and turned it around so that the paddles face back and it gives good control on soft or slick downhill or sidehill runs. The rolling resistance is pretty low considering but they are noisy when you have to be on the pavement. A great tire for all seasons. I also use the Alpha / Omega combo for the summer, another great combo. I haven't had them long enough to test the wear but so far they seem to be holding up real well. If you need a tire for loose, muddy trails or trails with alot of trail debret, these work great. They work great on hard dry trails also but why wear them out when you can use a semi-slick like the Alpa-Omega pair.
Strengths: Rolls like a semi-slick, hooks up like a fat knobby. WCS level is lighter than they list it!
Weaknesses: A little pricey at list ($49.99) but I talked them down to a more reasonable figure. Other than that, nothing so far.
Bottom Line:
I stuck the 1.9 on the back with the Speedmax Alpha 2.1 WCS on the front. This combo is the best I've tried. I corner faster, roll faster, feel more confident than any tire combo I've tried to date. I weighed the tire on a calibrated postal scale before I put it on the bike, and it came in at 436g. That's even lighter than Ritchey says! The Alpha WCS came in at 473g, again, lighter than the listed weight. One great thing about the Ritchey line is that you can grab the pro or comp level tire with the same tread pattern for training, then throw on the lightweight WCS for your race. I'm sold!
Similar Products Used: Mythos XC, Revolt Super X, Python Gold
Bike Setup: GF Sugar with Rolf Propel wheels.
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Submitted by
Robin Young
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2001
Strengths: I have the blue wall WCS - paid $30 each for 2 tires Excellent grip, low rolling resistance
Weaknesses: None yet
Bottom Line:
Holds well on hard pack, tracks ok in sand, corners well, brakes well. I ran about 50#'s at first, front was a little slick, backed off the pressure to around 40#, still rolls well, still corners well and brakes great. Am running the ZED front and rear. Excellent tire.
Similar Products Used: Several Specialized, Pnanracer, Ritchey ZMax (front), Mythos (rear)
Bike Setup: Specialized Stumpjumper M2 FS
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Submitted by
Andreas Klauser
a Cross Country Rider
from Munich
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2001
Strengths: Grip, low driving resistance,
Weaknesses: perhaps 150g extra weight
Bottom Line:
Have used them for more than a year now. The tyres are still in very good condition. With respect to performance, they're really the best tyres I've used. Seduced by the low weight, I tried the Conti Twister Supersonic. These changed the chararcter of the bike quite a lot. The bike was much livelier then, but a good deal more difficult to control. After a week I put one the good ol' Ritcheys again, and pissed on the extra weight. No punctured tyres with Ritchey/Conti Latex. So any one who does not want to win a race on dry terrain cannot do any better than with the ZEDs.
Submitted by
Steve Briggs
a Cross Country Rider
from Newport Beach, CA USA
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2001
Strengths: Hooks up terrifically, low rolling resistance, great mileage, low wear.
Weaknesses: Could be wider for me.
Bottom Line:
This is an update of my first review a year ago. My opinion hasn't changed a bit. This is a great tire. The WCS version has lasted me a year. I've worn out a chain, and a cassette, but the tires keep on rolling.
Buy this tire if you're riding on hardpack, loose gravel, sand, roots, or mud. I'm 6'3" (193 cm) 230# (105 kg) - it works for me.
I'm sure there are tires coming from other manufactures which will improve their performance, but Ritchey hit it right. Long live ZEDs!
Submitted by
mike DeGasperis
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: January 14, 2001
Strengths: Great rolling resistance / excellent grip on hard pack
Weaknesses: Not very good as a front tire / Some of the knobs tear away
Bottom Line:
I would have to say that as rear tire you can't go wrong for the price if your on hard pack or slightly loose terain. Recieved a 4 on overall only because I can't use it on the front as well. It is advertized as a front and rear specific tire.
