Submitted by
leadphinger
a Cross Country Rider
from Lincoln, NE
Date Reviewed: January 26, 2010
Strengths: Amazing float, tenacious grip, and tank-like durability
Weaknesses: Heavy, stiff sidewalls
Bottom Line:
As the only cross country rider masochistic enough to ride these tires, I feel obligated to provide a review. First off, these tires handle great once the pressure is dialed in and rebound dampening of fork/shock to manage the bouncy nature of the stiff sidewalls. As for grip, all you could need on a bike. Really predictable break-away characteristics.
As for climbing, I don't know what all the fuss is about! They are heavy, that's for sure, but once you find a nice rhythm they roll over anything. That's a huge plus on rocky or technical climbs. I've ridden up stairs with these things on my bike! It's like owning a Pugsley without all the inherent weirdness of offset dropouts, 100mm bottom brackets, etc.
Buy a set for your cross country bike and join the fat bike revolution!
Bike Setup: Turner Burner, Fox Vanilla shortened to 100mm of travel with a full XO build kit.
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Submitted by
suicidebomber
a Downhiller
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2008
Strengths: Toughness. Surprisingly high levels of grip. Impressive looking (if you could call it a strength) Dual compound very versatile, knobs are very tough.
Weaknesses: I thought at first it lacks the grip of say, a Minion or a Nevegal, but I was wrong. If there is a weakness, its weight. Like its big bro 3.0, its a slug especially in the back.
Bottom Line:
After being out of the saddle for almost half a year, I finally got back with a bike with Gazz jrs. And boy, these tires still rule. I thought these tires lack the "ultimate grip" of my buddies Minions and Nevys, but I was wrong. I was carving up sketchy turns of the suicide combo of leaves, rocks and mud at high speeds, and the Gazz I put on the front never flinched, never shook, and never went out of line.
When I asked my buddies after the ride, they said that I was going at crazy speeds while they were wary of the road...
Whoa. This maybe is THE ultimate front tire, and the thing is, I'm the only guy using it.
Submitted by
The Chuck
a Downhiller
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2007
Strengths: These tires are bulletproof. Excellent grip on many surfaces, Tough as hell. Hard compound works surprisingly well. Cheaper than similar-performing Nevegals.
Weaknesses: If ultimate grip is what you are after, get a Maxxis Super Tacky or a Kenda Stick-E compound tire. The Gazz Jr.s hard compound will not offer the same kind of grip. Heavy as hell too. Mud sticks to the Gazz, and the tires keep on rolling even on hard braking sometimes. Did I mention it's heavy?
Bottom Line:
Uber tough tire that can take whatever Mother F'in Nature has to offer, but its not a very XC friendly tire due to its weight. Very much at home in both DH and FR, with its pain treshold only rivalling Josh Bender's. No need for the Gazzaloddi 3.0s, the Gazz Jr. is definitely more than man enough.
Bike Setup: Chucker 2.0, Deore groupset, Shimano mech brakes, Gazz Jrs, Power V seat,Fuji Seatpost, Da Bomb MINIME stem and Napalm pedals, Mavic 223X, Marzocchi 2002 Dirt Jumper II FR type (130mm)
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Submitted by
racer
a Cross Country Rider
from Asheville, nc
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2007
Strengths: great pinch protection, hooks up like nothing else, able to run stupid low air presure, nice ruber compound (not too soft or hard)
Weaknesses: I would say weight, but that's part of the reason it performs so well. XC'ers will whine over the weight, but not many xc'ers would want to run a 2.6 anyway.
Bottom Line:
I've run quite a few tires in this class, none hook like the JR's. Pinch protection is awesome! I've never ripped a lugg off, or had issues with side walls. The construction is far better than any other tire I've used. These are spendy tires, but the quality is there. If you live in a wet environment these tires work well becuase of their ability to be run with very low pressure. They don't shed slop all that well, but they manage to hook up in all conditions I've used them for. They weight a ton, but are still my tire of choice for 20 to 40 mile trial rides. They hook so well I run the rear until it's a semi slick. I can still rail corners with these things worn past the indicators because of the large side lugs. I'll be running the Gazz for years to come.
Strengths: Excellent cornering, braking, and durability
Weaknesses: No weaknesses for what they are designed for
Bottom Line:
Best Freeride tire I've used, by far the best cornering. Very strong, rides nice due to the soft compound, showing some wear, but have been run on pavement, did not wear as fast as I thought they would, obviously have more rolling resistance on pavement, but thats expected.
Highly recommend for freeride and downhill, probably one of the best, if not the best bang for the buck.
Strengths: thick sidewalls, beefy tread that doesn't wear too rapidly and grips well, made in finland and not some third world country
Weaknesses: Those nice beefy knobs that make up the tread shear off in rocky terrain. My front wheel is fine, but the left side of my rear wheel is missing half of the knobs right now. They do have a lot of miles on them though.
Bottom Line:
They connect really well on every surface that I've taken them on. I wouldn't replace the rear with another Gazza Jr because it didn't hold up so well back there. I can't comment on riding in the mud because I live in Phoenix, but as long as you aren't taking them through rocky, technical trails, they're great tires. Even if you are riding in those conditions, they're still pretty good.
Strengths: nice sticky rubber, very nice and soft tyre
Weaknesses: probably no, dont't know yet really
Bottom Line:
Very nice tire but I recomend: DON'T use it with BOMBER DIRT JUMPER III 2003 Yeasterday during landing (not to straighth) it stoped within fork!!!! DJ III 2003 is not wide enough :( OFcourse it finished with very painfull loop over front wheel.
note: it happens only after biger jumps with not perfect landing it happend after about 20 nice jumps
so after only one day I'll have to try to fit this tyre on back wheel I wish it will fit front but I don't wont to try such landing again (going back to nokian gazza 2.3 on front wheel)
Strengths: Hooks up well in all surfaces..Amazing durability, knobbies don't wear out after 20 rides! Great tread pattern for cornering loamy dirt, plus it comes in a 24" size!
Weaknesses: PRICE! After tax I paid 65 bucks for a bike tire. My truck tires are the same price!
Bottom Line:
If you own a Specialized big hit and are confined to a 24" rear wheel, than this tire is for you! I have worn through other tires in 2 months but this tire appears to be impervious to wear! This tire rolls right over big rocks and logs where other tires want to slide off. I have not yet had a chance to try in mud but I have much better control after switching to this tire. I run one in the rear and it is great for switchbacks and riding in dusty conditions. Very expensive though.
Similar Products Used: Specialized roller RS, IRC kujo DH, Maxxis High Roller, Maxxis mobster
Bike Setup: Specialized Big Hit Expert etc...
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Submitted by
Stefan Roeder
a Downhiller
from Cologne, Germany
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2004
Strengths: Very good grip on hard and dry surface. Even on lose surface, grip is very good ! Hard to pinch flat ! Low rolling resistance - so good choice for freeride marathons. Does not wear fast.
Weaknesses: A bit unpredictable under wet and muddy conditons. Gets a bit slippery !
Bottom Line:
I really like the Gazza under dry conditions. It is a very good allrounder. So I'd recommend it for urban riding as well as DH/Freeride races. Its weak point is in the wet and muddy condition. Here other tires are better to handle. But nevertheless: a very good allrounder !
Bike Setup: 03 Bullit, Shiver DCs, Race Face, Hope Bulbs and M4s etc etc
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Submitted by
Guillaume
a Downhiller
from Comox, British Columbia, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2003
Strengths: Insanely Durable, Never a Flat
Weaknesses: NONE!!
Bottom Line:
These are awesome tires I got them used on my bike and they were very worn but due to lack of funds i haven't replaced them yet and they still have good grip and have barely lost anymore rubber than what they had a year ago. My Next tire will be a Gazzalodi 3.0, I highly recomend Gazzalodi's to any freerider or Downhiller but not as much a Downhill racer because they are heavy, but thats to expect
Strengths: No pinch flats!!!!! Big with lots of air = cushion. Pretty stiff sidewalls, so no rear end "sway" like the 2.3 core Nokian. Great in loose rocks. Excellent stopper. Wears quite well.
Weaknesses: Not a great wet weather tire, but no worse than most other standard duro tires. Sticky rubber works in those conditions, but wears like butter.
Bottom Line:
Great tires. Good mix of durability and grip. I'm a big rider (220+) who likes drops to flat concrete, flying over & through loose rocky stuff, climbing stairs, anything; I use the Banshee for commuting, which includes some loading dock drops and stair gaps to get my blood flowing on the way to and from work, and these don't pinch flat - never in a year, even over lots of sharp concrete at speed. Amazing, really. In dry weather the grip can't be beat, but in the wet, and particularly in slippery rooty or rocky sections, the sticky rubber compounds are better. I've been on a pair I bought used on Ebay for about six months, and they're just going and going and going. I keep a new pair for dry Plattekill riding. If you're reading this you'll not be put off by 3 lbs per tire. You can get 'em for $90.00 a pair shipped at unrealcycles.com. Other than the wet weather they're a really fine all around tire.
Purchased At: Ebay (used) & don't recall where I bought the new ones
Similar Products Used: Intense Intruder & Intense 909 (great tires for wet stuff, but man, do they wear fast, and heavy?? like 1600g, which is good for gyroscopic effect at high speeds), Nokian Cores, Conti vert. pros for xc.
Bike Setup: 1. MC San Andreas w/progressive 5th coil 6" travel; 2. Banshee Morphine.
Strengths: Hard cornering, not bad rolling resistance, reasonable price, rock soild build
Weaknesses: none noticed
Bottom Line:
I bought this after I wore my endro down to the nub in two mouths of lite riding and the store guy recomend it. The first thing i noticed was the fact that i had a bit more clearence between the stays with the more rounded profie the the enduro. The tire has a soild fealing and I plan on making it tubeless in the near future. What most impessed me is that after a heavy week of ashvalt riding the nubs are bearly worn off.
Similar Products Used: kenda kintics 24x2.6 and specilased endro 24x2.5
Bike Setup: mostly stock '03 norco rampage
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Submitted by
Jay
a Downhiller
from Taytay, Rizal. Philippines
Date Reviewed: March 16, 2003
Strengths: Excellent in loose soil and rocky sections Looks nice and strong Rare pinch flats compared to Maxxis
Weaknesses: Knobs are too extended it seems to bend on fast solid rock-like terrain. Expensive Hard to pedal
Bottom Line:
The only reason why I bought these tires is to have a more stable front end by switching to a 2.6" since my front tire always washed out when I land big drops. The gazzaloddi jr in the front lived up to expectation. It is also stable in the rocky section but not much difference than my old tire. However, the gazzaloddi 2.3 in the rear does not quite hold.
During my last ride, I felt like I had a flat rear tire because my rear end keeps swaying left and right. My friend told me its because of the knobs and advise me to set up the pressure high.
Having this problem really affects the way you handle your bike and dampens confidence. I'll try to get some more saddle time in this set-up and try all types of terrain. But for hard rock dirt and fast terrain like in GROTTO, I'll probably switch back to my trusty Kujo DH on the rear.
The bottom line is, its not worth the money. This tire was made with specific terrain in mind: loose and soft soil (like in Peak 3, Tagaytay). Not for all around freeriding and DH.
Bike Setup: Da Bomb Cherrybomb, Marzocchi DJ3, Gazzaloddi Jr 2.6 front, 2.3 rear and other freeride parts.
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Submitted by
Luke B
a Weekend Warrior
from England
Date Reviewed: December 25, 2002
Strengths: These tyres absolutely rock they hold the line brillianlty in really bad British conditions (mud,mud,mud!). They make you feel invincible due to there large size. They run really low presures 22-36 psi ,I run around 30 psi cuz im a bit of hit it and hope for the best sort of rider !!. They seem to be very strong and hard to pinch. And the grip is awesome meaning you can corner more aggressively. The size..... they just look the dogs nutzz. All Black colour.
Weaknesses: Maybe weight but this is not a fault with these tyres as they are not really designed for X-Country are they!!. If your putting them onto Mavic D321 rims they are evil to get on but once you get the technique right its not to bad to change a tube if needs be.
Bottom Line:
At the end of the day these are great tyres for Hard riding be it extreme X-Country or Downhill, I regually do 25 mile round journey to my local Downhill Circuit and they are a major drag on the uphills and roads but they more than make up for it going down. NOT one for the weight weenies out there.But there again how many wennies Free-ride !! Just go get some now.
