• Rear-specific VFA tread design
• Paddle-style knobs for ultimate climbing, braking and accelerating traction
• WCS, Pro and Comp versions
• 26x1.9 or 26x2.1
Submitted by
soccerjett
a Cross Country Rider
from Clarkston, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2008
Strengths: Fast Rolling, Cornering, Light, Climbing
Weaknesses: Less Volume?
Bottom Line:
These tires (rear) are the best for giving you speed and cornering control. You will power slide around the corners but still have control of the bike if you have enough balls to do it. They never feel sketchy. The paddles practically lift you up the hills.
I had a WTB tire on the back that I really liked but it was worn out so I pulled this of my SS. I forgot how sweet this tire is. Back to eBay to look for some more!
Similar Products Used: Continental Survivals, Spec. Adrenaline, WTB tires, etc
Bike Setup: 2006 Ironhorse Azure Expert
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ryan Baldassaro
a Cross Country Rider
from Conyers, Ga
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2007
Strengths: Fast and super Light! Corners superbad and hooks up nicely in the hardpack.Running a 1.9 and the sucker takes off under power.
Weaknesses: Better be sitting when climbing,or you'll lose traction w/ the 1.9 have a 2.1 and its somewhat better. A total BEYOTTCCH to pull off a rhyno lite, I suggest another rim/tire combo
Bottom Line:
IF you can still find these and race, buy em! I got mine fairly cheap and dont regret it. Very fast tire and the excavader/elevader combo is super fast and seriously holds the lines under the hardest descents (conyers olympic mtb course). Extremely light. This is a rear only like the others said and has a tendency to wear fast in the middle but the knobs held up well. Your but will pay w/ the 1.9(not much cush) but no pinch flats yet.
Bike Setup: easy to fix on rim (I really don't understand people who criticize this tire for this reason)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Alexandre
a Weekend Warrior
from Sherbrooke, QC
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2006
Strengths: Pretty light, low resistance, good as a commuter tire (tarmac and gravel), very cheap price (Pro version, 10$ on eBay)
Weaknesses: Quite scary when things get slightly muddy (you need to go straight or you will slip). They wear very quickly, too quickly in my opinion. After 2 rides I was already missing 10 side knobs... The kevlar bead is a MAJOR pain to unmount. I snapped 3 plastic tire tools trying to take it off and almost bent my precious rim.
Bottom Line:
You will need metal tire tools and lots of patience/luck to unmount the Elevader... Believe me, this is a MAJOR drawback, especially when you need to fix a tube puncture on site. The tires are really not good all-around and slip easily if you encounter wet terrain. I would steer clear unless you are a serious weight junky!
Similar Products Used: IRC Mythos XC, Specialized Stout,
Bike Setup: 2002 Jamis Dakar
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Justen
a Weekend Warrior
from Alamogordo, NM
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2006
Strengths: Fast, light, grippy
Weaknesses: The Kevlar bead is HORRIBLE to get on and off of the rim. I can't believe that I didn't bend my rim or break a tire lever on this stupid tire. I nearly took a knife to it yesterday while changing over to my slicks...
Bottom Line:
I don't recommend this tire. You can get the same performance out of a lot of other tires without the headaches or the quick wear.
Submitted by
Rich
a Cross Country Rider
from Georgia
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2006
Strengths: Light weight (actual 472 grams), super strong climbing power, durable construction, great on dry, hard, loose or stoney surfaces, great on wet roots and wet slickrock, releases mud quite well.
Weaknesses: Slides a bit in slick mud while cornering.
Bottom Line:
I currently run this 1.9 WCS Elevader with a Maxxis Minotaur 380 front tire. This combo is killer! There is now nothing this bike won't climb as long as my legs have the power to push the pedals. This rear tire has yet to spin on me. It is not as light as my front tire/tube combo but I am running a Ritchey liteweight 130 gram tube in it to make up for some of the weight difference (On the front I use a slime 216 gram tube). For you weight weenies, my front tire/tube combo weighs 599 grams and my rear tire/tube combo weighs 602 grams! I just bought an extra Elevader WCS tire just in case I can't find them later when this one wears out. The only weak performance parameter of this rear tire is when encountering slick mud in fast turns. The tire does have a tendency to get squirrely on this type of surface while cornering. Hit this stuff straight on, or in a climb, and it handles it with ease. I feel this trade-off is acceptable considering how strong this tire performs on most every other surface type you will encounter . This tire gets my highest ratings!
Similar Products Used: Maxxis Minotaur 380, WTB Moto Raptor, Panaracer Dart and Smoke.
Bike Setup: Marin East Peak, w/lots of mods, weighing in at under 25lbs on certified scale.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from idaho
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2005
Strengths: low rolling resistance,grips in ALL conditions,wcs version available cheap
Weaknesses: none i have found so far
Bottom Line:
you can find these pretty cheap on ebay--the wcs version for close to ten bucks.so far the best tire ive found for the ever changing conditions here in the mountains of northern idaho.went out yesterday in slick mud with a layer of fresh pine needles on top and they still climbed strong at about 60 percent tread.love these tires.
Submitted by
Guillaume
a Cross Country Rider
from Nice - FRANCE
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2005
Strengths: Climbing - Excellent Motricity
Weaknesses: Stick on asphalt
Bottom Line:
I bought this tire in PRO version, 2.1 size for a rear use. I first used it on asphalt and my first feeling was hearing the noise of knobes-resistance. I read about the rolled very fast like semi-slick, that's a bit exagerated. Maybe the 1.9 is less resistant, I chose 2.1 for more comfort, they should roll much faster when they'll get a little bit used. Actually they get their total skills in real XC, riding in mountain, rocks, mud, they reveal a fantastic motricity, a great climbing capacity / low resistance ratio. Always in contact with ground, rarely sliding... traction traction, no energy loss. I wonder why Ritchey stop commercialized them in 2005, maybe to replace them by more polyvalent (Rear/Front) Excavader? Whatever, the Elevader is for me an excellent specific rear tire.
Similar Products Used: Panaracer Smoke, Ritchey Z-Max
Bike Setup: Kona XC, hard tail
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Whitney Jones
a Cross Country Rider
from Ohio
Date Reviewed: February 13, 2005
Strengths: +fast rolling +great on hard pack +great on wet roots +looks cool +no flats yet
Weaknesses: -fast wear 600 miles -not cheap
Bottom Line:
Sweet tire, fast rolling not a flat yet. Corners like on rails. If you XC this is your tire, for the rear at least. Great paired with the excavader in front.
Submitted by
Eric
a Racer
from Wilmington, DE, USA
Date Reviewed: November 30, 2004
Strengths: Really fast! Great Climber, excellent traction even on wet roots/ rocks! Good when braking.
Weaknesses: Sucks in the wet mud when cornering for some reason. Good for straight line traction in goopy stuff, but slip-and-slide in wet mud turns.
Bottom Line:
Great for hardpack, roots, rocks even when wet. Not made for handling in the slop, but straight line acceleration through the wet stuff is great. Very low rolling resistance. Good braking characteristics. I got the 2.1 Comp version and loved it so much that I purchased the 2.1 WCS version to drop some additional weight, although the Comp or Pro versions would suit heavier riders better. I will be using this tire as a rear for next year's race season. 5 chilli's for value, 4 chillies for overall due to lackluster cornering in the wet
Similar Products Used: IRC Mythos, Bontrager Jones
Bike Setup: Trek 7000 XT/ LX mix
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
cachehiker
a Cross Country Rider
from Logan, UT
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2004
Strengths: wicked fast, climb better than semi-slicks
Weaknesses: the braking is a lot like semi-slicks
Bottom Line:
I have the Excavader Pro 2.1 on the front and the Elevader Pro 2.1 on the rear. These tires are a blast to ride in the right conditions. They feel like they were made for many of the trails around here. Mainly wide double track where it's easy to pick a firm line and you don't use the brakes a lot. These will also be the tires I ride on the Slick Rock Trail this weekend.
There are a half-dozen loose, steep, technical, single track descents around here where these tires get a bit frightening. While trying to moderate your braking, they threaten to slip and slide right off the trail. They pack up with mud and their performance in the sand suffers, but this is obviously not what they were made for so I can't fault them for it.
Strengths: Weight (476 actual grams) Durability (so far) Stiff sidewall (but at 1.9 it's not like a big ol' marshmallow) And it's a good looking tire
Weaknesses: None so far. Maybe it's not heavily marketed??
Bottom Line:
A great, GREAT race or trail REAR tire if you're looking for a 1.9. Tip: does not easily convert to tubeless (the DIY/homebrew stuff) like others, but that's not a slap against the tire. It climbs all day long, has awesome braking traits and rails a corner superbly. I found a guy on ebay who sold me the WCS kevlar Elevader for $19 shipped.
Submitted by
Adam
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2004
Strengths: Fast rolling, sheds mud well, grips everything from wet rock to root, solid under braking
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
Surprised at how well the elevadre hooked up. Low profile, fast rolling knob that really digs in. With the variety of conditions we get, this tires seems to handel them with ease.
Was looking at the panaracer fires, but based on other reviews and price point, I went with the elevader rear and an excavader front. Glad I did.
Submitted by
Jim
a Weekend Warrior
from West Hartford, CT
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2003
Strengths: EleVader: Richey WCS 1.9 rear specific $49 and 490 g’s fantastic tire, true light weight, rolls fast and with good traction in wet/dry condition compared to Hutchison Pyphon Lite. Good side bite wet rocks/roots and didn’t plug up in the wet, plus better in sand. Didn’t mount easily to non UST rims using Stan’s NoTubes. I would rate traction as 25% better then the Phython’s and equal in speed. Good-looking tire/tread patter and rolls true, straight with no tread wander during rotation. Can’t describe dry conditions results yet here in CT, can’t wait!
Weaknesses: none identified
Bottom Line:
Excellant tire, added confidence in all situations
