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Specialized The Captain Sport Tire

3.71/5 (7 Reviews)

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Product Description

  • 60 TPI Casing
  • 70a Compound
  • Wire Bead
  • Butyl wrapped bead to prevent low pressure burping


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Reviews 1 - 7 (7 Reviews Total)

User Reviews

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:4
Submitted by justwan naride

Date Reviewed: November 13, 2012

Strengths:    Good rolling resistance, corners well and has reasonable weight. Too early to tell how it wears, but have been happy with specialized tires in the past. Looks like a real 2.2 inches as well. Quite reasonable pricing too.

Weaknesses:    Originally bought for use on the rear, but was very disappointed on loose surface (steep) climbs. The center knobs are not wide and paddle-like enough to provide enough traction on slow,steep, technical climbs.
On extreme lean angles it doesn't hold like a dh tire. That's quite obvious, but still I have to mention it. The thread doesn't extend so much to the sidewall to grip at such angles. My previous front tire was a specialized pinn'er and the harder you pushed, the better it gripped. It was a heavy mofo though and overkill on an xc/trail hardtail, so had to go. This might be improved when mounted on a wider rim.

Bottom Line:   
A good value for money allround xc/trail tire. Not the racy, zero traction type, more like your anytime, anywhere type. It has a tall, round profile (obviously that depends on the rim as well). Performs nicely on dry and damp (haven't tried it on really wet conditions yet).

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   anything tight & twisty.

Duration Product Used:   a month so far

Price Paid:    $25.00

Purchased At:   lbs

Similar Products Used:   Panaracer Fire xc pro 2.1, kenda nevegal 2.1, conti mountain king 2.2

Bike Setup:   100mm hardtail set up for trail/playfull xc riding. Wide bars, short stem, double and bashguard. The captain 2.2 front, old fire xc pro 2.1 rear.
Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Trailkiller1999 a Weekend Warrior

Date Reviewed: October 14, 2012

Strengths:    This tire has virtually no rolling resistance and you don't lose traction no matter what you go over.

Weaknesses:    None that I have found yet.

Bottom Line:   
I have had this tire for about 2 days and it will comfortably go go over everything my old tire had trouble with.I have a trail in my backyard and this morning i took my bike out and rode that for a little while but at the end of the ride i went up a steep hill and safely went over a medium sized loose rock. I would recommend this tire to anyone who needs a lot of traction but wants speed and low rolling resistance all at the same time.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   dwelling loop

Duration Product Used:   5 hours

Price Paid:    $30.00

Purchased At:   Outspokin

Similar Products Used:   Specialized fast trak lk sport.

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:5
Submitted by merc13000 a Cross Country Rider

Date Reviewed: August 29, 2012

Strengths:    Great Grip, Good rolling resistance for the amount of grip, looks awesome

Weaknesses:    Kinda Heavy - but expected at this price

Bottom Line:   
I have the Captain Sport 26 x 2.2 on my front end and it is the best front tire I've tried yet. It has more grip than I need and still rolls plenty fast. Also the tire has good volume that gives you confidence(especially on a hardtail). l I don't think there is a better overall tire on the market - works in dry, wet, sandy, paved and all other conditions. If you have the money to burn then go with the Control version for the lighter weight, but the sport version is enough for 90% of people out there.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   3 monts

Similar Products Used:   WTB Weirwolf, bontrager, Fast Trak

Bike Setup:   Sette Reken
Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by CSC a Cross Country Rider from Vancouver, WA

Date Reviewed: June 13, 2011

Strengths:    Grips very well to wet and dry surfaces, and clears mud well. Agressive, tall knobs on the 2.00" version. 2.00 measures closer to 2.2-2.25".

Weaknesses:    throws small rocks and such at the frame.

Bottom Line:   
I am not sure why the other reviewers for this tire have given it such a poor rating. All tires need to go through a "break-in" period, which should happen on dry pavement, which would fix the wet-road slipping others have mentioned. These tires come with Specialized's "Flak Jacket" Kevlar puncture protection, which remedies earlier puncture issues. Overall, a great tire. I will probably buy the control dual compound version when these wear out.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   all

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Purchased At:   River City

Similar Products Used:   WTB Mutanoraptor (would not rocomend for PNW riders)

Bike Setup:   2011 Specialized Rockhoper
Overall Rating:3
Value Rating:4
Submitted by billh71@gmail.com a Weekend Warrior from Raleigh, NC

Date Reviewed: May 6, 2010

Strengths:    Fast rolling, good wear, and decent traction in most conditions. Good for XC trail riding.

Weaknesses:    With tubes it doesn't feel planted leaned over. Slides enough to discourage leaning it hard. Could be lighter but that's what you get for budget tire.

Bottom Line:   
I was against buying these for replacements but now that i've tried them tubeless I am probably going to buy more. I'm still experimenting with the Fast Trak control 2.2,(its really light for it's size and traction) but think I will buy a 2.2 Captain Control for the front if the FT proves not to be grippy or cushy enough. I don't know if you can do better for 25 or 30$ of the sport version. I haven't looked much but I would look for something grippier if using a tube. If you have them try converting to tubeless. They change alot if you drop the pressure to 30 psi. or less.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Anglers Ridge

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Purchased At:   LBS

Similar Products Used:   Resolution pro D2, Mosquitos, Enduro s works.

Bike Setup:   Specialized Fsr XC Expert, tires came on it. Now using The Captain on the front with a Fast Trak on the rear and both tubeless on Bontrager Race lite wheelset. Yes, the sport will work tubeless with Stans, and it is WAY BETTER tubeless.
Overall Rating:2
Value Rating:3
Submitted by TC316 a Weekend Warrior from CANADA

Date Reviewed: December 1, 2009

Strengths:    Seem to have good traction. But this is only after one ride....

Weaknesses:    Punctures sidewall after one ride!!!!

Bottom Line:   
While cleaning my bike after a muddy ride, I noticed the punctured sidewall. I've never had this happen before on any other tire! And this is my first ride using these tires. Sidewalls seem a bit too thin. On the same tire, I noticed a few scratches that almost go to the cords. Very surprising especially for a Specialized product. I'm not interested in the lightest tire, I want something that's durable.......

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   LOCAL CONSERVATION AREA

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $25.00

Purchased At:   LOCAL BIKE SHOP

Similar Products Used:   Bontrager Jones

Bike Setup:   2008 FSR-XC EXPERT. AVID JUICY 3 BRAKES, RECON SL FORK, X-FUSION SHOCK, XT REAR SHADOW DERAILLEUR
Overall Rating:3
Value Rating:4
Submitted by Felix van Oost a Downhiller from Hamburg, Germany

Date Reviewed: March 23, 2008

Strengths:    Light Weight
Rolls Easily

Weaknesses:    Very Thin / Soft
Punctured Very Easily
Not Much Grip On Certain Surfaces

Bottom Line:   
The Specialized The Captain Sport Tyres came with my FSRxc Pro from the factory along with some Specialized Ultralite 0.6mm tubes. I used these tyres for XC, and they were very light and rolled easily. They had good traction and would corner well on loose surfaces.

However, on hard dirt and a little asphalt, the cornering ability was horrible, and the tyres would slip all the time unexpectedly, which was quite annoying on the morning commute to work. Running lower tyre pressures increased the traction somewhat on harder surfaces. The major problem that I had, however, were punctures. The tyres would puncture at least once a week (although it could be due to the thin inner tubes) which often cut a fun trail ride short. Specialized have released a Armadillo version of The Captain, which should drastically reduce or eliminate the puncture problem I had with my tyres.

Overall the tyres were quite a good value, and they had almost no wear after more than 6 months of daily riding. I have since replaced the The Captains on my bike with some Maxxis Holyrollers 2.2" (which are slightly wider) which gave a drastic increase in traction on hard surfaces (which I rode mostly on).

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Verbier, Switzerland

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Purchased At:   JODY Cycles

Similar Products Used:   Specialized Resolution, Specialized Fast Trak Sport

Bike Setup:   Specialized FSRxc Pro 2008
Reviews 1 - 7 (7 Reviews Total)

Review Options:  Sorted by Latest Review | Sort by Best Rating

The Captain Sport or Control?

ok so i am looking at a new [B]rear[/B] tire and i'm thinking about the Specialized [B]The Captain[/ ...
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