All condition all terrain tire with ZSG Natural compound provides unparalleled grip and durability in a tough and light casing. Excellent mud shedding and outstanding descending properties.
Submitted by
el-guapo
a Cross Country Rider
from Coeur d'Alene, ID, USA Date Reviewed: April 2, 2009
Favorite Trail:
all
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$40.00
Strengths:
Very durable and grip well in both the dry, loose stuff and the mud.
Weaknesses:
A bit slower rolling than some.
Similar Products Used:
Specialized Armadillo, Maxxis
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Rush 2000
Bottom Line:
My favorite tubeless tire so far. I ride where it is either loose and rocky or muddy and rocky. There is little in-between or hardpack. I will pedal a little harder on the uphill to get the feel they give on the downhill. The control and durability are the selling points for me. They have already outlasted the Specialized tires I bought. I realize the Specialized were a slightly softer compound, but I still would buy these over any other to date.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mikesg
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Cruz, CA Date Reviewed: March 21, 2009
Favorite Trail:
UCSC - all of them
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
online, on sale
Strengths:
predictable, not too heavy, good grip in DRY conditions
Weaknesses:
sticky w/lots of rolling resistance, a bit heavy for XC racing, good for trail riding though.
Similar Products Used:
most WTB tires, pretty much all Conti tires, some Kendas, some Michelins
Bike Setup:
Moment / XTR
Bottom Line:
Good tire for dry had-packed conditions. Excellent cornering when properly inflated: this is probably the most important thing to note - run these at 35 - 40 psi, no less, no more.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Psycho Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Date Reviewed: February 17, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Depends on my mood
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
Local bike shop
Strengths:
Decent volume, fairly low rolling resistance, ramped centre knobs, good tread life and decent grip.
Weaknesses:
Typical Panaracer tire....their 2.1 is more like a 1.9-1.95.
Similar Products Used:
Kenda Nevegal, Panaracer Fire XC Pro, Bontracer ACX, Continental Edge/Slash (note, some were ghetto tubeless vs true tubeless)
Bike Setup:
Heavily modified / upgraded Gary Fisher Cake 2 DLX
Bottom Line:
Bike tires are all about trade-offs. The Rampages are no different. I had good experiences with long wearing Panaracer products in the past (Fire XC Pros) and this more open and ramped tread promised better rolling resistance and better clearing in the snow, slush and sticky mud in my local area. My first impression was that they were, indeed, a lot faster.
The Rampages last a good time (I got a full season of 2000+ km out of my rear, the front has since been rotated to the back), but they do give up a bit of grip to other, softer/faster wearing tires.
These tires have a fairly round profile to them...which can be both a blessing and a curse. Leaned over, they tend to let go a little faster than some other tires that have a more angled profile (Nevegals), but they seem to transition to the lean more smoothly.
Getting them on my Mavic 819 rims was easy...when the bead is clean, they pop right into the bead with a minimal amount of fuss. I made use of some Stan's in mine....made for a harder re-mount if the bead wasn't cleaned, but also made for a tire that didn't let go of much air. Decent weight for a true UST tire. Never had any issues with flats and only managed one burp running pretty low pressure at the local bike park (poor off-camber landing...pilot error :) )
Overall, if you want a pretty decent, long-ish wearing all-rounder that can clear muck pretty well and has a thinner width, these should definitely be something to look at. If you're wanting to run 2.1's on ladders or other built up stuff, or you're willing to sacrifice longevity for grip, you'll find these a little lacking.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Paul
a Weekend Warrior
from ALB NM US Date Reviewed: December 1, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Otero Canyon, Sandia Mtn
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$38.00
Purchased At:
Fat Tire Cycles
Strengths:
Grips the small BB rocks and rolls OVER the sand beds
Weaknesses:
Rolls slower...than my old Maxis
Similar Products Used:
Maxis
Bike Setup:
Jamis Dakota 29 XL frame...the usual stuff
Bottom Line:
I needed a tire that would grip the trails without sliding around. The Maxis tire didnt cut it. Ive had some bad wipe outs going into turns becasue the Maxis tire just slid out losing traction. Since Ive put the Rampage on Ive been floating through/over sand beds, gripping off camber turns on the high side of the single tracks at about 25 mph. I also ride on some trails that have that light weight lava rocks on the path...these tires didnt spinout. Im running with tubes at the moment...Oh ya I rode through some nasty goatheads in AZ...they didnt allow the GH's to go through (no flats)...my old Maxis had instant flats with half the GH's I dont roll as fast as the Maxis but Im not on the ground picking up the pieces after a wipe out or fixing flats...so the time saved riding is worth the roll. I just have to pedal faster.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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