Submitted by
vandalay711
a Cross Country Rider
from NC
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2010
Strengths: Light as a feather. 2.35 inches.
Weaknesses: Extremely weak sidewalls. I bought 4 of these tires that were "take-offs" from Specialized Enduro bikes. Ripped the sidewalls on all 4 in less than a month.
Bottom Line:
Don't buy and this has really turned me off on Specialized products. I have a durable lightweight all mountain sled, but trying to save 100 grams on tires is not the way to go.
Similar Products Used: I've used a lot of tires and these are just terrible. Now I know why the shop was taking them off the Enduro's.
Bike Setup: Pivot Firebird that is fairly stock.
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Submitted by
Tzvia
a Weekend Warrior
from Woodland Hills CA
Date Reviewed: November 27, 2009
Strengths: Light weight. Good in sand and loose. Rolls fast on hard pack and loose over hard. Good cornering. Feels lively and responds to line changes quickly but also feel stable. Great as an XC/trail and not as an extreme trail tire.
Weaknesses: I think the problem here is what people buy it for/expect it to do, vs what it is. I would not call any tire with such thin sidewalls a good 'bomb down the mt' tire. I would not ride these in areas with sharp large rocks and don't see them as 'all-mountain'. Zero stars there. See it for what it is and not what Spec markets it as.
Bottom Line:
All mountain they are not. 0 stars.
That's not how I am rating them here as I ride trails, few small jumps/stairsteps. Some technical XC/trail with lots of sand/roots/some rock gardens, typical So Cal. I'm a finesse rider looking for a good finesse tire that can stick a line, float sand, roll fast, corner well, make julienne fries. Maybe not the fries, but you know, a good all round tire. This is a good front tire for my use. Time will tell if the sidewalls are too thin for even me. More extreme riders should look at the Sport, Grid UST or Armadillo versions; maybe they would have the tougher sidewalls that AM riding demands. My value and overall ratings are how it fits my riding.
Similar Products Used: Captains, Weirwolfs, Wolverines, Tiogas, old Team Master/Team Controls, Nevegals, Smalblocks.
Bike Setup: S Works Safire.
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Submitted by
leo_s
a Cross Country Rider
from denver
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2009
Strengths: Lightweight, grippy in most conditions
Weaknesses: Punctured after taking a big hit
Bottom Line:
Pretty much super grippy in nearly all colorado conditions (front range, western slope), never had a puncture with it til I went to Moab and came flying off a three foot drop blind and hit a big rock square-on at high speed which unseated the tire just long enough to deflate it and unfortunately my sealant was all dried up. Otherwise, tire would have resealed and life would go on. oh well. Love the tire. Feels funny at first when leaning hard into turns -- feels like it may wash out but then just grabs on tight and gets you through nicely. Once you get used to it you can FLY.
Bike Setup: santa cruz heckler, dt swiss EX 5.10 w dt swiss rims w tubeless conversion kit, sram 9.0
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Submitted by
DHAnimal:-)
a Downhiller
from Derbyshire
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2009
Strengths: Lightweight, good for dry light trail/XC
Weaknesses: Poor grip in wet conditions, prone to pinch flats.
Bottom Line:
The knobbles on these tyres ar just not big enough for the intended use of the enduro bike, terrible grip in the wet especially on roots/rocks. I took them down my favourite trail and had a pinch flat after 1/2 a mile followed by an allmighty "off" on wet roots resulting in my arm being broken in three places! Don't bother with them unless you like your tame trail rides.
Bike Setup: Trek liquid 20, Nixon platinum, fox talus
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Submitted by
gmalan
a Weekend Warrior
from NSW, Australia
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2009
Strengths: Excellent grip, light weight.
Weaknesses: Sidewalls are just too soft and vulnerable. Also, initially loses a lot of air through sidewalls when running tubeless. If you scratch the sidewall and your tubeless is flat in minutes...
Bottom Line:
These tyres came with my Enduro, helping it to get to its advertized low weight. For an "all-mountain" bike, they are totally inapproriate and way too prone to puncturing. Run them with tubes and you get pinch-flats. Run them tubeless and they flat at the slightest scratch on the side-wall.
The grip is great and they really are light, so they may be suitable on a XC bike (like an Epic) but even then I wouldn't run them tubeless on rocky terrain.
I've changed to Maxxis Minions with thicker (Freeride)tubes after getting about 12 flats in as many rides with the Eskars...
Submitted by
nowshon
a Weekend Warrior
from orange county, ca,usa
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2009
Strengths: Light weight, high volume, float, easy mounting, great traction
Weaknesses: Costs a fair bit
Bottom Line:
I'm a bit of a tire junkie, and I recently converted to tubeless. Wondering why I waited so long, what a difference! Anyway, I hesitated to try the Eskar S-Works based on reviews here, but took the plunge a few weeks ago. I must say I'm glad I took the chance. I'm honestly confused by the predominantly negative reviews. I'm really pleased with the performance. I'm running the Eskar in the front only so far, with about 27 lbs of air and a scoop of Stans, and loving the volume, cush and grip of the tire. I've ridden it on babyheads, shale, hardpack, pine needles and sand and have not noticed any transition issues between the top row and side row of knobs. Maybe I just don't ride fast enough to really hang it out there, and of course it's too early to really gauge durability. In any case, I believe the tire deserves a ratings boost. $60 is alot to pay for a tire, but not unheard of in this day and age, eh?
Similar Products Used: nevegal, conti speed kings, mutanoraptor, IRC Serac, small block 8
Bike Setup: heckler with Stan's flow rims, Stan's yellow tape and a scoop of sealant.
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Submitted by
tommfuller
a Cross Country Rider
from Aberdeeen, UK
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2009
Strengths: These tyres came as standard on my Enduro. They are light, and have really good grip in a variety of conditions
Weaknesses: The lightness means they are susceptible to punctures. I have had numerous punctures from small thorns, small sharp gravelly rocks and so on. Not really acceptable.
Bottom Line:
I suspect these are fitted as standard to make the bike seem nice and light. They are a really light tyre, but if you ride on anything even remotely sharp I'd avoid them.
Submitted by
Rockhopper66
a Cross Country Rider
from Germany
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2009
Strengths: good adhesion on rocky trails when dry
Weaknesses: excessive wear (worn after one week at Lago di Garda); very low puncture resistance,
Bottom Line:
I personally believe Specialized should stick on making bikes and stop bothering cyclists with such tires. On my last ride I suffered front and rear flats. Had to use 7 patches; my friend with michelin all mountains didn't had any problems. Now I switched to Michelin too.
Similar Products Used: Schwalbe Fat Albert & Racing Ralph; Michelin XCR Mud & All Mountain & XLS,
Bike Setup: Specialized Enduro SL Comp (Front & Rear 150mm)
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Submitted by
njoehawkeye
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2009
Strengths: Light for tire this fat. Rolls fast. Great traction. Did seal easily with Stan's. Don't use that Bontrager Super Juice, was on sale at my LBS, it's crap, never worked.
Weaknesses: No problems yet, but I question the durability of the sidewall compared to the Control version. Also pricey compared to Control.
Bottom Line:
These tires are worth every penny. Are trails on the front range are loose as !@$$, and I think these corner way better than my nevegals, and I could feel the difference in rolling resistance instantly. CAn't speak to the longevity yet, but I'm a light rider so I don't really pound sidewalls like some. However I've had these on trails I rode with Nevegals and had cut sidewalls. That's why I put a control version on the rear. They're definitely built heavier duty.
Similar Products Used: Geax Segarrado, Michelin XCR AT
Bike Setup: Opus Maadh1 fox float RLC
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Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Boulder,CO
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2008
Strengths: Very light for tubeless, large volume tire. Soft rubber for good traction. Rolls well.
Weaknesses: Thin sidewalls, requires sealant. Width seems a bit narrow for 2.3 sizing, at least compared to Hutchinson and Kenda.
Bottom Line:
For the weight, this is the most traction and volume I have found on a UST tire. I'm using as front tire only because I'm harder on rear tires and these tires have thin casings. Love the high (tall) volume which makes for a plush ride when running lower pressure 20-25 psi (I'm ~150 lbs). Rubber is sticky and adheres well to rocks, sandstone, and loose over hardpack. Tire corners and rolls well. Stopping traction is good, but Hutchinson Barracuda UST is superior. This is my current favorite for tubeless front wheel operation.
Similar Products Used: Hutchinson Barracuda UST (my current favorite for rear tire), Vertical Pro UST, Nevegal UST, Ignitor UST.
Bike Setup: Yeti 575, 819 UST rims.
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Submitted by
dvklco@msn.com
a Weekend Warrior
from Broomfield, Colorado
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2008
Strengths: Like the traction and the way they corner turns.
Weaknesses: durability seems to be the main issue...already after only 5-6 rides I noticed cuts in the tire.
Bottom Line:
Probably wouldn't buy these tires because of durability issues...as stated in a magazine review, they seems to slip at first in turns but then the outside tread grips like glue...kinda weird feeling at first but a neat feeling when you know they will grip.
Similar Products Used: WTB Weirwolf and Mutoraptor
Bike Setup: Specialized Enduro SL 2008
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Submitted by
Ob1Hoagie
a Weekend Warrior
from Durango,CO US of A
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2008
Strengths: Light weight, Seals up well for tubeless, "decent" traction.
Weaknesses: SIDEWALLS.... they can't handle the terrain in the Rocky Mtns though I actually think a root took out the sidewall on this tire. Also, if you weigh around 200 pds and rail the downhills you WILL have to run this tire w/higher pressure as the thin sidewalls will flex on you causing you to drift off line.
Bottom Line:
Nice tires for lightweight riders who ride "very" carefully.
There is a reason Spsh has a new version of this tire with - and I quote Spsh's website - "Now with 420/D1 casing for improved cut resistance" ! ;-) I would say if you're gonna get this tire then you're better off getting the tire w/the improved cut resistance otherwise you could end up like me...fixing the tire 8 miles out getting eaten up by mosquitoes as you fix the tire by the side of the trail.
Similar Products Used: You name the bike tire manufacturer and I've probably ridden on one of their tires.
Bike Setup: '08 Spsh Enduro Expert. My new "used" demo bike ! ;-)
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Submitted by
humdinger
a Weekend Warrior
from Berkshire, UK
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2008
Strengths: Large volume. Seals easily. Strong sidewalls. Very lightweight for tubeless tyre. Strong and predictable grip. VERY impressive rolling speed. Great value
Weaknesses: None yet!
Bottom Line:
Superb tires, absolutely impressed thus far. No weakness in sidewalls of strength of tires and bearing in mind I've been shredding the trails around Scotland for a week. If these tires can withstand the rocky trails of Scotland, they can withstand anything near enough. Grip excellent, rolling resistance very impressive and good tire volume and width.
Really highly recommended.
My old Schwalbe Albert 2.25's have run there course and needed to be replaced.
So on a whim (and lots of googling) I picked up a Specialized Eskar S-WORKS 2Bliss 2.3 DCT for the f Read More »
Just got a set, mounted them up to my Mavic Crossland UST wheels with the usual 2 scoops of Stan's. They mounted up fine, no issues, nice "ping" sound as the compressor seated the Read More »
I have been using the Specialized Eskar S-Works 2Bliss for more than a year now and I've been pretty happy with them. On the plus side they are light as tubeless tire go (650g), v Read More »
