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Specialized
Eskar S-Works 2Bliss
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Submitted by
leo_s
a Cross Country Rider
from denver
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | steve's loop | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | wheat ridge cyclery | | Strengths: | Lightweight, grippy in most conditions | | Weaknesses: | Punctured after taking a big hit | | Similar Products Used: | kenda nevegal | | Bike Setup: | santa cruz heckler, dt swiss EX 5.10 w dt swiss rims w tubeless conversion kit, sram 9.0 | | 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. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
DHAnimal:-)
a Downhiller
from Derbyshire
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Edale | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Lightweight, good for dry light trail/XC | | Weaknesses: | Poor grip in wet conditions, prone to pinch flats. | | Similar Products Used: | Continental Vert Pro's/Diesels. | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Enduro | | 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. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
MB
a Weekend Warrior
from Mountain View, Wyoming, US
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Binghams | | Weaknesses: | Sidewalls are crap | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis | | Bike Setup: | Trek liquid 20, Nixon platinum, fox talus | | Bottom Line: | The sidewall got gashed in its second run down the mountain, beyond repair. Its pretty disapointing | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
gmalan
a Weekend Warrior
from NSW, Australia
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Red Hill | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | 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... | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis Minion | | Bike Setup: | 08 Specialized Enduro Expert | | 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... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
nowshon
a Weekend Warrior
from orange county, ca,usa
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Holy Jim/Trabuco | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | surf city cycles, HB | | Strengths: | Light weight, high volume, float, easy mounting, great traction | | Weaknesses: | Costs a fair bit | | 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. | | 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? | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tommfuller
a Cross Country Rider
from Aberdeeen, UK
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Bennachie | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with the bike | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rockhopper66
a Cross Country Rider
from Germany
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | came with the bike | | Strengths: | good adhesion on rocky trails when dry | | Weaknesses: | excessive wear (worn after one week at Lago di Garda); very low puncture resistance, | | Similar Products Used: | Schwalbe Fat Albert & Racing Ralph; Michelin XCR Mud & All Mountain & XLS, | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Enduro SL Comp (Front & Rear 150mm) | | 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.
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Submitted by
njoehawkeye
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Sourdough Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | mojo wheels. | | 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. | | Similar Products Used: | Kenda Nevegal 2.35's Stick-E and DTC. IRC Trailbears. Assorted WTB's | | Bike Setup: | Marin Wolf Ridge: stock except for the Specialized Rubber. S-Works front, Control rear. | | 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.
ride it like you stole it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
element 22
a Weekend Warrior
from North York
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Buckwallow | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Dukes | | Strengths: | Great traction in corners work well....BUT! | | Weaknesses: | These leak more that a collander, needs tonnes of sealant at that point whats the point | | Similar Products Used: | Geax Segarrado, Michelin XCR AT | | Bike Setup: | Opus Maadh1 fox float RLC | | Bottom Line: | These are not tubeless by any means | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Boulder,CO
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Mtn Lion | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | 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. | | 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. | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dvklco@msn.com
a Weekend Warrior
from Broomfield, Colorado
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Walker Ranch, Boulder | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Stock on Bike | | 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. | | Similar Products Used: | WTB Weirwolf and Mutoraptor | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Enduro SL 2008 | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ob1Hoagie
a Weekend Warrior
from Durango,CO US of A
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | All singletrack is GOOD ! | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came w/the bike... ' | | 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. | | 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 ! ;-) | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
humdinger
a Weekend Warrior
from Berkshire, UK
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Laggan Double black | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | berkshire cycles | | 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! | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis Highroller UST/Supertacky. | | Bike Setup: | Ibis Mojo SL WYF Build | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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