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Hutchinson
Spider Air Light
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Submitted by
BaggiesOnly
a Weekend Warrior
from Ohio
Date Reviewed: September 22, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Mohican wilderness | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | PricePoint | | Strengths: | Light weight! Corner good. Soft tire that can run at low pressure well, so traction is "sticky". Oh, and they are LIGHT Weight! | | Weaknesses: | Thin walls. Worn out fast | | Similar Products Used: | Bontrager Jones axc Panaracer Fire XC Pro | | Bottom Line: | These tires were good overall. If you like big fat tires that roll pretty fast, these work well. Don't expect the tread to last long as they are very soft. Having said that, they cling to rocks and roots like a fat guy to a box of donuts. They shed mud well because there are big spaces between nobs. (They also seemed to get puncturesd easily due to the big spaces between nobs.) Overall, I would probably use these again if the price was right. Not a spectacular tire but they corner and climb well in most conditions.Not for anything but off road riding. ( Your driveway will tear these up!) | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
schnellebig
a Cross Country Rider
from JO-MO, USA
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Turkey mountain, Tulsa, ok | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | bikenashbar.com | | Strengths: | This is the tubeless version of the spider. First of all, they were relatively light and lasted for a while. I rode them all year in all weather. They were excellent on hard pack to soft conditions. Mud cleared well due to their wide spaced lugs. Minimal rolling resistance. I ran stan's and never had a flat. I had 14 holes poked in my rear tire before it gave up the ghost. (not sure if that is due to the tire or due to stan's) Over all they were good tires. | | Weaknesses: | Like all tires, you need to know your bike and how it is tuned. These tires tended to break loose if I ran them over 35 PSI regardless of the trail conditions, so if you don't like to run your tires a little soft, avoid these. they were VERY unpredictable on wet roots or rocks, and tended to wash out on wet hard-pack. The soft compound was very susceptable to broked glass or thorns on trail. | | Similar Products Used: | Pythons, Serac, now switched to Fire XC Pro tubless | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Dakar full suspension with american classic rims and Stan's No-tube kit. | | Bottom Line: | Over all they were good tires. They seemed to perform real well in the sandier environments and less well on hard and wet trails. But heck, if you get a good price, you won't be disappointed cause there are not any "perfect" tires for all situations, and stopping to change tires for different conditions on the trail is impractical. I ride a lot at my home trails (outlaw trestles trail in Joplin) I like to have several different sets of tires for different trails and then set my bike up for the trail I plan to ride next. If you are like me, you will be pleased. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Racer
from St. Louis, MO
Date Reviewed: December 31, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | First tire I've ridden that I (at 200+) can ride at 25 psi. Works great in trail conditions ranging from mud to to tacky dirt, and good on rocky trails too, although pump them up a bit more. Sidewalls seems alarmingly thin and limp, but are in fact quite tough. Oh yeah, not bad on snow. | | Weaknesses: | Traction not the best, although not totally awful, on dry trails, especially loose dirt over hardpack. | | Similar Products Used: | Many. | | Bike Setup: | Giant XTC, Man. Skareb Elite, random parts mix except for XTR crankset and rear der. | | Bottom Line: | These are super tires for damp to wet conditions. They've been on clearance lately, so I stocked up. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a
from Baltimore
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Patapsco Avalon | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Very light, fairly low rolling resistance for the size, seems a good all-around front tire. In the front, it seems very stable on corners. Decent on wet or damp dirt. | | Weaknesses: | As a rear tire these simply don't hook up when climbing. In all conditions, the back end slides around like crazy. I ran the rear at 45+ pounds (I weigh 225) and still frequently pinch-flatted. Might work better at 30 lbs pressure, but would only be possible if I lost 75 pounds. I finally took them off the other day when I got a snakebite flat riding over a 6-inch drop at the edge of the pavement on Landing Road. Also, after only about 100 miles on trails exclusively, there's significant wear on the rear. | | Similar Products Used: | Just put on some WTB Velociraptor 2.1's... so far so good. Also Nevegals, Pracer Fires, etc., etc. | | Bike Setup: | They came with my new '05 Jamis XLT 1.0 | | Bottom Line: | I'm probably going to wind up using these as front tires, but would only use them in back again in the case of a tire shortage emergency. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | superlight weight for 2.3, rolls like fat guys down a hill (good) | | Weaknesses: | cornering, sidewalls, climbing grip | | Similar Products Used: | hutch. scorpions, max. hansventures, max. high rollers, spec. enduro pro | | Bike Setup: | dakar xlt 1.0 | | Bottom Line: | i have taken these off my duallie for some time now and have used other tyres as a comparison.
these are light, fat, and roll really well. these would be an excellent 24hr race tyre.
But they don't hook up when you put the power on.
The grip is on par but no exceptional.
the one thing with both the hutchinsons i've ridden with is that even with a duallie and running about 40psi, i keep on pinch flatting, i thought at first, this was me and not choosing the right lines but for the last year and a bit i haven't snake bitten my maxxis's at all!!
I am a big fella so these tyres i thought just didn't cut the cheese for me.
For a 24hr race or cross country riding without too many sharp rocks, these i reckon would be awesome but for the price and what else is out there, i wouldn't get them.
personally i thought the knobs looked alright but very minimal. you gain the advantage of weight and rolling resistance and decent comfy ride but you lose out on grip and price.
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Submitted by
haggis
a Cross Country Rider
from dunedin, NZ
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Ex grip in loose wet soil or muddy conditions. Good wearing. Superb front tyre. | | Weaknesses: | None really. (Can't have great mud performance and super fast rolling). | | Similar Products Used: | Heaps | | Bike Setup: | 2.1 UST Spider up front, Geax Barro Marathon 2.1 rear | | Bottom Line: | XC race in a pine forest recently during a thunderstorm with plenty of rain. Mate was wearing new Conti Explorer front and Crossmark back and he couldn't ride the same off-camber lines or brake as late even though he's a better tech rider. He was really impressed with my setup. Nuff said. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robert Banner
a Weekend Warrior
from Lemoore, CA
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | robnfl@comcast.net | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | Online somewhere.... | | Strengths: | Very light weight for a 2.3, low rolling resistance, Ok cornering grip. | | Weaknesses: | Very soft sidewall and thin carcass...yeah, I know, that's how they get them so light! Poor braking and climbing traction. | | Similar Products Used: | Neve's, Pany's, Ritcheys. | | Bike Setup: | Nomad AM setup. | | Bottom Line: | I tried these tires on the rear to replace the heavy and slow rolling Neve's. They are definitely lighter and roll a bunch better, but right away I noticed the braking traction was very poor. As time went by, I also noticed that the climbing traction wasn't near as good as the Neve's or some of the other tires that I've tried. At one point while I was riding the TRT in Tahoe, I got fed up with the crappy braking and less than stellar climbing ability, so I decided to try something else when I returned home. Well, a few days later while riding Paige meadows I heard a hissing and a clunking coming from the rear tire...sure enough, it was a puncture...but it was a 1/4in diameter stick protruding from the tire. Well, that goes to show how thin the carcass is on this tire. It would make a pretty decent racing tire...if you need a 2.3 for racing...but as a trail tire I'd have to give it two thumbs down. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ernest
a Weekend Warrior
from Raleigh, NC
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Black Mountain, Pisgah | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | pricepoint | | Strengths: | High cornering grip, low rolling resistance, good volume for a trail tire (I have the 2.3 size) | | Weaknesses: | Less braking traction in the rear than Nevegal, not much warning before losing cornering grip | | Similar Products Used: | Mythos II XC, various specializeds, Nevegals, Motoraptors | | Bike Setup: | Blur LT, '06 X9 package | | Bottom Line: | Very good all-round tire for most trails, but I think I'll put my Nevs back on for trips to the mountains to get the extra braking grip, and probably to ride through the winter -- so far i think the Stick-E Nevs have a little overall grip advantage, but they are s o s l o w rolling I was looking for a summer tire with good grip but less rolling resistance. These fit the bill. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sarvis
a Cross Country Rider
from Nevada
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | traction to spare on lots of different terrain | | Weaknesses: | quick wear, soft sidewalls, squirrelly at very high speeds on loose surfaces (but what isn't?) | | Similar Products Used: | WTB velocos, weirs; IRC | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain Element - full custom | | Bottom Line: | my legs will give out before these things break traction while climbing. handle all sorts of terrain well. the compound is soft and the knobs wear unevenly, although overall the tread has held up better than i expected initially. the sidewalls do tend to be kind of flexy too. i have not had any trouble with flats, but i've noticed some roll during hard carves and quick transitions in tight corners. excels in loose, dry, rocky conditions that are common here in the desert. the widely spaced knobs seem to grab hold of whatever nook, lip or edge they can find and hang on. overall an outstanding combination of traction and weight. i probably would not try to race them, but i'll have no qualms about buying another pair. they're easy to find at a good price too, either on ebay or at online retailers. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rusty trombone
a Weekend Warrior
from west pa usa
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | watchung reservation | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$14.00 | | Purchased At: | nashbar | | Strengths: | excellent in mud ,leaves, and rocks | | Weaknesses: | not good on hardpack | | Similar Products Used: | larsens, ritcheys, scorpions, velociraptors, | | Bike Setup: | san andreas,topline cranks, homemade hubs, disc brakes, | | Bottom Line: | these tires rock! forget the other reviews. great for northeast trails.no handling problems whatsoever. been riding wet, slick, leafy, rocky,rooty, muddy,and dry and love them more each time. sidewalls do feel soft but no flats yet? these are an all around tire and if you ride in the northeast, you'll love em. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryan
a Cross Country Rider
from Niagara Falls
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | 12 mile creek | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Traction | | Weaknesses: | Size | | Similar Products Used: | Hutchinson mosquito, kenda bearclaw, other cheap kendas. | | Bike Setup: | Giant NRS | | Bottom Line: | These tires are marked 2.00. The are huge though. I don't like the sizing inconsistancies in MTB tires. Not just between brands. My hutch. mosquito 2.00s were notably smaller than these balloons.
I ride an NRS. I ride and race cross country.
I tried this tire on the rear only. It provided excellent traction. Braking was good, and climbing on mud and gravel was great.
What i don't like though, is that it is just too slow. It is a big tire, that is great for trail riding. It is not a bad roller for it's actual size, but it is a mighty big 2.00. I won't rate it poorly, because it is a good tire. I will use it for trail riding, but it is not appropriate for racing XC imo, due to its high volume.
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Submitted by
Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from Victoria, Australia
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Greenfish Sports (ebay) | | Strengths: | Big volume
Middle of the road weight
Roll very well for big fat 'uns. | | Weaknesses: | Not really happy in the marbles.
Don't have a definite edge to them - feel a bit like they want to let go early in corners
Very rapid wear
Thin sidewalls roll at low pressures - feel vague. | | Similar Products Used: | Various Tioga, Panaracer, etc etc. | | Bike Setup: | Tomac Taos HT, Reba SL, X9, Mavic etc. | | Bottom Line: | I wanted big volume rubber that was respectably light for my XC hardtail, and liked the look of these. Te big volume of the 2.0's is a plus (actually 2.2)
I didn't expect them to roll well - they are fat and soft and I run them as low as I can generally. These would be the best rolling big knobbies I've used.
They feel squirrely in gravelly stuff, and the lack of a definite square edge makes them feel unsure in loose corners - but they seem to corner OK nevertheless.
The sidewalls are thin (I guess they had to strip weight off somewhere - these 2.0's are more like 2.2)and if you run them soft they roll on the rim and feel unsure on corners. The tread compound is very soft, showing wear after only a few rides. I think I'll be lucky to get 6 months from the set.
Despite the size I've had better climbing tyres - break loose ealier than I would expect for a big, soft compound tyre.
The tread direction arrows are a puzzle. They indicate for the rear to run with the tread pointing forwards (for faster rolling I assume) but for front use the tread points back at the rider (the opposite of most other tyres). I have tried the front both ways, settling on running it with the trad pointing forwards. Bugger all difference really.
Don't buy these if you are riding a lot of jagged rocky stuff - the sidewalls are soft and thin. The tread is very soft and they wear real fast. They do roll very well for big rubber.
A harder tread compound and a little harder sidewall and they would be much better. Work well on loose over hardpack, at intermediate pressures, where they can also help soak up a few bumps if run on a hardtail. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Phillip
a Weekend Warrior
from Meridian,Ms. USA
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Fast ones | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Work surprisingly well in mud,like said before they stick to wet rocks and roots like glue,nice volume,rolling resistance is good for what they are. | | Weaknesses: | Darty in sand and loose,recovery issues if you are not a real aggressive rider this is not an issue,wear fast. | | Similar Products Used: | I don't think I have ever seen a tire quite like this one....I will say other Hutch tires how's that? | | Bike Setup: | Fisher Hardtail | | Bottom Line: | When I hit the trails and behave myself these tires worked very well for me. I don't ride alot of hardpack or fireroads, mostly well worn and eroded trails heavily polluted with roots and some rocks. Do alot of climbing this stuff so it's safe to say they are good climbing gear. If you ever break them loose in a corner on hardpack/loose over...hang on...even experienced slideways riders are gonna have problems. Like I stated in weaknesses...they do wear quickly which is gonna happen with any tire that has rubber that soft. Soft rubber=Traction on wet rocks and roots. Me, I will take a tire that wears fast but grips over something that slides but wears good any day...figure in your busted ass with that good wear tire!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Oakville, Ontario
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Light, roll fast, above-average in mud | | Weaknesses: | Wear out VERY quickly | | Similar Products Used: | Ritchey Speedmax | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Dakar Pro, 317 rims on XTR hubs, XT shifters/brakes, Truvative crank/seatpost/stem | | Bottom Line: | Removed these for the first year, as I alternated between the Ritchey's and Panaracers. Installed them in the spring, and noted a very rapid wear rate. Rotated front/rear, but eventually gave up after only 1200 km's. The Ritchey's last 2200 and the Panaracers 2400.
I don't expect lightweight tires to last too long, but these were disappointing. Would not use again. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Logan
a Racer
from concord, ca
Date Reviewed: March 24, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | tahoe rules | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | climbing in mud; rock gardens, even in the wet and mud | | Weaknesses: | once loosed, they resist recovery but with the finest of technique and feathering; not the best all-around, non-guessing tire | | Similar Products Used: | I really like tire-trying/sampling; many, many tires used | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Jeckyl 800 | | Bottom Line: | Spider 1.95 on rear w/Hutch. Scorpion 2.0 on front. Flat out, Scorpion is The most confidence-inspiring front tire I have ever used and the Spider cannot keep up in the rear. the spider proves best in mud climbing and when forgetting about the tire and just going for it -- as opposed to "feeling" it out, and keeping eyes, ears and feel sensitized to how it performs. when cautios and checking out the tire, it doesn't seem to be the greatest, but when just riding and using skill and enjoying riding, it actually has surprised me quite nicely. ridden mostly in wet, muddy rock gardens and singletrack. the one place that convinces me to try something else on the back, though, is fast cornering, downhill, or fast, steep downhill. the tire starts to skid, and it's pretty much all over unless some amazing skill, technique, feathering and trust of the rider and the front end works a miracle. I'm going to explore the Scorpion up front with WTB Epicwolf and/or Mutanoraptor in rear. We'll see what we get. Happy exploring. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeremy
a Cross Country Rider
from Boston, MA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | Sticks to wet rock like any Hutchinson, Rolls quickly for what it is | | Weaknesses: | Tread appears to wear a bit faster than on Alligator Gold but thats understandable as this is a less dense rubber. | | Similar Products Used: | Hutchinson Python Gold, Alligator Gold
Panaracer Fire XC Pro
Specialized Evil Twin Slalom and stock equipped tires
| | Bike Setup: | Specialized FSR XC, Magura Hydraulic Brakes | | Bottom Line: | Another really good product from Hutchinson I must say. It is quite evident I am a fan of Hutchinson tires, and I think that many of them, with the exception of the Scorpion (short tread tire but not the python) are great products which are readily available at deep discounts when you look around.
In New England riding can get wet and messy, along with roots and rocks galore which is a great place to really push a tire to its limits. As for mud shedding, its not the best ive had but its far from a troublesome.
While the tread design is nearly identical to the Alligator, it is not quite as sticky, but is immensely lighter and faster. Nonetheless, I feel this is a fair trade and you can choose what suits you best.
I think that the European tires (Hutchinson, Michelin, Continental) have typically been better in the wet, specifically gripping wet rock, though some michelins suffer from weak sidewalls and contis are quite $$$. I am more than satisfied with these tires and when I wear them out from riding them so much I will get another set of knobby Hutchinsons, either these or something close to it. :) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: December 18, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | SuperGo | | Strengths: | Weight & looks. | | Weaknesses: | Bad performance in most conditions. | | Similar Products Used: | WTB Mutano Raptor | | Bike Setup: | Trail Riding - full suspension. | | Bottom Line: | I didn't like this tire at all. I found it to have very bad traction on off camber trail and OK performance on hard pack or the street - if you're not cornering hard. The tire bounces around badly over rocks and it doesn't shed mud well at all. It's squirrely over deep sand. This tire did not inspire confidence at all. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a
from Cumbria, England
Date Reviewed: December 16, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Ride the Lakes | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came with bike. | | Strengths: | I will assume that they must perform in dry hardpack which tends to be scarce in English winters. Weight. | | Weaknesses: | Unpredictable, poor mud shedding, when they break loose they do not recover. | | Similar Products Used: | Fire XC, Factory XC, Nokian NBX, Schwalbe Little Albert. | | Bike Setup: | ETSX-50, Talas, Thomson, King etc. | | Bottom Line: | Not at all suited to wet english riding. Do not shed mud. Tread pattern offers no bite for off camber rocks, roots grass etc. Therefore tire breaks loose suddenly and offers little chance of recovery. Had to be removed after three rides in favour of NBX - much better. They may get dusted off to try again if we get a heatwave. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Liz V
a Racer
from Arizona
Date Reviewed: November 27, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | AirPark Bikes Scottsdale | | Strengths: | Excellent traction in any condition, 2.0 size "looks & handles" more like 2.2. Although they look knobby, you can't hear them buzzing under you. | | Weaknesses: | None yet! | | Similar Products Used: | Python Airlites, IRC Seracs | | Bike Setup: | SantaCruz Superlite,SRAMs X.9 all around,RaceFace cranks, Mavic CrossMax,Manitou Skareb with IT,Fox float R | | Bottom Line: | Best XC tire yet but, I still would go with Seracs when I race! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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