Update on my tire selection:
I do believe that I have found my tire combo (at least for now).
I'm currently running 2.35 Kevlar Stick-E Navegal (front) & 2.1 Kevlar Stick-E Navegal (rear). Switching just the rear tire out to the 2.1 has offered me many benefits:
- Dramatically incresed my speed and exceleration
- I still benefit from the from the stick-E traction on both front and back (I was conteplating going DTC to loose weight)
- Keeping the extra volume in the front affords me better traction and pinch flat protection
- I've droped a 1/4 pound off the rear of the bike by switching to the 2.1
- The rear of the bike is now lowered a few millimeters (because of the lower volume of the 2.1) which has put me in a more confident position.
Having the large volume front tire allows me to point straight and "float" over the sketchy rock sections that I tended to pick lines on before, but now I can sprint like the wind!
I've been primarily testing this tire combo out on the western portion of the Green Belt (the Hill of Life area) and this combo has been the best for hooking up on solid rock, loose rock, rock/loose soils mix, and loose soils in general. Basically, this is a great all around tire combo for Austin's technical trails. I'll try them out at city park this week and confirm my results.