I love the Thunder Burts, but I've been having problems with the rear tire, with punctures in the treads that won't seal. So I'm thinking of changing it up. What's like them but with more protection? Maybe the Mezcal? Or Kenda Kozmik? I'd like to keep it light if I can. Don't need a lot of tread.
Rolls like a Thunder Burt, but tougher?
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Maxxis Rekon Race EXO
As far as I can tell, they don't make that one anymore. Too bad!
OK, so I've more or less narrowed it down to the Rekon Race or Conti Race King Protect. From reviews I've seen, Rekon Race is a little heavier, but probably easier to set up. Race King at least used to have problems with leakage. Anybody with thoughts about the comparative merits of those tires?
I don't have experience with Maxxis, but I have been riding Conti Race King as my rear tire for years. I would suggest you to pick Protection version and don't even try with Racesport. Racesport surely is lighter, but it's harder to set tubeless, not impossible but still far from super easy, and what's more important, it's super fragile. Something like Thunder Burt. I loved Thunder Burt, but for me it was pretty much one blown tire a week, which is just too much hassle.
Conti Race King Protection is super easy to set. Put it on, and most of time, you don't even need sealant to work. But it's not entirely in Thunder Burt range when it comes to rolling resistance. It rolls really nice, has good enough grip for pretty much anything for rear tire, even though from 2018 on, I have feeling it has worse grip in wet then it had before, but no matter what, it doesn't roll as good as Thunder Burt. But contrary to Thunder Burts and one failure a week, I had maybe 2 or 3 problems with Race King in all those years I was running it (almost 10 years). This year I'm back to Schwalbe also for rear (for front I'm always on Schwalbe, as I really hate how Conti's X-king was), and in 3 months I had 3 punctures of Racing Ralph already, so most likely I'm back on Conti next season... or maybe it's time to try Maxxis?
Now that's some incredibly useful info. Thanks!I don't have experience with Maxxis, but I have been riding Conti Race King as my rear tire for years. I would suggest you to pick Protection version and don't even try with Racesport. Racesport surely is lighter, but it's harder to set tubeless, not impossible but still far from super easy, and what's more important, it's super fragile. Something like Thunder Burt. I loved Thunder Burt, but for me it was pretty much one blown tire a week, which is just too much hassle.
Conti Race King Protection is super easy to set. Put it on, and most of time, you don't even need sealant to work. But it's not entirely in Thunder Burt range when it comes to rolling resistance. It rolls really nice, has good enough grip for pretty much anything for rear tire, even though from 2018 on, I have feeling it has worse grip in wet then it had before, but no matter what, it doesn't roll as good as Thunder Burt. But contrary to Thunder Burts and one failure a week, I had maybe 2 or 3 problems with Race King in all those years I was running it (almost 10 years). This year I'm back to Schwalbe also for rear (for front I'm always on Schwalbe, as I really hate how Conti's X-king was), and in 3 months I had 3 punctures of Racing Ralph already, so most likely I'm back on Conti next season... or maybe it's time to try Maxxis?
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I'm running Mezcal's on 1 of my bikes and they aren't as gripping as the Burts. Rolling is good but sliding in the loose is often. My favorite all around race tire the Panaracer Driver Pro. It's does everything very well. Fairly light, great rolling and traction. Seals up super easy.
That's surprising, purely based on the looking at the tread. Front/rear?
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I ended up putting the Conti Race King Protection 2.2 on there. It feels like it rolls slower than the Thunder Burt on asphalt (and definitely makes a different noise!), but I can't notice any difference in speed on gravel or dirt. If it holds up better, I'm sold.
I got 525 miles out of the Thunder Burt on the rear, and the final ride (with a tube in it) the casing was deforming like crazy. I was happy to make it home. That tire was a lot of fun for a while, but I wouldn't recommend it as anything but a race tire for a few uses. That said, I've still got one up front and it's going fine so far at 600 miles.
I got 525 miles out of the Thunder Burt on the rear, and the final ride (with a tube in it) the casing was deforming like crazy. I was happy to make it home. That tire was a lot of fun for a while, but I wouldn't recommend it as anything but a race tire for a few uses. That said, I've still got one up front and it's going fine so far at 600 miles.
Ive used them all for a lot of racing. I stopped using mezcal and race kings due to reliability issues. I was tearing knobs off race kings and mezcals were puncture prone. I switched to Rekon Race and love them. Ive given up chasing grams and every last watt of rolling resistance on tires. It isn't worth it. The Rekon Race does wear quicker than say an Ikon. I actually use 2.35 Ikon on the front. With my current rear Rekon race I've used it for 3 100 mile races, 5 day stage race at TSE and 3 or 4 xc races. I put an end to running Mezcal after puncturing another new one in my first 100 miler this year. That came after flatting both times using it at Snake Creek Gap race and several other times trail riding. Continental tore off knob and leaked in race. Continental sent me a new one and i got another torn knob.
That's disappointing to hear...I just purchased a couple of these (discounted) to try out.
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I put Thunder Burts on my XC hardtail the beginning of this year and they are the least durable tire I've ever used. They mainly see gravel/light dirt and they love to get extremely tiny cuts in the tread that don't seal. I was going to go for a ride today and guess what, my rear tire was flat. I love the low rolling resistance, but the durability as an off-road tire is just not there.
When I had my gravel bike, I ran WTB Resolutes and never had issues with punctures on the same trails.
I'll probably be going back to Maxxis when these wear out.
When I had my gravel bike, I ran WTB Resolutes and never had issues with punctures on the same trails.
I'll probably be going back to Maxxis when these wear out.
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Vittoria Mezcal XC race casing(674g) on the Front and Terreno XC Race Casing (648g)Rear
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