Interesting that the XR3 rolls faster than the XR2.


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Interesting that the XR3 rolls faster than the XR2.

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All the bontrager tires say 39.99 euro which I am pretty sure means they didn't test the team issue versions. You know, the version that 95% of mtbr readers would use. [emoji848]

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And that's the old XR3

 

^^^ I was wondering and just figured it must be the new one. I wonder how the new one would do. I used to run the old XR3s and def noticed the XR4 being draggier. I was considering going back to and XR3 in the rear, but after the new ones came out I had second thoughts. I'll probably give one a try anyway.

 

So the higher the watt# the slower the tire?

 

Theoretically, yes. It is indoor with lab equipment. May not translate well to the real world. I generally found them to be OK. Tires such as the old Nevegal were >50 watts and felt exactly like that.

 

Does anyone know whether these are steel drum tests? Because in my experience, these don't translate well to the trail where the compliance of the tire matters. Take the Race King - it killed it in the test. And yet, I have been consistently slower on this tire on a rooty loop that I have ridden dozens and dozens of times. It has been slower than Fast Traks, XR1s, Michelin Force XC, and Aspen.

 

It is steel drum. It measures tire compression hysteresis loss. It does not measure losses created by the interaction between the tread and the ground. In my experience, *warning speculation* it is best applied to dry conditions, because the tires that test well do feel fast to me. In wet conditions, knob shape and height affects drag losses more as they push in and are sucked out.

 

It reiterates what I've noticed when I test tires, that the Schwalbe's tend to roll faster than every other tire due to the compound.

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Kenda rubber still wears out pretty stupidly fast. 500 miles and a day at a bike park reduces the legendary Hellkat grip to something that feels more akin to an entry level tire.

e13 TRS *race* definitely feels a level slower out of everything I've tried.

I still stick to Maxxis for value for money. Can get 3k miles out of a Maxxis tire (HR2, DHR2, Ikon), if it doesn't fail in some other way. The rubber compound is just too good, and EXO is borderline tough enough (SnakeSkin and Kenda ATC are way to flimsy for me).

 

Any info about widths tested? And I wish that they had more Maxxis in there like the DHF, DHR2, and Aggressor as they are arguably some of the most popular tires on the trail, at least where I ride.
Disappointing to hear that about the Maxxis, I once had some Kenda Honey Badgers that I really liked but thorns punctured them super easily and the tread wore out in a fraction of the time that any other Maxxis I have ever owned. I was hoping to try out the Hellkat and hoped that it lasted longer.

It reiterates what I've noticed when I test tires, that the Schwalbe's tend to roll faster than every other tire due to the compound.

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Scwhalbes seem to run lighter than other tire brands too though and the only tire I have ever destroyed on a trail was the Nobby Nic, so I am concerned that they are also more fragile. I have been curious about throwing a Hans Dampf on my bike but have good luck with Maxxis so I am concerned about switching brands.

 

What I found most amusing was the E13 "race" S/S tire. My other beliefs were confirmed - most XC tires are fast, Bontrager tires are good, avoid E13, Kenda, and Michelin.

 

I went directly from a XR4 to the E-13 SS (trs not race) and the E-13 is noticably faster on my trails. On hardpack it's WAY faster on PNW loam it may actually be a bit slower as the sidelugs make contact. With that no tire is fast riding on a sponge.

 

If you get the e13 S/S for trail riding don't get the race compound. It's ultra soft. The harder compound rolls fairly fast.

 

Yea, Schwalbe just plays too hard on the spec sheet game. They try to get weights stupidly low and I've had to go through multiple warranties with them, which they honor generously. I can F-up a discount tire that I got for $35 from JensonUSA and they'll give me a code to order anything off their North American site shipped free.

One was a snakeskin casing that got warped oddly, and another was just too thin of a rubber layer under the shoulder knob, allowing it to tear.

 

I found the snakeskin casing to be unusually strong for how paper thin it feels. But all trail tires need noodles inside to not fold when you turn hard. So I rely on lightweight Pepi's noodles instead of buying a thicker heavier tire that due to hysterisis doesn't roll nearly as well and overall weighs more.
I had tried the Magic Mary snakeskin a couple of years back and found it darn good but not quite as good as the other thicker front tires I was using at that time, but since then I've moved on to running noodles front and rear. I think I'm gonna try the MM again. I love a fast rolling tire.

I love that the Germans are data driven but I also find them to be Nationalist and they seem to often promote German products.

OP, you should cite/ link the data you provided as it's their data.

Also, the leading brand of MTB tires, Maxxis is very under represented in this test.

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Where's the Maxxis Aspen? Strange not to test this popular XC tire since many of the top racers us it in the World Cup XCO and short track races.

 

oh I thought it was strange to completely leave out Vittoria since so many people use it while including E13 and Kenda. A Mezcal/Barzo combo in the XC category would do well.

They gave the XR3 (old) the highest marks on cornering of any tire in the XC/marathon test, and it has a low rolling resistance and good puncture resistance. Sounds like Bonty messed up by changing it.

 

I’m hoping that Dyneema starts replacing the Nylon carcass in tires.

Faster rolling, better puncture protection, in theory.


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I've heard complaints about the Conti tire feel, and they are an outlier with the 60tpi x 3 on their good tires, but look at that Durchstich number - way better than the rest. The XR5 at 123 Newtons should be an ok tire, but I had to stop using it on the rear because it was getting stabbed so often it was spraying the back of my bike with sealant. I didn't want to get a flat then post in the other thread about how I was wrong. So back to the Goma and never seen it leak a drop of sealant.