The tires that are tested are the ones requested/voted on by “Pro” members. So what you see are the tires that the voters want to see. Most people don’t want to see WTB tires because they are slow as crap anyway, so why bother testing them. Historically Continental and Schwalbe made the fastest tires which is why you see so many tested on the site.
Why are there no WTB and few Specialized tires listed on the Rolling Resistance site?
I'm looking for tires for beginner and intermediate singletrack and ran across the Rolling Resistance site. Not that bike weight and rolling resistance matter that much to me, I've dropped 70 + pounds in the last two years. That's two plus complete bikes. LOL The me but the data and analysis appeals to the engineer in me.
I am 65 years old so I tend to be careful. I don't plan to ride anything technical enough to get much benefit from top of the line tires but I do appreciate well engineered, highly functional gear.
Two questions. First, I see a lot of Continental tires on the list and have run across a significant number of reviews saying the quality of non German Continental tires is inconsistant at best. Is that a valid picture?
Second, why are there no WTB and only two Specialized tires on the list? They can't be that bad, can they?
I am 65 years old so I tend to be careful. I don't plan to ride anything technical enough to get much benefit from top of the line tires but I do appreciate well engineered, highly functional gear.
Two questions. First, I see a lot of Continental tires on the list and have run across a significant number of reviews saying the quality of non German Continental tires is inconsistant at best. Is that a valid picture?
Second, why are there no WTB and only two Specialized tires on the list? They can't be that bad, can they?
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lol...allow me to copy/paste exactly one fragment of information from their website to show you why I don't even bother looking at their data:
Test Surface
Finding a test surface that gives reliable and consistent results over a long time was probably one of the most complicated challenges we faced. Of course, the natural choice would be to use some kind of asphalt surface as that's perhaps the surface you ride on the most...The problem with surfaces like asphalt or concrete is that they aren't stable surfaces.
I assume you are riding offroad. If they can't even do a good grip test on asphalt or concrete, then what makes anyone think their data has any shred of relevance to singletrack dirt. A lot, if not most, of the variables and other nuances in mountain bike tires are the exact opposite to road bike tires. Asphalt grips far better than dirt. Skinny, slick tires are far better rolling on asphalt than dirt, because yeah you'll go faster for a while with them on dirt, until the bike gets out of control and crashes because you can't turn or brake properly. If you've ever seen someone go down a real trail on a gravel bike you'll know exactly what I mean. They either go slower or they crash. So I just don't understand why they would even bother to try and rate the rolling resistance of mountain bike tires on a smooth surface. You don't want to ride an MTB tire 100% on pavement anyway. Also, even on hardpack the lightest, narrowest semi-slick tire may still not be the fastest, because you do need a certain amount of center lug grip to accelerate and bite into the ground enough for traction. Not to mention turning and braking. Turning and braking are...well...they are kind of important. If a skinny semi-slick were the fastest, best XC tire we'd all still be on 26x1.95. And it's not the best offroad. Frankly it sucks. So really, the best thing to probably do is find out what pros/experts in your area ride that are doing XC, just learn by someone else's experience and not theoretical experiments that are done on a completely different surface than dirt.
Test Surface
Finding a test surface that gives reliable and consistent results over a long time was probably one of the most complicated challenges we faced. Of course, the natural choice would be to use some kind of asphalt surface as that's perhaps the surface you ride on the most...The problem with surfaces like asphalt or concrete is that they aren't stable surfaces.
I assume you are riding offroad. If they can't even do a good grip test on asphalt or concrete, then what makes anyone think their data has any shred of relevance to singletrack dirt. A lot, if not most, of the variables and other nuances in mountain bike tires are the exact opposite to road bike tires. Asphalt grips far better than dirt. Skinny, slick tires are far better rolling on asphalt than dirt, because yeah you'll go faster for a while with them on dirt, until the bike gets out of control and crashes because you can't turn or brake properly. If you've ever seen someone go down a real trail on a gravel bike you'll know exactly what I mean. They either go slower or they crash. So I just don't understand why they would even bother to try and rate the rolling resistance of mountain bike tires on a smooth surface. You don't want to ride an MTB tire 100% on pavement anyway. Also, even on hardpack the lightest, narrowest semi-slick tire may still not be the fastest, because you do need a certain amount of center lug grip to accelerate and bite into the ground enough for traction. Not to mention turning and braking. Turning and braking are...well...they are kind of important. If a skinny semi-slick were the fastest, best XC tire we'd all still be on 26x1.95. And it's not the best offroad. Frankly it sucks. So really, the best thing to probably do is find out what pros/experts in your area ride that are doing XC, just learn by someone else's experience and not theoretical experiments that are done on a completely different surface than dirt.
I will say this for the Race King. It is a very fast roller. Like two gears easier.
it is not an all condition tire, where i live I can run it may to sept. But those are glorious months.
I’ve only used it on the rear.
it is not an all condition tire, where i live I can run it may to sept. But those are glorious months.
I’ve only used it on the rear.
Thanks @richj8990
I recently switched a couple of my bikes from Schwalbe to Specialized. They feel just as good as the Schwalbe they replaced and cost a whole lot less at ~$60 retail per tire. I got mine when they went on sale a few months back.
29x2.3 Eliminator and Purgatory, I think this is a pretty good intermediate trail setup that rolls fairly well.
27.5x2.6 Butcher and Eliminator.
29x2.3 Eliminator and Purgatory, I think this is a pretty good intermediate trail setup that rolls fairly well.
27.5x2.6 Butcher and Eliminator.
Historically Continental and Schwalbe are European which also helps.
You test fast AND slow tyres to put numbers to how fast or slow they are.
You test fast AND slow tyres to put numbers to how fast or slow they are.
The tires that are tested are the ones requested/voted on by “Pro” members. So what you see are the tires that the voters want to see. Most people don’t want to see WTB tires because they are slow as crap anyway, so why bother testing them. Historically Continental and Schwalbe made the fastest tires which is why you see so many tested on the site.
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
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