That’s good to know. Now let us know how these new Fast Traks hook up in the turns. The knob height looks pretty low.
I have the same setup with the control casing so I’m hoping it will be a good all around setup. I have 2 FastTrack, 2 Control and 1 Renegade, all in the control casing and in 2.35 so I think I have all conditions covered for next year. I’m hope not to switch often though so I planning to mainly use the Renegade/Fastrack combo. I’ve been using the old grid casing in the past and never punctured so I hope going with the control casing won’t be a mistake as they’re significantly lighter than the new Grid and I’m a little nervous that sidewall protection is minimal at best.
1 Like
Installed the Barzo / Mezcal combo and I am very pleased with them. I regret buying the skinwall version, because they look fugly on my bike. But since I’ve already used them, I can’t return.
I have one issue though. The tire seems to wobble left and right (sorry I am not English, so it’s hard to express myself). I thought it was the wheel so I removed the tire and noticed the wheel is completely straight. I tried an old tire (wired), but had the same problem. So I assume it’s not the tire either. I tried cleaning the wheelbed, used some water and soap on the side of the tires to make it slide in easier. I also made it “plop” by puming 4 bar in it. But whatever I try, the wobble doesn’t go away.
The wheel is tubeless ready and I didn’t have the time to make it tubeless yet. Is it maybe because of the innertube?
Take out the tube and blow it up to see if it has a bulge.
Bought the same ones based on the photos on the webshop. I already saw pale skinwalls and darker brown skin walls but the 2 webshops were showing the brown ones so I bought it from there. Rear from 1 shop, front from another. Unfortunately, both were the pale ones…
Had contact with the shops and apparently the pale ones are the new skin walls and the old photos need to be removed…
The pale color doesn’t match with my white Scott though, so will need to go black or go to schwalbe / specialised for dark brown skinwall versions.
I have just done exactly the same. I’m really impressed with the Forekaster, although I got it as a winter/mid tyre, I’m getting PR’s on descents even in the wet and doing faster times on my local loop.
I read a tyre test for Maxxis tyres from a MTB marathon team and they were surprised how little difference the Forekasters gave away in speed compared to so called faster Maxxis tyres. I think one of their riders even switched to a forekaster on the front for dry conditions as it gave so much grip and confidence. I think I’ll be doing this come the summer.
Only disappointment was the weight. Both were well heavier than stated.
4 Likes
I haven’t been on the mtb as much as I’d like lately (been gravelling a lot) but I’ve ridden those tires in pristine trail conditions as well as bad & they are a very good tire. I’m pleasantly surprised & think I’ll be running them quite a bit in the future. I’m not all too worried about weight and didn’t weigh mine prior to mounting them. I knew I had to get rid of the Barzos as it’s been so wet & the Forekaster was a solid replacement.
Do you remember what team that was?
This is what I read. Quite an old article now but the tyres are mostly still available.
2 Likes
Any of you skinny tyre crazies running them on wide rims? i.e. 2.2" on 30mmID?
Researching rims and surprised by someone running them on MTBR forum. They’re a funny bunch over there though, seems to always be 2.8" or 2.2".
Ran conti race kings this summer on 30mm (inside, DT Swiss XRC-1200). No problems, zero flats (that sealant didn’t fix), probably 1200 miles. Ran 17/19 psi, front/rear. 5mm = 0.1968503937 inches. I can’t tell the difference once mounted. I think this wheel build is very, very, stiff. Also ran 1500 miles on Rocket Ron’s 2.1r, 2.25f without any issues spring to early summer. Same pressures. The rear wore pretty quick.
1 Like
How was the wear on the race kings after 1200 miles compared to the Schwable?
The rear tire wore pretty quick, pitched it when I took it off. The front is now a rear for a bit, probably about half knob left. The race kings start with a lot less tread, probably have another 800 miles, but mostly road/gravel use at this point. Will get me thru the winter when I ride outside. I like the Rocket Ron as an everything tire (Colorado mountains), very durable, reasonable amount of tread, pretty darn light (compared to maxxis). Not as fast on pavement, the way the race kings are.
2 Likes
Did you like the profile? Do you have any pictures?
All compared to ridden 2x recon race tire for scale. Also pics of 2.4 Aspen, I don’t like thst tire. It is very heavy for uaving no tread in the middle. Bith the 2.25 and 2.4 are heavy. Brand new tires (pics from May), all on 30mm ID rim.
2 Likes
I also have a review/opinion on the Pepi’s Noodle insert.
Having now run it for a few months, trying different tyre pressures and a few different style of trails I can confirm that it’s definitely not the same as a CushCore XC. The CushCore adds a sort of progressiveness to the “bottom out” of the tyre, the Pepi just doesn’t. It does an excellent job of keeping the tyre on the bead and protecting the rim from contact with the ground.
I thought it was all just marketing guff, and I’m not sure yet whether I’ll go back to CushCore and pay the extra 70g weight penalty, but there’s definitely a difference between CushCore and the noodle varieties!
First ride completed on the new 2.35 Fast Trak Control T5 front and 2.35 Renegade Control T5 rear. I’m really impressed by the cornering grip the Fast Trak provides and the Renegade rolls fast as ever compared to the old 2.3 Renegade. I’m set for next season now.
1 Like
After a week of using the new 2.35 Fast Trak Control T5 on the front it feels like a little bit less grip than the older ground control but it’s more predictable if that makes any sense
1 Like
A tire that can be very suitable for mtb marathons is Continental Cross-king protection. At 2.3 it weights ~750gr which is comparable to many tires with similar puncture protection and grip. Where it differs for me is rolling resistance due to middle knobs and predictability. It grips well on loose and loose over hard surfaces (gravel roads etc) and when it looses its grip it does not go out in one big slide. There are no big holes on its profile so consistent grip at all lean angles. Knobs are not very big but big enough to perform on rock and roots as well. I want to try some other tires but afraid to get disappointed.
Tire to stay away from is Continental Race King. On anything other than hard surface it is a disaster. When it goes it goes, you are going down. No knobs to grab anything.
On the rear I did two seasons with Maxxis Icon 2.35 and pleasantly surprised by its performance. Good traction even on roots and loose gravel. Only time it fails is loose, steep sections with bigger than, say 1cm diameter. Its knobs are too short to overcome these. But at those sections many other xc tires cannot hold as well so not a loss for Icon.
1 Like
Seems like I am the only one really disliking Specs Fast Track control 2.3
I come from an old 26er with a cheepo CST tire on the back and a Crossmark front. FT is less supple, looses grip more frequently on wet hardpack and is less predictable cornering than my old setup. I am running 22 and 25 ish psi on 25 iw rims. Any ideas? Maybe just not for me?