Where do you vote for the tire testing?
I didn’t like the TR version of the Rush. Way too soft and squirmy. The TR version of the Booster was fine though. I would consider running the SCT Rush on the rear, but stick with the Booster on the front. The loss in cornering speed (my strength) is not worth the potential gain is straight line speed with the Rush. And as I care more about enjoying my race than winning, I’d rather corner better.
I felt the same about the ardent, just didn’t work for me at all. Ardent race though….I like that one pretty well. For maxxis 
Maxxis seems to have too many models that all do about the same thing: Ikon, Ardent Race, Rekon Race, Aspen. All these tires seem pretty much interchangeable.
You have to have a premium subscription, through your dashboard after that.
I will say the Ardent Race and Rekon fit a very similar niche, blurring the line between an XC tire and a race tire, but the Aspen is definitely meant for riding on a mostly hard pack surface. The Ikon seems to be in between.
If I were to rate them for their theoretical use from loose terrain to hard pack it would go Rekon > Ardent Race > Ikon > Aspen
For us mere mortals, the difference would probably be negligible, but at the pointy end it allows them to fine tune their traction and rolling resistance.
But it’s not like the bike industry is known for bringing out new products with minor variations for purely marketing purposes though 
This is my go to combo. Decently light. Seems pretty puncture resistant. Feels fast. Cheap and are on sale through specialized pretty often. I do wish there was some data on them on BRR though.
I know there is a more recent forum post about sealant, but I thought I’d post here in the Mtb tire thread before I commit.
Seems like orange sealant is the choice to go for reading other comments. Last year was my first mtb season, I had vittoria barzo and Mezcals with Muc off sealant. After winter training on gravel paths I thought the Muc off was superb as I pulled many thorns out and they just sealed instantly.
I did have a few punctures on more rough terrain during the season when cuts were more than thorns. In all cases pressure was lost, sometimes in a few minutes and other cases a bit longer. I was questioning the tyre durability but maybe this is a sealant issue.
So do I ditch the muc off and go for orange ?
Or is it tires?
I have found neither orange nor muc off much cop; with muc off’s only benefit being that it doesn’t dry out easily. It also doesn’t seal proper holes much.
Stans is reliable; even better mixed 50/50 with stans race.
Caffelatex is cheap and reliable but with a tendency to dry.
Silca is supposed to be the best but have not tried it.
Silca is very thick, so you have to add it to the tire outside of the valve stem (with the tire not fully seated).
The valve cores on the bike that I run silca sealant on have gotten so congealed that it’s hard to fill the tires with air. I’ve had to replace the valve cores - and this is after about 4 months of using the sealant.
Yep, and I almost feel compelled to top it off with some “replenisher” because it doesn’t feel like enough liquid.
For me it’s become “Orange Seal regular for training, Silca on Race Day” I have alloy rim wheels for everyday use and fast carbons for race day, so I can get away with it.
If you want to use orange and get a little more piece of mind you could put some shredded/nearly powdered rubber in the tire before you seat the bead and then top it off with regular orange seal. That would be a bit more “stuff” in suspension and may help with clotting. Could be worth a try.
Thoughts on this tire, re-use it or pitch it?
This is the worst spot where the rubber has eroded away at the bead. No fraying of the underlying wire, but no protective / cushioning layer there either. A little hard to tell, but It’s not the outside of the bead where it pushes into the outside wall of the rim, but the bottom where it would be against the inner surface of the rim.
Was cleaning old sealant off and found this, may be the second time I’ve done this with this tire and wondering if the act of cleaning up the beads a couple times caused rubber to flake off here. Basically an everyday use tire, would probably be replaced going into races and longer events this summer. Tire is a Wolfpack Speed.
Had a chance to go Kenda Booster Pro TL 29X2.6 vs. Thunder Burt Super Ground 29X2.25 rear, 29X2.35 front today and the Thunder Burts were super fast. I didn’t find much difference swapping out just the front wheel back in October…but swapping both today seemed to make a huge difference. My buddy is wondering if the wheels matter so I’m going to swap the tires to the opposite wheels and hopefully repeat this next Wednesday. But for now…I have a new fastest tire. Lap 7 was just for fun to see what Thunder Burt rear/Booster Pro front would do.
Joe
I know we’re not supposed to stock much in feeling, but since you have data already - how did the two tires compare in other less objective metrics? Traction? Ride feel? Comfort?
I think traction on dirt feeling is one of the most important things. I’d love to know how the tires feel relative to each other too
I’ve heard that the 2.35 thunder Burt is not noticeably wider than 2.25. Could you share how yours measure and the rim width they are on?
Well the TB’s feel a bit sketchier but I’m not sure if they are really that much worse or it’s that I’m simply going faster. Conversely…the Boosters feel more secure but I’m going slower. I don’t really know how to tell for sure. I remember running the Boosters vs. the Specialized Butchers and the Butchers felt like carving on rails…but they were super slow too so it was the same kinda dilemma. I wish I could tell you more!
Joe
I’ll try to measure but if it’s 2mm difference in width I’d be surprised, they look the same. The 2.35 might be a little taller though? I’ll try to get some numbers this weekend, planning on switching the tires from one wheel set to the other and retesting next week just to make sure it’s not somehow the wheels and not the tires. I mean…I don’t think it could possibly be the wheels but…let’s be sure, right? One set is the DT XCM 1501 and the other is the hunt proven with the carbon spokes, both are 30mm internal, boosters were on the DTs, TB’s were on the hunts, gonna switch them for next week.
Joe
The TB’s feel like they roll faster in a straight line FWIW…but you’d kinda expect that. I’m sorry I don’t have better feedback on the feel.
Joe
New Month Live for BRR voting. The Rush 2.4 SCT Moved up the charts a bunch last month - get your votes in and see if it incentivizes some others to jump on board when they see it moving up!
(Edit: At this rate, they should be in a winning position after next month if the votes keep going)
Thanks for the heads up , I put in my vote for the rush sct. Thunder Burt in super race is in winning position atm….wouldn’t mind seeing that as well.
Joe
