Tires BRIDGESTONE or Maxxis
Maxxis are expensive but consistently pretty good. You’ll get the odd tire with a warped casing. But overall pretty much anything they make is solid.
Good rubber. The quality and duro of the rubber and the casing is 90% of what makes a tire good. Good round tires that mount easily. Especially tubeless.
After using inferior tires for years, the maxxis high roller 2 tires specd on my bike made me realize that tire choice is the greatest factor impacting cornering confidence, hands down. Once you actually feel the difference between a regular tire and a great tire it becomes a priority in your gear choices. I’ve never tried a maxxis tire that wasn’t great at whatever its intended use case is for. Maxxis makes a tire for every kind of riding style you’re trying to achieve, and each style works as intended. It’s hard for me to move away from maxxis when I know I’m getting exactly what I expect from their product.
I have tried many tires. I ride desert southwest US, just about every trail is rocky, angular, chunky, loose stuff that can shred a tire. When it comes down to it- the maxxis tires hold traction longer than anything, and they last longer than anything else.
Bridgestone S23's every time.
I have 3 bikes all currently with S22's, including a ZX4RR that I run at track days.
The tyres get warm in 2-3 corners and very rarely feel the need to be tentative because the tyres aren't "in the zone". Basically they are confidence inspiring.
Been riding on Bridgestone since they released the S20, the evolution has been really good.
it's a good tire. I used them exclusively from 2005\~2016.
J'ai jamais essayé Michelin mais j'ai acheté plusieurs fois des Bridgestone et j'ai jamais été déçu, que ce soit en longévité ou en tenue de route.
The aggressor is faster on hard pack but awful on mud. Dissector makes a better rear tire I think, it’s similar to the dhr but a little faster. Unless they’ve changed the tire, the cornering knobs tend to get shredded quickly.
Exo and exo+ in my area will reliably puncture right through the top of the tire within three rides or less typically.
Specialized control tyres and it’s not even close.
No it’s not worth the “premium” as they’re not more premium. The spesh tyres are specced on their £14000 bikes, they are also racing and winning world cups, cape epics, short track races, marathons for years with the rest of them. Spesh has led the way with a couple others with FEA and camps set up for surely testing their tyres with a refresh every few years. There is no “premium”. The stickers are fancier on the maxxis. But they’re heavier. Higher rolling resistance. Higher weight. No noticeable gain in traction to account for those either. Spesh offers sworks 120 tpi, softer and harder (T7 and T5 respectively) control tyres. All you’re choosing is 120 vs 60 tpi determining a less or more robust carcass.
A life long sworks 120 tpi snob. I went maxxis aspen and hated life. That’s a gravel tyre. Tore through the Vittoria barzo. Went ikon and they’re a great once was a race tyre now a recreational tyre— but been left for dead with rolling resistance, grip and weight by the competition. Rekon race won’t get a look in from the tyre tests and price and weight. Nah ta.
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