I am planning on running Enve tubulars for this season. I hope to do more of the national level races in the states. From what I have seen most trails are dry and fast with only a few rock. Most of my local races are dry and sandy. Research suggest that the Dugast Rhino XL, Fast Bird, Tufo XC4 or Challenge MTB One would be good fits. I am looking for input, riding experience from these tires.

I only have used 26" MTB tubulars, but I found the tufo xc2 to be a good tread design for almost all conditions. The ride is not the best, to harsh for my liking.

I also want to say it is awesome you are using tubulars for MTB, I hope this trend picks up.

I have enve tubs on my anthem x advanced. Love them. The tires I've tried so far include Dugast,Tufo xc2,and schwalbe Racing Ralph's. The dugasts fell apart first ride. The tufos ride supremely,and if I were racing dirt or clay hardpack,they would be my choice. For looser stuff and for all around excellent performance,the schwalbes have it hands down. They work at greater lean angles and really stick.

The thread count of the Schwalbes is much lower. Did you notice any difference in ride quality suppleness? What is your terrain like where you ride?

I do notice a difference between the suppleness of the Tufo vs schwalbes. The Tufo is hands down the most luxurious mtb tire I've used. The schwalbe is excellent though,and much better for our area in cornering. I live in southern sc on the coast. Also ride in Florida. Here its very hard sand,so tends to get slick on top. Also very rooty. Florida was more firm,with lots of rock and sharp edge boulders and a less sandy base. In the fall we get lots of leaves on top of the sand,so its that much more slippery. The tufos would be better in Florida than here in sc and coastal GA,because the corners are more hardpack. In the Midwest USA-Illinois,Wisconsin,Michigan.. the tufos would rule. Here,the cornering grip of the schwalbes is massively better. They weigh pretty close. Tufo a tiny bit lighter if I recall. Both are the same size mounted up. Right around 2.0 at their widest,and both much lower profile than my regular racing ralph clinchers in terms of volume. They were both significantly lighter than the dugasts.

i'm curious about this. which sizes and models did you compare?

my dugast fast bird 29x52s come in at 590-600 depending on the tire. the tires also measure closer to 2.25" than 2.05" (as the 52mm would imply) when mounted on Enve XC rims.

How do the Tufo XC2 Plus (the expensive, high TPI version) compare to a clincher Racing Ralph or Rocket Ron in terms of rolling resistance? Grip?

Alternately, is there anyone out there that has used several of the MTB tubulars available, and can compare them to each other?

I think tubulars on the MTB are pretty limited. I have a set of the Dugasts on Enves and I'm pretty underwhelmed with their durability. No where near the quality of my clincher tires.

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