Good race tire for cornering

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devinci
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by devinci

they run smaller then Ikon. The sidewall are also fragile.

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DanW
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by DanW

Have you considered Bontrager tyres?

I had dismissed them as the tread patterns were very 1990's but they've been updated and look rather nice.

I have XR2 Team Issue (rear) and XR3 Team Issue (front) for my all round, ride anywhere wheelset. I think a pair of XR2's or XR1 (rear), XR2 (front) could be great for racing.

Pros:
+ Grippiest rubber compound of the big players (found Schwalbe and Maxxis rubber to be a bit hard and plasticy and lacked traction on slick rocks and roots that litter courses even when the ground is otherwise dry)
+ Very robust sidewalls (happily ride all day in the rocks of the Welsh mountains without worry)
+ Robust rubber around the tread (most XC tyres still have thin rubber around the tread even in reinforced versions which reinforce the sidewall only- no help at all when you get cuts and thorns going in around the tread area!)
+ Fast rolling (XR2 especially)
+ Go up tubeless first time, even with a hand pump, without putting a tube in first!
+ Super easy to seal tubeless (hold air perfectly fine without sealant)
+ 2.2 is the smallest size for most tyres so gives a pretty reasonable air volume

Cons:
- Potentially a touch expensive
- That grippy compound will wear quicker than more "plastic" tyres
- They aren't the lightest. XR2 2.2 Team Issue (26 inch) were 564g average (580g claimed). I consider this the upper limit of acceptable for a race tyre but the trade off is awesome grip, tacky compound, super robust fit and forget tyres.

Some stuff to consider maybe? :)

prodigy
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by prodigy

To continue this thread. Are there any other options out there for a racing tire with good cornering capabilities, low rolling resistance and puncture protection for dry conditions?

Currently I'm using Geax Aka 29x2,2 and it almost fits the bill, the only problem are the sharp rocks - I've cut the tire between the knobs close to the middle of the tire I 2 occasions, 2 races in a row.

I'm leaning towards Maxxis Ikon 3c MaxxSpeed Tubeless Ready eXo, but it's almost double the price as the Aka. I was looking also at Schwalbe RaRa/RoRo but the sidewalls seem too thin for me.

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devinci
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by devinci

What's the thoughts on Continental X-king as a front tire for cornering in dry and semi-dry conditions?

leugene
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by leugene

Just only today tried it for the first time and.... Whoa! Even better than RoRo in terms of grip on soil and getting out of ruts. Perhaps because of more square profile. Have heard only good things of it's BC compound. So my thumb up to it.

DanW
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by DanW

I really disliked the RoRo. Far too easy to cut in the tread area, awful on slick roots or rocks, reasonable in mud but not amazing, awful in anything vaguely rocky. Far too limited use range so I'd definitely look towards a BC X-King on Bonty X2 personally... even the Ralph is preferable and a pretty decent tyre.

A tyre for dry and semi-dry conditions relies heavily on a good rubber compound IMO (BC and Bonty compound are noticeably better than Schwalbe here) as you'll never want to be using deeper treaded tyres in these conditions. The trade off is some weight gain over Schwalbe but personally I'd take the better compound and more robust casing any day.

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devinci
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by devinci

I am now leaning toward the Nobby Nic snakeskin, bit more agressive but I think I need something that bites in the corners, at the expense of rolling resistance.

CulBaire
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by CulBaire

devinci wrote:I am now leaning toward the Nobby Nic snakeskin, bit more agressive but I think I need something that bites in the corners, at the expense of rolling resistance.


The NN works well with with the RaRa on the back, infact I wish I had a Nobby Nic laying around for this weekends race, its going the be a wet one! :(

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