I was impressed with the difference in rolling resistance. I think your way of testing it was absolutely perfect.Even if it was not 100 percent accurat. The result was so clear.
My own experience, 2.4 will be more direct but 2.6 will give more cushioning and grip. I ride at the moment a 2.6 SE4 out back with a 2.4 SE up front. I have a lighter case 2.6 up front but didn't like it for hand cut single track as it felt vague in the steering. Wondering how that would be with the heavier SE casing instead of XR casing. Out back I like the 2.6 as I run it 20 to 22psi and I can get some good grip out of it on tech climbs. When I head back to snow I will put a 2.6 back up front as it rides better in up to 1 foot of snow. Not sure if I will use a SE4 or SE5 Botranger 2.6 tyre though..... If tyre weight is an issue, add a motor and battery ))
Try to use less psi in the XC tyre (about 20 front, 22 rear). Gives you more confort and traction. You'll enjoy way more the ride. With Tubeless you can use with no problem.
This one was a kind of Cpt. Obvious. But what about a carbon vs aluminum wheels? Recently light aluminum wheels showed up (Stan's 23 mm inner), while decently priced carbon wheels also appeared. Such a comparison would make sense .... #AskGmbn #AskGmbnTech
Im using Barzo front and back for my hardtail on tarmac ride.very grippy on climbing,turning and braking. Rolling resistance is high on tarmac. But I get to train my legs very well😊👍
As an amateur I can confirm that 500g in tire weight on two wheels combined is really easy to feel, so 1200g like here in test must be a massive difference. I do enjoy riding with tubes with beafier tires to have puncture free seasons, but buying 1400g Jafaki was a mistake I regret greatly. They do track really nice though. I'd say 900-1000g for 27,5/29" respectively is the maximum reasonable weight I'd go for, but riding on 800g 2,6" is beefy enough too.
It’s good to see the rest of the GMBN gang shredding up the trails on their Continental Tyres. (Just not in this video - which almost seems to be a 15 min. Vittoria advert’.) Vittoria only offers the four different trail/enduro tyres, while Continental has closer to twenty different tyres to choose from.
Dude, I will say, I've tried specialized, continental, maxxis, and now vittoria, and the vittoria tires are easily my favorites! I've got a set of Agarros on my Chromag Rootdown, and they feel amazing for trail riding. They roll well, the grip is incredible, and when they do lose traction, it's really predictable and controllable. These are the only tires I've had where I can consistently recover from front wheel wash outs and not crash. I can even get into controllable 2 wheel drifts and slide into catch berms like never before. They've also been crazy durable, I've abused the hell out of them. They have really surprised me, I'd suggest trying a set of Vittorias!
I have been using Barzo's for a while and rate them - surprisingly capable in nearly all conditions. Good puncture resistance too. However bit sketchy on wet tarmac (yes I know they are not designed for that) and is in fact the only tyre I have ever used that has dumped me, twice, onto the road totally unexpectedly. As my 2 broken fingers will testify..
Great review! 👍 finally somebody convinced me for XC tire. I currently have stock Spec Butcher 29x2.6 on my turbo levo but will swop them next week with something lighter rolling because I simply don't need them on my local trails. Cheers!
j5k395tks Don't forget that the Butchers has thicker sidewalls and more structural strength than a lighter XC tire. So for your heavier Levo I would get a Pepis tire noodle or a Vittoria airlines system in the wheel so you can benefit from the lighter tire and correct air pressure and not worry about damaging your rims
So I changed my tires for 29x2.3 from vee tire (crown f + r). I got them for 30eur/set... They seems to have strong casing and quite robust. And what I can say is that the difference is just huge!!! Bicycle got "lighter", it rolls fast as hell and feels so good now! I can only recommend for those who do more trail/cross County riding. Anyways thanks EMBN for opening my eyes!
I would be very interested in the difference it makes for heavier riders. On a good day, I weigh 100kg, and I'm a far bit above that at the moment. Is a lighter bike weight gonna make a noticeable difference, or is my weight only enough to mask any performance gains? Great video as always.
to be honest I run my Barzo/mezcal combo at 1.5bar and 1.6bar respectively on my Spark rc900 comp and Ive done some "higher than should be allowed" speeds on pretty rocky descents and didnt ding my rims. you can definately knock a couple of psi out of them and the barzo really does like lower pressures for grip. Ive recently swiched over to the vittorias from maxxis aspens and i never felt as though im happy with how scetchy the tyres feel grip wise to go fast, the vittorias fixed that scetch factor and the fake confidence and are just in another league.
@@andreykubyshkin868 Really good. Used to run Minions front and rear. Then tried a Minion SS. Was good in the dry but wasn't good for peddling as soon as it got muddy. Went to Aggressor after that it seem the best for grip and rolling resistance I've tried.
Ex from Henry. Recently I bought a complete new wheelset with Enduro style tyres to use alongside the xc tyres. The bike is definitely XC being a specialized Epic. Cheaper than a second bike but not by to much. Has made a huge positive difference to be able to suit the tyres to riding.
THIS Henry... You pointed out exactly my sole reason I stick to my hardtails. In a instant I can make my new 2020 150mm travel enduro hardtail, a sprint monster, with a set of slimmer rims and XC tyres. Love riding gravel too. Good explaining and testing of the subject - thumbs!
For the record I think you're right to use them with different PSI Henry! That's a more realistic test of the uses of them. Running both on the same PSI is a comparison of neither. I think you can get away with riding the same bike for both though, since weight, geo and suspension are such big variables.
Would been fun two see a test with enduro front Tire and xc rear Tire. I'm running specialized butcher trail grid front and butcher black diamond rear best tire i've ridden for where i live and ride.
I've installed enduro tyres on my XC mtb, where i live, the ground is all clay so it just stuck on my XC tyres. With the added grip from the enduro tyres I'm finally able to get my power down instead of sliding all over the place.
I live in the desert my bike came with xc tyres. On descents I was getting to much slippage. I'm on mud tires now. They're heavy but I don't ever think about them
If your in the dry the Vittoria Mezcal on the front and a peyote or Terreno dry combo is so much better than a barzo some of our race team just run Mezcal through winter as barzo is just too draggy , new aggero is replacing the morsa this looks like a nice Trail/ enduro compromise if you ride both
I’m riding 2.8 Rocket Ron on the back and 3.0 Nobby Nic in the front. Maybe a XC style tire in the rear and a enduro style tire in the front would be the ideal combination?
I ride similar setup. I had Ron's front and back and found it a little too loose in looser terrain. So put the Nick up, front. Tire choice is best fitting your dominant terrain scenario. Those are some pretty fat tires there.
Like to see the results with the same pressures as I don't but plenty of people run 26psi in their front and 28psi the rear on their enduro tyres in rocky areas
I ride Mezcal for XC and Agarro on the trail. Vittoria makes a very solid tire for a more economical price across the board. For those of you who correlate “better tire has to be more expensive”. Think about how much a car tire cost versus a bicycle tire. One pound of rubber versus 20-30 pounds. Bike tires are ridiculous, maxxis and schwabe in particular.
Cheddar702 I think you’ve confused me with someone who doesn’t understand free market and commodities. Comparing a technology device such as an iPhone and a rotary phone to a commodity item (rubber) has immediately clued me into the fact that your.......well, I’ll say lost. If you think tires for bicycle (or cars for that matter) are some big mystery in technology your nuts. Tires are a trade in rubber which is a commodity sold by slick marketing. Good luck to you.
Your Cafe seems to be missing a Cafe. Also, I'd rather hear about tires in between XC and Enduro. Many people probably want to know the differences they can expect with good "Trail" tires...
So would xc tires aired down a smidge w/ a cushcore in them be a happy half way? Lower pressures for good traction, and cushcore for stability and still possibly still lighter than an enduro tire.
Really helpful video, but what about a step further ...... Gravel bike tyres ? 29er and 700c has the same ERTO dimensions and these should fit - the question is can I share my tyres and wheels - at least for summer XC riding. Gravel tyres tend to be thinner, but so were XC tyres in the past. WTB RADDLER is 42.622 and Barzo comes in 52.622. Is the answer is 'you could.... but the extra 1cm is very important' or 'absolutely, it would be fun on dry trails'. This is mainly for wife and teenager who are lighter and not as strong as me so weight matters. Thank
Seems to be for me to get answer will enduro tyre save me the energy during downhill - more confident, less stress, less muscle tension - than I loose during climbing, bringing heavier and higher rolling resistant tyres up to hill ?
@@Cheddar702 I haven't seen a 4.8" or a 5" Jumbo Jim. But Vee Tires has'em. And considering how many fatbikers use the Snowshoe XL I reckon there must be usecases where these bigger fatter tires are better. Anyways, I thought it was a fun suggestion. I mean, I've seen this channel make and remake their content more than once and more then twice to the point where I got tired of watching the content over and over again. So why the heck not? Better yet, why not make a dedicated vinter fatbike video? You know a real fatbike vinter video, shot in Canada or something like that? Not on an almost snow free trail in England.
Did you mention the width of the tyres? Where did I miss it? Will you please share again what width of tyres did you perform this experiment with? Thank you.
Interesting, i am thinking of a 2021 SB 115 T-2 version, at age 66 and intermediate/moderate riding style i feel the BARZO would be better suited over the factory specd 2.5 DHF and Aggressor rear and i will drop 400 grams, basically a pound. Add a 1400 gram carbon wheel set and i drop another pound over the XM 1700 alloys so i will have a bike MUCH easier to climb and just pedal around for plenty of fun
my 5010 has a shorty/high roller tyre combo and I run that all year! Grip is spot on at about 20psi, my new blur has 2 Ikons. The difference between the rolling speed of the two bikes is insane! .......(although my blur is over 8lbs lighter and has reserve 29 inch wheels so I’m sure that makes a sliiiiight difference 😂) when I jump on my trail bike now, it feels like the brakes are rubbing! It’s so fucking slow! 😂
An XC tyre is easy to remove, if you need to change or fit a tube (if running tubeless) on a trail with an enduro tyre you are screwed as the beads are so stiff. You have to run tubeless if you are likely to be in the middle of nowhere with no help on enduro tyres. A heavy duty XC tyre like a Nobby Nic gives you the best of both worlds. Reasonable weight, pretty tough, not too heavy, good aggressive tread, reasonable roll and they are easy to take off.
What about the best of both worlds? You should put xc tyre on the rear and enduro on the front. A lot of people ride this setup for longer rides including me....
@@dookie3453 I use a enduro rear and all mountain wild michilin combo I don't have many worries of lack of front grip but with a xc short noble tyre u will have issues for sure
8:55 I HEARD A BRAKE SQUEAK XDD Noo this wouldn't change much. But still, Póść te heble bo ci przewody utne (Let off the brakes or i will cut your hoses) as we say in Poland
What Tore combination would you reconmend for a Alpencross in the italian Alps? Around 7 to 10 days with 900 to 1800 meters of elevation per day. Cause it will also often be muddy. I have got a Canyon Spectral. And i ride it quite agressively. I also love steep gnarly trails. What would you reconmend?
Since you say it'll be muddy, the Schwalbe Magic Mary could be a good choice, maybe with a Schwalbe Hans Dampf on the rear, for a faster rolling combination. (well, faster than Magic Marys, fr & rr)
@@davidmorris8121 Jea, thats what i run now. But i want something slightly faster. I thought about a maxxis forecaster out back and a Continental Der Baron up Front. But i don't know if the der Baron rolls faster than a Magic Marty.
Put a Schwalbe Rapid Rob on my ebike & the tread has almost gone after just 3 months, don’t do a lot of cycling but the front tyre has been on for 22 months & has more tread. Any advice on tyre wear would be useful.
#AskGMBN Hi Doddy & Henry, Thanks for all the advice you give us MTB needs - much appreciated..... I'm building a Sonder Transmitter hardtail at the moment and currently have a set of 27.5 boost wheels with 25mm internal width rims. What would be the biggest tyre width for this rim? I have some 2.3 tyres, but would I like something a bit wider if possible.
FYI, for those who don't know much about Vittoria tires, they are known to burn up tread very quickly compared to others. So if you want to try them, just know that they won't last as long as most tires you're probably used to. And they don't really make a variety of sizes, so you're limited to the one(or two if you're lucky) width of tire they have on each model. Their whole deal is that they have this super duper amazing 4 compounds of rubber and graphene used in the tires. It's marketing nonsense as far as performance is concerned. They're not especially bad or especially great.
WEST OZ MTB no, because a more robust tire (this also applies to cheaper tires) requires a lower pressure to work the same as a more supple (also applies to more expensive) tire. If you rode the trail tire at a higher pressure you’d get less rolling resistance, but you also get less grip and a harsher ride, so for practical purposes you would just be wasting the purpose of a trail tire and smashing your bum more.
My hard tails (26’ tyres and 700c tyres) are so much easier to ride up hill thank my Yeti. It’s really frustrating that my fav bike take much more effort uphill, even with suspension on firm setting. Could this be due to the fatter tyres on the yeti or could it be something else?
#askgmbntech Hi guys. I've got a Cube Stereo 120 2018 XC bike. It's got 15mm/X12 wheelsets and I am thinking of buying a second set for commuting and general purposes. To the front I guess I need a wheel/hub with a same through maxle, but can I just use a normal old quick release axle wheelset? Or would the frame prohibit that? Thanks
Henry, did you ride out a 3 weeks ago to do this video, saw you riding up towards Y2K and Skids and Grins on the off piste. I had a feeling I also saw you at the bottom of wormhole #NotAStalker
@@matthewkramer8613 trust me, they are worlds difference. had xkings on my previous bike and contis literally just feels like nylon plastic instead of rubber whatever you do you never get that "soft" feeling with those tyres. i recently swiched over from aspens to barzo out front and mezcal in the rear and the rolling resistance vs grip is just astounding. the barzos just hold on for what it is. I really recommend looking at them.
@@wernervandermerwe8422 I'll have to give them a try. Where I typically ride is rocky and often loose rocks with a good amount of hard pack as well. This calls for a fairly nobby tire up front and something grippy but fast in the rear. Been running Nick up front with Ron out back. Works well on my XC mtb. Vittoria tires seem underrated. But also a bit heavier than spec. Actual size is also not matching the stamped label based on ERTO.
@@matthewkramer8613 yeah, I've been using the Vittorias Agarros on my Chromag Rootdown and they're awesome! Great compromise between grip and rolling resistance. They're like a step above the Barzos in terms of grip. They've been great trail tires, and they roll so well that I just did a week of bikepacking on them. And when they do lose traction, it's really predictable and controllable. I've washed out the front wheel and recovered from it several times on them. They're also proving to be really durable. I've tried Conti, Maxxis, Specialized, and now Vittoria, and I'll be sticking with Vittorias. I was also stoked that they make 29x2.6 Agarros, which i think is perfect. I was having trouble finding 29x2.6 tires with the kind of tread I wanted.
@@RobinsonHooi I would ride the more aggressive tire in the front. If your front loses traction you will likely be on your butt, if your rear loses traction you just get loose. When going (give or take) uphill your 70-80% of your weight will be on your rear and correspondingly your rolling resistance. On the flat about 60% of your rolling resistance will be on the rear (with a 40/60% weight distribution). On the down your weight shifts forward butrolling resistance isn't such a big deal as up or flat. It's an old bmx trick, mtb's followed suit in the 80's and 90's.
#askgmbntech - hello, i see so many comanies of tires, but there is 1 brand which is hmmmm not taken into consideration? its Vee tires! ium using them alot, in Poland they basic value is 200 pln basic price but u can get it way cheaper if u look right, tires are extrtemly durable and can take quite much, but no1 is using them nor talking about them - my question is why?
i have 27.5 schwalbe hans dampf on rear and magic mary front on my full sus trail bike. im looking for some faster rolling XC tyres could anybody recomend any?
I have a question, I use a 29" 2.25 tubeless wheel, the tire says minimum PSI is 35 and max 55, is it safe to go low psi to 26/28 PSI??? Why min in tire says is 35 and not 26/28PSI???
Find me a bike that will last me a winter over snow, ice, salt, slush mud and frozen bike parts and not corrode to the point it is falling apart and I will be amazed. No bike can last a full winter and everyday use without breaking on me
you want to compare different things. first of all, you'll need to set all the variables equal. No, I'll do it my way: 20% pressure difference!! Science on GMBN...
@@rossmcdowall8672 yeah, the reason is a bit dumb. he could literally use the same tires, but with different pressure, and get the almost the same results. the ones with more pressure would go faster uphill, have less rolling resistance and so on. It's not entertainment, it's a commercial for the tire brand
@@dezoksiribon You're generally right, but bear in mind that if you had, say, a 2.3 Minion DHF, & a 2.5 Minion DHF, then put exactly 25 psi in each, they WOULDN'T be equal pressure! Can't remember the math, but the 2.5 would need to be lower psi, to 'equal' the 2.3. It's to do with each tyre's surface tension...
@@davidmorris8121 Don't know what you mean by surface tension of a solid body, cause surface tension exists only in fluids. I think you are mistaken something. But yeah, different tire sizes will have diefferent contact patch at same pressure. That's why I wrote in my first comment, that for the best results all possible variables should be set equal. Tire pressure, tire size and so on. If you say: "nobody will run these tires with 28 psi", ok, find a middle, or do same tests with different pressure, but for both tires. easy
the rolling resistance is not that much affected by pressures over 20 psi, below that it goes crazy. rubber compound and thread pattern gives the biggest performance hit. followed by tire and wheel weight.