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"Did you feel a difference?" I ask the group of test riders, looking at their sceptical faces. We have just ridden the first three sets of tyres over the Wurzelsepp trail in the Oberammergau bike park. "Traction at the limit?" I ask. A shrug of the shoulders, a frown. In our search for the optimum conditions for this year's tyre test, the otherwise always damp slope of the Kolbensattel seemed particularly suitable. Wet roots, slippery berms and deep forest soil should push the tyres to their traction limits. But despite the previous period of rain, it seems as if they had installed underfloor heating on the Kolbensattel. The perfectly prepared flow trail is as dry as sand cake and even the marathon tyres stick to the otherwise slippery Wurzelsepp like skin on sandpaper. A borderline experience at the end of the grip scale? Impossible. Conditions that usually bring pure joy to bikers' faces are completely unsuitable for our tyre test. So we put our 15 tyre combos from the marathon/race and trail/all-mountain categories back on the editorial bus and moved our test base back to the banks of the Isar in Grünwald. There we found the necessary standard conditions, which had already delivered comparable results in the previous tyre tests.
Because the tasks of front and rear tyres differ in practice, this time we asked the manufacturers for tyre combinations for race and trail use. While coarser-profiled shoulder and centre knobs on the front tyre are primarily intended to guide the bike safely through corners and transfer braking forces better, lower rolling resistance is more important on the rear tyre. Manufacturers such as Continental, Michelin and Pirelli therefore rely on an almost continuous row of lugs in the centre of the rear tyre. To prevent the tyre from slipping even on steep climbs, the tread should also interlock well with the ground. In addition to the tread pattern, the rubber compound also plays a role. To generate even more grip at the front, Maxxis, Michelin, E13 and Schwalbe rely on a stickier compound on the front tyre. The fact that an additional puncture protection layer on the rear tyre can pay off is particularly evident with Kenda: while the Regolith delivers the worst value in comparison on the front wheel, the Booster shines at the rear with convincing puncture protection. Surprisingly, most other manufacturers use identical carcass constructions for both models.
You can find the entire test report with these 15 tyre combinations including all data, tables and grades as a PDF in the download area below:
Marathon race combos:
- Bontrager XR3 (39.99 Euro) | Bontrager XR2 (39.99 Euro)
- Continental Cross King (62,90 Euro) |Continental Race King (62,90 Euro)
- Kenda Regolith Pro (55,90 Euro) | Kenda Booster Pro (57,90 Euro)
- Maxxis Rekon (64,50 Euro) | Maxxis Rekon Race (53.50 Euro)
- Michelin Force XC (59,95 Euro) | Michelin Jet XCR (68,95 Euro)
- Onza Canis (59,99 Euro) | Onza Svelt (59.99 Euro)
- Pirelli Scorpion MTB M (49.99 euros) | Pirelli Scorpion MTM H (49.99 euros)
- Schwalbe Racing Ray (57,90 Euro) | Schwalbe Racing Ralph (57,90 Euro)
- Specialised Fast Trak (48.90 Euro) | Specialised Renegade (48.90 Euro)
Trail all-mountain combos:
- Bontrager XR5 (39.99 Euro) | Bontrager XR4 (39.99 Euro)
- E13 TRS Race A/T (79.90 Euro) | E13 TRS Race S/S (69.90 Euro)
- Kenda Hellkat Pro (57,90 Euro) | Kenda Nevegal 2 Pro (57.90 Euro)
- Maxxis Forekaster (69.50 Euro) | Maxxis Rekon (69.50 Euro)
- Michelin Wild AM (59,95 Euro) | Michelin Force AM (59,95 Euro)
- Schwalbe Hans Dampf (57,90 Euro) | Schwalbe Nobby Nic (57,90 Euro)
You can find the complete comparison test including all data, points tables and the score overview in BIKE 8/2019. The comparison test costs 1.99 euros as a PDF. Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in BIKE. We don't pay for them, but the opposite is the case: we charge for them, hundreds of thousands of euros every year.
You can read the entire digital edition in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or the print edition in the DK shop reorder - while stocks last:
Downloads:
Stefan Frey
Editor
