Reviewed: Three 29'er XC Race Tires

Schwalbe Rocket Ron     Maxis Ikon       Specialized Fast Trak S-Works

Schwalbe Rocket Ron 29X2.25 tubeless ready claimed weight 520g

Maxis Ikon EXC 29X2.2 claimed weight 520g actual weight 514g

Specialized Fast Trak S-Works 2bliss 29X2 claimed weight 520g actual weight 535g

I didn't have a chance to ride each tire in all conditions and the Rocket Rons were the only ones I rode front and back, the Ikon and the Fast Track S-Works saw duty only in the rear.  I'll update as I get more rides in on these tires.

I'll tell you what I've found so far though..

Each manufacturer has all sorts of techno bafflegab explaining special proprietary compounds and computer modeled tread pattern for optimal everything.

Any sales person would have tonnes of marketing techo-hype in their arsenal to explain the advantages of each of these tires.  Specialized and Maxis have the best marketing with videos and more technobabble than Schwalbe.  I'm not saying the tread designs are BS, I think each have a pretty good design, I'm saying each company tries hard to sell you their tires, and like any marketing campaign, some of what is said amounts to minutia and rhetoric.

Tires were run at the same pressure for all comparisons using Stans NoTubes (except the Ikon.. had trouble with compressor that day and couldn't inflate tubeless)..

Loose gravel climbing

Winner: Rocket Ron
Ikon and Fast Trak S-Works: Tied

The RR has a more aggressive tread pattern with the lugs further appart than on the Ikon or FT S-Works.  The wider 2.25 casing also provides a wider contact patch.  I may not know precisely why the RR hooks up better on lose gravel, but it does, and noticeably so.  Of course it will still break free on loose gravel, but much less, and with less side slip.

The Ikon, although a 2.2 casing was actually a lot closer to the 2.0 casing of the Fast Trak S-Works.  Both the Ikon and S-Works climbed loose gravel well, but had more snakyness in holding a line and larger, more speed robbing spinouts than the RR.  You really had to keep weight back to ensure grip whereas with the RR spinout was far less frequent and only partial, and weight distribution was less finicky.

S-Works 2.0 on the left, Ikon 2.2 right.

Short grass climb

Winner: Rocket Ron

Ikon and Fast Trak S-Works: Tied.

Short dry grass is typically pretty grippy anyway.  Each tire performed well here with the Rocket Ron producing a little more grip.

Cornering

The Rocket Ron on the front is a phenomenal tire for cornering. I can't say anything about the other tires on the front as I haven't tried them.  The RR is so good up front though that I would be hesitant to try the Ikon or Fast Trak S-Works up front as it seems I would surely be let down.. but I will try them up front and post my findings.

The rear plays a roll of course in cornering as well.  Here the RR completely and entirely wins hands down. Very predictable grip and a gradual transition from grip to controllable oversteer slide-out.  I'm comparing three of the very best tires available so they are each pretty damn good.  None of these tires has been a dog so far in terms of grip, ride quality, or handling in general.

Dry rock 

Winner:

Maxis Ikon

Fast Trak and RR: tied

The Ikon had marginally better grip on dry rock than the other two, and a little less frequent slipping on 2 foot square edge up-and-overs.  It felt like the tire compound had more stickiness than the others, although I never had any issues with the the RR or S-Works, none of these tires failed or flailed under these conditions. 

Ride quality

The Rocket Ron and the Fast Trak S-Works have a more supple feel than the Ikon.  The Ikon and the Fast Trak both have 120 TPI casings, the Rocket Ron 127 TPI.

On back to back rides the S-Works is noticeably more supple feeling than the Ikon. The Ron is comparable, though still beats the S-Works for a supple ride.  Is it the extra 7 TPI thread count? Unlikely.  It will be the wider width and the overall combination of casing design and rubber compound, wall thickness etc.  Whatever the reason, the RR is the most supple of the three, the Ikon is good but a little more stiff.

Durability

Winner: Unknown

Rocket Ron: surprisingly good

Ikon: sidewall in the EXC version sucks big time

Fast Trak S-Works: early prognoses looks good.  So far more durable than the other two

The Schwalbe website cautions that the RR is a race purpose tire and has low puncture and sidewall protection.  On my first ride with the Ron's I scuffed some rocks and the sidewalls started showing some thread.  I thought the tire would be dead in a couple rides on the rocks.  Nope.. four months of riding rocky trails and lots of sidewall scuffs with threads showing and the tire was still going strong.  The knobs had almost completely worn down in the centre but the tire kept performing. 

The Rocket Ron finely met its demise in a race where a pokey piece of fresh-cut of shrub stabbed the sidewall.  Stans was not enough to seal the large hole.  Despite this being race-light tire not intended for durability, it lasted far beyond my expectations.  I'll be buying a Rocket Ron again.

Conversely, riding the Ikon one ride on the same trail under the same conditions taking the same line at the same speed with same amount of sidewall contact I always have.. tore through the side wall.  Good thing I was riding with a tube that time. For another paltry 60 grams you can get an Ikon with the Maxis EXO protection sidewall.  The Ikon EXO seems like it would be good choice if you encounter terrain where lot's of sidewall scuffs occur.

Maxis Ikon sidewall broke on through to the other side on a rocky ride

The gunk around the cut was some spray on rubber I was trying out as a repair.  Didn't work.

Riding the Fast Trak S-works on the same trails produced the least amount of visible sidewall scuffing.  I still hit the rocks with the sidewall, but I had to take a really close look to see the abrasions. 

Overall the winner so far is the Rocket Ron.  The Ikon, Rocket Ron, and Fast Trak S-Works are so close in weight I would not let that enter into the decision for buying.. you wont notice 10 - 20 grams.

The latest version of the RR is tubeless ready with an improved bead and sidewall. Previous versions (2011) were said to be difficult to run tubeless. I had no problems running the Rocket Ron and the Fast Trak tubeless.  I tried to run the non-tubeless ready Ikon with Stans but couldn't air it up.  I've read reviews saying others have no such trouble.  Turns out there was a problem with my air chuck.  I've got a new air chuck now but won't be trying the EXC Ikon with Stans as there are two big cuts in the sidewall.. Big enough that Stans would not have sealed them so I'm glad I didn't run the Ikon tubeless.  I'll give the Ikon EXO a chance tubeless though..

Wider is faster, and the RR is wider than either the Ikon or Fast Trak. Previous reviews on earlier versions of the Fast Trak seemed to suck overall so I avoided these tires.  The tire was redesigned 100% and is getting much better reviews.  I have no real issue with the general performance of the Fast Trak S-Works, but wish I could have it in a 2.25 width.  The 2.25 RR is the same weight as the 2.0 Fast Trak.

The Ikon and Fast Trak S-Works I rode performed admirably and are decent tires for sure.  The EXC casing is definitely not durable.  The S-Works is far more durable than the Ikon for about the same weight and similar performance, with the S-Works having a noticeably more supple ride.

More to come as I ride more..

A few more races with the 2012 Specialized S-Works Fast Trak are under my belt now. I keep noticing less buzz on harder surfaces.. it rides smoother and "feels" faster that way, but it does grip marginally less than the Schwable Rocket Ron.  If I never rode the Ron's I wouldn't say the S-Works lacks grip significantly. Given the choice right now though I would rather have the TL ready Rocket Ron on the back for all conditions compared to the S-Works.  The larger width, bigger air volume provides a more supple ride and the tire grips better.  While a little more buzzy on hard surfaces the RR feels like it absorbs smaller bumps with a more supple feel compared to the S-works.

2012 24 Hours Of Falcon Ridge

I love our Manitoba mountain bike enduro events; the Morden Back 40, and the 24 Hours of Falcon Ridge.

It's a chance to get on your bike and race, or not race, just have a blast putting in laps on great trails with great people.

The 24 Hours of Falcon is held at Falcon Ridge Trails, Falcon Lake Manitoba. The course has a mix of dirt road, single track, technical rocky sections, and a couple short steep hills (up and down).

Here is the 2012 course


View 2012 24 Hours of Falcon Ridge Mountain Bike Course in a larger map

It took me a week to recover enough to do a write up on the event.  Ok I wasn't that bagged.. I just didn't get to it until a nice lazy Saturday morning.

For the past two years after the event (this year was the third annual, and best so far) I've made it halfway through the 1.5 hour drive home and had to pull over to nap.  This year I made it all the way home before I started to feel like a zombie.

The first two years I slept in the chalet which wasn't too bad, but the door slamming every time a person went in or out was a bit of a sleep killer.  This year I bought a tent.  $50.00 at Canadian Tire (half price sale).

Here's a picture of the tip of my finger. Pre-assembled tent is in the background.

Tada.  Hammering stakes into a gravel parking lot is great.  When finished I only had two tent poles left over.  Not sure where they went but it didn't seem like I needed them.  I'm pretty happy with my first tent experience since Cub-scouts.. which was nearly 40 years ago.

Critical update.. My girlfriend just read this blog entry.. "Do you want to read my write up on the 24 hour race?".  "How long is it?", she asked.. I should have said, "24 hours".  Badum dum.  Of course she was referring to the length of the write up.  She looked like she had just been asked if she wanted to read an article about watching paint dry.  "It's not that long, see?" I demo'd the length by using a really fast scroll.

I think she likes it, she's laughing. Then..

"Hey!  This wasn't the first time camping since Cub-scouts!", she said. "Really?"  Then I got one of those looks where nothing needs to be said but some how it makes you remember things.  "Right.. at Birds Hill Park.. with you."  "Yeah, you and your guitar pickin! You serenaded me by the campfire.  That was the last time we went camping!" LOL! 

I don't know if the serenading worked or if she thought, "crap.. there's always something.. well maybe if hide the guitar it will work out."..

Not being an educated consumer on how to buy a tent, I thought "4 person tent" would translate into having lots of extra room for one person.

What I didn't realize is that real capacity is a mere fraction of claimed capacity.  This is my double air mattress (which apparently uses the same real capacity formula as the tent) thrown in. It was cozy.  

Bill Algeo (wearing the yellow X vest), the organiser for 24 Hours of Falcon Ridge, addresses the crowd of ne're-do-wells and hooligans that make up the 24 event entrants.  There is also an 8 hour event that started a couple hours earlier.

 Don't mess with this crowd.  They guy in the mask was brave; the temperature was over 30 degrees C.  He said, "AAARRRGGG" a lot.

It was a good event for me.  I had it all planned out.  Don't be a rookie and go out too hard on the first few laps.  It's a 24 hour event.. blasting the first two laps is dumb.

Dumb:  See also; "Cris LaBossiere"

I hammered the hills on the first lap.  Not 100% all-out, I wasn't THAT dumb. I only went 95%.  Like Homer Simpson repeatedly putting his hand on a hot stove and saying, "D'oh!" each time, I burned myself and cramped hard core at three hours and did actually say out loud, "D'oh!"  Along with some choice expletives. 

You know those cramps that are so bad that when you try to stretch the cramping muscle to stop the cramp, the other muscles cramp?  Science note.. a muscle cramp can usually be resolved by stretching the affected muscle, which activates a motor feedback loop that overcomes the spasticity of the cramp and invokes the muscle to relax. 

Reality note: Only works on mild cramps.

Many people are lucky enough to never experience extreme cramps.  A few people have the gene's that allow them to have this displeasure.  For those who don't know, it is extremely painful and incapacitating.

I stood next to my bike on the side of the trail for about 10 minutes, unable to move in the first five.  Moving requires muscles to contract.  Asking cramping muscles to contract makes them cramp harder.
I was at a section of the course where I could have taken a short cut, almost all downhill, straight back to the start/ finish.  That would have been the smart thing to do to give my cramping muscles a break.

In regards to "smart", see "dumb" above.  I couldn't take a shortcut back, that would mean I couldn't record this lap.  If I didn't improve and was truly in unrecoverable bad shape I would have nixed the event and went straight back to recover.  Fortunately my cramps did resolve and I was able to get back on and finish the lap.

I took a two hour break massaging my trigger point laden legs and later did another 90 minutes of riding.

I don't have the capacity to do 24 hours straight, or even 8 hours straight and survive intact.  Luckily the 24 Hours of Falcon Ridge event is very accommodating to peoples varying abilities.  The objective is to complete as many laps as you're capable of or willing to do over 24 hours.  You can go solo or in teams.

For me that meant trying 4 hours on day one, and four hours on day two.  Day one went reasonably well considering the cramping blow out.

There were a few technical sections all of which I had no trouble with this year.  In previous years I would be walking over technical sections and watching in awe the other riders who seemed to float over rocks. This year I was a floater.  Almost..  I'm not that nimble yet.. couple more years.

Day two was stellar.  After a solid 4 hours of interrupted sleep (at one point someone was blowing one of those horns you hear at European soccer events.  A very pleasant sound at 2am.  Thanks for that). Oh wait.. my shin muscles cramped while trying to sleep.  Trapped in my mummy sleeping bag I couldn't bend the right way to relieve the cramp.  Frantically I nearly tore open the sleeping bag and tried to pull on my foot to stop the shin cramp.  Which of course made the calf cramp.  Then the other leg went.  Are you kidding me?

I hoped nobody was walking by my tent at that point.. not sure what they would think was going on in there with the tent shaking.. and only one person in it.

Back to day two..  I started out very conservatively.  I felt not too bad, but the first hour felt like it might be the last as well.  I tried another lap slow.  Felt better.  And better. 

At just under the halfway point in the loop you have to get your number plate punched to show that you're doing full laps. The people volunteering to do this are awesome. They're out there for hours in the heat with the incessant bugs all for the greater good. These two were from the ABES and BABES men's and woman's mixed team ..they raced as well as volunteered at the event. Cudo's.

By hour three I felt fantastik (not a typo.. I was cleaning everything).  I matched pace with another guy who incentivized me to push harder than I thought I should.  I feared cramping but there was no sign of this nemesis today.  After a pretty hard lap I felt ready to hammer.  The clock said 11:25am.  35 minutes to noon, the cut off time.

I was averaging 35+ minute laps.  I had just enough time to squeeze out one more.  I had race buzz, where you feel like every nerve in your body is tingling with anticipation of going all out.  I had my iPhone headphones in and was ready to rock.  Of course for safety's sake the volume is low so you can hear others talking or coming up behind you.

Part way through my final lap the earphones started to fritz out.  Must be the sweat.  I was zoning into the music and getting motivation from it, but thought.. ok, no tunes.. doesn't matter.. nothing will stop me from putting in my fastest lap.. at that moment, BAM!  Music volume went full blast..  I went with it.  Saw it as a sign I'm meant to go hard.

Have you heard that re-mix of Queens We Will Rock You? Niether had I.  I can't remember when or why I bought this song, but I did, and it was playing now.  Turns out it was the perfect tune to ride hard too. ..Just looked on my phone.. it's an extra when you buy the album Queen News of The World on iTunes.

Anyhoo.. After blasting the dirt road like pro rodie I arrive at the turn-around.  "25 minutes left.. can you make it?", say's the hole puncher..  25 minutes?  Holly crap I am going way faster than I thought.  "I shouldn't have a problem", I replied and sped off.

This just keeps getting better.  I was totally pumped.  At that moment my iTunes, which for some reason was set to play every artist in my library in alphabetical order, landed on Ray Charles.  It didn't start with Ray's funky tunes, but rather his ballads.  Just when the technical section started and where I need to be maximally amped. 

Great tunes for relaxing or wanting to go to sleep.  No way I'm taking my hands off the bars to change tunes though.  Then I thought, Hey, this is Ray.. Ray is cool.  Just be cool like Ray and get into the grove.  Ahhh.. my flow changed from rigid to supple.  I wasn't banging over the roots and rocks.. I achieved the float zone.  Thanks Ray!

I cleaned all technical sections without hesitation.. I knew I would make the deadline, my goal had now changed to how much can I beat the deadline by..

I rolled into the finish and the clock said.. 11:49.  A 24 minute lap. I quickly looked at all the other lap times for the 24 hour event.. no 24 minute laps.  Waaa?  Double check.. holly crap I think I have the fastest lap time!

Turnes out I tied for fastest lap time, for which the only prize is pride, with John F, a top notch rider and one of the winners of the event.  Wow did I feel good!  The difference though is John can pump out a bunch of laps like that.. I think I could do only a few..  But for me this was a great achievement coming from not being able to ride the whole course two years ago.

I'm really looking forward to next years event.  I love riding the trails at Falcon Ridge and I love this event.  Thanks to everyone who made this possible

24 Hours of Falcon Ridge Blog

Video of one lap courtesy JP

Camp Cris