[Closed] Bridger v Rekon?

As close as I can offer some help ...

I've a WTB Bridger on the front, Trailblazer on the rear. The TB looks closer in profile to the Rekon+ going from the picture on the Maxxis site, quite square. The Bridger is very round in profile by comparison. Both are on Alpkit Rumpus wheels with 45mm wide rims. The Bridger is fairly close to the stated width but the TB is, shall we say, being economical with the truth.

Not used them in mud yet but in dry and semi wet conditions they are fine.

Cheers W

Have rekons been released then?

Bridger a bit more aggressively treaded than the rekon (deeper, spikier tread). Rekon/Ikon good in the dry, struggle a bit in the wet. not had enough time on Bridger to draw much conclusion, but based on look and feel, I'd go Bridger front, rekon rear for mixed uk riding. trailblazer is, IME, terrible. way too square with poorly supported shoulder knobs which leads to a vague feel at best in corners, terrifying at its worst (in 2.8 flavour) - the carcass is wider than the tread ffs (on a 40mm rim)!

Bridger on the back, Rekon on the front on my Stache (27.5 chubby). I much prefer both to the one-season Chronicle's that they replaced but only had two rides on them. Rekon isn't a minion by any means but seems to work well in the er mixed conditions we've been having and the bridger is a fast roller reasonably grippy tyre. It struggles a bit in the real slop but as a 3-season (if we have a summer that is) combo, they should be a good compromise between grip and rolling resistance.

I haven't tried then the other way round as per HM's idea, but I'm sticking with Rekon front for the moment.

Not sure how tough they are. Only ridden in the FoD so nowhere rocky.

Nobby Nics been working well for me, bit more aggressive than either.

Waiting on the 2,8 Minions, maybe with Rekon rear

@hungry_monkey The TB is definitely "squirmy"! I'm still not sure if it's not having the right pressure but it may just be as you say that it's too square and unsupported. Odd that Cotic fit them front and rear to their Solaris 27.5+ builds - I'd been warned about not having one on the front, hence the Bridger.

Just to add: Most of the time the Trailblazer is OK but just occasionally it flips you about. I've had pretty bad (scary) undamped rebound which could be due to lightweight sidewalls employed to keep the weight down.

Where are you getting rekons from?

Rekon came from a German site. Been out tonight in what can only be called 'winter conditions' and I reckon still a good combo. The Bridger might be a little more grippy but leaving it on the back. Rekon does slide but it's predictable.

To be fair tho, nothing short of full muds would have been ideal for tonight's 'summer ride'.

Think I'm going to stick with Bridger f and r until I've ridden it a few times......good response/info chaps,as usual.

Not ridden yet but I recently bought Alpkit wheels with a Bridger for the front and Trailblazer rear. The Trailblazer looks tiny on the rims in comparison to the Bridger. My frame has clearance for something bigger and I'm now wondering if I made a mistake with the Trailblazer (wish this thread occurred 2 weeks ago!).

Alex how draggy is the Bridger on the back? One of my reasons for the Trailblazer rear was the solid centre line which should make it easier to pedal.

It's not noticeably worse than the chronicle. I'd like to try it on some hard pack but all we've had since i fitted it is increasing levels of slop. Seems okay on the road (as any fat-isa tyre at 15psi can be). Certainly not draggy like a HRII that I have on my other bike. It also 'fills the frame'. It's a proper 3.0 - also seems to give me the cush I wasn't getting with the chronicle.

@nixie That's exactly the combination I have - Alpkit Rumpus wheels with Bridger on the front and TB rear. Went with the TB as that is what Cy at Cotic used when starting with the 27.5+ wheels in the Solaris and it's a lottery to figure out what's going to fit - I sent two tyres back to Wiggle as I wasn't sure if they'd fit or not.

The TB isn't that wide a rear tyre TBH, it's just 4mm wider than my 2.35" Bontrager XR4 for example despite being sold as a 2.8", the Bridger is within a mm or two of the stated width.

I'd be interested in getting some figures for how big the Rekon or Ikon are on the Rumpus wheels (45mm width).

I think the scraper rims I have are 45mm? Can check and measure width for you if it'd help?

@alex cheers. I'll stick with the TB for now as it's done sod-all distance but knowing what I can and can't fit in the future will be useful.

I've got a longitude frame so clearance for something larger shouldn't be an issue (other than perhaps running 2x10).

Hmm, tempted to sell the TB now and go for Bridger at both ends (after checking the clearance that is).

Must say though setting both these tyres up on the Alpkit Rumpus rims was a piece of piss. Both went up easily with a track pump and the Gorilla tape I used is the perfect width for the rims without any cutting.

Currently in the Alps and on Rekons front and rear.
No punctures so far despite a few flats from the rest of the group on none + bikes.

...is anyone in UK selling Rekons? I'd like to follow sss setup with Rekon on the back. Rekon going fine on front in most conditions 🙂

Rekons are available yes, or at least I think so. Price is pretty scary though iirc! Email me on ben@birdmtb.co.uk if you want some.

Rekons are available yes, or at least I think so. Price is pretty scary though iirc!

I was looking for semi fats on nextdaytyre and see that they're asking £70-odd quid for 3.0" chronicles (£99 RRP!) so I'd reckon the Rekon+ Is probably similar.... 😯

Where's those Bridgers again?....

Got mine from CRC (Bridgers) £40

Anyone having troubles fitting bridgers to Alpkit rumpus rims? Mine are so tight to seat in the bead I've snapped all my levers.

@fd3chris - I had real problems on the first attempt with the Bridger on Rumpus rims. I then found that I'd put the thing on the wrong way round (doh!) so had to take it off, nearly as hard, then when I put it back on it was much easier. I'd left it a day or two (no sealant) just sat on the rim before taking it off.

I've tried mine the right way a few times and it's almost impossible. The tyre fits over the rum easy enough but to get it into the bead has run my patience dry!!!

More tape to fill the rim? I used Gorilla tape as rim tape then brushed some soap solution on to that and used a ghetto compressor to force the tyre in to the rims.

Edit: By "wrong way" I meant that the Bridger is directional and I didn't see the rotation text and arrow until I'd put it on the first time. Shouldn't make a difference to seating the bead in to the rim.

I've tried that with a compressor and the strength needed to slide the tyre over to the bead is way too much. Something is wrong somewhere as I've seated loads of tyres tubeless and never had this. When you deflate the tyre it still stays locked into the bead and the tyres collapse in on themselves. Very weird to see it happen and the only way to shift the tyre off the bead is with a flat screwdriver. No tyre lever ever could manage it.

I got the bridger onto my Rumpus rims easily. Just had to make sure the tyre sat in the middle of the rim while getting the last bit of the bead over the rim edge. Used 2 tyres levers but didn't have to try hard with them. They then went up straight away with a track pump without hard pumping. I did have to use a little soapy water to get the last bits of the bead to engage with the rim properly though.

Mmmm I guessed something was wrong with mine.

I've got Pugatory front and Ground control rear. They're OK in the dry, but when it's damp things get interesting. I'm thinking of getting a bridger for the front and putting the purg on the rear. How is the bridger on the front when the trails are wet?

Just ordered a B+ Bomboloni to go with the 29+ front

Did the Peak 200 this weekend and it was pretty muddy in places (well lots of places reall). It was the first genuinely muddy ride I've done on the B+ tyres. You need to keep quite a bit of weight on the front otherwise it just floats around and things become, err, fun. The rounded profile means things are consistent but you also need to keep on ridges or valleys - if you find yourself on the side of muddy ridges you'll just slide away.