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Looking for recommendations on a pair of tyres for the Highland Trail 550.
Spring / summer conditions and will be going onto my 27.5 hardtail which has clearance for up to 2.4s.
Hoping to be able to go round corners slightly so no Race Kings front and rear...
What's good? What worked for you?
Spring / summer conditions
Scottish spring/summer...
Slightly warmer rain than normal.
Standard answer is Vittoria Mezcal. Anything similar high volume fast rolling will do the job.
Mezcal/Mezcal or Mezcal/Barzo or Barzo/Barzo. Depending on whereabouts on the Spring to Summer scale the weather has been and is likely to be. I like the Mezcal/Barzo combo to give more confidence up front.
Ped - sounds pretty sensible. What casing are you using? I'm totally new to Vittoria so the whole; XC Race, XC, XC trail, XCR, XC UCI and XC adventure is quite a mind blowing array to choose from...
I don't have a lot of experience with proper xc tyres but, stepping down from Assegais and the like, I've been very impressed with forekasters in terms of grip. Feels like I can still have a lot of fun descending whilst feeling much more spritely elsewhere.
I've done a fair bit of bikepacking using my HT; Minion 3C DHF front and Minion SS rear gave me the grip plus fast-ish rolling and pretty bombproof for punctures etc.
On my new Adventure bike I've gone though with these, based on a recommendation from my LBS on what she's running on her HT:
The proper answer is what ever your bike has attached to it at the time you are about to go. Surely what you would normally ride is a good all round bet.
I'd think the XC trail (grey sidewalls). Slightly heavier but tougher than the out and out race versions.
@aldo56, I used to understand Vittoria casings but they seem to have changed all the names and complicated the line up...
I think for bikepacking you'd want XC-Trail. It has sidewall protection and is basically a Maxxis Exo equivalent. This is the version you'll see on half the Tour Divide bikes.
XC-Race and XCR are light with no puncture protection, and the XC is the budget version of these.
The XC adventure is even more budget, very heavy and potentially not tubeless compatible.
Cheers everyone - looks like Vittoria will be getting my money
2.4 forekasters worked perfectly for me in may 2024.
Not super fast on the road sections but meant that all the fun sections like torridon could be hit at full speed.
I’ve done it twice-both in dry conditions.
First time was racing ralph 2.4 front and rear- worked well and were fast rolling. Front was a bit sketchy when descending.
second time was a mezcal on the front and an ikon on the back-also worked ok too. Would probably go for an ardent on the front if it was going to be a bit damper.
Unless you’re going for a really fast time, I would go for something that rolls well, even if it means slowing down a bit descending. Draggy tyres are no fun after 20 hours of riding!!
I'd probably go with Forekaster 3C MaxTerra front, dual compound Recon rear. Both 2.4, EXO.
But that's me, who's not a great fan of both Schwalbe & Vittoria as I perceive their comparable and obvious options as just a a bit too light and flighty. HT550 contains some properly lumpy terrain that you'll be hitting while tired. I'd prefer to have the extra grip and have a safety margin against puncturing or tears, suck that up on the roads.
@Aldo56 Sorry, I missed your question till now, but I have the 'trail' option. As mentioned up there though, Vittoria seem to be doing their best to confuse things with new naming, but basically I'd avoid anything 'race'.