Interview: Talking About Tires With Maxxis, Schwalbe, Continental, WTB, & Others

What is your favorite tire in your lineup, and why?

The new Hillbilly Grid Trail T9 is my current favorite. The casing is our mid-weight trail version which keeps the tire playful and responsive and uses our grippiest compound. My local trails have a lot of leaf litter and debris over harder packed, the Hillbilly knobs cut through the top layer and find traction. It’s a really fun tire that has become my go-to.

It seems as though tubeless technology has plateaued a bit over the past few years, do you see any major changes on the horizon?

The basics are dialed, but there is plenty of room for improvement. To innovate, tire and wheel companies need to work together. Because tubeless is a system, working independently creates boundaries and limits on new tech.

Where do you stand on inserts? How do they factor into new tire development?

We generally recommend riders to move up to a more robust casing or add a few extra psi, but for some riders and disciplines inserts are valuable. We test and tune our tires during development with and without inserts to find a sweet spot that works great for either setup.

I’ve heard that leaving newly installed tires at max psi overnight can help stretch the casing, giving full volume and a better ride feel. Is this actually the case?

Yes. There is a little stretch still in the tire after production. How much depends on materials and construction.

The tire casing cord holding the tire together is made of strong densely arranged nylon fibers in warp direction, whereas the fibers used for weft are weaker and really only needed to keep the main load-bearing warp fibers in place during processing. In use, as fibers bed in there is some give. You don’t have to pump tires up and wait, though. On your first ride this will happen all by itself.

Another effect influencing ride behavior comes from the constant deformation of tread compound. When riding the tires the compound will compress and decompress as it goes through the ground contact patch. Going through these cycles of stress and relaxation is changing the position of composition polymers and filler materials towards each other. The constant shear disrupts chemical links between ingredients and softens the compound. Some of the links reverse and heal when the tire is “resting”. But some links are damaged permanently. Besides a new sharp tread, this is why new tires feel fresher compared to a worn out tire.

If you had to choose between sticky tires or aggressive tread pattern for your typical riding, where would you bias? I realize we get to have both, but humor me.

Sticky tires with less aggressive tread. Compound damps vibrations and impacts, adapts and grips terrain, and generally gives you more confidence and a better ride in many conditions even with the less aggressive tread.

Many high-level racers are still running relatively narrow rims compared to the broader market, why do you think that is?

A bicycle is a one lane vehicle that needs to lean when cornering. When leaned over, suspension that is optimized for vertical compliance is compromised.

When leaned over frame, fork, wheel and tire compliance in lateral direction play a relatively bigger role in ground-following ability. Now a relatively narrower rim has more flex laterally and it allows the tire more leverage to conform and lay more tread surface on the ground.
Racers appreciate this behavior and use it for more cornering speed.

Do you worry about rolling resistance in a downhill-focused tire, or is grip the only concern?

The tire needs to support the rider in controlling the ride. Downhill courses typically have a loose surface and controlling the ride means keeping your balance on shifting surfaces. Undisturbed rolling where rolling resistance matters is rather limited except for the motorways on some courses. On those courses, however, rolling resistance does count for the results sheet and we have racing specs to help with speed.

Does your company have any programs in place to recycle tires or generally reduce the waste associated with production?

On the production line we minimize waste, excess material, and use primarily recycled and widely recyclable packaging. Specialized is actively scaling up our recycling programs which will include tires and tubes in the near future.

Historically we’ve heard that tire availability is the thing holding back further development on 36” (or other large wheel size) bike designs, any plans to push that envelope?

We are not currently exploring larger wheel options.

What is your favorite tire in your lineup, and why?

The DHR II is an all-time favorite for me. The braking consistency and power has saved me from hugging trees at trail speed more times than I care to admit.

It seems as though tubeless technology has plateaued a bit over the past few years, do you see any major changes on the horizon?

I think the new ISO standard updates that are around the corner combined with existing ETRTO standards will help provide a reference to a lot of smaller rim and tire manufacturers to make products that are safer and easier to install and ride for the majority of consumers. I think all home and pro mechanics are excited about the prospect of less rim and tire combinations that blow off or require excessive force to mount.

Where do you stand on inserts? How do they factor into new tire development?

Our goal is to design our tires to be race ready without inserts. That being said, inserts are considered with new casing developments from a basic compatibility standpoint.

I’ve heard that leaving newly installed tires at max psi overnight can help stretch the casing, giving full volume and a better ride feel. Is this actually the case?

Yes, leaving the tire at max pressure for rim or tire (whichever is lower) is recommended in ISO standards. This is called tire conditioning, and will allow the tire to expand fully before riding or measurement.

If you had to choose between sticky tires or aggressive tread pattern for your typical riding, where would you bias? I realize we get to have both, but humor me.

For my typical riding out in my home trails in north Georgia I would choose a lower profile tread with a higher grip compound. In my experience this combination lets go and regains traction more consistently and predictably than an underperforming compound and aggressive tread pattern.

Many high-level racers are still running relatively narrow rims compared to the broader market, why do you think that is?

I’ve discussed this with team mechanics a bit, but can’t comment on what could be considered sensitive information for the teams in question. I can say that it is a rim and not tire driven decision.

I do think 30mm inner rim width designs have been proving themselves to be adequately strong, and as rim designs continue to be improved most racers will opt for wider options as the tire profile is more stable on a wider rim. In general, the average racer would be advised to stick to the 30mm+ inner rim width range.

Do you worry about rolling resistance in a downhill-focused tire, or is grip the only concern?

Rolling resistance is definitely a concern for our downhill developments. With how competitive modern downhill is, significant lost time anywhere on a run that compared to our competition is unacceptable for Maxxis and our athletes.

Does your company have any programs in place to recycle tires or generally reduce the waste associated with production?

We are a member of the GPSNR and our natural rubber is FSC certified.

We don’t have a recycling program in place, the composite nature of tires makes recycling very difficult. We are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact, and will make more announcements soon.

Historically we’ve heard that tire availability is the thing holding back further development on 36” (or other large wheel size) bike designs, any plans to push that envelope?

We don’t have any immediate plans to venture into larger diameter (32”+) tire developments. I don’t see significant performance gains for the average rider in wheel sizes past 29” right now.

All that being said, we have worked closely with OE partners in the past to develop new sizes and tech, if there was a larger diameter frame development in the works that had promising performance benefits and would create a healthy market for the tires, I’m sure it would be considered just as any new technology development would be. The existing rim selection for 32” and 36” are also a limiting factor, as the current rim selections are 1000+ grams each due to being developed for unicycles.

What is your favorite tire in your lineup, and why?

Generally speaking, the M, in whatever discipline we make it available (XC/Trail, Enduro/EMTB, DH) it is the most versatile model and a great mix between rolling seed and grip on any terrain.

It seems as though tubeless technology has plateaued a bit over the past few years, do you see any major changes on the horizon?

Not really. It is a mature technology that will probably only see marginal gains refinements, but not massive or disruptive innovations in its concept.

Where do you stand on inserts? How do they factor into new tire development?

We’re being constantly asked to make them but are really looking into it from an innovation perspective: we’ll do them when we’ll find a way to solve the problems and limitations of the current ones on the market. Meanwhile, we keep pushing to develop tires that do not need an insert to run flawless in any condition.

That said, we recognize the use of them is common especially in some categories (E-MTB for example) and we did develop an E-MTB specific casing (we call it HyperWALL, patent pending, derived from MX tire construction) made to provide support and riding quality at such low pressures the inserts are most commonly ran at.

I’ve heard that leaving newly installed tires at max psi overnight can help stretch the casing, giving full volume and a better ride feel. Is this actually the case?

It is true the casing stretches, and the full nominal size is achieved. It is textile at the end, so it stretches over time (that being true also across its lifespan… an old tire is generally bigger in volume than itself when it was brand new). Whether this drives to a better riding feel is hard to say. For sure impossible to tell with objective measurements, more a subjective feeling probably…

If you had to choose between sticky tires or aggressive tread pattern for your typical riding, where would you bias? I realize we get to have both, but humor me.

Given the hard choice and the humor, I would go for the aggressive tread, for a reason: I can try to compensate the lack of damping of a softer rubber by tuning suspensions softer and lowering the inflating pressure, while I cannot compensate lower knobs to bite into the terrain if there aren't any of them on the tire.

Many high-level racers are still running relatively narrow rims compared to the broader market, why do you think that is?

Because compliance and precision can both be tuned on a narrower rim (by adjusting spoke tension accordingly). If the rim gets wider it is usually more rigid as default, this might be a reason. Another one is tire shape: the most popular tires are still designed for narrower rims because they come from the past, and so they provide a better shape on them. More modern tires, designed for wider rims, will do a better job on 30mm rims indeed.

Do you worry about rolling resistance in a downhill-focused tire, or is grip the only concern?

Grip isn’t a development target; it is a give (the max possible). Rolling, damping, predictability, vibration absorption are the points where we fine tune and decide a development direction. And yes, rolling is well underestimated in our opinion. With DH races being won or loss by fraction of a second, it definitely has to be a target for developing high performance DH tires.

Does your company have any programs in place to recycle tires or generally reduce the waste associated with production?

We do have many programs in place, from raw material sourcing to recycling and reusing of semi-finished or final products. For cycling specific, we are implementing some of them and adding some cycling-specific one. In the works, not fully ready yet.

Historically we’ve heard that tire availability is the thing holding back further development on 36” (or other large wheel size) bike designs, any plans to push that envelope?

Not really. Benefits aren’t clear to us (not to say doubtful) , and the economy of scale is blocking any investment on the manufacturing side to make it happen.

What is your favorite tire in your lineup, and why?

That’s a tough one as our line has grown so much in the past few seasons. As a designer, my favorite tire is usually the one we are working on, and haven’t launched yet, as we always have new tech in the pipeline.

However, if I were to pick one, I’d say the Mazza. It retains all the feel of a traditional design, but takes all the measures up a notch. It’s grippy without feeling slow. It’s tacky without wearing out too soon. The progressive sipe and step pattern keeps the tire lively, yet stable at the same time. It’s become one of our most popular treads, and for many riders, it’s the reason they switched to our brand.

It seems as though tubeless technology has plateaued a bit over the past few years, do you see any major changes on the horizon?

As a member of ETRTO, Vittoria builds tires around the approved safety standards, including the standards for tubeless. I might push back a bit, and argue that tubeless tires haven’t plateaued, but actually just became more of a standard. While tubeless tires aren’t going away, there are improvements that can be made, in terms of both fit and function. That said, we always working on new projects to improve the rider experience, and this area is no different.

Where do you stand on inserts? How do they factor into new tire development?

We are big insert fans. When we launched the Air-Liner family of inserts, we knew there was a clear benefit in terms of impact resistance, and but felt there was room to improve on weight, rolling resistance, anti-burp, and run-flat. From a tire perspective, for most brands it’s just status quo, but since Vittoria is the only major brand to produce both tires and inserts, we view this relationship differently, and use a system approach.

For example, we produce MTB Air-Liners in 4 sizes, based on use and tire width. Our Gravel Air-Liners use an optimized cross section shape, specifically designed for that discipline. Our Road Air-Liners use a completely different material, which compresses under pressure, and fills the tire in the event of a pressure loss.

The XC courses are more rowdy than ever, Gravel bikes are more capable than ever, and Road tubeless is now commonplace. All of these factors come into play when designing tires, as each category has evolved.

I’ve heard that leaving newly installed tires at max psi overnight can help stretch the casing, giving full volume and a better ride feel. Is this actually the case?

Sort of. While it’s not a hard and fast rule, tires do tend to stretch in the first few days if left at max pressure. Some casings stretch more than others, based on construction, and also based on how high that max pressure is. Some casings are more elastic than others, and will shrink back slightly when aired back down.

In general though, stretch is a part of the break-in process, and tires tend to be more consistent (in both size and grip) after a few days on the bike.

If you had to choose between sticky tires or aggressive tread pattern for your typical riding, where would you bias? I realize we get to have both, but humor me.

My answer is actually a question… What type of terrain do you ride? If you are riding super slick terrain, then compound might matter more. If you are riding drier terrain, the tread might matter more.

Sometimes, an aggressive tread pattern requires a sticky compound, by design. If you have a spike type profile, you’ll have very little surface area on each cleat. If you don’t have a sticky compound, the tire will get unpredictable, since that small surface area is more dependent on the compound when it touches rocks or roots.

On the flip side, a lower profile tread has a lot of surface area, so often times compound may affect the feel less in certain terrain. Bottom line, as you mentioned, it’s a good thing we don’t have to choose.

Many high-level racers are still running relatively narrow rims compared to the broader market, why do you think that is?

Weight, availability, and sponsors could all be factors. Some riders may have trained for years on the older standards, and just prefer that. As trends in the bike industry go, oftentimes a slight correction is made, once a trend reaches the peak. We may be seeing that a bit here.

Do you worry about rolling resistance in a downhill-focused tire, or is grip the only concern?

In DH, grip is definitely king, with durability and stability following close behind. That said, these races are won and lost by super close margins, so we absolutely take the reduction of rolling resistance into account, and design that into every model. As the makers of the fastest rolling bicycle tire ever made (Corsa Speed TLR), this metric is something we refuse to sacrifice.

Does your company have any programs in place to recycle tires or generally reduce the waste associated with production?

Yes, in fact we have both, with a dedicated ESG team driving both initiatives forward. Vittoria owns our factory, which is widely known in the industry to have the highest level of quality control and reduction of waste. Aside from that, we recently launched a program to collect used tires for recycling and material repurposing.

Historically we’ve heard that tire availability is the thing holding back further development on 36” (or other large wheel size) bike designs, any plans to push that envelope?

None at the moment. While the 36er is interesting, and I’ll never say never, we have been hitting it hard to increase performance for the more common tire and wheel sizes.

What is your favorite tire in your lineup, and why?

I thought we’re not supposed to pick favorites!? Don’t let the others know, but Verdict 2.5 takes the cake for me personally. Living in Bellingham, Washington, I need a tire that augers through loamy soil, flings mud and provides the bite needed when things get steeeeeep. The Verdict 2.5 shines when you’re riding terrain that shouldn’t be ridable or when you need just a bit more knob height to keep things in check at the bottom of a catch. I’m also a fan of the full 2.5 volume of the Verdict. I ride it on the front of my Enduro for most of the year and front and rear twelve months of the year on my Repeater.

It seems as though tubeless technology has plateaued a bit over the past few years, do you see any major changes on the horizon?

I’m all for game-changing innovations and we’re always searching for the next big jump in product technology. We have many hopes and dreams on the drawing board right now, but time will show which come to fruition. The reality is that it’s pretty difficult to beat the durability/grip of the compounds we’re all working with at the moment and even more difficult to beat good ole fashioned air when it comes to overall tire compliance and damping.

Where do you stand on inserts? How do they factor into new tire development?

Ah, the great insert debate. Remember when we used to argue about wheel sizes? I personally don’t use inserts and there are a few reasons why. The first being I live in Bellingham where the smallest rocks tend to be the size of a couch. Nothing sharp or mean to damage rims or pinch flat on. Second, I like to consider myself a gentle rider. I don’t smash through terrain and tend to spend half my trail time unweighting my bike. That said, rowdier riders than I certainly use inserts here in Bellingham and many do it solely for the ride feel. I guess I simply don’t push hard enough in corners.

Unless I go to Whistler or areas of California or Colorado, I always run a TCS Light tire with SG2 puncture protection on the front and waiver back and forth between a TCS Light and TCS Tough tire on the rear. Lastly, I simply don’t enjoy dealing with installing and dealing with inserts. I’d likely consider inserts if I lived in a place with toothy rocks. I’d also likely run inserts if I raced and needed the peace of mind to be able to finish a stage with a flat tire. I typically don’t even run inserts on my e-bike, but it is worth noting that sometimes I will when I go to a place like Whistler where fast steeps end in rocky bottoms.

I’ve heard that leaving newly installed tires at max psi overnight can help stretch the casing, giving full volume and a better ride feel. Is this actually the case?

Absolutely. Our tires typically stretch out to their final size after about a week of normal inflation and riding. However, inflating them to the max end of the tire pressure rating overnight will condense that one week down to about 24 hours. I always do this when mounting new tires. Never inflate your tire beyond its maximum tire pressure rating.

If you had to choose between sticky tires or aggressive tread pattern for your typical riding, where would you bias? I realize we get to have both, but humor me.

That’s a tough question because I live in a place with wet, rooty, steep terrain that is best paired with a tire that is both sticky AND has an aggressive tread. That said, there ends up being an easy answer if I use deductive reasoning. For my average ride, I’d love to have the stickiest tires possible but could get away with a less sticky compound if the tread is aggressive and meaty. Even if it’s the stickiest compound in the world, there are certain lines that I would not want to ride on a low-knob tread. Aggressive tread for the win.

Many high-level racers are still running relatively narrow rims compared to the broader market, why do you think that is?

Two simple reasons. Weight and additional protection to the rim/tire. Narrower rims will reduce tire volume, which in turn sucks the sidewall in more. Casing width is more affected by rim width than actual tread width. This means there is more tread overhanging the rest of the casing and therefore provides more protection to the sidewall. When a single flat will make-or-break even a multi-day race, that additional protection can make a difference. It’s important to note that racers don’t always choose product based on a singular focus of what will optimize performance. They don’t need to be the fastest in any one specific section of trail. They want to be the fastest at the end of the day and weight, durability, traction, comfort, etc. all play into their product choice decision making.

Do you worry about rolling resistance in a downhill-focused tire, or is grip the only concern?

If the tire is designed to go downhill, I could care less about how fast it rolls. All it has to do is make me feel like a better rider than I am and traction tends to be the limiting factor. Of course, that would change if I raced at all or found myself riding flatter terrain. I’m thankful to live in a place where the main thing needed is traction. As much of it as possible. That said, we once tested a tire with 15mm tall side knobs and decided it was a bit too much once we realized we had to pedal downhill in order to simply carry trail speed. There’s always a limit.

Does your company have any programs in place to recycle tires or generally reduce the waste associated with production?

We don’t currently have a WTB-specific program in place to recycle tires, but we are absolutely working on one. WTB is always working towards a more sustainable future and how our products meet the end of their life is a huge part of that process. Until then, I encourage everybody to talk with their local bike shop about the options for recycling tires in their area. Regional programs are often the most successful when it comes to tire recycling.

Historically we’ve heard that tire availability is the thing holding back further development on 36” (or other large wheel size) bike designs, any plans to push that envelope?

I would say the opposite. We’ve created drawings for larger tire diameters. We’ve already made larger diameter tires. We’ve even made custom rims and bikes to test said tires. None of it moves forward though until bike companies are willing and able to try out something as drastic as a new tire/wheel size.

What is your favorite tire in your lineup, and why?

Some of the crew have different favorites (roadies...), but a lot of us prefer the Pinner ATC for most trail riding. It’s predictable, fast & versatile. Strong enough for some chill DH laps, and fast enough to pedal around all day.

It seems as though tubeless technology has plateaued a bit over the past few years, do you see any major changes on the horizon?

As far as tubeless tech goes, we don’t see too much changing other than brands across the board improving air retention & wheel/tire compatibility. The standard of quality has become much higher for what products the market can accept.

Where do you stand on inserts? How do they factor into new tire development?

In the past few years, we’ve been researching tire inserts from many brands. Certain tire inserts can be a valuable tool for some riders, there's no doubt about it. Depending on your preference & terrain, some riders could easily justify the added weight for the performance gains.
In recent years, riders have been pushing the limits of every component on the bike; in general, tires are usually one of the first components to fail in the system. With the adoption of tire inserts, riders can push harder & faster which raises the ceiling of performance. We design our tires to be able to withstand the rigors of modern-day riding. This goes for DH, enduro, trail, XC, and even gravel riding.

Tires inserts are another great component riders can use to tune their bike to meet their needs.

I’ve heard that leaving newly installed tires at max psi overnight can help stretch the casing, giving full volume and a better ride feel. Is this actually the case?

Yes, inflating the tire to the max pressure for 24 hours or overnight will absolutely stretch the carcass and increase the tire volume slightly. The tire section width increases 0.5-1.0mm depending on the tire construction. After 24 hours at max inflation pressure, the tire is considered “broken-in” and will be at its largest volume. The tire can also be considered broken-in after the first ride. When a tire is broken-in, the cords in the tire are at equilibrium and no longer have any prestress from the vulcanization process. Whether or not breaking in a tire improves the ride feel, we can’t say for sure, it’s all subjective. It makes sense that it would feel marginally better since the volume has increased.

We play a large part in writing/revising industry standards and because of this, we’ve done extensive testing to understand how tire size & shape change at different pressures and time periods.

If you had to choose between sticky tires or aggressive tread pattern for your typical riding, where would you bias? I realize we get to have both, but humor me.

Interesting question! We have a difference of opinion on this and has inspired enough debate to plan future testing on this topic.

One of our engineers believes that you can have a great performing tire with an aggressive tread pattern and a relatively not-sticky compound, similar to that of our XC tires. The reason being that the tire would still roll well and the pattern would still grip well with mechanical traction and knob deformation. Another engineer would prefer to have an XC or light trail pattern with a relatively stickier compound for his typical riding because he imagines it will be more predictable.

Many high-level racers are still running relatively narrow rims compared to the broader market, why do you think that is?

Many DH pros feel that narrower rims corner better than wider rims. A narrower rim reduces the contact patch width meaning you need to lean the tire more before the shoulder knobs contact the ground. A lighter weight rim will definitely make a more maneuverable tire and wheel combination.

Do you worry about rolling resistance in a downhill-focused tire, or is grip the only concern?

Generally, rolling resistance isn’t the highest priority for a DH focused tire, but it’s not completely disregarded. For a given application, we always consider all the performance characteristics that are important and design accordingly. Every component in the tire plays a role in rolling resistance, grip, and compliance, so it’s about managing the whole assembly to meet our customers’ needs.

Does your company have any programs in place to recycle tires or generally reduce the waste associated with production?

Yes, environmental impact is always a priority when considering how Kenda can improve going forward. Reusing rubber waste has been a practice at the factories for decades, where a compound formulation has a certain percentage of reclaimed rubber of a similar type.

Historically we’ve heard that tire availability is the thing holding back further development on 36” (or other large wheel size) bike designs, any plans to push that envelope?

If we had a serious customer that wanted a 32” or 36” tire, we would absolutely make it.

What is your favorite tire in your lineup, and why?

Since its debut, I’ve been on Magic Mary’s almost all the time, so I’ll go with that. Next to its versatility and adaptability, I’m also very used to how the pattern performs in all conditions which makes it a no brainer to put it on every bike I own. In my opinion, a lot of riders underestimate how important or beneficial it is to get used to one specific tire; this vastly defines how your bike behaves. The more familiar you are with your tires, the more predictable your bike is going to behave, no matter the conditions!

It seems as though tubeless technology has plateaued a bit over the past few years, do you see any major changes on the horizon?

Although the technology itself might not have changed a lot in the past few years, we’ve strived to make tubeless tires more accessible and easier to set up since the debut of our TLE technology. I’d say the biggest upcoming improvements are going to be seen at the tire/rim interface. This is still a weak point of the system and I think there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Where do you stand on inserts? How do they factor into new tire development?

As Schwalbe has basically inspired, potentially starting the trend for inserts with the Procore system back in 2013, we’ve always been interested in new insert developments and even helped some manufacturers to develop or improve their system. It has been a constant topic for us in racing as well, however we see a significant decline in the usage of inserts among racers for various reasons.

First and foremost, it’s the ratio of added protection to added weight. If we take our Super DH casing as the benchmark, it is possible to achieve the same snakebite protection by using a Super Gravity casing combined with an insert. However, the additional weight and even cost grow proportionally, and you’d be better off by just using a Super DH casing right away. This doesn’t factor in the burping resistance but getting back to the second question, this is a matter of improving the tire/rim interface.

Secondly, especially high-volume inserts reduce or at least alter the available tire-travel a lot. Strangely, we’ve observed that with inserts our racers tend to have more rim strikes and feel like they’re reaching the end of tire travel much quicker. I mean, I don’t know anyone who’s using polymer dampers in their suspension that are filling up to 50% of the travel.

Furthermore, due to the geometry of some inserts, forces during big hits aren’t directed to the strong rim flange but instead to the very vulnerable rim well. This has led to some cracks and blown up rims in the past which is why nowadays many athletes are going back to insert-less setups.

Although it might sound contradictory, inserts are great if you’re not racing World Cups and simply want to protect your rims. We have no plans to develop tires around inserts and are much more focused on combining the benefits of both systems.

I’ve heard that leaving newly installed tires at max psi overnight can help stretch the casing, giving full volume and a better ride feel. Is this actually the case?

That is absolutely true and actually our standard procedure with all racing teams! If you’re after the best performance from day one, you should adopt this and store your tires for 24hrs at the indicated max pressure. However, please check the indicated max pressure for the rim as well, some rim manufacturers only allow rather low pressures.

If you had to choose between sticky tires or aggressive tread pattern for your typical riding, where would you bias? I realize we get to have both, but humor me.

I’d absolutely go for sticky tires! Good rubber is king and self-clearing can be compensated by speed.

Many high-level racers are still running relatively narrow rims compared to the broader market, why do you think that is?

This is really all about rider preference and finding the balance between tire stiffness, compliance, and shape. While some riders may be searching for a more compliant setup with narrower rims, there’re others which prefer the precision and control you get with wider rims. There’s no right or wrong, although the nowadays standard 30mm rim is a great all-rounder.

Do you worry about rolling resistance in a downhill-focused tire, or is grip the only concern?

This is heavily dependent on the track. Simply put, on tracks with a slower average speed or slow key sections a tire with low rolling resistance would be better while on faster or very technical tracks, you should opt for a more controllable tire. It is really all about carrying speed! As an example, for many years riders opted for faster rolling tires in Leogang in order to have good speed on the motorway. However, at the speeds riders reach on the motorway, the entry speed is key as once you hit around 35km/h, aerodynamics are far more important than the rolling resistance.

Does your company have any programs in place to recycle tires or generally reduce the waste associated with production?

If you haven’t seen it yet, we’ve started our tire recycling program in Germany last year after having already established a tube recycling program back in 2015. After decades of research, we have succeeded in developing an innovative and holistic tire recycling process without any waste. Instead of incinerating used bicycle tires, we are now the first bicycle manufacturer using old tires to make new ones. It has seen vast success and the number of tires we’re getting back really goes to show how desperately we needed such a system. For us it has been a huge success and we can’t wait to push it much more.

Historically we’ve heard that tire availability is the thing holding back further development on 36” (or other large wheel size) bike designs, any plans to push that envelope?

I’d say that in our case, that’s not the reason why you haven’t seen or heard much more about 36” tires. We surely did some research in this direction, but tires are not the only relevant components when it comes to new wheel diameters.

What is your favorite tire in your lineup, and why?

Krpytotal Fr DH SuperSoft and Krypto Re DH Soft on the Park Bike and the big eMTB. This pattern combination has such a wide range of applications on a variety of soils and conditions that it is the perfect all-round combination to handle most conditions from spring to autumn.
The combination of Soft and SuperSoft in DH casing is the pure sweet spot between grip, safety, rolling resistance and mileage.

It seems as though tubeless technology has plateaued a bit over the past few years, do you see any major changes on the horizon?

We do see an upcoming trend for TPU tubes besides the standard butyl tubes. For the moment, our opinion is that tubeless is a great compromise in handling characteristics, weight, and puncture protection with the downside of more extensive maintenance.

Where do you stand on inserts? How do they factor into new tire development?

Inserts are not a focus topic for us. Our focus is to develop a quality tire with high puncture resistance to avoid the extra baggage.

I’ve heard that leaving newly installed tires at max psi overnight can help stretch the casing, giving full volume and a better ride feel. Is this actually the case?

This is true. A tire grows a little over its lifetime and under higher pressures. As the carcass is fabric embedded in the rubber, there are minor effects where the material “settles in”. If you are sensible on the behavior and the feeling of your bike that can be a noticeable change.

If you had to choose between sticky tires or aggressive tread pattern for your typical riding, where would you bias? I realize we get to have both, but humor me.

For the average rider, we would prefer the “sticky” compound. Sticky compounds provides grip even under low speeds. If you choose chunky treads, you want to create mechanical grip where you need load, compression, aggressive which pros/expert riders may choose.

Many high-level racers are still running relatively narrow rims compared to the broader market, why do you think that is?

We see most often our Enduro & DH racers are riding ~30mm rims and are running our 2.4 tires, so here we cannot confirm the observation. For XC, it seems to be a little different that riders are still preferring 25mm wheels, but we see that this is also going to change in the near future when they switch to wider tires.

Do you worry about rolling resistance in a downhill-focused tire, or is grip the only concern?

Definitely, rolling resistance is very important, especially on tracks like Leogang where you have long fire- roads, and you are transferring from one technical bit to another. In those bits, rolling resistance is very important to keep the momentum so that the riders can save energy. It can be challenging to balance high-grip level and fast-rolling characteristics, but our tires are just that.

Historically we’ve heard that tire availability is the thing holding back further development on 36” (or other large wheel size) bike designs, any plans to push that envelope?

We see those concepts or small series bikes from time to time, but now we see it as a very, very small factor. At the moment, we are not planning to enlarge our portfolio towards 36’’ options. But we are observing trends or tendencies towards different dimensions very carefully and will act and adapt our strategy if necessary.

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Reviews and Tech Continental Kenda Maxxis Pirelli Schwalbe Specialized vittoria WTB