New Rear Tyre - RaRa, RoRo or Conti RK?

70\ʹspenguin

Hi,

I just wrecked my RaRa on the rear and its beyond repair. I was going to get a straight replacement but i have always fancied trying the conti Race King Racesport. The other option is to try the new 2013 Rons.

Ill be running tubeless. Should i just stick with the Ra Ra?

Sorry about the post. Im crap on this new ipad.

cooldad

Gaga googoo.

70\ʹspenguin

Lol, yeah it does read a bit funny. You know what i mean though.

Briggo

70\'sPenguin wrote:

Lol, yeah it does read a bit funny. You know what i mean though.

Do we?

70\ʹspenguin

Briggo wrote:

70\'sPenguin wrote:

Lol, yeah it does read a bit funny. You know what i mean though.

Do we?

I think you do.....

bennett_346

Whats a RoRo? I thought that was a kind of car ferry.

cooldad

RoRoRo your boat?

lawman

Rocket Ron's are ok, personally would stick with a racing ralph, but go for the gatestar compound. Use Nobby Nics in this compound and they rock, roll really well and grip like shit when you lean them over, awesome tyres! Think they're on offer at bike-discount for less than £20 if I remember too.

cooldad

Always has to be one....

Briggo

cooldad wrote:

Always has to be one....

Kids these days.

The Rookie

Maxxis Beaver is worth considering, scored very well in the MBUK tyre test and is light (510g)

njee20

I really like Rons, but they do have less on the shoulders than a Ralph, and are a thinner carcass and thus more fragile.

Ralphs are a good all round tyre though, much more capable than folk believe.

70\ʹspenguin

lawman wrote:

Rocket Ron's are ok, personally would stick with a racing ralph, but go for the gatestar compound. Use Nobby Nics in this compound and they rock, roll really well and grip like shoot when you lean them over, awesome tyres! Think they're on offer at bike-discount for less than £20 if I remember too.

Yeah i see they have the Gate stars for £20. I quite like the idea of the snakeskin as i found the regular to be a bit delicate. I guess the snakeskin only affects the sidewalls and wont help with thorns?

Ive decided against the Race Kings but am tempted by the x-king protection model. Its more than i can really afford but from all ive read its a really great all rounder with fast rolling and good puncture protection. Seems to work really nicely tubeless also. 2013 is going to be a bad year for me financially and im wondering if the latter is the more prudent purchase as i cant afford another set most likely?

However the price on the gatestar is very very tempting!

lawman

The gatestar tyres are better than any conti's imo, heck my uni club is sponsored by conti and I still don't use them! They're a great price atm, perform very well, seem to be lasting very well too and are light and tough. Can't say about thorns, I run mine tubeless, but overall they're probably the best tyres I've ever ridden.

70\ʹspenguin

Well, i went for the gatestar in the end. £46 delivered for two aint too shabby at all. I gain some weight over the current Ralph on the back but as im running a 2.10 its minimal. Ill keep the Ron for a spare and if i find the front too sketchy.

I went tubeless a couple of months back to primarily combat the puncture problems. At the same time i dropped the pressure to about 25 psi and was stunned with how grippy it was over the christmas break with all the rain and mudslides.

If i could afford it id experiment with the Conti, but ill stick with what i know. Will be interesting to see if the snakeskin makes the sidewalls a little less squirmy.

Thanks for the headsup

lawman

The snakeskin makes a big difference to sidewall support, my old Nics were a right pig when tubeless, they just folded over as soon as you looked at them at anything under 30psi. The Gatestars are great because you have the naturally grippy compound and also the benefit of lower pressures if you want too, I run my Nics about 25psi front and 27/28psi in the back and they're spot on.

70\ʹspenguin

Excellent! I just saw your nics. Wonder if they still print the WC badge on them?

lawman

The 2012 ones do, they look identical to mine sodo have the WC stripes, which must make you faster :P



2013 ones don't look as cool imo, which considering the 2012's are cheaper and construction wise are the same, no reason to buy the newer ones!

70\ʹspenguin

Sad, but i really want the WC badge on them.

lawman

Hey if it makes you think you're faster, you might just go that little bit quicker :P

I love them, I know they're only tyres but they just feel that little bit special. I've had a fair few people ask about them out on the trail, I'm tempted to stockpile a few sets for future use, cos they really are awesome!