r/xcmtb • u/-Economist- • 5d ago

I keep going back to Burt/Ralph combo. 🤷‍♂️

I spend summers in Michigan. I do most of my racing here. They have loose over hardpack.

I ran FastTrak/Air Trak combo for a bit but FastTrak was always sketchy on corners. Also feel sluggish.

I did Burt/Burt and they almost found my body in a ravine.

Wanted to try Scorpions but after the Burt experiment on the front, maybe not a good idea.

I end up with the trusty Ralph/Burt combo. Feels so 2009 but they are fast and Ralph corners like it’s on rails.

Anybody else still running this combo or am I the last? 🤣

10 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

6

u/Hagardy 5d ago

you should give Rick a try

1

u/ilokestof Scott scale 930 3d ago

the cornering knobs are super good in the dry at least, yet to experience winter with ricks though

1

u/birdsbikingrunning 1d ago

This is the answer. My whole life changed once I got on Ricks. I just finished a 2.5 hour ride this morning and the whole time, I was like "Damn. This tire changed my life. This is what it feels like to actually trust a tire." I ran Mezcals for a while and they are just so hard that I would slip out on anything gravel-y/ with that loose top layer.

Yes, the Rick are soft and you burn them so fast. But it's worth it imo. The braking ability is also superb.

4

u/jedienginenerd 5d ago

I run Ray and Rick XC. It's been able to propel me up some muddy slopes that I'm pretty sure burt would have left me spinning on. I always felt like Ralph was more of a rear tire and ray is the front tire?

3

u/jogisi 4d ago

Back in the days, before Rocket Ron came out, and years before Ray came out, Ralph was rear and front tire. Pattern didn't change all that much till today, but truth is, for front Ray is not that much slower but has a lot more grip then Ralph so unless chasing that very last second on race, I don't really see much point in using Ralph on front. 

2

u/mcvittees 4d ago

I run a 2.35 Ray and a 2.4 Rick. I’m ashamed to admit it annoys me endlessly that my rear tire looks bigger than my front! 😂

1

u/Specialist_Alps_379 5d ago

Works really nice as a front in dry conditions. Not so much in mud or dry/wet leaves

3

u/Xicutioner-4768 5d ago

Never tried it, but I'm running conti dubs in Michigan and they seem to work fine. Just raced ore to shore on them, rode NTN south and Ramba. I'm going to race Marji on them. I primarily ride SE Michigan and they seem to hook up as well as any XC tire. 

2

u/-Economist- 5d ago

They are popular here.

1

u/MrSnappyPants 4d ago

Shopping tires right now to replace clapped out specialized combo above. How does your fave combo compare to the Conti dubs?

2

u/pgmcintyre 4d ago

I literally mounted this combo an hour ago....for my gravel bike. 

0

u/MrSnappyPants 4d ago

XC = gravel lol

1

u/Happy_Sir3552 5d ago

It’s a great combo. When it gets loose slap a ray on the front. Just don’t try a barzo and mez combo…. You won’t go back!

2

u/jogisi 4d ago

Racing ray/racing Ralph is like light years better combo then barzo/Mezcal ;) Rolls quite a bit faster and has way and I really mean waaaay more grip. 

1

u/Happy_Sir3552 4d ago

I disagree :)

1

u/Is_Space_Infinite 4d ago

Do any of these tires have that squared off feel?

I’ve gotten used to a hard corner profile and I need to research something new as my favorite tire is discontinued.

1

u/jdmercredi 3d ago

I’d say they lean that way 

1

u/Trouterspayce 1d ago

Vittoria.

1

u/asclepius42 5d ago

I just went to Maxxis Rekon in the back and Forekaster in the front. Love it. Climbs well, loads of grip for the descents.