I just posted this as a reply on MTBR, and thought some folks on here might be interested.
I've been meaning to write a full review, but I have no time. So a quick summary for the 2.35 Advanced Reinforced.
- About bike/rider: I have these mounted on an 07 Giant Reign X. I climb because I have to in order to get to the descents, but I really only care about how fast I can get down the trail. I like my trail bikes to ride like my DH bike.
- These are much beefier then the non reinforced versions: bigger/thicker knobs and a much thicker casing.
- Mount up tubeless just fine with a floor pump on Flows. They held air with just soapy water overnight. No burps in two months using 1.5 scoops of Stans.
- I usually run DHF 2.5 EXOs when it's dry. This winter I also ran Dirty Dans F/R as well as Dirty Dan F/Muddy Mary R.
- The 2.35 Grip'r 2 has the most predictable drift characteristics I've come across in the dry, previously this was the DHF for me. Absolute cornering grip is a little less, but I'm noticeably faster in corners because I completely trust throwing the bike into a drift at higher speeds. This may be due to the side knob design - if you take a look at them, the have a crease (not really sure if you can call it a sipe) part way down the outside edge that appears would cause the knob to have progressive "give" characteristics. Other tires do this by having two different types of sideknobs, but the effect is similar.
- It corners well in the wet and loam as well (better then the DHF or Mary), likely due to the height of the side knobs. Thankfully those side knobs are also nice and thick.
- The only place I've lost control in the past two months is grass covered mud.
- Braking is about the same as a DHF, nothing to write home about.
- There are no extended root sections or rock slabs around me, so I don't know how these do on wet roots/rocks.
The best description of the Grip'r2s I can give is that they feel surfy when cornering, like slashing a pow turns on a snowboard, but on hard pack. I love these tires. They've replaced my DHFs in all but slop conditions where the Dirty Dan is still my choice. The sidewalls are thick enough that I'll be tempted to throw them on my DH bike if a situation comes along where I know I'll be doing a ton of pedaling.
I've been meaning to write a full review, but I have no time. So a quick summary for the 2.35 Advanced Reinforced.
- About bike/rider: I have these mounted on an 07 Giant Reign X. I climb because I have to in order to get to the descents, but I really only care about how fast I can get down the trail. I like my trail bikes to ride like my DH bike.
- These are much beefier then the non reinforced versions: bigger/thicker knobs and a much thicker casing.
- Mount up tubeless just fine with a floor pump on Flows. They held air with just soapy water overnight. No burps in two months using 1.5 scoops of Stans.
- I usually run DHF 2.5 EXOs when it's dry. This winter I also ran Dirty Dans F/R as well as Dirty Dan F/Muddy Mary R.
- The 2.35 Grip'r 2 has the most predictable drift characteristics I've come across in the dry, previously this was the DHF for me. Absolute cornering grip is a little less, but I'm noticeably faster in corners because I completely trust throwing the bike into a drift at higher speeds. This may be due to the side knob design - if you take a look at them, the have a crease (not really sure if you can call it a sipe) part way down the outside edge that appears would cause the knob to have progressive "give" characteristics. Other tires do this by having two different types of sideknobs, but the effect is similar.
- It corners well in the wet and loam as well (better then the DHF or Mary), likely due to the height of the side knobs. Thankfully those side knobs are also nice and thick.
- The only place I've lost control in the past two months is grass covered mud.
- Braking is about the same as a DHF, nothing to write home about.
- There are no extended root sections or rock slabs around me, so I don't know how these do on wet roots/rocks.
The best description of the Grip'r2s I can give is that they feel surfy when cornering, like slashing a pow turns on a snowboard, but on hard pack. I love these tires. They've replaced my DHFs in all but slop conditions where the Dirty Dan is still my choice. The sidewalls are thick enough that I'll be tempted to throw them on my DH bike if a situation comes along where I know I'll be doing a ton of pedaling.
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