I've got about 30 hours of ride time on them at this point, so I thought I'd share a little thoughts on them.
This is coming from the perspective that they are pretty much the same as the Minion DHF 3c.
Heres my short review:
My experience with the 2.3 left alot to be desired. It brakes very poorly, and I find myself dragging my brake far more frequently then any tire I've ever owned. (I've run 2.3 tires in the back before too). Side knobs were haggered in a matter of days, as were all braking knobs. Not very happy with how they held up; but the while it held up, cornered better then any other 2.3 I've ridden. I got 3 runs at downieville, and 3 days of northstar. As far as the feel of them, they lack a little bit of that cornering bite that maxxis has, but they transition from the middle knobs to the side knobs smoother - not huge differences in either direction (bite is pretty similar and transition is pretty similar). And the difference in bite is very very minimal to say the least. I actually think the dual ply casing clutch broke loose more predictably then the DHF, which I hold in very high regard for breaking lose predictably.
Casing was pretty damn good, no complaints there, was pretty similar to maxxis casing, but if anything I give the advantage to the clutch's. Bead hook was very good, the tires should work pretty acceptably for tubeless (obviously depending on rims etc etc).
The 2.5 is holding up way better then the 2.3. As a front tire, its the sh1t. If somebody was giving me free tires of my choice, I'd still probably take a minion. I'd be taking the clutch over the minion if the minion cost more then 2-3 dollars more. They're a very, very similar tire, and I'm very happy with the casing on the clutch. Knobs on the 2.5 are holding up just fine, I think there just wasn't enough rubber on the knobs of the 2.3 to hold up well. If you can get your hands on a set (again, the dual ply, NOT the SX, I haven't had as much experience on the SX and I really didn't like the casing from the experience I have) then you should snag them.
They definitely, even when haggered, roll faster then a minion DHF 3c does. The 3c DHF seems to roll quickly for a day or two, then the middle knobs get a little chewed up, and it rolls slower then an anchor. The clutch tires roll much faster from the start, and hold their rolling speed alot longer. I run the same PSI in each.
edit: I suppose I should add, I'm running dry hardpack/loose over hardpack trails, haven't ridden in the wet with them yet, (although I'm about to now that I'm in NY and my bike is coming in today). I weigh 170 lbs geared up, and I run the front at 31psi and the rear at 33. I'll update in a couple weeks after I've had some time in the wet.
The 2.3 is off my bike, and I'm back to a 2.5 3c highroller in the back, due to being more clapped out then a 12 dollar hooker. I'll only be able to talk about how the 2.5 dual ply clutch holds up in the wet, not the 2.3.
This is coming from the perspective that they are pretty much the same as the Minion DHF 3c.
Heres my short review:
My experience with the 2.3 left alot to be desired. It brakes very poorly, and I find myself dragging my brake far more frequently then any tire I've ever owned. (I've run 2.3 tires in the back before too). Side knobs were haggered in a matter of days, as were all braking knobs. Not very happy with how they held up; but the while it held up, cornered better then any other 2.3 I've ridden. I got 3 runs at downieville, and 3 days of northstar. As far as the feel of them, they lack a little bit of that cornering bite that maxxis has, but they transition from the middle knobs to the side knobs smoother - not huge differences in either direction (bite is pretty similar and transition is pretty similar). And the difference in bite is very very minimal to say the least. I actually think the dual ply casing clutch broke loose more predictably then the DHF, which I hold in very high regard for breaking lose predictably.
Casing was pretty damn good, no complaints there, was pretty similar to maxxis casing, but if anything I give the advantage to the clutch's. Bead hook was very good, the tires should work pretty acceptably for tubeless (obviously depending on rims etc etc).
The 2.5 is holding up way better then the 2.3. As a front tire, its the sh1t. If somebody was giving me free tires of my choice, I'd still probably take a minion. I'd be taking the clutch over the minion if the minion cost more then 2-3 dollars more. They're a very, very similar tire, and I'm very happy with the casing on the clutch. Knobs on the 2.5 are holding up just fine, I think there just wasn't enough rubber on the knobs of the 2.3 to hold up well. If you can get your hands on a set (again, the dual ply, NOT the SX, I haven't had as much experience on the SX and I really didn't like the casing from the experience I have) then you should snag them.
They definitely, even when haggered, roll faster then a minion DHF 3c does. The 3c DHF seems to roll quickly for a day or two, then the middle knobs get a little chewed up, and it rolls slower then an anchor. The clutch tires roll much faster from the start, and hold their rolling speed alot longer. I run the same PSI in each.
edit: I suppose I should add, I'm running dry hardpack/loose over hardpack trails, haven't ridden in the wet with them yet, (although I'm about to now that I'm in NY and my bike is coming in today). I weigh 170 lbs geared up, and I run the front at 31psi and the rear at 33. I'll update in a couple weeks after I've had some time in the wet.
The 2.3 is off my bike, and I'm back to a 2.5 3c highroller in the back, due to being more clapped out then a 12 dollar hooker. I'll only be able to talk about how the 2.5 dual ply clutch holds up in the wet, not the 2.3.
