Blind Testing and Ranking The Most Popular MTB Tires

Using five identical wheels and a large mudguard obscuring Matt’s view, Henry would swap out the wheels between runs, leaving Matt with no idea what model he was running. He would then build a profile for that tire, aligning the attributes with a number, before determining which gave the best ultimate descending performance. Each tire was run at an optimised PSI that Matt had already established before testing begun, and used one of two brake rotors that had already been bedded in to the pads. The casing was picked to offer the most direct comparison in terms of overall weight.
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[@ohJayFPV]

It would be interesting to have him test a single tire twice without him knowing as control.

[@jewsefjones]

Great point!

[@Dini2kMTB]

Thats way to scientific for pinkbike 😂

[@taz800]

@@Dini2kMTB you mean "too". Sorry, I couldn't help myself!😅

[@antlerr]

​@@taz800the real spelling mistake bubbs was tire means "to be tired" a wheel is a tyre! *tyre from car to bike, and I can't belive a biking yt channel messes up and puts tire 1 on screen right away... whelp there fools from word go.

[@taz800]

​@@antlerr AFAIK tyre is British spelling, while tire is US. 🤷

[@BenCathro]

10 seconds in and I’m excited to see how Matt rides blindfolded. 2.54 My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. I always wonder how much the “fresh casing” effect can skew reviews. A tyre with a break in period is always going to perform worse if the testing period is too short. It does show that the radial tyre relying more on pressure for support can feel better quicker and possibly degrade less in terms of casing stability over time. Super interesting chaps!

[@eh_enduro9963]

Thats kinda what I was about to tell. I love the Michelins but the first few runs are terrible always. But then its the best in my eyes and on my trails. The Assegai casing is just to bouncy and easy to pinch with my riding style others love it... me not.

[@Kev2Bee]

Classic B-Cathro❤

[@Kenneth_R]

Please state each of the tire's Casing and Compound since there are significant differences even within same tire brands and models.

[@mikeburgh3956]

This!!!!!

[@wolfnite4]

I was going to comment this!

[@g.wilsondh8407]

Henry is the mad scientist we didn't know we needed.. cool experiment!

[@moosicman101]

this might be one of the most needed videos in mtb right now! stellar work. as a note, it would be helpful to know the compounds and casings.

[@mikeburgh3956]

I would've liked to see the Magic Mary Radial there!!

[@sp00n]

Yeah, they even mentioned it a defining an "era", and then they choose the Albert as the front tire 🧐

[@ogmr.c3714]

Conti Gang!

[@luca.morell]

That was a very sick test, well executed and really exciting to watch, great job!

[@curiosgeorge16]

Why does Henry's tone always sound like he is speaking to a group of preschoolers who he is waking up from their afternoon nap. Speak up man! It's ok, we won't bite.

[@lenwest7734]

I’ve been riding Schwalbe Albert Gravity for 8 months now, as well as the radial “Shredda” tire they offer for looser dirt and mud trails. As so many KZbin reviewers have stated, “Radial Bias” is the future. I can’t imagine going back to any other options at this time… I ordered more of the Schwalbe radials recently knowing it’ll be my next tire choice too… I ride all over the American West, the challenging trails of Arizona, Utah, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, and California. & Ride On…

[@paradox963]

Just put a set of the Schwalbe Albert Gravity's on after running Kryptotal's for the last 2 years, and while yes the Conti's are much better after a bit of brake in, the Albert's are next level. The ability to run a bit higher pressure while still have the tire conform to the terrain is amazing, and this is coming from someone who has never been a Schwalbe fan in the past.

[@mikeburgh3956]

Good to know! I'm thinking about going MM radial front & Albert in rear 🤔 or is Albert strictly a front?

[@mrvwbug4423]

From the reviews I've seen. If you're running little bike and trail casing, everybody seems to love the Alberts and are meh about the Kryptotals (trail/endurance Krpytotal does not belong up front). If you're running big bike and burly casing, especially DH casing, Kryptotal is king and the Alberts are a squirmy mess on a big bike.

[@sprousaTM]

So how is the Schwalbert comparing rolling resistance wise? They do state they have more than a non radial equivalent. I am not too keen on riding a slower tire. I was on Kryptotals front and back (soft front, endurance back) which rolled pretty good.. Now onto a set of Nobby Nic soft rear and Magic Mary soft front, which rolls similar. Maybe a bit faster on hardpack. Would love to try out the Albert in Soft front and back.

[@albertmargarit7488]

Schwalbe likes this video

[@lloydjarm]

Plus all the schwalbe fanboys. They hate criticism so yeah.

[@Dini2kMTB]

Schwalbe really upping the marketing budget this year 😂

[@bertkreft9689]

its just a marginal gain - signifikant thing is the higer psi - and thus probably fewer pinch flats

[@mrvwbug4423]

No they don't, he ranked the Albert is 2nd worst. Matt's ranking was 1. Assegai, 2. Kryptotal, 3. Kenda, 4. Schwalbe, 5. Michelin.

[@eriks_coasters]

@@mrvwbug4423No-the chart is a bit confusing, but Matt blindly ranked Tire #3 as his favorite, and that turned out to be the Schwalbe

[@bertkreft9689]

very well done ! finally someone had eliminatef the insidious placebo effect and thus enabling a real comparison - the differences are hardly noticeable for the average rider - only the slightly higher air pressure - with in the schwalbe - could improve the safety against pinch flat

[@vinceking7878]

If you're running tubes... I think the schwalbe radial would be cool tubless too.

[@JoeCanuck-k4j]

I'd have the Magic Mary radial as the Schwalbe front tire test. Looking forward to the same test performed under different conditions. Bike park or dry summer trails.

[@mikeburgh3956]

Exactly what I wrote!!

[@ivanmtb00]

Just picked up a second set of Conti’s. Ran them on my FS for 2 seasons now, HT needed tires so I grabbed the same. Been really happy with them and like the video says we’re kind of splitting hairs, they’re all great tires.

[@TheLoamMountaineer]

Downhill Supersoft Kryptotals is what I be rolling on in 2025 for my Orbea Wild steed

[@vlbz]

It would be great to see this repeated in warmer weather. I've got the Michelin s, and those are definitely bad in the cold, but great otherwise. Ps. decided now on my next set of winter tires

[@pinkbike]

We are planning on doing another test in the summer!

[@jonekone3769]

​@@pinkbike this was a well executed test! Would be even better with more test runs for each tire, done with 2-3 riders, and as someone said a control tire that is the same as another one.

[@chiefsilverback]

It would also be great to see some more brands included, Vittoria, Pirelli, Delium etc...

[@vlbz]

Maybe a lower spec option, like a dual compound Maxxis. That could be fun.

[@mosescerodosnocity6387]

Radial schwalbes win ! 😊

[@cra_55]

Gotta do an XC version of this test, with the inclusion of flats and climbs. Can you actually feel difference in rolling resistance or is that all in your head?

[@danielgrafik]

This!

[@drmoynihan]

Excellent - thank you for the fun. ;) My Choices (not a pro) are mostly for consistency & regional (country) availability: META-Magic Mary & Hans Dampf NEURON-DHF & DHR

[@jonekone3769]

This is a much better test than most! Brand and personal preferences have a big impact on any "feeling", so the tester must not know what tire he/she rides.

[@craigbest8644]

Swore by the dhf/dhr2 combo but picked up a magic Mary and hans dampf for a very good price and I don't think I'd go back, they work everywhere I ride. My only current curiosity would be the radial Schwalbes.

[@vlbz]

@@craigbest8644 the mary is very good in any condition, but I deeply dislike the hans dampf. By some miracle of engineering, it's slow rolling, for what it is, and has no grip. In my opinion.

[@ryanmccormack2458]

​@@vlbzI agree, I also find that the Hans dampf fills up with mud easily. The perfect combo would probably be the Magic Mary front and Nobby Nic on the back. Both with the radial compound.

[@vinceking7878]

@@vlbz The hans damf works decent everyware, is smooth on braking, and I don't think the rolling resistance is too bad on pavement at a half decent psi(I would imagine a more enduro style tyre such as a Magic Mary would be worse, i belive harder compounds roll better).

[@vlbz]

@@ryanmccormack2458 that's the combo I'm running most often (would try it with the 'radial' casing)

[@mikeburgh3956]

​@@ryanmccormack2458they made a Nobby nic radial??

[@chiefsilverback]

Curious if the choice of rear tire in any way impacts the performance of the front, and whether Matt's feelings on any one tire would have been different if it had been paired with a different rear? Maybe Henry can get to designing a rear mud-guard, and convince Brian to double the paint pen budget for the next iteration?

[@florihupf]

Can someone explain the actual ranking? The overlay on screen doesn’t match what is said and I don’t get the numbering. lol.

[@mtbboy1993]

I hope this clarifies it.: All is corrected matching what he says. Matt's guess is just what he guesses, so those a wrong, only tyre he guess was the continental. Matt's ranking is the ranking of the number he was given. The 1st, 2nd and so on is the test result. hash tag is the number he was given for the tyres.

[@claritean]

I had to go back as well. Tires have random numbers in this test. 1st column says ,he liked #3 the most. 2nd column he thinks #3 was Assegai 3rd column says it was actually Albert. Here is all the info . Best tire =Albert = tyre number 3

[@mtbboy1993]

@ yes exactly.

[@a8f235]

Pause the frame at 8:51 Then open up the same video in another window and pause it at 15:18 Just skip back and forth between both windows and wait till the eureka moment enfolds.

[@mtbboy1993]

@a8f235 great idea.

[@thecakeisalie7070]

All tires need better flavour notes. Eg Rich butter-forward middle through straight lines with a nutty intrigue when leaned over.

[@barrakingbeatz7794]

The kryptotal brakes so good on the back!

[@aljowen]

Would be cool to see you do the same test with multiple riders to see if they all agree or disagree with each other. Could also be interesting to get an (ex-) pro to do a timed run on each to see if feelings bare out in the times.

[@Puddinghead]

Henry I am genuinely gutted you have missed out the cannibal in this test. It might not be popular but it’s right up there with this selection.

[@conman1395]

Imagine being genuinely gutted about a tire review... If you already like it, just keep using it

[@Puddinghead]

@@conman1395a quality product should be recognised and it would save our community money. That is why.

[@mrvwbug4423]

It's a DH race tire for loose terrain, akin to the Argotal or High Roller 3. Not really an all around enduro/gravity tire.

[@ruihenriques574]

Why we dont have Vittoria here ?

[@MikeesTexas]

SIIICK THANK YOU!!!!

[@spicycowboy9686]

Why didn’t this video come out sooner?! Now i need new tires… again

[@franciscocardoso7882]

Thanks for not including goodyear newtons, it would be very humiliating for all these in display.

[@Wheelsanstuff]

I’ve been all in on contis since last season.

[@madjh8]

For me rear Schwalve fast rolling, front Maxxis and less grip (XCO) I will go for the Verdestein Black panter or Schwalve. All of us has a favorite for front and rear, so the best could be any. Cheap ones ... Hutchinson still do quite nices chamaleon and Michelin. And so on.

[@ctsingletrack]

I love these kind of tests. It's a balancing act between grip and rolling efficiency that I'm after here in Connecticut, where our rides have a lot of up and down. How does the Albert compare to the Assegai for holding speed?

[@bikebudha01]

I'd like to see a Panaracer Fire XC Pro added into the mix...

[@ljr05884]

What compound was the kryptotal? Enduro?

[@parkinkevin]

You forgot to test my beloved Mazza

[@robertocalvo934]

Great test but we need timed tests to check the feeling againdt the clock

[@frankthetankricard]

I don't think tread pattern matters half as much as the rest of the stuff and that makes these comparisons apples to oranges. The data is valuable but extremely limited. If you could continue doing this testing every week, putting a few different tires on and let Matt rip without telling him what it is and score it in some key categories. You could go through different casings and compounds over a longer period of time in various conditions and that data would be a gold mine.

[@oliveredwards5549]

ace vid cheers

[@Descenter1976]

And then its Summer and everything is upside down

[@taz800]

How did they decide the pressure for each one? There are so many parameters affecting the outcome that I think it needs a massive test, extending in all seasons to come to any, even remotely, objective conclusions.

[@chiefsilverback]

They said that Matt has ridden/tested each of these tires to determine his preferred PSI for each, and that's what they used. They weren't all inflated to the same pressure.

[@taz800]

@chiefsilverback and they shouldn't! At least "radials" need significantly more, let alone different casings and volumes.

[@edwards8383]

HELLO!!! VITTORIA 🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️

[@g.w.customcreations3534]

Conti Der Baron Projekt blows ALL these out the water.

[@topcat304]

Question: were the tires somewhat broken in by another rider? It is my understanding that there is a coating on new tires that helps get them out of the manufacturer mould. This coating can feel slippery initially.

[@g.w.customcreations3534]

Yeah, mould release takes a few rides to wear off fully. Bigger issue is that different tyre carcasses break in at different rates, with some settling in after 10 hours, and some up to 50.

[@DirtTrailGuy]

I feel this fad of running low pressure is just a way of making not so good tires work. Anything below 20 psi is just asking for trouble.

[@texaswunderkind]

Just like head tube angle, reach length, tire pressure, etc. ultimately the rider is going to have their own preferences. There is no one "right" anything.

[@86309]

so which tire was best?

[@wg2060]

As another commenter stated, which specific compounds were each of these?

[@rickhoras7797]

Henry, the ranking that you give verbally does not match at all what it says on the screen.

[@ondrejjanoska660]

Stinks as the Albert is new Jake Paul.

[@mtbboy1993]

What do you mean?

[@g.w.customcreations3534]

​@@mtbboy1993 realistically a bit shit, just massively over hyped. 🤣

[@obc3095]

Tires behave differently under each bike and obviously in each setting...In Innerleithen I exclusively rode minion DHF but in the alps I love the Conti and the DHF can't compare..

[@edmundhodgson2572]

Loose over hard where I ride, still can't beat dhf2 in this scenario

[@mrvwbug4423]

Assegai and Kryptotal blow it away on loose over hard due to no dead spot.

[@Calispeedboi]

wtf was the audio while Matt was riding. How long have you been filming people on bikes c’mon

[@rewind9536]

And studs.

[@pheonixfps9248]

I feel as though the conti has been hard done by here. It's not the same class of tyre that the assegi is. I love my Krypto's, but they're more of a Trail/Enduro tyre, where as the Assegi is more of a Enduro/DH tyre. I know the brands specify 'All round', but having had both, I don't think they're a good match up and they do feel far different on track, and they do behave far differently.

[@lukeclarkson1164]

*tyre

[@SlowpokeRodriguez80]

Onza!

[@bikebudha01]

Matt doesn't look tall enough to go on this ride...

[@MasterChronometer]

Maxxis make much better tyres than the assegai, even Greg minaar uses the DHR instead.

[@mrvwbug4423]

The Assegai was deisgned FOR Minaar. And DH racers will change tires to suit the race course.

[@cornishcactus]

I learnt after a long time being rubbish I just can't get on with the DHF ( if I could I'd love to do a video, is the DHF $h*t or am I? quick answer, it's me ) The transfer gap is right about where my pathetic lean angle is so I'd hit the vauge spot when I want grip and lose confidence. I did a lot of tyre testing after that, way more than what's below I thought the Disector was THE trail tyre, until Autumn came around and it just doesn't like the damp ( pair with a Rekon for a brill dry combo ). The Assegai killed my bike, couldn't get to it's happy flow speed, couldn't stay there. Heard the Kenda Hellcat was a fast Mary and always wanted to try one of those, it is fast, grips well if not total outright grip, very predictable edge to edge, breakaway is well flagged before you get there. Might benifit from Maxis type rubber but it does very well for a dual compound. Paired with a Helldiver in summer ( those little knobs find grip you're not expecting even in Autumn as it gets wet ) and Nevagal in Winter it's an awesome combo. Would love to try Prelli Scorpions and Magic Mary some time but I've never had a combo on my bike for so long and it's staying that way ( so long as Kenda get a UK distrubitor again )

[@mrvwbug4423]

Try the Krpytotals, very predictable, amazing grip, and roll faster than Maxxis.

[@sp00n]

Many riders struggle with the large channel on the DHF, including me, while others love it.

[@erik-g9d]

There are so many solutions other than Maxxis....

[@hwordog]

Wtf? When henry list the actual ranking it doesnt correspond to the ranking shown on screen. Maybe I'm just being thick

[@mistuhjawknee5505]

need to do a review again with cushcore front and back. then do it again on technical climbing. take the pressure out of the equation by running inserts and running all the tires at absudly low pressure. also DON'T USE NEW TIRES

[@callumsmith1741]

Where Vittoria???

[@aleksa-z3n]

30second gang here

[@artemartem9438]

Цікавий формат відео!! Максіс Асегай - крута шина! Як і більшість шин від Максіс🎉

[@mrvwbug4423]

How much did Schwalbe pay you for this? Every non-sponsored test I've seen basically says the Albert is great on small bikes in a light casing on slow tech, and a squirmy mess on big bikes in burly casings doing big bike things. Casing and compound also matter. Obviously an EXO Assegai and a trail casing Conti aren't going to have the composure of a Double down or DH casing. Have also seen generally more favorable non-sponsored reviews of the radial Magic Mary vs the Albert.

[@miguelantunes5344]

How much this is ridiculous? This is a Schwalbe ad, not a tire ranking

[@KlintonSilvey]

so... what you're saying is the tire you run didn't win and the tire you've never ridden won?

[@miguelantunes5344]

@KlintonSilvey i ride magic mary f/r standard tires.

[@KlintonSilvey]

@@miguelantunes5344 why do you think the albert couldn't just win?

[@onemanmob6756]

Pretty useless test. Clearly you have not bothered spending any time educating yourself about methodologies of PROPER blind testing, such as the ABX method. If you only replace the real name of a tyre with a number, but the tester knows each time which tyre number he is testing, then: 1. You cannot prove that the tester can recognise each tyre and tell it apart from the others - if the tester can't convincingly tell apart the tested tyres the test should be aborted, 2. The tester is still prone to having biases.

[@jameskeyes1428]

Stop using cringe e bikes in your footage, this isn’t EMBN it’s pinkbike. You guys are supposed to actually ride real bikes. You aren’t 80.

[@antlerr]

5:43 *tyre 1, not tire and a biking channel should know better, you get tired but wheels are are tyre even cars tyres the little rubber hitting the road a tyre.

[@JoeIsCrazyWillman]

Quit acting like there aren't regional differences in English. In North America it's tire. In Europe it's tyre. It's the same tho. Learnt to be flexible 😊

[@miguelantunes5344]

How much this is ridiculous? This is a Schwalbe ad, not a tire ranking