Tested:
- Kryptotal / Enduro Casing / Soft Compound / Fr & Re (front and rear) / 29 x 2.4
- Kryptotal / Enduro Casing / Soft Compound / Fr (run front and rear) / 29 x 2.6
- Kryptotal Dh casing / Super Soft Compound / Fr / 29 x 2.4
- Kryptotal Dh casing / Super Soft Compound / Re / 29 x 2.4
I’ve had combinations of the Kryptotal on my two bikes (Santa Cruz TallBoy and Chameleon) for over 9 months.
I have run them on predominately rocky Lake District natural trails, and other local enduro trails, with looser, loam-earth-rock composition, and with time on Tweed Valley trails in Scotland, plus some other trail centre type surfaces.
They have been out in all weathers and temperatures. I ran them all with no rim protection. Pressures from 18-25PSI – these things are a personal choice and depend on riding style, weight, bike and conditions.
I’m around 80kg with riding kit, and ride fairly smoothly.
29 x 2.4 Kryptotal Enduro Casing and Soft Compound Fr & Re
Starting with the 29 x 2.4 Kryptotal Enduro Casing and Soft Compound Fr & Re (front and rear) tyres, my immediate impressions were:
- Relatively easy to mount, needed lever to close final section of tyre on rims around 32mm
- very good grip immediately and little to no deteriation long term
- sidewalls are strong, with some large scuffs as the tyre aged
- ride feel in rocky conditions was excellent, predictable and reliable.
- Thick mud is the kryptonite for the Kryptotal – the closer block pattern limits shedding. (Argototal is more suited for looser, muddier conditions)
running the enduros initially, there is a slightly firmer feel in terms of rebound, and also in longevity of tread wear.
they’ve withheld lots of nicks and slashes to the tread and sidewalls.
To the end of the life of the rear 2.4 enduro casing version, I picked up a couple of holes that needed plugging with a tyre insert sausage. These happened in close succession and on very different instances. One fast and in flowing but rocky trail and the other on a slow traverse trail that was janky and trials like in places.
I think this was down to the age of the tyre, as the sidewall’s has begun to show structural deterioration. The rubber was wearing and threads began to appear.
With the downhill casing and super soft casing, they are notably tougher – and have a slightly better support in the sidewalls, with the thickness adding stability. Ride feel is excellent, reassuring and sure footed in steep terrain, allowing super slow approaches to features like rock rolls or chutes, but also happy being pushed into corners at speed, where the rider was the limiting factor, not the tyre.
I have little to zero criticism of the DH / Supersoft. It may wear slightly faster than the enduro, but there is very little, if any feeling that the softer compound rolls slower. The actual rubber feels quite soft to the touch, softer than Schwalbes offerings, and akin to Maxxis. I found if left against a wall when wet, they dry and adhere to the wall.
Riding the tyre on the front, it delivers consistent feel for loose, firm and damp conditions. Grip level rarely leaves you surprised, it can feel skatey over roots or large slabs of rock – but nothing actual holds grip on these surfaces.
What has surprised me again and again is how much the tyre can over in range of surfaces and trails. Yes, at either end of the spectrum, like very dry and loose or very wet and thick or loose, the tyre suffers, but the majority of riding takes place in between that, and depending on what your base geography is (rock, clay, sand, chalk, a mix of all or trail centre base) the Kryptotal offers a predictable and stable ride feel in the Super Soft.
When you add in the DH casing which removes most of the need for a tyre inserts and doesn’t weigh much more than the Enduro, there seems little reason not to run DH / Super Soft only.
There’s been a lot of requests for Enduro casing and Super Soft tread – after damaging the Enduro casing, and the DH lasting far better, I can’t really see the actual benefits to that combo. I would always take a reliable and stronger tyre, with a little more weight, than less weight and chances of a long walk to the car or home.
More to come…
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