Today’s report filed by Grannygear from Southern California.
Tires make it happen. You can have a frame made of the latest wunder-metal and all the spiffy, high bling parts but if the rubber ain’t meeting the road in the way you need it to, it all means a crummy day on the trail.
Enter Specialized and the Captain Control tire. Along with the Eskar and the Fast Trak, we will be looking at these closely, mounting them up, and getting them dirty. I began with the most versatile of the bunch, the 2.2 2Bliss Control version. This is not the lighter and more fragile ‘S’ version, but the everyday tire that I imagine most will choose to roll with.
To begin, I weighed the samples at the local bike shop:
720G/750G
Not too far off from the tires I am currently using, a Maxxis Ignitor front and Maxxis Crossmark rear, both 2.1s, but the Captain has quite a bit more knobs going on there then either, especially the Crossmark.
Before I mounted the Captains, I measured the Ignitor/Crossmark to see how the new 2.2s stacked up.
I measured the casing width, tread width, and height (including the rim) with calipers. It was easier to measure around the tire and rim and I really am just looking to compare numbers anyway.
Tire model Tread Width Casing Width Height
Ignitor 2.09” 2.1” 2.85”
Crossmark 2.065” 2.08” 2.74”
Captain Control 2.135” 2.085” 2.80”
As you can see, it is pretty much the same size as the Ignitor. I would not mind if it was bigger, but it looks bigger to the eye, likely because of the more aggressive, deeper tread blocks. As well, tires can grow after time, so I will re-measure after a while and see if they grow.
They mounted easily on the Stan’s Flow rims and took a nice, final push to get over the rim. Even better, they aired up with a floor pump, no compressor required. THAT is very nice. They have a nice look to them with a good center set of blocks and pretty large side knobs, and with the dual compound tread, they should roll well and last a decent amount of time. The sidewalls on the non-‘S’ version seem quite sturdy with a shiny layer of rubber over the cords.
How will they perform? Stay tuned.
Thanks for taking the measurements. Pretty much confirms what I suspected… and confirms they’re too small for my tastes. Specialized needs to make a set of these in 2.4 or 2.5 for me to consider them. The Rampage is about as small as I like to go.
Definitely smaller than the Rampage. It really is a good, overall size, but I see where you are coming from. Perhaps the Eskars will hit that mark you are shooting for!
grannygear
Bring on the Eskars!
Ran a set of the 2.0 Captains and liked the handling – very predictable, but felt they would be a better tire with a bigger casing. I must not have been the onl one thinking that! Looking forward to hearing how you like them.
Well, only one ride so far, but it was 4 hours of sandy, VERY twisty and demanding singletrack and they had a definite personality, but performed admirably. A few more rides in other condiitons and I will post up.
grannygear
I’m curious how it performed on the rear. I wouldn’t run one on the front, but the rear might be another story.
Well, I still have a lot of riding to do before I pronounce anything definite, but I was thinking it made a super front tire so far, at least on this one ride. We shall see how that feeling lasts.
grannygear
I am still waiting for mine, the LBS keeps ordering the wrong tire.
What do you think about it?