Comments on: Specialized Fast Trak S-Works Tire: Update

By: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:08:28 +0000

bob: Usually we entitle this phase of our review process “First Impressions”. I think Captain Bob, and myself for that matter, have had enough time on these to give you an impression of their performance. (I have ridden on them at least a couple of times too.)

Added to that is our testers report from the 6 Hours of Temecula, which tends to agree with our findings, and I feel that we have a solid “Update” here.

Just to let you know…….we’re not finished with these yet! Normally our reviews can encompass three to six months of use, depending upon the circumstances, so I think by the end of it all, you’ll have a great picture of how these tires stack up over a long period of time.

Thanks for reading………:)

By: bob

bob — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:30:12 +0000

“I have two good rides off road with the Fast Traks.” Is that *really* enough to base a review on?

By: sthrnfat

sthrnfat — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:24:44 +0000

On their 26ers the S-works versions are a little narrower than the Control models for a given size to keep the weight low, so the Controls may be a little larger. Was surprised by the traction when I first tried Fast Traks. Looking at the tread I didn’t expect them to hook up as well as they did. Makes a good rear tire mated with a little more beefy front.

By: jimmythefly

jimmythefly — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:20:33 +0000

I’m guessing much of the reason they’re “easier to steer” is because they have less rotational inertia due to less mass. They really are mathematically less resistant to a change of direction. (think I got those terms right -it’s been a while)

What’s the actual width of the tires as shown? I’ve got an old touring bike that I turned into a monster cross rig, using Bontrager DryX 29×1.75 tires, wondering if I could get these to fit.

Funny how you talk about missing the wider tires, that’s how I felt when going from a 5″ travel full-sus bike to a hardtail 29er with 100mm fork! Had to re-learn how to actually choose a good line through stuff -and had to re-learn again when riding the monster-cross!

By: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:01:53 +0000

Mike: I’ve ridden that fork, and I also have a Badger custom with a 495mm axle to crown Columbus bladed fork. The Dillinger rides really sweetly with that fork. Not flexy/noodly, but enough give to smooth out a lot of chatter. My badger’s fork is stiff actually. Not as much give as the Soul Cycles fork.

Also- those tires are pretty anemic looking! Almost cyclo-cross-ish in that frame, but they do a good job for the intended use here, which is racing. In our tests, we are using them beyond that as a trail tire, and they still hold their own.