With the weather turning here in the Mid-West tire testing has commenced again. This is an update on the Specialized tires we recieved for testing last fall. As you may remember, our weather took a turn for the worse before the Fast Trak LK’s could be tested, so I rectified that situation here recently. Without further fanfare, here’s what I found

The Fast Trak LK’s mounted up tubeless to Bontrager TLR Race X Lite wheels.

The Fast Trak LK tires are Specialized’s hard pack to intermediate conditions tire and this version has the “Control” casing. The Fast Trak LK also has Specialized’s version of tubeless ready beads called “2Bliss”. Dual compond rubber is featured here along with a “low tread” design, (thus the “LK” in the name) The Fast Traks were mounted tubeless to Bontrager Race X Lite wheels using the TLR rim strip specially made for these wheels. I had no troubles at all mounting them up and getting them to seal with a latex based sealant. After letting the tires sit for 24 hours at 40 psi, I measured the casings at 52.7mm each (Fast Trak S-Works are 49.9mm for reference), and a “knob-to-knob” width of 51.2mm. I ran the tires during the test at 27psi rear/22psi front. (Note: This is under the recommended psi rating for these tires which is 35-65 psi) Now that we are familiarized with the Fast Trak LK, lets take a closer look at its performance.

I was pleasantly surprised with the volume the LK version of the Fast Traks have. In comparison to the S-Works model, these actually look like a decent 29″er tire, and not an overgrown cyclo-crosser shoe. The weight is a bit more here, (620gms/610gms versus 520gms each) but I like the tire for it’s casing and better size over the S-Works model, which lacks the sidewall treatment the Control casing has that resists pinch flatting, cuts, and tears.

Out on the hard pack the tires rolled well, and exhibited better traction than I was expecting on rough surfaces. Tacky trail was also excellent. Running the tires tubeless perhaps made them get a grip that a tubed Fast Trak LK may not enjoy, but I won’t be trying these with a tube. The volume was appreciated here when hitting square edged bumps and small tree limbs across the trail. Cornering hard was a hit and miss affair with success on true hardpack, but not so great on anything that was loamy. Here the tire would easily become overwhelmed and push. Not too surprising since there isn’t a big edge knob to lean on here that would give some bite.

Mud is no friend of the Fast Trak LK’s.

Mud, which is outside the realm of intentions for this tire, is a big no-no. I found that the roundish casing and lack of any tall knobs would cause this tire to slide out as if you were on ice. Mid-West river bottom mud showed no mercy here and balled up on the tires making them mud doughnuts in a matter of a few revolutions. Definitely stay on the dry stuff with these!

I think these treads will be an excellent choice for those looking for a fast tire that has decent volume and isn’t under 2 inches in width. (These were just over two inches in casing width on 24mm rims) Grip is really good on anything dry, tacky, and okay on loamy soils. Gravel and rocks are sketchy. The tire doesn’t have a big enough profile here to deal with too much of that, but a finesse rider probably could make it work. The Fast Trak LK reminds me a lot of tires like the Smallblock 8 and the Nanoraptor in it’s traits, width, and volume. Big plusses here for the “2Bliss” feature and the Control casing, which make the Fast Trak LK appealing to budget racers that have to train and race on the same tires.

Look for more updates on these and the other Specialized tires (Eskar, Captain Control, and Fast Trak S-Works) soon with a final review to follow.