The Specialized Eskar Control 2Bliss Tire –Trail Test

Posted by tom Mon, 08 Oct 2007 03:20:00 GMT

Initial Impressions (before mounting):

This tire looks like a rear to me but I’m mounting it on the front because that’s what I was to told to do with it. The tire is lightweight and the sidewalls are very supple and flexible so I’m somewhat suspicious of its suitability for my 170mm (6.7 inch) travel Versus Blitz II. The knobs look like they’ll provide good traction but, as there are no ramps I don’t expect a fast roller. The tread is also not particularly deep so I don’t expect much in loose conditions. My initial expectations have been set low.

Mounting the tire:

First I mounted the Eskar onto my Mavic Crossmax SX (21mm wide), tubeless and dry – straight out of the packaging so the tire still wants to be folded. The tire is very flexible so getting it on the rim takes just a little care but was not difficult. Once on the rim, I seated and inflated the tire using compressed air. This tire inflated almost immediately and gave me the quick and loud “POP, POP” I want to hear when mounting a tire on a UST rim. The tire was very easy to mount and the pops were quite satisfying.

I always spray a solution of water mixed with just a little dish washing soap on a newly mounted tubeless tire to check that there are no leaks. The seal at the rim was perfect. But the sidewalls show just a little seepage at high pressure so I put 60cc’s (about 1 scoop) of Stan’s tire sealant in just for good measure. Now that the tire is on the rim, I can see the profile of the tire is much more round than the flatter profile of the 2.4 Specialized Enduro that I usually run. I also notice, as the wheel spins, a distinct and deep channel on each side of the tire between the side and center knobs. This may give the tire good side grip when leaned over.

Recommended pressure on the sidewall is 35 to 60psi. I set the pressure at 35psi.

The ride:

My first ride on the Eskar was at Waterdog – a loop there that I know very, very well. My first riding impression is that the tire seems skittish and somewhat twitchy. My second impression is that the tire has incredible traction descending in a straight line. On steep descents the tire is unflappable on the brakes and holds its line impeccably. I credit this to a very compliant carcass. That said, I’m not totally confident in fast turns or leaning over. The tire seems to be bouncing over the terrain and my bike feels twitchy and overly responsive. Not great but read on…

When I get home, I decide to check my fork settings. My Blitz has a 160mm (6.3 inch) Fox 36 Talas RC2 front fork. While on the ride, it seemed as if my fork was packing down. Even on gradual descents, my fork was so far into the travel that it couldn’t effectively respond to any significant undulations in terrain. So I wanted to make sure the settings were correct. The air pressure was 40psi and the rebound was 3 clicks in from all the way out (fastest). High speed compression damping was set at 2 clicks in and low speed compression damping was set at 5 clicks in. This worked well with the Specialized 2.4 2Bliss Enduro but I decided to make a couple of changes.

I added 6psi (15%!) to the pressure and added 1 click in to the rebound damping (to help control the extra pressure, 15% is a big change in spring rate).

My second ride is in the Soquel State Demonstration Forest. A few friends and I ride down Ridge, down Sawpit, up Tractor and down Braille. This is one of my favorite rides and I’m with some very fast and skilled riders so needless to say, I’m pretty psyched to put the new Eskar to an extreme test.

With the suspension changes, the bike takes on a new life. Compared to the Enduro, I think the Eskar is much more lively so the bike’s fork needed to be adjusted accordingly. Within a few minutes blasting down Ridge trail I realize that the tire is holding its line much better, in fact I’m railing some of these turns. I also realize what I was interpreting as “twitchy” was actually a substantial increase in responsiveness. The tire has a pronounced round peak to its profile so that, for the same lean angle, it makes a smaller radius turn when compared to the relative flat profile of the Enduro. This helps make the tire very quick and your bike supremely responsive. The Eskar goes where you put it and will hold a solid line on hard pack, loamy soil, loose dirt and gravel. I don’t expect sensational performance on deep sree (untested) like you sometimes find in Tahoe because I think the tire will tend to bury and compared to the bigger and much beefier 2.4 Enduro, big rocks push the tire around a little bit. But if you like to rail fast variable terrain these minor trade-offs are totally worth it.

Reservations:

If you ride mostly very rocky, technical descents on a downhill or freeride rig you may want a bigger foot print than the Eskar provides. If you are all about the huge hucks and stunts and you walk your bike up hills a beefier tire will probably server you better. Good fork setup is critical to getting the best possible performance from the Eskar.

My Assessment:

Needless to say, the Eskar completely blew away my initial expectations. I think the deep channel between the center and side knobs help the tire grip in turns and offers directional stability at speed. The knob profile provides excellent traction and the tire profile makes for quick, precise handling. I can’t speculate as to why the tire rolls well but it does. The Eskar is a quick handling, fast rolling and grippy tire for blasting around your favorite trails. Here’s the proof for the pudding: On this tire, I rode sections of Braille trail faster and with more confidence than ever before and I hit every huck, stunt and obstacle I could see. We had a great day in the Demo Friday. I can’t wait to try the Eskar on both the front and the rear!