The Bontrager XR Mud has always been a good tyre, can you quickly go through its history in terms of shape, weight, pattern?
Frank: The current XR Mud has been around for several years and is one of Bontrager’s best selling mud tyres in the world market. Over the years the tread pattern remained unchanged, simply because it worked very well. However, there were updates to the casing structure (added Inner Strength sidewall) and dual rubber compound which improved overall performance and reduced weight to 660g for 29×2.00 size. The current XR Mud rubber compound is 62a/60a, 29×2.00 and weight is 660 gram. The weight was increased since we added our Inner Strength sidewall which improved cut resistance and sealing for TLR.
As such it’s a 50/50 tyre so is possibly compromised – not perfect for total mud riding and possibly not strong enough for downhill rock/mud terrain? I guess you cannot expect to cover all bases in a mud tyre?The intended application for the new XR MUD is wet–muddy terrain. However, all tyres need somewhat of a cross over on varying terrain. For example when it’s muddy you still have slippery rocks and tree roots to contend with and maybe a fire road in the forest that connects the trails together where rolling resistance plays a key role. If the tyre and/or tread is so specific to it’s application, the performance will be sacrificed on these key areas of the ride.
What has led you to seek changes to the current design?
Every tyre has a lifespan and we have to continue to evolve. There’s new technology, there’s things we’ve learned from our field testing and also new competitor’s products. The current XR Mud is a very good tyre but we felt we could improve its rolling resistance, cornering traction and reduce the overall tyre weight without sacrificing durability and performance.
