If you read part one of my tire test you know I am very partial to my Racing Ralf’s especially my front one but Sponge Bob / I mean Fat Bob twisted my arm and said I had to try this Specialized Eskar or else. The Ralf’s are king on the dry hard pack but the Eskar rules the wet, and boy we have had a wet winter so far.
I’ve been a little puckered up with having the Ralf up front lately especially in the newly fallen leaves and winter mud. The small block pattern does not inspire confidence this time of year and clogs up as bad as the Captain.
The Eskar is a killer front tire with our present tail conditions. Between the freeze thaw cycle and rain every few days coupled with new virgin trails the Eskar is king, I love this tire.
The Eskar sheds mud very well, One of the best we have ridden
I have built several miles of new trail this winter and I am the king of building very skinny steep side hill stuff – Niners kill this type of trail woe the poor sixer rider. My plan is to ride this side hill stuff enough especially when it is wet so that the bike tires will cut into the side of the hill and do the bench cutting for us – except for one thing they don’t remove the roots they just bring them to the surface. Here is where Fat Bob comes into play he is my bikes-scape person he takes my design and turns it into sustainable trail sections by digging and imbedding tons of rock to armor the riding surface. He does all this all by hand / no Ditch Witch in our budget. The thing is I can design and build trail way faster than he can turn it into a sustainable trail that’s why right now we have some of the most challenging riding ever.
Snow imprint of the Specialized center knobs. This is the Tires foot print
The last few times out I could see where my fellow riders were literally sliding right off the trail. The cool thing with the Eskar was I could ride right across their skid marks and go straight as an arrow no sliding at all. Talk about a confidence builder I was completing laps with no slippage in these extreme conditions – I wish I had my camera with me because seeing is believing the tire tracks photos would have told the whole story the Eskar tracks traversing the other riders slide to death tracks .
Oh I forgot to tell you about all these new wicked tight radius switchbacks I added to the trail. They will be tuff whenever it dry’s out but right now they are incredibly hard. The Eskar navigates those turns in similar fashion to the side hill stuff.
Take a look at the snow impression photos that I made with this tire. This tread just looks like it will dig in good but has enough continuous knobs to spin without much drag. The second impression was made with the tire in a turn and it clearly shows how the side knobs dig in to provide all this extra holding power in the turns and side slopes.
Cornering knobs. These tires bite.... I mean that in a good way
My one concern I have with Specialized brand tires is longevity – look at the tire photos – see the last photo – a lot of cracking is visible around the side knobs – not a good sign plus some side wall deterioration is visible as well. These tires are not that old folks no reason to be cracking already.
Side wall wear. Take a look at how tall the side knobs are. Nice!
Conclusion: One of the best winter front tires I’ve used – I give it high marks on our Jonesboro Fault test track trail here in central NC. We served it all the major food groups – soft soil / wet clay / crunchy frozen stuff / gravel beds / freezing a__ creek crossings and an assortment of rocks & boulders for a balanced test diet. Finding a good front tire makes tuff winter riding conditions safer and more pleasurable. I hate that sliding / skidding / impacting feeling and this tire helps to prevent that.
Pro: high traction front tire - tracks and turns well in tuff conditions / rolls good / braking – good / dry hard pack – don’t have a clue – waiting for the “Bob” to send me to a warm dry place to test.
Con: photos show questionable durability Fat Bob might not be getting this tire back because I am thinking I might have to do a long term tire test at least till spring. This tire inspires a lot of confidence in tuff conditions – I find myself going a lot faster - pushing the limits in tuff conditions – all components have there limits - it is going to really hurt if I loose it going this fast. If you don't have a Specialized dealer you can buy these online here. We do not receive any financial kick backs if you buy through the link.
Editor's Note: Donn has not had the opportunity to test this tire in dry conditions. Other riders have. It is excellent in all conditions as a front tire.
29eronline feels that it is the best front tire we have tested to date as an all around trail front tire. We feel it is an average performing rear tire and prefer others as a rear tire over the Eskar.
The other thing we have noticed is that it converts very well to tubeless using the Stans No Tubes tubeless kit. Of course proceed at your own risk whenever converting to any after market product.
< 
