The last time I owned a Specialized Ground Control tire was well over a decade ago. As with today, I was sold on the tire for the promises of fast rolling efficiency and a surprising amount of traction both climbing and descending combined for a relatively reasonable price. I rode that tire into the ground but did not buy another. It was fine, okay, even good, but not inspiring.
Maybe that was by design? That Ground Control was the first tire to be designed from the conception up using FEA analysis. No napkin drawings by passionate employees or cutting up existing rubber to rediscover some long forgotten knowledge from motor racing in the past or create a genuinely fresh take on the mountain bike experience. Just math. The marketing basically shouted: a tire by engineers for engineers.
Before you scroll any further I will quickly note that Specialized is one of a few tire brands stocked (and many tire brands sold) by the shop I wrench at part time. Salt (and pepper?) the following text to taste.
[All photos by Me]
I happened upon the existence of these Plus-sized Ground Control tires entirely by accident. Rather than being NOS (new old stock) they come in the current MaxxTerra-esque T7 rubber compound and the latest supple but strong-enough Grid 2Bliss casing. The unspoken nicety of their existence is that they are (or at least were, rumour is they are a dead SKU now like many Plus items) an obvious replacement for the oodles of 27-Plus bikes that Specialized sold.
Some of these bikes can take 29″ wheels, but that involves lacing new rims or buying new wheels. Some of these bikes can take 27×2.6″ rubber but the bottom bracket heights get low-low-low and that doesn’t work for everyone.
For a more aggressive option, Specialized also still offers the 27×2.8″ Butcher in a T7. Nina runs these tires and they’re consistent, roll well enough, and have good casing support (without inserts). I’ve run the same option as a rear tire on a mullet and multi-speeded they actually roll along fine-just-fine with very predictable traction up and down. But, for the single-speed I’m always hungry for something that min-maxes rolling speed and climbing traction.
Lately on the rear of the Waltworks V2 I have been running 2.6″ Specialized ‘laughter and Schwalbe Rock Razor semi-slick tires. I’ll say right up front that the 3″ Ground Control is not as ‘fun’ as these tires. It rolls fast, but not as fast. Braking traction is positively, well, positive. The extra air volume is glorious, especially combined with the taller profile of my ‘narrow’ rim setup.
When I say it’s not as ‘fun’ there is an echo of my previous Ground Control experience. A tiny trade off in rolling speed results in a shocking difference in speed control. Even on the rock faces where the ‘laughter/Rock Razor had surprising traction the Ground Control is a significantly more positive experience.
But wait, what’s the weight? I admit that I don’t really care. In my case the lighter casing, with CushCore insert, is about achieving the must supple ride quality while also maximizing durability thanks to support at the bead and in large compressions. Specialized says 1050 grams and that sounds about right. My 29+ XR4 3″ tire is about one hundred grams more. Big rubber is heavy. That said, if anyone out there in gram-counting land really wants to know, hit me with an e-mail and I’ll put one on my scale for you.
I’ve been riding the 29×3″ Bontrager XR4 on the front of my rigid bike (Enigma & V2) for ages, but for the last couple of months I’ve switched things up and mounted it on an i30 rim. That’s combined with the much smaller and lighter CushCore Trail insert rather than the the Plus or Pro inserts I usually run. This does result in the notable loss in run-flat capability but thanks to the narrow rim the CushCore insert still provides excellent support when I’m leaning the bike over and positive rim protection in those “You Rang?” moments.
Traction is decreased somewhat in some situations. This is probably not surprising given the visibly narrower contact area. But the taller tire profile and increased air volume (thanks to the smaller volume spacer/CushCore insert) do offer improved comfort and I’m moving faster downhill in some situations.
Following my XR4 experience, the 3″ Ground Control mated to an i30 rim with a CushCore Trail insert has been unsurprisingly excellent as well. Where I’m running ~12psi in the XR4 I am up at ~14psi in the GC but still playing with pressures and if anything I’ll go down a bit rather than up.
This is maybe a good spot to note it went on surprisingly easily and then popped solidly into place using a floor pump.
I can’t speak to durability – wear or damage – at this point but I can say that there is only a very small addition to rolling resistance on the steep pavement climb from my apartment to Mt. Fromme. That’s dropping air pressure significantly and adding knobblies compared to riding either the ‘laughter or RockRazor.
Once I’m on dirt I don’t notice a rolling difference between the big GC and the smaller semi-slicks but the climbing traction in loose sections is boldly improved. This is likely one part casing size/low pressure and the addition of larger knobs. This in itself is not surprising but relative to the tiny change in rolling resistance it is smile inducing.
Downhill the performance difference is exactly what I expect having spend a lot of time running the Waltworks V2 with 2.8″ and 3.0″ (29″) rubber in the past. My legs are less cooked, traction is easier to find, and I feel like I’m going about smoother and, therefore, faster.
I only have a handful of rides on this tire and, sadly, Specialized doesn’t make a 29×3.0″ option so I can’t try it on my anti-mullet Arcturian. But going forward I am operating under an extremely high expectation that says that the 3″ Ground Control, and specifically the 3″ wide Ground Control, is the ultimate* rear tire for hardtails.
*[Drewitors Note: That’s aside from the price, but notably with a CushCore insert included.]
To run it on a Plus-mullet like mine requires getting over the fact that the front tire will wear a different brand patch. On hardtails, rather than “double hardtails,” there is likely and aesthetics-be-damned argument to rock this as a rear tire with 2.6″ rubber up front. I know a few riders (shoutout Dave & Alex) rocking 27-Plus rubber rear ends with more regular-sized 27″ or 29″ front tires and it works really well for them.
An amazing first impression can be damning for the long term review of a product. In this case a product I paid for and am so stoked about I bought two (apparently my tire hoarding goes beyond my massive collection of 3″ XR4 rubber). Admittedly, trails are amazing right now and my V2 is running very well in general. But, that’s why we follow up, and I have a hard time imaging wanting a tire that sports either decreased traction (up/down) or slower rolling speed on my single speed this winter.
All the caveats aside, coupled with my dislike of spending other folks’ monies, if you’re rocking a 27″ rear wheel on a hardtail and have clearance for a 3″ tire, I think this one is worth the $80 (CAD) bet to find out if it is the magic mix for you. All performance considerations aside, it looks RAD!
The best overall hardtail rear tire on the market? 27×3″ Specialized Ground Control Plus.
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