With all respect to the ripper with the sub 19-lb carbon single-speed whose version of mountain biking calls for a pair of Thunder Burts. And, to that last grizzled dual-crown-DH-hardtail shuttling shredder dragging MaxxGrip DH-casing Assegai tires down the jankiest gnar. Well, lets not let super-specific use cases poke holes in this boldest-ever blanket claim of all around rear-rubber superiority, okay?

Usually I’m not one for brash pronouncements as to the all-around best of anything when it comes to mountain bicycling. For what terrain? For what rider? On what budget? But here’s the thing, I’ve ridden everything from greasy green-means-grip Shore-to-Sky rock and roots to long miles of gravel and what’s in between on these 27×3″ T7-rubber Specialized Ground Control tires and I’m constantly surprised by how fast they roll for how well they grip, how well they grip for how fast they roll, and the comfort difference they make at 15psi, or less.

Are there times, descending snot covered rock-armouring or little-used wooden ladders that I wouldn’t love some Ultra Soft rubber action out back? Yep. But not enough that I want to pedal anything that gummy up hill. Were there times this summer when a series of big square paddles would have been lovely in the loosest-of-loose steepest-of-steep sections? Yep. But apparently not to the extend that I could be bothered to swap out for a tire I already owned. Simply put, this is my rear tire of choice for a rigid rig, Tech-C hardtail build (100-130mm travel}, stapler {140-160mm travel}, and even for a super-stapler (170mm travel+) build.

Now, it’s true that by their very nature, absolute budget-friendliness aside, MTB hardtails are a flawed choice. Yes, even the most awesome modern hardtails. There is a dual-squishy bike that’s faster, more comfortable, and more capable for any actually-mountain-bicycling application from XC-racing to all-day-adventuring and that’s not even accounting for the more gravity focused and technical forms of the activity. But from geometry, to build choices, brakes, to tires there’s a certain joy in optimizing the sub-optimal. Choosing the best overall single-speed gearing whilst recognizing that it won’t be the best gear for 90% of the ride.

I know there’s nothing cool about Plus tires, but I couldn’t care less. Is it extra weird looking to run a 29×2.5″ front with a 27×3.0″ rear? Maybe, but I promise if you put a rear anti-theft-device on your bike no one will ever notice. The ATD is like a cloaking field for anything else out of the ordinary on your bicycle. Fitment issues are real, although many frames that can clear 29×2.6″ have enough space for 27×3.0″.

Stranger Than Traction

It feels like only a few weeks ago, because it was, I was recommending this very tire to an old-boy I know as his stapler pain-problem panacea. Okay, not just the tire, I also recommended lowering his handlebar* since “raising it a bunch” had the opposite of benefit to his on trail hardtail experience. .

Buddy already rides the biggest travel sag wagon he can help Bosch pedal up the hill whenever he’s out with his crew, but was lamenting the, now, uncomfortable experience of once-loved solo rides plunking around on the hardtail, specifically down to back & ankle soreness on sustained descents. Enter big rubber and lower pressures to take the shock off, and a magical mix of descending traction and uphill action from the size, tread, and compound.

And before you call bullshit, I’ve ridden the 650b-by-three GC back to back against various 27×2.6″ tires, including that size of Ground Control, and various 29’er rubber up to 2.6″, with and without inserts, and anyone would be able to tell the comfort difference on a proper ride. I’ve also ridden the 3″ Plus rubber on both i40 and i30 rims, and my preference is the taller profile of the i30 when combined with a CushCore Pro insert for support. Those wanting to run insert free will also want a wider rim.

*{[Aside]I’ve found that a relatively lower bar height and more hinged position, compared to what I was running, has helped me reduce discomfort in my back, knees, ankles, and feet when ‘charging’ through chunder on properly janky trails on the hardtail.[/Aside]}

What It Ain’t

I’ve ridden plenty of excellent semi-slicks {Specialized ‘Laughter, Schwalbe Rock Razor, etc} and lots of more-XC-biased trail tires {Schwalbe’s Wicked Will is a favourite}, so I feel confident in saying that the Ground Control, in the 3″ size, isn’t either of those things. It’s both faster rolling and better braking than it looks. For the record, and the same is true for the 27×2.6″ and 29×2.35″ versions, the GC both rolls faster than it looks and brakes better than would seem plausible.

Braking wise, one key piece of evidence is rotor size. With a proper knobby rear tire, think DHR2 or Big Betty, paired with a mean front tire like my radialish Ultra Soft Magic Mary, I like to run the same-size, 203mm* rotors front and rear on my hardtail. As soon as I switch to a semi-slick or tech-C tire I find I have to drop down to a 180mm disc or braking feels too unbalanced.

With the big-GC that’s not the case. Braking traction in most conditions is surprising, as is hard-cornering traction. It doesn’t have the occasionally-weird side-knob transition of an aggressive semi-slick, like the Rock Razor, but it also has significantly more grip in corners than any true XC tire I’ve used out back.

As with most Plus tires, at least living in a land with limited sharp rock contact, the lifespan is surprising with the sidewalls often weeping long before the tread is worn out. That’s down to low pressure and conforming to terrain. Even with tire contact, my combination of CushCore supporting from inside and Specialized’s well balanced side-wall construction {supple but tough} has meant I’ve only cut one sidewall in any notable way and the tire was a dozen rides overdo for replacement at any rate.

*{Conflict – Rotor Size was way my favourite piece, in my favourite series, from my brief experience at BikeMag.}

And, fair enough, I know for folks who’ve been reading MEATmag a while that none of this is news. I wrote about my 27×3″ Specialized experience previously, mulleting my none-meaner Waltworks V2 rigid bike. But the difference running it on my Arcturian Voyager is speed. Running that 150mm fork up front means braking harder, later, and tackling lines more directly than on my rigid machine.

So the word on the bike vine is that Specialized is going through a culling time {it was probably Timothy in Shipping}. Cutting a massive number of SKUs in bikes, clothing, accessories, tires, etc. And, thus, the 3″ Ground Control is experiencing a similar fate to other awesome big rubber like Trek’s Bontrager XR4 29×3″ and WTB’s High Grip Vigi in 29×2.8″. You know, as every single brand focuses on making exactly the same products as every other brand.

But, to the extent that I stocked up as soon as the wind whispered this tire may be disappearing, I think that this tire is the best overall option for {almost} any hardtail that will clear it. And, again, down to many a 29’er clearing 27+, that, in my experience {buyer beware, measure before money, etc.} means more aggressive hardtails on the market clear it than don’t {MX rear wheel required}.

It’s already sold out almost everywhere, but even once it ceases to exist, the Specialized Ground Control 27×3″ will have once been the all-time greatest hardtail rear tire.

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