Hutchison's pro mountain bikers asked for a faster gravity tire, and worked alongside company engineers to create just that.
The Urge Archi-Enduro RR full face mountain bike helmet was designed by the most qualified enduro experts in the business.
Oak trees are native to six of the seven continents on earth, so chances are you have mountain biked among them. Learn more about this magnificent tree species.
Updated Norco Revolver XC bike comes with 100mm or 120mm of rear travel. Plus, there are new forks from Cane Creek and Marzocchi, moto-inspired MTB rims from Zipp, and tall tires for wet and loose conditions from WTB.
The Vee Flow Snap is an enduro mountain bike tire from the Thai company. It's a little on the heavy side, but seems to be a great aggressive trail tire.
The Mountainsmith Cycle Cube is a bike-specific duffel bag meant to manage lots of awkward and stinky bike gear.
Deborah Meghen and Niall Davie talk about the development of new mountain bike trails all over Ireland.
The Bluegrass Eagle Armour Lite D3O is a lightweight and simple vented spine protector.
A San Diego mountain biker finds a barbed wire trail trap and a rider in Colorado leaves the scene of another trap with several broken bones.
There's a lot of hype about the new WaveCel structure in new Bontrager helmets. Competitor responses came just as quickly, and it's hard to recognize who's right in the end.
We check out mountain bike multi-tools from top brands like Pro, SIlca, Pedro's, Topeak and Pro Bike Tool.
New 12-speed hub options, alongside a more affordable 4-piston brake and 203mm rotor option, show Shimano's dedication to entry-level riders.
Link your Singletracks and Wahoo accounts to get free mountain bike trail routes on your GPS.
It's easy to let negative externalities ruin mountain biking's moments. Here are a few tips and philosophies to focus on the now.
Pro mountain bikers like Katy Curd know how to adapt and learn a new game. Katy shares her tips for building skills and managing fear.
We test ride the new Revel Rascal trail bike in Moab.
The Clear Creek 10 is Mountainsmith's first hydration pack marketed for mountain bike. It's fairly simple and affordable.
This week we get news on who's dominating the EWS, new bikes from Diamondback and Bold, and another NICA expansion.
Check out the trails, bikes, skills, and good times from the 2019 Singletracks Ride-N-Rally.
The Leatt DBX 4.0 pants are tailored, tough, and ready for the trail.
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Online retailer Moosejaw is now offering complete mountain bikes for sale from brands including Evil and Niner.
The Pisgah Stage Race is already well known for five days of riding the best mountain bike trails in Pisgah. Key changes for 2019 seek to make the 11th edition the best one yet.
The way a rider treats their mountain bike will affect its lifespan. Here are five things you can do to keep your bike healthy for the long haul.
In this episode of the Singletracks podcast, I ask Jeff Kendall-Weed about his inspirations, favorite places to ride, skills progression, and how he makes time for riding.
Adding an eMTB category to the EWS has some riders calling it the EEWS.
This new product allows mountain bikers to ditch packs of any form and fit cargo directly on their lumbar.
Pick up trash during your mountain bike rides in April to join in the plogging phenomenon. Share photos of your haul on Instagram to win prizes from Singletracks. @singletracks #bikeplog
Life is busy, but often it's easier than not to ride with friends. Matt reflects on a trip years ago that formed lasting friendships.
Crankworx Rotorua and Absa Cape Epic results, Revelstoke gets a lift and new trails, plus new Teravail MTB tires and etnies shoes.
Geometry changes a lot from bike to bike, but a fit should always suit the rider. Gerow goes over a few fitting tips to help all the bikes in your stable feel comfortable and consistent.
The Dirtlej Dirtsuit is a wet-weather onesie for mountain biking.
Is it worth spending good money to enter a mountain bike race? Dillon says yes, and shares 5 reasons why you should sign up.
Rachel Walker sheds light on what Hopetech Women is and what the mountain bike brand is up to these days.
The Kuat Transfer is an entry-level rack that can be converted from a single to a double bike hitch rack. The Pivot get mountain bikes them out of the way to get to the trunk or truck bed.
Exploring beautiful singletrack mountain bike rides along the Basque coast of northern Spain.
World famous mountain biker Chris Akrigg shares his winning approach to challenging conditions, both on the bike and off. Want to know what it takes to build incredible bike-handling skills? Listen to find out!
Cities around the US are working to attract new workers with mountain bike trails. For some places, this gamble more important than ever.
The MET Roam MIPS mountain bike helmet balances comfort and protection.
Hannah Bergemann talks about racing with Kona, her ambitions in the sport, and why the most important mountain bike race of her year is the one she'll race with her dad.
Riding the enduro-worthy singletrack mountain bike trails in northern Spain. In Part 3, Lee and his group ride in Val de Tena near the towns of Biescas and Panticosa.
New mountain bike shoes from Rapha, a taste of the Pivot Phoenix 29 downhill bike, new Stans rims, and more in the MTB News Mix.
In this first Pro Skills article, we get advice on recovery from endurance mountain biker Payson McElveen.
Gerow talks with IMBA EU to find out how mountain bike advocacy is going in Europe.
Exploring the best trails in the Spanish Pyrenees by bike, Lee and his group ride Cotiella, Ainsa, and Zona Zero, including an EWS stage route.
Dillon shares his strategy for fueling before, during, and after the ride, and provides a sample template for varying mountain bike ride lengths.
Trek / Bontrager claims their new mountain bike helmets reduce the chance of concussion significantly.
The Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt A50 is an affordable and fun trail bike with price-minded performance.
2
![[feature]
[caption id="attachment_259869" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<img class="wp-image-259869 size-large" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Isebeau-at-Griffus-launch--1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780" /> Current EWS leader <a href="https://www.instagram.com/isabeau_c/?hl=en">Isabeau Courdurier</a> stopped by Hutchinson's press camp to share her thread of the Griffus development story. She won the first two rounds of the 2019 series on one pair of Griffus tires. All photos Brian Gerow, unless otherwise noted.[/caption]
Hutchinson has a faster gravity tire for descent-inclined shredders, and it is made entirely in France. With specific tread patterns for two different widths, black or tan sidewalls, and ripping fast descending at its core, the Griffus is a sweet tread for dry tracks.
Beginning with prototype tubular tires in the first Tour De France, Hutchinson has been developing tires based on expert-level feedback for 160 years. The new Griffus was winning races and events throughout its design process beneath riders like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/isabeau_c/">Isabeau Courdurier</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ravanel_mtb/">Cécile Ravanel</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/yoannbarelli/">Yoann Barelli</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/carsonstorch/">Carson Storch</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kilianbron/">Kilian Bron</a>. These riders have had regular meetings with the engineers at Hutchinson to help create a tire that will perform in the most extreme situations possible. The pros asked for a faster dry conditions tire, and Isabeau has proven that they received exactly that.
<h2>Rubbery details</h2>
[caption id="attachment_259870" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<img class="wp-image-259870 size-large" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Griffus-rear-tan-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780" /> Hutchinson is one of the first companies to offer a tan sidewall 29" gravity tire, which will be available shortly.[/caption]
<ul>
<li>Price: $79.99 USD (<a href="http://tidd.ly/1449f6d4">Buy Hutchinson Griffus Tire now</a>)</li>
<li>29" or 27.5" diameter</li>
<li>2.4" (57mm) or 2.5" (58mm) widths</li>
<li>Black or tan sidewalls</li>
<li>Bead to bead hard skin protection</li>
<li>3 tread compounds</li>
<li>Weights: 27.5 x 2.4 = 930g, 27.5 x 2.5 = 980g, 29 x 2.4 = 1030, 29 x 2.5 = 1080</li>
</ul>
[caption id="attachment_259872" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<img class="wp-image-259872 size-large" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Griffus-front--1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780" /> Knobs on the 2.5-inch-wide tires are aligned in perfect rows, with steeper leading edges, to increase traction. While you can ride either width front and rear, the 2.5" version was originally designed as a front tire with the 2.4" designed for the rear.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_259874" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<img class="wp-image-259874 size-large" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Gruffus-rear--1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780" /> The 2.4-inch-wide tread pattern has offset shoulder and center knobs to provide a smooth transition in the corners, with less steep leading edges that let the tire roll faster than the 2.5-inch version.[/caption]
<h2>First ride impressions</h2>
I have ridden the new Griffus tires for a couple days now, which is not sufficient time to form a full opinion, but I do have a few first impressions worth mentioning. I mounted the 29x2.5" tire up front, and the 29x2.4" tire out back.
The first ride I did was at <a href="https://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/evo-bike-park.html">Evo Bike Park</a> in southern France, where it hadn't rained for nearly two months. The dust was deep, and the tires' burly knobs dug in hard. I had no problem pushing the bike down deep into the turns while confidently maintaining traction. I rode a few of the park's steeper and more natural descents and was pleased with the traction in loose chutes and corner grip on catch-berms. Another noticeable characteristic of the tire is that its bead-to-bead protection compound creates a sturdy sidewall that doesn't flop around or beg for higher pressure in faster berms.
I found the rear tire breaks loose in a predictable and controllable manner. A predictable break in traction is a crucial element of gravity tires, and I look forward to testing these to their limit in the coming months.
The second ride was on my backyard trails, after a long night of rain soaked into the clay-based singletrack. I had assumed that The Griffus would perform as well as any other fast gravity tire in the mud, and that prediction came slidingly true. The rear tire packed with mud rather quickly, and both front and rear were quite squirrelly on the more damp bits of trail. I am fairly cautious on new tires, and I expect a longer review will reveal the true nature of the Griffus in wet conditions. While the Griffus is designed to reach max speed on dry trails, Hutchinson <em>does</em> make several all-condition and mud-specific tires to stick to the sloppy stuff.
Look for a full-length review of the Griffus this summer.
<a class="btn btn-info btn-lg" href="http://tidd.ly/1449f6d4">Buy Hutchinson Griffus Tire</a>
[caption id="attachment_259868" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<img class="wp-image-259868 size-large" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Isabeau-Courdurier-7-Hutchinson-cTDG-Photography-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780" /> Photo: Hutchinsontires.com[/caption]
[/feature]
<em>We would like to thank <a href="https://www.hutchinsontires.com/en/home">Hutchinson</a> for mounting up the Griffus for review. </em>](https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Barb_Wire.jpg)
