The Specialised Cannibal tire of the Nineties has been reinstated in a bid to position the Specialised Gravity crew members, Loic Bruni, Finn Iles and Christopher Grice, atop World Cup Downhill podiums. Although the official launch comes solely at this time, the tire was seen on the Specialised Demos of all the abovementioned racers at Lourdes again in March, the place Finn and Loic positioned 2nd and third respectively – not unhealthy for a primary outing.
It’s no secret that the Specialised Gravity riders have traditionally shied away from working Specialised’s personal tires come race day, with sharpied-out Minions having been noticed beneath them on a couple of event. Seemingly, the model has by no means kicked up an excessive amount of of a fuss about that. Now, issues could also be totally different, with Specialised having invested loads of assets within the creation of the brand new Cannibal.
Christopher Grice’s weekend didn’t go to plan; a latest Instagram put up tells us his shoulder randomly dislocated close to the underside of his qualification run, placing him out for race day
Specialised Cannibal Downhill Mountain Bike Tire
- Intention: Downhill Mountain Biking
- Supposed Situations:
- Casings: Grid Gravity
- Compound: Gripton T9
- Sizing: 29″ x 2.4″ and 27.5″ x 2.4″
- Pricing: $80 USD / €75
You’ll be happy to see the brand new Specialised Cannibal bears no resemblance to the Cannibal of the 90s, apart from the truth that its black and spherical, in fact. The tread sample of the unique Cannibal regarded prefer it had been actually thrown collectively, at random, with a putting disregard for symmetry. This newest tread sample is a distinct beast altogether.
On the danger of stating the plain, these tread blocks are giant, presenting loads of floor space to contact the bottom; that’s true of each the middle tread blocks and the aspect knobs. We had been struck by the distinct lack of siping on the edge. Jorge Mendes, a Specialised Tire Engineer who has been engaged on the Cannibal because the starting, mentioned this was a particular request made by the Gravity crew riders. Siping is often used to introduce a little bit of flex right into a tread block, or so as to add an extra edge in opposition to which to grip, however Loic particularly was agency in his request for aspect knobs with little or no flex for max cornering stability and improved braking traction.
On the middle tread, we see three distinct blocks. First, a really broad single block, subtly formed like an arrow, with siping working each within the route of journey and perpendicular to it. Subsequent up is a pair of slim, elongated blocks, every with a sipe working perpendicular to the route of journey. The third is a much wider pair of blocks, equally siped, however with a extra dramatic rearward aptitude, presenting extra floor space on the trailing edge for braking. All middle tread blocks see a delicate ramp at their vanguard.
The model’s stickiest, slowest rebound rubber, Gripton T9, sits atop it.
The Specialised Cannibal is, for now, solely out there within the Grid Gravity casing, a dual-ply of 60 TPI material with an Apex inserts on the aspect partitions extending up from the tire bead to enhance aspect wall stability and to guard in opposition to snakebite punctures. The Apex insert is one thing the Specialised Tire Engineers had been pressured to pay take note of following some conflicting suggestions from crew riders. A rider would complain in regards to the tire sidewalls being too stiff at one location on sooner or later, then complain in regards to the sidewalls being too versatile and wallowy on one other event; on each events, the identical tire casing was being examined.
Specialised chopped up the tires in a bid to grasp this, discovering that the connection between the Apex insert and the tire bead wasn’t at all times as they want it to be. Jorge Mendes tells us that this connection is vital in figuring out the flex properties of the inflated tire. To deal with this inconsistency concern, Specialised has labored carefully with their provider to develop new tooling make sure the casing fabrication course of integrated the Apex insert accurately and persistently for each batch of tire.
All through the event course of, the crew additionally examined tire casings with an Apex of various heights; three heights had been examined however the crew settled on 23mm, as they felt it produced one of the best experience really feel.
Pricing & Availability
The Specialised Cannibal is accessible now within the Grid Gravity Casing solely with the Gripton T9 compound. Get it in 29″ x 2.4″ or 27.5″ x 2.4″ for $80 USD / €75.
