FIRST LOOK: Hutchinson MTB tyres

Hutchinson have been in the tyre game for a long time, and the French brand were one of the first to bring tubeless mountain bike tyres to market about two decades ago. While the Hutchinson Python has had a do over with the Python 2 and is still super versatile and fast, Hutchinson's mountain bike tyre range is pretty expansive.

With a new home at Ride Sports, Hutchinson are currently available at some incredible prices. With the Toro Koloss eMTB tread tested in our new issue, Ride Sports have sent along three tyres that sit around the trail and cross-country mark – although one is pretty much full XC. Stock of these models will be available in late July.

With 3 sets of treads to test, and a couple of mixed casings, I've weighed them, inflated them on tyres and sized them up. Ride Sports have sent the Hutchinson Skeleton 29 x 2.15", and a Hard Skin model and a non reinforced model have been sent. The Skeleton has a lower profile tread and good edge knobs. The Kraken is 29×2.3" and has mid sized, wide tread blocks and large edge knobs. It really looks like it will hook up like a tractor on the climbs. 

I've inflated both of these tyres on a sort of wide XC rim, with a 25.5mm internal width, but with quite thick rim edges and 32 spokes they're a stiff XC wheel that will offer an ideal base of support for the tyres.

The 2.25" Taipans are a mix of one Hard Skin and one RR XC model. They have been set up on a 26mm internal trail wheel set, the Hope Technology Fortus 26, which has just arrived for testing.

 So what're all the numbers like then?

Hutchinson Skeleton

This is one racey looking tyre. And given Hutchinson says it is a dedicated racing tyre, that should be no surprise! With a very low centre tread, the Skeleton should roll super fast, while not giving away too much cornering grip thanks to the relatively generous edge knobs.

There's not much of a transition knob, so you'll have to commit to tipping it over for cornering traction. But given the centre tread is almost joined along the centre point, you will probably happily trade that for the speed on offer.

The edge knob does have some good support, which should really translate well to aggressive riding – and racing. Which is what it is designed for.

On the front I have fitted the 127 thread per inch (tpi) tubeless ready Skeleton. It weighed in at 581g in 29×2.15". On the back I put the Hard Skin model (615g), which has a much stiffer casing thanks to the reinforcing, but also with a 66 tpi casing. All of the Skeleton models are Tubeless Ready.

Inflated, the Hard Skin model on the rear inflates to 52.01mm across the carcass, and 51.58mm at the widest point on the edge knobs. The higher thread count, non-reinforced model on the front expanded a bit more, measuring 53.76mm across the body of the tyre, and 52.41mm at the edges of the edge knobs.

Based on that I probably won't be fitting them on a wider rim, as I suspect the edge knobs might migrate inwards too much. But, they look super fast! A bit like a Maxxis Aspen in 2.25" but with tread knobs that might last a bit longer.

I suspect these will be a great tyre for hardpack, or for riders who are happy to trade in a little bit of grip for a lot of speed. You can read the French facts on the Hutchinson website.

Hutchinson Kraken

Release the Kraken! Hutchinson have developed this tread in 29×2.3" as part of their trail and XC range. You'll notice the 'Racing Lab' on the sidewall, this is due to the relationship between the athletes that Hutchinson supports and the tyre engineers – it was a colab design to produce what their athletes wanted. Hutchinson reckon it's a favourite for their XC team.

It's bigger and meatier than the Skeleton, and I've got the Hard Skin model on test. You can also get it with 127tpi lighter sidewalls.

The centre tread has a flattened chevron shape to drive traction, with plenty of smaller versions acting as transition knobs through to the quite tall edge knobs. There's plenty of rubber there, but the overall tread height is pretty low.

The Kraken weighs in at 763g with Hard Skin, and inflated it is 53.09mm across the body and 54.69mm from edge knob to edge knob. So that edge knob is pronounced and should really dig in when cornering.

This wider tyre will probably fill out on a wider rim as well, which does push the Kraken comfortably into the realms of a light trail bike. Watch this space, it's worth trying!

There is a lot of rubber on the Kraken, which is reflected in the weight – but that's similar to a Maxxis Ikon EXO in 29×2.35", which has a similar overall appearance. But to be honest, the edge knob on the Kraken looks like it has better support for aggressive cornering.

Hutchinson Taipan

The Taipan slides into the Trail and XC offering from Hutchinson, we have 29 x 2.25" models fitted up.

The Taipan has the deepest tread of the three sets, with plenty of room for mud to clear from the tread blocks. The V shape of the tread knobs is said to help clear mud, but really it just depends on what sort of mud you have!

The edge knob runs down the sidewall helping with support. They're staggered in and out to assist with the transition to the edge. The added siping will help find a little more grip on wet, harder surfaces.

With a Hard Skin and RR XC model on test, the Hard Skin model hit the scales at 791g, while the RR XC model was 704g.

Once on the rim, the Hard Skin tyre on the back inflated to 55.21mm, with 56.89mm measured edge to edge on the tread at the widest point. The more supple RR XC was 54.22mm, and 56.34mm edge to edge. This was on the Fortus 26mm rim. While the tread is for front or rear, they are direction specific. Don't worry they write it on the sidewall.

At a glance this tyre looks skinny, even though of the three it measures the widest. The size of the tread knobs makes the body look narrower, but the volume is pretty good for a 2.25" tyre.

Based on the tread pattern I might have to wait for some wetter conditions to get the most out of it here in south east Queensland. Hutchinson have designed the Taipan as a versatile tyre. It's worth remembering that it's French, and euros out ride most of us in the wet, and I would view this as suiting damper conditions more than he blown out dust that typifies our trails.

But I'm happy to be proven wrong over the coming weeks!

I'll put a review up of each tyre as I'm ready, but get in touch with Ride Sports for details on when these models will be available.