Love this idea in principle, but:
1) How do you propose blind testing a tire? It's impossible to conceal a tread from a tester's eyes, and
2) How many tires with a legit tread and a SRP of $50 can you name? Plenty of legitimate $80-100 options out there but not many our collective group has used and found can hold up to the demands of the Shore when it's wet.
It might be more informative for everyone to get a glimpse at how much R&D goes into a tire's development, and then the manufacturing and material costs. Not to mention shipping. Of course everyone likes to compare a $150 MTB tire to a car tire's price, but that car tire is always a shitty all-season that's no better than a take-off tire, whereas that $150 MTB tire is pointy edge of the tech wedge for our sport. I'm not saying they couldn't/shouldn't be less than 150 retail, however there are so few legitimate contenders out there that deliver a consistent product that performs and is available, that it's hard to expect otherwise until that changes.
April 12, 2024, 8:32 a.m. - Pete Roggeman
Love this idea in principle, but: 1) How do you propose blind testing a tire? It's impossible to conceal a tread from a tester's eyes, and 2) How many tires with a legit tread and a SRP of $50 can you name? Plenty of legitimate $80-100 options out there but not many our collective group has used and found can hold up to the demands of the Shore when it's wet. It might be more informative for everyone to get a glimpse at how much R&D goes into a tire's development, and then the manufacturing and material costs. Not to mention shipping. Of course everyone likes to compare a $150 MTB tire to a car tire's price, but that car tire is always a shitty all-season that's no better than a take-off tire, whereas that $150 MTB tire is pointy edge of the tech wedge for our sport. I'm not saying they couldn't/shouldn't be less than 150 retail, however there are so few legitimate contenders out there that deliver a consistent product that performs and is available, that it's hard to expect otherwise until that changes.