Its easier on the machine, and when comparing costs, its also much easier on the budget. This allows for smoother, more versatile performance when not slinging mud in your favorite bog. The lugs range from 1.125 to 1.250 inches tall depending on tire size. It still delivers maximum traction in deep mud from its distinctive, aggressive, widely spaced tread pattern, but with less bulk. The Silverback-XLite takes most of the features of the original Silverback and puts them in a lighter and more value-oriented package. This new tire is based on one of the most successful mud tires of all timethe Gorilla Silverbackbut the X-Lite is more accessible and useful to more riders. Mud enthusiasts around the country spoke, and STI listened. However, they can't fully mask the rigid side effect of such a stiff and fundamentally aggressive ride.STI Gorilla Silverback X-Lite Front Tire STI Tire Wheel is thrilled to announce the release of its all-new Silverback X-Lite. The façade of composure in good riding conditions just slips slightly, as it does when the wind gets up, with the front of the bike once again more at fault than the rear.Ĭertainly, the dropped seatpost junction, integrated clamp and carbon seatpost are doing their best to round off the bike with comfort that'll make it an easier ride for long days in the saddle. Anything more than a few pimples in the road feeding into the contact points results in a ride quality that could be described as 'shaky'. Still, I find it a touch rigid to really compete with those two standard-setting all-rounders. Obviously, the wheels are intrinsic to overall aero performance and it's difficult to identify an 11-watt saving in the frameset alone, but there's no sense that the frame is being overly artificially enhanced by the wheels in an aero sense – just maximised.Ĭomfort is markedly improved over the previous X-Lite, bringing it closer to its excellent BMC Teammachine and Canyon Ultimate rivals. More on that and how you could counter it later, though.Īt its core, the stiffness from the bottom bracket and chainstays transfers power very efficiently, allowing for entertaining accelerations when you want, or spinning away efficiently when you don't. Like I said, you need to have your wits about you. The delicate handling might be great when climbing and descending in still conditions, but when the wind picks up – even to moderate or breezy levels – the deep-section DT Swiss ARC 1100 wheels often cause it to become twitchy and nervous, buffeting in the wind and often affecting the direction of travel. I'll come on to the finishing kit in detail later, but what the X-Lite 6 Disc does do is highlight the importance of wheel choice and striking a balance.
Bluntly executed inputs at the handlebar result in nervous behaviour from the front end this isn't an easy bike to ride 'switched off', you need to pay attention.
There's no doubt that the stiff front end is on the sharp side of 'poised', which means you need to blend confident riding with delicacy to make the most of its racy potential. It just so happens that I'm familiar with this bike's rim brake predecessor, the X-Lite Team, so am well placed to compare the two, but what about current competitors? Can the X-Lite 6 Disc hold its own against big players such as Canyon's Ultimate CF SLX Disc and BMC's Teammachine 01 Disc? As Dave explained in February, it received a complete overhaul that saw it come in rim and disc brake format, and I was excited to get on board one and see what's changed. That bike was the newly updated flagship race machine, the X-Lite, but let's from the outset dispel any ideas that this is just the old X-Lite in drag. When Rose Bikes updated its branding last year, it needed a bike on which to show it off.