Singletrack

MOST DURABLE
HUTCHINSON
TORO HARDSKIN 2X66
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Windwave, windwave.co.uk
Featuring a dual ply 66tpi casing, huge volume, and massive,
widely spaced, square-edged knobs, the Hutchinson Toros
look like the sort of tyre a child would come up with if asked
to draw a mountain bike. An absolute monster of a tyre,
these are the heaviest on test at 1,150g (1,080g claimed). By
comparison, the lightest tyres here (Vee Crown Gem) are
a featherweight 750g, and putting the two side by side, it’s
obvious where that extra weight has gone. The Toros went up
very easily tubeless on both Spank OOZY 345 and Mavic XA
Pro Carbon wheels without needing a compressor and the
nice beefy sidewalls didn’t leak a drop of sealant throughout
the test. One thing that pleasantly surprised us was just how
much rubber there was directly under the tread – reinforced
sidewalls can take a lot of the limelight when it comes to
preventing pinches and flats on tubeless tyres, leaving the area
under the tread feeling a bit anaemic by comparison, but this
wasn’t the case on the Toros.
While the tyres are marked as directional we couldn’t spot
a great deal of difference in the tread pattern, but to be on
the safe side we ran them as specified. A much more rounded
profile tyre compared to a High Roller II, they definitely
reward better technique – there is much less braking control
once leant over on the side knobs, but get all your slowing
down done on the centre knobs and you’ll be laughing.
Initially we were a bit unsure about the staggered edge knobs
and whether they would give consistent cornering, but we
needn’t have worried and they were particularly brilliant on
soft, loamy trails, changing direction quickly when darting
between trees. On wet, greasy rock, the Toros struggled a
little, where a softer compound tyre such as a Magic Mary
Super Soft would have been welcome, but then the Toros are
faster rolling than those so it’s swings and roundabouts.
They climbed well in all conditions, with an excellent
tread for use on the rear in all conditions – they really dig
in and you can rely on it not to slip out at inopportune
moments, although as the heaviest tyres on test they were a bit
draggy on longer fire road climbs, and if your riding doesn’t
warrant such a burly tyre it might be worth looking at lighter
options.
We really liked the higher volume for their quoted size,
which meant we could get away with lower pressures to
increase grip, and with a surprisingly thick casing directly
under the tread they stood up exceptionally well to everything
we could throw at them. On one of the fastest and rockiest
trails in the Lakes with 24/28 psi front and rear, and fingers
nowhere near the brakes, I could clearly hear the rims
impacting on the rocks, but the tyre stayed intact. The casing
has certainly taken some hits, including the Enduro National
Championships, and in spite of some scarring on the sidewalls
we have no complaints about the durability of these tyres.
Overall
These tyres won’t suit everyone because of their rounded tread
profile, and there’s no getting away from the fact that they
weigh a heck of a lot, but if you’re fed up of destroying tyres
and just want to get on with riding, these could be ideal. The
higher volume and extra thick rubber under the tread, means
that we were unable to damage the tyres (and believe me we
tried), and the balance of wear vs grip was great too.
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