Switzerland's ONZA Tires Releases new EU-Made Tubes and Their Burliest Gravity Tread to Date Called the Porcupine RC

Switzerland’s ONZA Tires Releases new EU-Made Tubes and Their Burliest Gravity Tread to Date Called the Porcupine RC

Onza has a new version of the Porcupine mountain bike tire, plus inner tubes made in the EU.

By Gerow
November 2, 2020

3 comments

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Are you tired of sorting through pages of alphabet soup to find the right version of a tire for your trails? Apparently, the folks at ONZA Tires in Switzerland are as well, and they kicked off their newest tread with only one option.

The Porcupine RC roughly copies the tread pattern of the brand’s historical Porcupine model, adding space between the taller knobs to shed mud, and fortified shoulder tread for additional grip. It’s only available in a 29×2.5″ size, with one hefty 1200g gravity casing and one soft tread compound for max grip, with tan sidewalls. No selection required.

ONZA says that the Porcupine RC is their most aggressive tread yet, with widely-spaced lugs that look just shy of mud-spike stature. The center rubber compound measures a fairly soft 50a on the durometer, while the shoulder knobs grip even gummier at a reported 45a. The shoulder lugs are supported by a pair of pillars to prevent squirm during heavy compressions.

The single-ply, 120 TPI casing is backed by dual-ply reinforcement layers and a pair of nylon bead protectors. These tan walled tubeless folders are the ONZA answer for enduro, DH, and e-bike applications.

Pick up a set of Porcupine RC tires at your local ONZA dealer for €/$70.90.

Long 47mm valve stems should suit almost any MTB rim depth.

ONZA has also moved their tube production to the EU in the interest of quality control, shorter lead times, reduced environmental impact, and to support domestic workers and businesses. The tubes come in two different thicknesses, and all three wheel diameters. The heavier SA3 tubes weigh a reported 200g in a 29″ size, where the lightweight SA2 balloons weigh about 160g.

The SA3 mountain bike tubes retail for €7.90, and lighter SA2s are €10.90.

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3 Comments

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Claude Bike Italy // 2019
Nov 2, 2020

I agree that choosing a tire has become difficult due to a kind of excess of choice, now if only Onza hadn't made a tire which weighs too much for my needs...nowadays it seems that everyone needs tires which can widstand EWS abuse by top riders. Or is the ebike market that drives this trend?

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AUTHOR

Gerow Washington // 2014
Nov 2, 2020

Hi Claude Bike,

You make a good point, that a lot of tires are too heavy for some rider's needs. This Porcupine RC tire is aimed specifically at the DH/Enduro race crowd who need it. Onza also makes the original Porcupine in a variety of lighter versions, and the Aquila in a trail version.

https://onza-tires.com/landingpages/porcupine/

Thanks for the heads up on Wolfpack tires! I will reach out to see if we can get a test set in for review.

I mean, it has become hard to find tires with aggressive tread that don't weigh a ton. Currently looking at Teravail (I think Jeff reviewed them, but not easy to find in EU), and Wolfpack: what about reviewing them?

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