Pikes Peak Apex Tire Picks

Published: 5/20/2025

Tags: tire, pikespeak, xc, colorado, stage, sealant

Don’t forget anything! - Run through the Pikes Peak Apex checklist ↗️

What I’m Running for Pikes Peak Apex (2025)

Race weekend: June 6–8, 2025
Updated June 14

This will be my first time racing the Pikes Peak Apex, so I’ve been doing my homework—watching rider videos, reading through stage profiles, and reviewing terrain reports to build a tire plan that balances speed, control, and reliability across the three different days.

I’m loosely planning to run Rekon Race front and rear for dry conditions — with a wet-weather backup ready just in case. Based on what I’ve seen, this combo offers a solid mix of low rolling resistance and just enough bite for the fast, loose descents Apex is known for.

📌 Update — I didn’t end up racing. Here’s what happened →

🛞 Tire Setups I’m Considering

🔹 Rekon Race Front & Rear — Frontrunner pick for me

This is my go-to combo for dry conditions.

The Rekon Race hits a sweet spot: fast-rolling but still offers enough cornering and braking traction to stay in control on high-speed trails. I’ve used it in similar terrain — including Moab Rocks — and felt confident on everything from slickrock to loose gravel. Unless the weather changes, this is likely what I’ll line up on.

✅ Great cornering and braking control, especially on Stage 3
✅ Fast and efficient on gravel and punchy climbs
✅ Light, predictable, and XC-proven
⚠️ Not ideal if things get truly wet

👉 Front & Rear → Maxxis Rekon Race 2.4 WT MaxxSpeed

🔹 Aspen 2.4 WT – Front & Rear

If the course stays bone dry or is slightly wet, the Aspen is a strong contender. It’s a fastest-rolling tire, but in dry loose or braking-heavy conditions, it doesn’t give quite as much confidence as the Rekon Race — especially up front. Still, I’ll have a pair with me just in case it feels right.

✅ Lightest, fastest-rolling combo
✅ Perfect for firm, predictable terrain
✅ Better all-around performance in mixed conditions than Rekon Race
⚠️ Weaker under braking than Rekon Race, especially in loose-over-hard

👉 Check it out → Maxxis Aspen 2.4 WT MaxxSpeed

🔹 Ikon 2.4 WT – Front / Aspen 2.4 WT - Rear 🌧️

If it rains enough that the trails cross over from hero dirt to messy, or the trails turn out to be rougher than expected, I like this combo. The Ikon offers more braking traction and cornering bite — at the cost of a little rolling speed. I’m considering bringing a spare wheels with this combo mounted. The Aspen rolls fast and performs well in the wet and the Ikon is an excellent tire for control in those conditions.

✅ Most braking support and confidence
✅ Solid performer in wet, loose, or unpredictable terrain
⚠️ Slower than Aspen or Rekon Race f/r combos in dry to slightly mixed conditions

👉 Check it out → Maxxis Ikon 2.4 WT MaxxSpeed
👉 Check it out → Maxxis Aspen 2.4 WT MaxxSpeed

📍 Stage-by-Stage Breakdown

Note: I haven’t raced Apex before, so these impressions are based on Trailforks, race reports, talking with other riders, and course preview videos like Syd and Macky’s excellent videos below from previous years.

Day 1 – Palmer Park (11mi TT)

Punchy singletrack with tight turns and a few tricky features. “Little Moab” is a short slickrock section that’s grippy — but the turn halfway down looks easy to overshoot (checkout Macky’s video above of him coming in super hot and overshooting the turn). Navigation could be tough, so as always - I’ll be running GPS on the head unit.

This stage rewards efficiency and control. I’m running Rekon Race front and rear — light enough to rip, with enough grip to stay out of trouble in corners and loose transitions.

Day 2 – Canyon City (25mi, 2500’)

Lots of climbing in the first half, followed by a long, fast descent. The terrain looks like it could potentially be similar to some areas in Moab or Grand Junction (Colorado desert). The Trailforks maps show mostly intermediate trails.

I’ll likely keep the same setup from Day 1. May bump pressure slightly to guard against rim strikes, but I’m not expecting anything gnarlier than what the Rekon Race can handle.

Day 3 – Cheyenne Cañon (20mi, ~3k’)

Starts with gravel and singletrack climbing, then drops into the fast, loose descent down Captain Jacks. The trail looks smooth but loose when dry and may offer a lot of grip if the right amount of rain falls. Braking traction will be key here.

I’ll run a little less pressure to boost bite on this day. The Rekon Race works well here as long as I’m braking early and staying clean through the corners.

🤕 Update: I didn’t race this year

Unfortunately, I didn’t line up for the 2025 Pikes Peak Apex. Just a few days before the race, I got my finger caught in my front brake rotor while working on the bike. It was bad enough to force me to skip the weekend entirely. Check out my Instagram reel below showing how this happened.

Looking forward to racing this one next year and will update as my opinions continue evolve with time!

🔧 My Setup Details

Tires: 2.4 WT, EXO casing, 120 TPI, MaxxSpeed
Sealant: Orange Seal Endurance – 6 oz per tire
Inserts: Vittoria Air Liner XC — front & rear
Tentative Pressures:

(Rider + bike system weight: ~86kg)
💨 Dail in your pressures w. SILCA tire pressure calculator
- Day 1: 14 PSI front / 16 PSI rear
- Day 2: Slightly higher based on conditions
- Day 3: 12.5 PSI front / 14 PSI rear
Bike: Epic 8 w/ RockShox Flight Attendant

✅ TL;DR

Combo	Pros	Cons
Aspen F/R	Lightest, fastest	Least braking + cornering support
Rekon Race F/R	Balanced and confident	Not ideal if it rains
Ikon F/R	Most control in wet	Heaviest and slowest
Ikon F / Aspen or Rekon R	Smart wet backup	Slight mismatch in tread feel