Hutchinson, the French pioneers of tubeless cycling tyre technology, has announced the Kraken 2.4, its first ever tyre designed specifically for the demands of downcountry mountain biking.

Hutchinson Press Release:
While a relatively newcomer into the mountain biking vernacular, downcountry has quickly become one of the most exciting areas of development in the sport. Hutchinson has responded by creating a fast, mile munching tyre that won’t hold you back when things start to get rowdy on the descents. A balance that’s perfect not only for downcountry exploits, but also trail and adventure riding too.

The tyre is the latest addition to the Hutchinson’s Racing Lab range. Top of the range, high performance tyres hand-made in France and developed in collaboration with Hutchinson’s top-level XC and enduro athletes.

The Kraken 2.4 is a larger, completely redesigned version of popular XC tyre the Kraken. Hutchinson has not simply made the existing tyre bigger, every aspect of its construction has been reassessed to provide a unique riding experience for the growing number of downcountry enthusiasts.

When redesigning the Kraken’s tyre profile, Hutchinson’s R&D team drew inspiration from the Griffus, the brand's purpose-built enduro tyre. Resulting in the new Kraken featuring elongated, higher volume central knobs and a smaller number of knobs around the circumference of the tyre. Both of these changes work to create a more open tread pattern, resulting in a tyre that is more aggressive on loose and rocky terrain with better levels of grip than the original Kraken.

A 66 TPI casing and bead to bead Hardskin puncture protection layer offer the durability and protection needed for the enhanced demands of downcountry, trail and adventure riding while Hutchinson’s proprietary RaceRipost XC tri-compound technology ensures rolling resistance is kept to a minimum.

RaceRipost XC compound is tightly bonded to the casing, whilst a hard 65 ShA core forms the structure which is coated in the centre by a layer of 60ShA rubber (50% rebound). The sides feature a softer 50 ShA (40% rebound) layer to provide greater deformation for improved grip.

This improved burlier construction remains competitively lightweight, with the black version of the Kraken 2.4 weighing in at 836g, just 68g more than its smaller brother the Kraken 2.3 (768g).

Like all Hutchinson tyres the new Kraken is effective on its own or as part of a mix and match combination. Riders should keep their eyes peeled for a new product landing this June that is set to be the perfect partner for this latest addition in Hutchinson’s range.

Find out more at https://cycling.hutchinson.com