In an attempt to lightweight my Rhyme Carbon comp in preparation for BCBR 2017 I swapped my rear purgatory grid for ground control. It was an awesome tire, rolls efficiently, and held up well for the race. Out of pure laziness and curiosity, I kept the tire on for the winter and through spring. Finally the tire failed and tore at the base of a bead and split vertically through the middle of the tire. For rooty pnw trails and much of the granite in BC the tire was fine (and at 105 lbs i'm not hard on gear) but rarely have I had enough force to blow out a tire. I'll be putting my purgatory grid back on the rear.

TLDR version: do not buy these if you ride rocky trails on a regular basis. Skip them and get the Purgatory Grid, which is far tougher, *lighter* than the GC Grid, & more supportive in corners to boot. Full skinny: I own three Ground Control tires in this light-duty ""2BlissReady"" (formerly ""Control Casing"") version, and while the tread is genuinely fast rolling & grippy on smooth hardpack, the sidewalls are highly prone to sidewall cuts when riding even moderately rocky terrain that Specialized Grid & Maxxis EXO casing tires simply shrug off. I previously had good luck with this lightweight version of the Ground Control riding frequently-used local trails where most rocks had been uprooted or worn smooth by heavy traffic. After two years of heavy winter rains exposed tons of new, sharp edged rocks, I found it impossible to go for two consecutive 90 minute rides without getting a casing cut. I've patched each tire at least twice w/ Tip-Top patches & urethane sealant to try & get my money's worth out of them, but have finally given up. Buying tougher tires allowed me to invest my time in riding rather than incessant repairs. If you're thinking ""great, I'll just get the Ground Control in Grid casing"" think again. Actual weights on the 27.5 x 2.3"" Grid Ground Control are right around 800g. This is 20-30g *heavier* than the two Purgatory Grid tires I own in the same size. Unless you're riding perfectly smooth, manicured dirt, skip the Ground Control altogether and go for the tougher, lighter, & grippier Purgatory Grid, or a faster-rolling competitor's tire like the Nobby Nic Snakeskin.

This was the factory tire on my Camber Comp. Traction and tread wear was very good. I put over 700 miles on this tire before I retired it. And the tread looked good enough to have over 200 more miles put on it. But the reason for replacing it is that the sidewalls was starting to leak sealant. Went with the Ground Control with the Grid sidewall for my next tire

I ride trails or xc you could say best tires in dry and wet condition.