Hutchinson subtly alerted us to their 650B plans at Sea Otter last year, saying the Cobra and Cougar would come in 27.5″ options. Since then, they’ve added the Toro to the mix and just announced that all three are rolling through the supply chain now.
All three will come in Tubeless Ready Hardskin casings in a variety of widths. All are produced in their Montargis factory in France. The Hardskin is a bead-to-bead reinforcement and they also use their Race Riposte triple compound and knob reinforcement. They’ll be available aftermarket first, with OEM options coming soon.
Confirming the notion that 27.5″ is all but perfect for downhill mountain bikes, they’re working on wider, gnarlier variant of the Squale.
Sizes, weights and pricing shown after the break…
Below, the numbers and letters are:
- WB/FB = Wire / Folding Bead
- 66 = TPI
- TT/TL = tube type/tubeless
- TLR HDS RR = Tubeless ready, Hardskin, Race Riposte
The Squale, pictured below, came as wide as 26×2.6 in its day, but doesn’t appear on Hutchinson’s website at the moment.
