Odyssey BMX Super Circuit Tire Review
The Odyssey BMX Super Circuit tire is a tire you can trust for BMX racing and I’ll tell you why.
Moving away from current trends of the balder the better, the Odyssey BMX Super Circuit tire is one of the most aggressive tires to be released in the Olympic era for the BMX racing market. While other manufacturer’s tend to go for a more minimalist tread these days the Odyssey BMX Super Circuit is designed as a park tire first but has proven itself on the race track too.
When it comes to race tires the Odyssey Super Circuit tire ticks all the boxes; it’s Lightweight, Foldable, Grippy, Fast and some fast racers have put their name to them like Nic Long and Tanner Sebesta.
It’s currently available in 3 sizes. However only 2 are relevant to BMX racing, the 20×1.75 and less common 20×2.10. Compared to other brands the sizing is a little smaller. For example the Tioga Powerblock 20×1.60 with a 44/16 gearing will give you 53.59 gear inches and an Odyssey BMX Super Circuit in 20×1.75 will give you 53.76 gear inches. For those of you who are interested, Tioga Powerblock in 20×1.75 with the same gearing is 54.78 gear inches, a significant difference. Running a 20×2.10 Super Circuit front and rear isn’t out of the question, actually you will notice that Nic Long does just that.
Ok why would you use a Super Circuit? So let’s break it down.
- “fast and smooth center tread” – perfect for reduced rolling resistance, however, unlike most other tires on the market the center tread the pattern isn’t solid the whole way around. There’s a break in the pattern every 10mm or so.
- “knurling on the side blocks” – the side blocks offer lots of grip in corners, the knurling helps that little bit more.
- “competition-ready foldable bead option only” – essentially foldable bead tires are lighter and allow greater tire pressures. The Super Circuit will keep the weight weenies happy with the 1.75 weighing in at just 335grams (11.8 oz).
- “100-110 PSI Max” – a high pressure tire that will keep your rolling resistance to a minimum and keep you rolling fast around the track.
I’ve had a few people ask me about a chunkier, or more traditional, tire than the Tioga Fastr and Vee Speed Booster, the Super Circuit came to mind immediately. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a low profile tread that will compete with todays modern tires, the tread pattern just inspires more confidence for those riders who need the mental edge.
How do they ride?
The Super Circuit tires live up to the hype, actually for me they exceeded my expectations. I did have to tweak my gearing a little, going from a 44/16 to 45/16 to get a similar rollout, due to the tire’s outer diameter being smaller than what I was already running. But once they were fitted they were ready to race. There was plenty of grip out of the gate and around corners on all surfaces.
As we stated earlier “the Odyssey BMX Super Circuit is designed as a park tire first” it’s no surprise it will provide amazing grip on cement in the dry. What was surprising is that it provided grip in all surfaces; from hard clay to loose granitic to sealed surfaces like asphalt and sik surfaces. So BMX racing is predominantly an outdoor and all weather sport so how would rain factor? In short, it doesn’t. You can trust the Super Circuit for drive even on a wet gate and plenty of grip to carve wet paved corners.
The tread pattern inspires confidence immediately.
Promo Video
Weights
20×1.75 – 335g
20×2.10 – 440g
20×2.40 – 520g
If you want to compare to the Tioga Fastr, the BLK LBL 20 x 1.75 weighs 345 grams and the S-Spec weighs 300 grams in 20 x 1.75.
Manufacturer’s Description
Odyssey Super Circuit Tire
Odyssey is happy to introduce the new ultra-light Super Circuit tire.
This welcome addition to the line up has been designed to meet the demands of pro-level BMX racing and park/transition riding. Some of Odyssey’s most iconic tires have inspired the Super Circuit’s all-new tread design, with a focus placed on its shallow, grippy tread block depth and K-Lyte Plus casing layup to save weight.
The Super Circuit tire features a fast and smooth center tread, knurling on the side blocks, and it is offered in a competition-ready foldable bead option only.
Features
- Designed for pro-level racing and park/transition
- Lightweight K-Lyte with kevlar bead
- Shallow, grippy tread block depth for to save more weight
- Directional tread pattern with smooth center tread
- Micro-knurled side blocks
- High Pressure (100-110 PSI)
Specs
Sizes: 20×1.75″, 20×2.10″, 20×2.40″
Casing: 120TPI, K-Lyte Plus with puncture protection
PSI Rating: 100-110 PSI Max
Bead: K-Lyte Plus, foldable
Durometer: Dual compound
Weights: 1.75″ @ 335g / 11.8 oz, 2.10″ @ 440g / 15.5 oz, 2.40″ @ 520g / 18.3 oz
Rating 19.5/20
Value for money: | 5/5 |
Weight: | 4.5/5 |
Functionality: | 5/5 |
Looks/Finish: | 5/5 |
Comments
- The Odyssey Super Circuit tires offer all the features of a high performance race tire, they are far from the most expensive tires but offer all the performance when you need it.
- Super Circuits aren’t the lightest tires on the market, but they are right up there with the best.
- Plenty of grip from a high pressure tire, the only thing I could fault them on is the size options, but if sales of these tires take off it will only be a matter of time before there are more options available.
- The Odyssey Super Circuit tires are the most aggressive looking tires of the modern era of BMX racing, the tread pattern alone inspires confidence. A tire you can trust.
Odyssey BMX is distributed across Australia by BMX International (bmxinternational.com.au).
Review by Shane Jenkins/26 June 2023