The Blue Dragon family covers a wide range of slightly confusing compound and carcass options, with the basic Magnum 66 sitting near the bottom of the performance/price ladder. The small square knobs are well supported by rounded buttresses that creep high up each knob, which makes it a fast rolling, predictable rock/groomed course choice. It really struggles in wet or loose conditions though, restricting its use to summer in the UK. The relatively hard compound extends life and increases speed, but makes the tyre even more likely to slip and slide on wet rock and roots. More expensive Slow Rebound rubber types are available, which are great in the dry but sketchy in the wet.
The thin, vulnerable carcass gives big volume at a low weight, but despite the fat threads, it needs plenty of pressure to keep it stable. For real fat tyre speed though the Cylex version is very light, and prices for all versions (except the Apex) are low.
