Cast Protagonist HardWall

The Cast Protagonist HardWall is a fresh tyre from an equally new brand. Developed in partnership with Pirelli, this all-rounder finds impressive traction in winter conditions, whatever they may be, and without adding excessive weight. If I could only ride one tyre on the front of my bike for the rest of my life, the Protagonist would be it.

Cast Protagonist HardWall – Technical details

Alongside Cast’s name on the sidewall you’ll see Pirelli’s, but the tread pattern on top is Cast’s own. Looking like an interesting mix between an Assegai and a Minion DHR II (both from Maxxis), it’s shaped for consistent grip while changing direction, and spaced for finding traction in a wide range of terrains.

The ‘ramped pockets’ cut into the shoulder knobs are there to boost support when cornering.

Beneath the tread pattern, Pirelli steps in. Pirelli’s enduro-focused HardWall construction gets you a 60 TPI casing that features bead-to-bead protection, plus a rubber insert just above the bead to ward off pinch flats and allow for easy low pressures.

SmartEVO DH is a race-specific compound, though Pirelli doesn’t reveal much about it beyond the fact it scores a ‘supersoft’ 42 on the Shore A scale, and that it’s ‘temperature stable’.

The Cast Protagonist is only available in one size, namely 29×2.4in, and that width means it’s best suited to life on the front wheel. The only option is for a beefier DualWall carcass.

Cast says that this tyre is 1,190g, and I weighed it at 1,160g. It’s a pretty impressively low figure given its intentions.

Cast Protagonist HardWall – Performance

I tested this tyre for a good few months, throughout a wet and cold winter and towards the spring as the trails dried and hardened. Now, I’m quite a fan of Pirelli’s recent tyres, but alongside Cast they’ve outdone themselves – for me this is the best mountain bike tyre Pirelli has had a hand in producing.

That’s mainly down to the versatility of this tread pattern and Pirelli’s rubber compound. In conditions where something more aggressive would typically be necessary it let me all but get away with murder, thanks to its reasonably large knobs and sharp shoulders. Yes, in softer and sloppier terrain it could slip, but for the most part it managed to instill a superb level of confidence.

Best mountain bike tyres 2025 – quality rubber for trail, XC and enduro

Inflated on a rim with a 30mm internal width, its profile is neither particularly squared off or rounded, which is where a lot of its charm lies. It’s round enough for predictable and confident cornering (which I’ll expand on in a bit), but its shoulder knobs are edgy enough to really cut into off-camber dirt. I found it opened up sketchier lines that I hadn’t tried before.

Thanks to wisely-placed transition knobs between the shoulder and centre treads, the Protagonist is super consistent as it leans. Although those smaller knobs aren’t present around the full circumference of the tyre, there are no noticeable dead spots, and I didn’t feel as if I had to push harder into a lean to maintain traction.

It’s agressive enough to mean the Protagonist is not the fastest of rollers, but given its front wheel-friendly feel I didn’t find any real issues with drag. It was only on long climbs where I felt it, but given its performance elsewhere I’ve been more than happy to take the hit.

Braking traction is mighty impressive too. Paired with super-powerful SRAM Maven brakes or Hope’s GR4s and sent down some steep terrain, the Protagonist really impressed. The rear faces of each knob provide tons of bite, boosting control where it’s needed the most.

Mud shedding is pretty good. I would expect a tyre with a tread packed like this to clog, and through really claggy, soft-but-not-exactly-wet sections, it can. But it quickly flings mud away given a chance.

After enjoying a lot of wet and soft terrain, I was really pleased to find the tyre manages just as well over firmer tracks. It stays consistent and super grippy, perfoming similarly to an Assegai, but with the headroom to stretch into Maxxis High Roller III territory – making it one serious tyre for year-round use.

Despite this being Pirelli’s softest compound, I found the wear rate fairly slow. All the edges are still pretty darn sharp after several months of hard use, but then I have used this only on the front of the bike. On the rear it would inevitably create more drag and wear much quicker – Pirelli’s own Scorpion Enduro M tyre proves that.

If I were really looking to find fault, I’d say the casing isn’t quite as adept at absorbing vibrations as some others, but then it provides plenty of support in return.

Cast Protagonist HardWall – Verdict

Unfortunately, £80 seems to be a new norm for tyre pricing, so while this is hardly a cheap tyre it’s also not unusual. An equivalent Maxxis Assegai in its EXO+ casing and wearing Maxx Grip rubber will set you back £75.

Schwalbe’s Albert Radial is also £80, though it does get that fancy radial casing that works extremely well to smooth out terrain.

Not to take any glory away from Cast, but the Protagonist HardWall is the best tyre Pirelli has had a hand in developing. It provides impressive traction throughout a very wide range of scenarios, and compared to many of its kind it’s not terribly weighty. While there’s a smidgeon of drag, it rolls well enough. All things considered, the Protagonist is my desert island front tyre… assuming it was quite a steep and muddy desert island, of course…