The shape of the profile therefore says little about the actual rolling resistance of an MTB tire. With a difference of 5.2 watts, the gap between Rekon and Rekon Race continues at Maxxis. Here, the rear tire rolls 22 percent faster. The view of the side wall of the two Maxxis Rekon tires reveals the secret: The two copies roll on different rubber compounds. While a faster dual-composite is used at the rear, the Recon on the front wheel consists of the more grippy 3C MaxxTerra mixture.
The different rubber compounds therefore primarily determine the lion's share of rolling resistance, and they cannot be visually distinguished from each other. So without knowing the mixture, you can hardly make a statement about the rolling behavior of a tire.