Tires

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I'm rambling.

So I realized yesterday that my tires are actually just about shot. Scratch that, they're shot. I had posted on the MTBR forum that RV was a little sketchy on some of the climbs several weeks ago. When Kirt and Maurice chimed in that the conditions were perfect, I thought they were just not really noticing or just saying it was perfect considering. Well at CR yesterday, it became abundantly clear my tires are rapidly heading the way of the dodo. Aside from the sidewall problems (Specialized Adrenalines, stock, very thin sidewalls, basically a racing tire I've been running with since spring) the knobs were a mess. At first glance they seem fine, because they're not worn in terms of height. But when you look closer, they've been through the meat grinder. I find it odd that these tires did great at the Allamuchy ride, and literally the next ride at RV they were shot.

I put on an IRC Mythos XC that my friend gave me. I put it on the rear since the front is still fine. The one thing I notice is that this 2.1 tires is much less wide than the 2.0 stock tire on the bike. Strange. Anyway...anyone have any experience with the IRC tires?

One other fallback is a WTB Velociraptor which I remember being a bit skittish with the last bike. But that was hardly a fair shake. I also have a Panaracer Smoke that another friend gave me. Why do these people give me tires? Beats me. Anyone have any experience on either of these? Or anyone want to give me yet more different tires?

Or should I look for something else? Panaracer Fire XC Pro? Kenda Nevegal or Blue Grooves or Kinetics? I really like the sound of 2.3 in the kinetics. Conti Explorer Pro? Being a road guy I'm not a real big fan of conti. I love the wide footprint that the stock Specialized tire gave me. But I really dislike the paper thin sidewall. I literally went through it twice, which I was reminded of when I swapped the tire out and saw the duct tape patches.

Anyway...thoughts, opinions, random comments welcome.
 

Maurice

New Member
Norm,

here are my favorites for rocky/rooty stuff:

- Maxxis Ignitors. When all hope of grip is gone, these tires are the sh*te.
- Hutchinson Spider. Great all-around tire. Don't age too well, but they work nicely.
- Panaracer Fire XC Pro. Not a fast rolling tire, but grips like a used-cars salesman.

All in 2.1, preferably UST for me. In that size you'll find the Spiders a bit on the huge side. They're all in the same ballpark weight-wise.

Also, no matter the tire, when it's new it's going to have fantastic grip. After a few rides it's not that great. The best-gripping compound goes away fast, and as tires age and go through flexing/heat cycles they tend to get harder...

You wonder why people give you tires :) I may have the answer but you may not like it.

Cheers,

Maurice
 

Kirt

JORBA: Chimney Rock, Team MTBNJ.COM
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Norm,

Get some new tires already. You said you needed them last time we rode RV. Here's what I think of all the tires you mentioned:

IRC Mythos- XC tire (I think Performance was giving them away) I had a used pair on a bike I bought & threw them away after 1 ride.
WTB Velociraptor-Hated them! They lasted 3 rides & I sold them for $20.
Fire XC- I used these in a few races & rides & never really liked them. I'll give them to you if you want them, still in good condition.
Conti Explorer Pro- I ran the Verti pro for a while & really liked them. The Maxxis Maurice mentioned has just about the same tread pattern. The Explorer is a little more XCish.
Kenda Blue/Nev-Love these tires. I run the Dual compound/2.1's & they are kinda slow rolling & wear a little fast but that's the price you pay for lots & lots of bite. Did I say I love these tires?

My opinion means nothing because tires are a personal preference thing anyway.

Later,Kirt
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
the panaracer fire xc pro is a great all around tire, and can be found for under $40 a pair. they also have a new tire out called the rampage 2.35, which i may try out.

i'm too lazy to look it up up now, but there is a thread on the mtbr tires forum about problems with the nevgal. 2 issues, first being a very short tread life, and the second had to with bulging of the sidewall, especially using a sealant such as stan's.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Thanks for the opinions, guys.

Maurice,

Don't know anything abot Maxxis, I'll keep them in mind. Hutchinson is a good name in the road world so that's also something to try eventually. Panaracers are the MTBR standard right now. Everyone seems to love them, except Kirt.

The 2 tires I were given are from different people. One guy didn't like the thin sidewall of the IRCs. He runs SS, full rigid, so he keeps his tire pressure at like 20 PSI, where thin sidewalls are going to be a real problem. The reviews were generally good, so I went with that option over the WTB and Panaracer. The Panaracer Smoke, however, was given to me by the cheapest human being on the planet. If I ever try it I'm sure it'll be worthy of the name Panaracer Garbage.

Kirt,

Excellent comments. Yes, tires are personal but it's good to know what people are running, especially if you ride the same general trails. I run a lower PSI (30+ rear, 30 front) so I'm sure that effects performance a lot. Just to clarify, when we rode RV I needed new tires because of the sidewall tears. Now I need them because of the sidewalls and tread.

The WTBs are odd because the guy who gave me the IRCs (Woody, you know him) loves the WTBs and generally rides more technical stuff up in Mass than we do here. Yet earlier in the year on the old Trek, they just didn't do it for me. Maybe it was too sloppy for that tire?

And yes, I'll take the Panaracers. I won't get the feel of a brandy-new tire. But I'm willing to take yet another person's trash and try to make it my own treasure. The Kendas sound somewhat like what I was running. I loved the Specialized that came with the bike until they jumped the shark, and jumped the shark in a big way.

Steve,

Rampage sounds neat at a 2.35. I love the wide footprint, or at least the sound of it. OTOH, not sure I need more weight on those climbs. Obviously a tradeoff. Nevegal problems - duly noted. Before I drop any coin on that I'll fully research and go through the ones I have now.

Norm
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i'm also in the market for new treads (for my SS) and i'll probably go with the panaracer fire XCs. they get pretty good reviews (and as steve mentioned, under $40 for the set at priceline) and while i'd love to go with a wider tire, my SS is heavy enough (it's a 2004 specialized hardrock).

someday when i get a better SS bike, i'll be going with what i have on my fuel, the 2.3 schwalbe fat alberts. they're great and literally the only complaint i have with them is that when they clear out, it's like being in a rain storm of mud.

note: i've used velicoraptors twice. the first time i like them. this time, with less than 100 miles on them, i gave them away. i couldn't get them off my bike fast enough.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
smarencik said:
the panaracer fire xc pro is a great all around tire, and can be found for under $40 a pair. they also have a new tire out called the rampage 2.35, which i may try out.

Steve,

Now's almost the time for that. Check out this thread for more info:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=207429

They're just about available now, though you'd be hard pressed to find an online dealer selling them. Sounds interesting.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
Funny - I was reading this post again in the morning, and one of the posters had a bike/tire setup similar to your's. Supposedly a 2.1 UST is available in Europe, but I ain't runnin' UST so not relevant to me. I understnad the concern with the bigger tire on climbs, and I might actually try a combo on the fire xc 2.1 on rear and rampage up front
 

Mike679

Active Member
Norm:

I had an identical experience with the Specialized tires, the rear in particular. Loved the performance, but after just about 5 months of moderate use I saw that the sidewalls were trashed on the rear tire. Grabbed a fairly new Velociraptor that was hanging on my garage wall and put that on for the time being and it's been pretty O.K.. New tires are my next bike-related purchase. I may also explore the Panaracer option, or Kenda, or Maxxis, or Hutchinson.............

I'm sure that whatever I ultimately decide on, I will think that I should have gotten something else once I have them on the bike.

Mike
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Mike,

That's funny because you were the one who agreed with me when I said the RV trail conditions were a little sketchy. Good to hear I'm not the only one. I opted for the IRCs as opposed to the WTBs because they're closer in makeup to the Specialized tires I was running. We'll see how that goes.

Norm
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
smarencik said:
Funny - I was reading this post again in the morning, and one of the posters had a bike/tire setup similar to your's. Supposedly a 2.1 UST is available in Europe, but I ain't runnin' UST so not relevant to me. I understnad the concern with the bigger tire on climbs, and I might actually try a combo on the fire xc 2.1 on rear and rampage up front

More:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=232081

I think this seals the deal on me not getting this tire. Climbing is too important for it to be a weak point.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Look into the Hutchinson Barracuda for a rear and the Piranah for the front.

I ride the 2.1 on the rear and the 2.3 on the front.

Best setup I have had i a long while. I never see anyone else with them.

J_
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
jdog said:
Look into the Hutchinson Barracuda for a rear and the Piranah for the front.

I ride the 2.1 on the rear and the 2.3 on the front.

Best setup I have had i a long while. I never see anyone else with them.

J_

Thanks for the tip.

How do they do in the Round Valley-like trails?
 

RyGanley

Member
On tires

Ya, the Fire XC is with out question the best for xc in the north east, but a side note.. The Huchensen Python is best for Dry hard pack in the west.. And Phat up front and skinny in back will rock the climbs but the fat will slow you down a bit due to weight.. they are heavy avoid the wire beads, they are very heavy, and always make bigger tires a bit softer then skinny.
 

Mike679

Active Member
Panaracer Cinders?

Anyone have any experience with these? I see that one of the online retailers has them going for real cheap and they seem to have been well received in the MTBR tire review section, but have yet to be mentioned here.

Mike
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Hutchinsons

jdog said:
Look into the Hutchinson Barracuda for a rear and the Piranah for the front.

I ride the 2.1 on the rear and the 2.3 on the front.

Best setup I have had i a long while. I never see anyone else with them.

J_
What about the Bulldog, J.?
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Mike679 said:
Anyone have any experience with these? I see that one of the online retailers has them going for real cheap and they seem to have been well received in the MTBR tire review section, but have yet to be mentioned here.

Mike

Here's a little:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=231425&highlight=cinders+cinder

Note the last post by NJ-XC-Justin. The 2 guys who like the Cinder are both west coast guys.

Then there's this:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=204763&highlight=cinders+cinder

Where are they on sale?
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Rode the Bulldogs all summer but when I recently tore a sidewall at allamuchy I replaced it with a Barracuda.

They are both really good tires but the Barracuda has a little better bite.

J
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Mike679 said:
Pricepoint has them for $19.99/ea.

Cool. I saw them at Nashbar for the same price. Liked what I read of them so I pulled the trigger on a pair.
 
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