Submitted by
alexjb
a Downhiller
from Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
Date Reviewed: December 12, 2011
Strengths: -Looks beasty
-Rolls well on concrete, which is important for me as I bike to trailheads
-Fantastic grip on hardpack as well as looser, more gravel-y material
-Corners well on snow and ice, great stopping power
-Hard Rubber
-Thick Sidewalls
Weaknesses: -Showing some signs of wear after only 4 rides
-Not a whole lot of cling on slickrock
-Heavy
Bottom Line:
Great tire for the price, excellent for multiple types of terrain! I can definitely recommend this tire. It has increased my confidence and made me a better rider, up and downhill. I can't wait for the trails to melt a little so I can verify its reliability in the mud.
Submitted by
USATorque55
a Weekend Warrior
from New York
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2010
Bottom Line:
These came with the bike, but have great grip in pretty much all situations. They do their best on soft loamy dirt or leaves. Good for Northeast conditions, have no problem on rocks or roots—even when they're a bit wet.
Awesome traction all-around. Would absolutely recommend for forest singletrack.
Submitted by
rigidftw
a Weekend Warrior
from jena, germany
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2010
Strengths: great tires for dry conditions. lots of grip allround and in any direction. good rolling resistance going flat or down, reasonable on tarmac. great in raw gravel, on roots and all bumpy stuff. also pretty good in snow.
good on wet tarmac. on wet forest floor the grip could be higher, but it's still good.
Weaknesses: a bit heavy, going up, they roll quite heavily and in sticky mud they roll like bricks.
Bottom Line:
i first bought them because i wanted red sidewalls and they were relatively cheap. but those tires are really great allrounders and last very long. i wouldn't recommend them to a racer, because of the high rolling resistance going up, but for fast rocky and/or rooty trail rides they exceed expectations.
i now have them on 2 bikes an both are sub10kg rides.
Strengths: they take a beating and do not fail. they may have high rolling resistance but they are purpose built. if you are riding them on the intended terrain they perform flawlessly and i have had no issues with pinch flats or sidewall failures. i predominately ride in the desert in which the obstacles range from sticks to cholla cactus, and the trail bear is like set it and forget it. i also like the extra width that the 26x2.25 offers. it feels a little unnatural at first but once you get used to it, you feel like your
attached to the trail.
Weaknesses: slightly heavy, and i don't have the best connection in wet or muddy conditions(which we don't see too often here in phoenix)but lets be honest, what tire hooks up particularly well in muddy or wet conditions??
Bottom Line:
i will be pursuing another set of these tires. my understading is that they are hard to come by. the only other tire i have considered is the maxxis high roller but i feel that they are slightly overrated. i will have to try them before ruling them out. if you can find them and deal with the weight the trailbears are worth a try, they can take the abuse that the desert gives them with rocks, sticks, cactus and whatever other obstacles (nails if you can believe it) and you will probably have them on your bike longer than you care to. i give them five chillis because they are a solid tire for the price, i give them four chillis for value becuase they are hard to come by.
Similar Products Used: hutchinson air lights which were sweet and light and felt like they hooked up on dirt if you can beleive that but were not in for the long haul. i felt like you could watch them ware off after every ride.
Bike Setup: cannondale prophet with 26x2.25 irc trailbears
Strengths: Pretty tough sidewalls and they seem light, they hold up well for light drops (2-4ft)work well in loose gravel.
Weaknesses: Do not roll as fast as similar tires
Bottom Line:
These tires are alright for the retail price they came as a oem product, I upgraded to a pair of bling blings and a pair of Hookworms much better for urban freeridin. Buy them if: On a budget Need a good all around wheel little bit of xc,fr, light dh
Submitted by
SRR
a Cross Country Rider
from Tacoma, WA
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2004
Strengths: All-around versatility, especially for aggressive XC riders/light downhillers, who are still reluctant to pay a larger weight/width penalty. Very stable, reliable tires.
Weaknesses: Availability and still a little heavier than some of the competition.
Bottom Line:
I've used MANY tires over the last decade and can safely say that a tire is a tire, BUT some tires you can forget about, while others can spook you. If, after a dozen rides, I'm still thinking about the new rubber, I inevitably switch back to something familiar and then simply forget about the tires altogether. I 'forgot' about the Trail Bears almost immediately! which is not something I was able to do with the Vertical Pro's, which -- however highly esteemed -- I found a little tentative on damp days in the Pacific Northwest. I've really liked the Mutanoraptors for the last two summers, but they too had to come off for winter riding. I wanted something more versatile, aggressive yet smooth rolling, reasonably light but still able to protect the rim and handle rock gardens (and these 2.25's are at least the same size as Conti's notion of a 2.3)-- something able to handle mud, sand, gravel, rocks, roots, pine-needles, and hardpack equally well. I also like 'missile' treads, especially up front, and wanted something as close as possible to the old Panaracer Dart 2.2 (yes, the used to make one). The IRC Trail Bear fit the bill perfectly. In fact, I plan to stock up on them while I can, and my second 'summer' wheelset will now simply become my 'spare' wheelset, because I plan to run Trail Bears on all of my wheels.
Submitted by
mark wilkie
a Cross Country Rider
from tasmania,australia
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2004
Strengths: strong, tough tire .bullet proof side walls.good in mud sand gravel doesnt matter what.
Weaknesses: hard to get hold of now ,other than that none
Bottom Line:
Needed a tyre to use in 4 day race from mountains to the sea (mud,gravel,hard pan, soft sand) and this tyre didnt let me down ,want a good allround performance tyre look no further
Bike Setup: giant xtc 2 disc ,xt back lx shifters,duke shocks,hayes discs
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Adam
a Cross Country Rider
from Oconomowoc, WI
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2003
Bottom Line:
These are the best tires I've ever used! They hold up great and get traction in most conditions. The extra width helps too. If there are any complaints about them, the people complaining are probably running too much are pressure or wimp out on grams. I weigh about 185lbs. and do aggressive XC riding. I run them with Panaracer DH Supertubes and about 35psi. What a difference with less air pressure! The extra weight isn't really noticable for me. I'd rather be bullet proof than carry a bunch of extra stuff or changing flats on the trails. This is a great tire for anything in between light XC riding and aggressive DH riding.
Submitted by
jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from swampscott MA USA
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2003
Strengths: Strong, 2.25" width fits tight frames, grips very well on climbs, stable, no pinch flats yet.
Weaknesses: None yet, although they are a little hard to find.
Bottom Line:
I'm very happy with this tire in the rear. I am going to buy one for the front too. My riding ability increased immediately, especially my confidence in landing small drops and on steep rocky downhills. They also climb especially well in loose soil and are relatively light for a beefy tire. I weigh 230 lbs and have yet to pinch flat one at 35psi (w/ downhill tube.) It looks like a front specific shred but works great in the rear. Perfect for aggressive XC, light freeride and DH.
Bike Setup: Trek 4900 beefed up for aggressive rocky trail riding. 2.25 IRC Trailbear in back, 2.35 Maxxis DH in front.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
tim
a Cross Country Rider
from redwood city
Date Reviewed: February 19, 2003
Strengths: great in all coditions, best tire I have used, you can crank them over in turns and they dont wash out. In my experience larger riders need a bigger tire like this.
Strengths: Not expensive, not too heavy, great grip, long lasting. Seems to work well on almost everything
Weaknesses: Will clog up in sticky mud - or freshly cut trail!
Bottom Line:
Can't fault them for all round riding. If they are blown up too hard they skitter around a bit. Once you have the PSI right they are very dependable on the corners and braking.
Submitted by
Stuart Thompson
a Weekend Warrior
from Auckland New Zealand
Date Reviewed: July 2, 2002
Bottom Line:
Follow up from last review, these tyres rock on loamy, sandy surfaces. Rounded profile allows higher speed cornering without having to put a foot down. Traction is predictable. My experience is somewhat limited having only ridden the Woodhill MTB park on them but for sandy, rooty, loamy surfaces they are excellent.
