Strengths: Cheap. Punctured only once in two years.
Weaknesses: Seem to be heavy, don't roll easily. Long distance road riding - it is a torment. Forest use only. They have not enough grip on rocky terrain, sweep a lot (front), especially when worn. Unpredictable in mud. Rear tire had to be replaced after 300 kms because few knobs had torn away. It happened again, so I lost my temper.
Bottom Line:
The only thing they offer is aggressive look and thick walls at reasonable price. Not recommended.
Similar Products Used: Michelin XCR, Schwalbe Nobby Nic
Bike Setup: 2002 Giant NRS
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Huw Ramsay
a Cross Country Rider
from UK, England, Burton
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2005
Strengths: Product came with my Cape Wrath, brilliant tyres, although i too had a problem with front wheel grip on the road but now they are worn in they are superb. Having some trouble getting replacements for my shredded rear tyre though help would be appreciated
Weaknesses: If you use this product learn not to skid with road use this product just shredded,
Bottom Line:
Brilliant Tyres 9/10 Due To Road Grip On F Tyre Flicks Mud Off Like It Wasnt There Atall Looks Awesome Loads Of Offroad Grip (Some would argue too much if you like your back end out at corners)
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Taipei Taiwan
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2004
Weaknesses: Front tyre has NO grip on the road....
Bottom Line:
These came on the bike that I have just bought today. Within 2 minutes of my ride away from collecting the bike I braked while cornering - nothing high speed, just riding at granny speed... the front type just slid away like I was on ice
OK, I thought, new tyres, probably covered in release compound from the mold... 20 ks later back on a road, the same thing.
If I only ever rode on mud or grass these would be great, but I feel that every wet rock I meet on a downhill will be fally-down time. I will change this front instantly !
The back felt OK though, grips like anything once off the road, and it didn't try to kill me on the road !
Weaknesses: Front is a little wild, feels as though it needs a lot more weight up front to grip.
Bottom Line:
Tires are great!
No problems, and thanks to my bike and tires, I can smoke anyone else I ride with.
I've had no real problems, until today...
Taken up the back on a downhill road corner, thrown over bars by other rider, and tire blew out. No sign of break, but any air pumped seemingly dissapears, so looking for a replacement ASAP. Will certainly put the same model back!
P.S. What is it with the complaints on pavement handling? It's illegal, and imbecilic to ride on pavements... so what's the problem?
Purchased At: Came with bike at purchase (Claud Butler Alpina)
Similar Products Used: N/A
Bike Setup: Claud Butler Alpina- Standard.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Gary
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2004
Strengths: Super grippy, spits out mud and doesn't clog.
Weaknesses: Getting replacements. They are always on back order. Wear. Heavy riders may have to replace them mid season
Bottom Line:
I have to admit that the tires were really amazing in the first year and only good at last season. Now they're practically bald. Even half bald, they grip to almost anything. I do a lot of climbing and these things get me up any surface and almost any angle. I've never had another tire like them. Closest I have found are Conti Cross Countrys, but only in the way they clear mud.
Wear is a problem. Likely the reason they grip so well is the rubber compound is so soft. Unfortunatly I have not gotten out much in the past two seasons. If I was able to get out as often (used to do about 100 k/week - half tails), I likley would not got a full season out of them. I'm sooo impressed with their performance though I don't care. This leads me to my next complain. At least in the Ottawa area, I keep getting the same story, "they're on back order". Store called mid way through last season, by the time I went to pick them up they were gone! SO DON'T NO ONE BUY ANY. At least until they are off back order.
Similar Products Used: Conti Cross Country and cross Baja, Panaracer Smokes and Darts
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Matthew
a Weekend Warrior
from Perth, WA, Australia
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2003
Strengths: fanatstic grip on the "right" surfaces, good price, simple looks, handle well with higher psi
Weaknesses: slippery on wet slick bitumen, more so than my slicks and old set
Bottom Line:
Needed a new set of all terrain tyres, were recommended by my LBS, were a good price. As Ive only had them for under 1 month theres no wear, and I just did a 40km ride with heaps of steep up/down hill action! They left everybody else in the group for dead on the wet loose gravel. Im hoping they dont die like every one elses ( bare a few lucky souls ) after the first few months! But atm they are great...
5 chillis for value 4 chillis overall (slippery on wet bitumen, slick rocks)
Similar Products Used: my slicks for city riding and the all terrain set that came with my giant
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Chattavegas
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2002
Strengths: Blackwalls look good, began learning trials on a set with very low psi so the sidewalls must be strong.
Weaknesses: Not very good on sidehills
Bottom Line:
These tires aren't horrible, but I won't buy them again. They have never made me feel very confident when traction was at a premium. I originally bought them because a friend suggested them. I kept riding them cause I got a new bike that came with them. The braking side of the rear knobbys wears fast, and the front will slide out in a corner if you aren't careful.
Submitted by
foot
a Cross Country Rider
from new jersey
Date Reviewed: October 23, 2002
Strengths: low rolling resistance for a knobber. climbs well.
Weaknesses: bouncey
Bottom Line:
These came stock on my new ride and I can't get used to the rebound. I need to run really low pressure so they don't bounce around, but then I'm hitting the rim on the rocks & roots. I try to pump them up enough for protection, and they start hopping around the trail. They are alright for the 6 miles of pavement I ride to get to the trails, but once I'm there, they just can't be dialed in. When they are on the ground, they climb well and are OK (not great) in the corners. They're about to become studded for ice\snow.
Strengths: Good in the mud provided the ground is nice and flat.
Weaknesses: Any camber in the ground, ie if you ride in a gully or ditch or any ground with camber for that matter these tires just wash out. They are perfectly fine if the bike is 90 degrees to the surface you are riding on, but how often does that happen!!!
Bottom Line:
Not worth the money. There are't exactly many places you can ride where the ground is flat and if it is boring! I was very disapointed in these tires and certainly wont be wasting my money on them again.
Submitted by
Dinesh Rajan
a
from Selangor, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2002
Strengths: NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Weaknesses: Wears out very very fast. Not durable at all. Crap tires.
Bottom Line:
I was using it for offroad riding and dirt jumping for only A MONTH. To my surprise, half of the side beads started too peel off. Why the hell did I buy these tires?
Traction is average. But they are not at all durable. In simple words, they are just STUPID tires.
Strengths: looks good nice deep tread that doesn't smoothen out as soon as you brake good grip on rear tire - i don't know about the front i only have one of these on the rear
Weaknesses: i seem to lose lots of air no matter what inner tube i use
Bottom Line:
quite a good tyre, but even for a thin tyre (i prefer them for jumping for some reason), there isn't much grip when its dry, possibly because of the deep tread. overall though, good tyre but i think there is probably better around.
Weaknesses: Front Tire : unpredictable behavior when cornering. Not a smooth progressive feel when put on edge Rear Tire : knob wear (but this is generally the case for all tires with fairly large aggressive knobbies).
Bottom Line:
I've had fairly good experience with the rear specific tire. I had generally a good impression about perforance. The tire will wear in the manner that the knobbies will start to get pulled off. I've had this happen with many other manufacturers tires as well and is most likely attributed to big soft knobs that will lose the battle with sharp rocks.
On the other hand, I have not been impressed with the front tire. It's behavior is very unpredictable. Lean the bike over into a corner and the front will start to slide out on most any surface underneath from hardpack to mud. This would be fine if this is all it did, but once the side knobs bite in the tire feels like it grabs. There is a very non-linear feel to it and is not confidence inspiring. It led me to go a bit apprehensively into corners - not desireable.
Similar Products Used: Specialized team control/master, Hutchinson Pythons, Panaracer Fire XC Pro, GEAX, WTB Velociraptors, IRC semis
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chef Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Telluride Colorado
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2002
Strengths: Not too heavy
Weaknesses: Front washes out in any conditions, rear is o.k., but suffers continuous flats!
Bottom Line:
These tires suck! They don't wear well, don't turn well, don't go uphill well, don't go downhill well, don't hold air well, well... DON'T BUY THESE TIRES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Similar Products Used: WTB, Specialized, Panaracer, Hutchinson
Bike Setup: Jamis Dakar, 9.0, ManitouSX
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Garner
a
from College Station, TX, US
Date Reviewed: May 3, 2002
Strengths: I have ridden them on virtually anything, mud, water, sand, pavement/concrete... They are wicked, they take just about anything
Weaknesses: VERY SLIPPERY on wet pavement or pea-gravel sidewalks (ate some gravel for lunch one day) and they shed clay mud very well (what tire can?)
Bottom Line:
Best tire I have ridden on... had them for one and a half years and still have lots more tread (actually just about all of it). They offer the best grip in the widest variety of conditions. 5 chili's all the way! Don't buy them if you live in the city and ride on wet streets all the time because you will be on the ground, BUT DO buy if you want some rad tires in some rad conditions.
Bike Setup: 2000 Kona Caldera, z5 marzoch, xtr rear, xt front (soon to come disc brakes)--came on bike from factory
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mj
a Cross Country Rider
from Pleasanton, CA
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2002
Strengths: Solid grip, wide tread pattern. Looks good too, no need for fancy decals or colors on sidewall.
Weaknesses: None that I have found
Bottom Line:
The tireshave never let me down. Their durability and predictability are a plus. Ive ridden these tires in ALL of the conditions found in northern california : Single tracks of the Bay Area hills, hardpack fireroads on Mt Diablo, sticky mud and roots of the coastal range, granite rocks and boulders of Lake Tahoe, and the sharp and jagged piles of shale found at Downieville.
