Light, fast tire in all-around xc conditions, very quick on hard pack and pavement. Mounts and removes from rims very easily thanks to the kevlar bead, no levers needed.

Poor in sand, seems sketchy on loose gravel and leaf-covered

Bought these in 26 x 2 for my previous bike last year (2012). For most conditions where I ride (SE Michigan), I've had no problem hooking up or cornering unless the soil had a high sand content/was sand, as I washed out many times in a turn. Loose gravel also did not inspire confidence. Did pinch flat twice but I believe many other tires would have gone flat in the same situations. Considering trying the 29 x 2.1 size on new bike later this year.

Fast, light weight, long lasting tread, smooth, great cornering grip, made in France.

thin sidewall

This is a great tire for the money. I was surprised at how light it was. The first thing I noticed when I installed them was how much faster my bike was. The ride experience was completely different and my cheap bike felt and rode like a premium bike. The sidewalls on this tire are thin. I never had any tears but it was always on my mind when hitting some more aggressive trails. This is a great tire for pavement, grips and corners well but it can also handle rough terrain with confidence.

Similar Products Used:

Maxxis Cross Mark

Very fast rolling resistance, light weight, good climb traction in the rear, low wear even on paved roads, have only had one pinch flat which was my own fault for running low PSI, light weight and low rolling resistance make climb sprints and gaining speed super easy, not bad on small turns at high speed.

Very poor turning traction, no confidence in turns at all, tire folds over on its sidewall in turns even when inflated properly which is very scary, poor in sand almost scary but its not designed for that terrain, also very sensitive to PSI.

Good tire if you want to go fast and not turn much, or win some weight weenie comps. Also very good if you don't turn hard or fast and do lots of road riding between sections as it almost rolls on pavement as fast as a slick tire.

But if you enjoy carving tight fast corners or tight slow corners steer very clear of this tire. It inspires no confidence in corners, and even if you push them they slide out easily forcing you to take turns much slower than your buddies who are pulling away.

I would ride this tire on fast fairly straight single track, but anything with fast braking turns forget it! Have taken some nasty falls due to this tire failing or rolling over on the sidewall in highspeed braking turns, one off a small cliff.

Good thing is I have used this for two seasons and have not rotated them, the wear is very minimal and I have put quite a few road miles on them.

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many

Fast tire. Great traction. Handles all terrains and all the climbs. Disapointed that the price went up

Not good in mud

Dont knock it till u try it. I train and race on same tire

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Maxxis

Light, fast rolling, good enough grip for all around XC use here in NC.

Weak rubber, prone to flat.

Bought these as a everyday XC training tire. I have no problem with the grip or the tire rolling off the rim or splitting a sidewall. What I have had in the last 4 months are more flats with these tires luckily not during races) than I have had in the previous year combined. I will say these tires peformed great in a couple XC races, but I have not had flats with the Maxxis (also lightweight 2.0). I really wanted to like this tire...I will next try WTB Wolverine 2.2's as an everyday training tire and use the Maxxis for race day (except when in the mountains, the Nevegals go on).
Value gets Four chilis, a great price for a fast rolling lightweight tire.
Overall, 2 chilis (fair) as a flat or two may have happened to any tire, and I have a few friends who use and love this tire...I however have removed them and will never use them again.

Similar Products Used:

Maxxis Larsen TT Exception, IRC Mythos XC II, Kenda Nevegals

Light

Poor cornering in sand; paper thin sidewalls; rim slip

Thought I'd give a kevlar bead tire a try. Would've been an OK tire except that the tire "drifts" on the rim on long downhills. I had over a half-dozen tubes get the valves ripped out of the tire before I finally figured out what was happening. I've got old-style cantis, so rim heating can be an issue, but I've never had an problem before or after this tire.

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WTB Velociraptor, Tioga Psycho II

Light wt. fast rolling, Affordable.

Side knobs tear off. Inner belt delaminated after one race rendering the tire useless with "stretch" holes in several places where the tire came apart. This tire may be better suited for non-rocky terrain which is in short supply here in the U.P. of Michigan

Needs more durable rubber compound and construction to handle hard hits on very rugged rocky terrain.

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Continental XC Pro. Python Tubless

Very light and fast rolling

No grip!

These tires are great if you like going fast and then falling as you try to turn.

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WTB Exiwolf, Specialized Fast Trak LK Control 2Bliss, IRC Mythos XC

Product is: light in weight, Rolls well on hard surfaces, Excellent in SNOW

On hard pack with loose gravel they are sketchy, feels like wash out is possible

This tire is great for pounding hard pack and excellent in the snow.
Good tire to practice on or run in the winter
I have been riding it in the off season and it hooks in Powder and really well in Slushy melting snow and snow banks, A OK!
Good tire and is light
Not for Loose gravel on hard pack

FLIP your rear tire the opposite way of rec. Rotation!
Added traction!

Similar Products Used:

Kenda product line and Bontrager

Lightweight. Rolls fast. When purchased on sale, price is reasonable.

Side knobs added to the New Generation tires fall off the tire, leaving the kevlar belts exposed. Rubber has cracked, rendering the tire useless.

I am terribly dissapointed with the quality of the rubber being used in the New Generation tires. After the first couple of rides, the rubber started cracking between the knobs. A few rides later, the knobs were falling off, exposing the kevlar belts. A friend of mine has the same problem with his tires (we ride identical bikes with identical tires). Spend a little more and get tires that don't self destruct.

Similar Products Used:

Maxxis Crossmark, Panaracer Fire XCPro