Submitted by
Randall XC
a Cross Country Rider
from Carlsbad, CA, USA Date Reviewed: March 4, 2009
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
bikesomewhere.com
Strengths:
durability, traction, light weight
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
maxxis ignitor, conti vapor and vertical, bontrager tubeless
Bike Setup:
Specialized Epic marathon, Crossmax sl wheels
Bottom Line:
Of all the tires I have tried, these are the best for riding in the type of terrain I ride: mostly dry, soft over hard, rutty, occasionally rocky.
Super confident in corners, climb well, fast. I have been using the 2.1 fore and aft and just got the 2.3 from UPS today. Once the front tire wears a little more, I'll put the 2.3 up front.
If there is a "weakness" it's that they wear fairly quickly but I don't consider this a weakness at all because they really grip the trail. I'm a bigger guy (205 lbs, 6'3") and I ride 35 lbs up front and around 40 in the rear.
Bomber tire for dry, desert, hard pack, speed.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mhoopes
a Cross Country Rider
from Novato, CA Date Reviewed: July 18, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Whatever I'm on
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$36.00
Purchased At:
BikeSomeWhere
Strengths:
Tough sidewalls, secure bead (these two characteristics are important for very low pressures), low air loss, fast rolling, round profile, good grip. Good for light wet sand and fine gravel over hardpack. 2.1s appear to wear well - don't know about the 2.3s.
Weaknesses:
Narrower than the average 2.1. Difficult to install. Rubber compound suited for dry conditions (get the 2.3 Sticky Soft for wet roots & rocks). Despite wide knob spacing, tread loads up in light muddy conditions.
The 2.1s are a versatile XC/trail/racing tire that can be ridden most of the year, until things get moderately muddy or slick. The sidewalls and bead construction inspire confidence when pushing things laterally with lower tire pressures (I recommend running these on the low side - I'm 140 lbs and run between 25-30 psi with these). The 2.3s would be a better choice to run into the light rainy fall and spring weather.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Peter Smith
a Racer
from South Africa Date Reviewed: May 3, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Braamfontein Spruit
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$35.00
Purchased At:
Westrand
Strengths:
Well spaced tread pattern dispearses both mud and loose rock with ease. The low rolling resistance is surprizingly fast for a 2.3 and the volume of the tyre is great.
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
To be honest this tyre is in a class of its own...Tried The Schwalbe Fat Alberts, Racing ralphs, Black Jack and Jimmy. Conti Digger, Explorer. Maxxis Larsen TT and Cross Mark.
Bike Setup:
Merida HFS 5000 hardtail with carbon rear stays
Bottom Line:
I would recomend this tyre to any competitive Xc / trail rider. You will not be dissapointed once you have tried the tyre.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jake
a Racer
from West Chester Date Reviewed: August 9, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Fair Hill
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Won from raffle at bike race
Strengths:
Killer Traction in all types of terrain, even wet. High volume (but small for a 2.3 inch... more like 2.1), corners as if it's on rails
Weaknesses:
Heavy, the low durro tread wears quickly, my free pair wore out in about 2 months.
Similar Products Used:
Tioga Factory extreme XC, Roll-X, FireXC, Enduro Pro
Bike Setup:
XC Race/Marathon
Bottom Line:
These tires were free, so I put them on my bike. They are great tires, but as with all performance tires, they wear fast. I ride almost 4 days a week, so the rear wore down quickly. The tires are great though. The stick to everything, including wet stuff. They clear mud fast, and fly on hardpack. The also hook up in technical sections. I might just buy another pair, but in the 2.1 size. 5 for value, and 5 for overall... great tire
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
eric heyl
a Cross Country Rider
from louisisana Date Reviewed: August 9, 2006
Favorite Trail:
all
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
tested for geax
Strengths:
very large air volume, rolls extremely fast for a 2.3, has plenty of grip. and it is also light. the tire in question is called the tnt version. stands for tbe no tube. can be used with a tube or with sealant. it has the same sidewalls and bead as a tubless tire. the tire weighs 700g.
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
everything out there
Bike Setup:
turner flux, fox talas and rp3, all xtr and crossmax wheels
Bottom Line:
bad ass tire.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Pug Ugli
a Weekend Warrior
from Scotland Date Reviewed: June 4, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Shane McGowan
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Chain Reaction Cycles
Strengths:
Grippy, plenty of scrabble before she goes, tough, good wear(so far anyway)
Weaknesses:
Not for the wet
Similar Products Used:
Panaracer XC
Bike Setup:
Hardtail, Fox vanillas, Deore, SPDs, Magura discs all round
Bottom Line:
Bought the 2.3 tyre (on offer-why?) and run it on the front, with a 2.1 Panaracer Fire on the back. I find it a great tyre in the dry - excellent on fast dry singletrack and good on rocks/slabs/drop-offs. There's plenty of feel and you can drift much more than the Panaracer I had on the front before, so you get more feedback rather than the 'wheee - on the bike - ghad! - off the bike' Pana.
The wet is a different story, even a shower means that you skite aboot on rock and that throws your confidence for really hooning it into bends. Since, in Scotland, if you can see the trail it is going to rain (if you can't, it is raining already) this is a drawback.
I used to get pinch flats, and I'm running this tyre with a tube the noo, but haven't had any trouble, so seems resistant to snakebite.
Wear so far is good - the rubber is called 'stickisoft', suggesting that it will go quickly, but doesn't seem to be any quicker than other MTB specific hi-performance tyres.
If you ride dry trails a lot, maybe you would like this tyre.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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