Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, ON, Canada Date Reviewed: May 25, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
Bike show
Strengths:
Light weight, fast rolling, reasonable price
Weaknesses:
none found yet.
Similar Products Used:
First semi slick
Bike Setup:
Kona Kula Deluxe hardtail (custom build)
Bottom Line:
Bought these originally for a 60 KM point to point race (Paris to Ancaster) that had road sections, fire roads as well as some mild single track and some muddy sections.
These tires have exceeded my expectations. They roll very well, so well that I haven't bothered to put my Specialized Nimbus slicks back on for road rides.
I can comfortably ride at almost 30 KM/H with these tires on flat ground....and they excelled in the race mentioned above.
To those who commented earlier about these tires being bad in rocks, rough trails or the wet...these are a purpose built tire...for hard, very dry terrain. If you are riding rocks, mud or technical terrain, look elsewhere.
using these tires outside their intended use is like bringing a knife to a gunfight.
FWIW, I am 200 pounds and I have never had a flat on these tires.
When used as intended, these tires deliver as promised. 5 Flaming chilis.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
da vincy Trills for kills
a Downhiller
from Butuan, Philippines Date Reviewed: January 8, 2006
fast rollin,good for roadies, hard pack terrain,xc racing, good for the rear, can lessen pinch flat
Weaknesses:
slippery when wet, not good for the front, no good for steep descent
Similar Products Used:
any low resistant wheel
Bike Setup:
freeride/dual attack mode
Bottom Line:
this wheely are good for the rear, hard pack/dry season terrain, you can ride with this baby on the rockiz! not diffinitely for front
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Alistair
a Cross Country Rider
from Niagara, ON, Canada Date Reviewed: September 22, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Stuturn
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At:
bike show
Strengths:
price, weight, rolls very fast on hard pack and dry trails. Handles the technical well at 50 psi
Weaknesses:
I've had more flats this summer on one tire than I've had in the past 5 years!
Similar Products Used:
Specialized, Michelin, Panaracer, blah blah blah
Bike Setup:
Stumpjumper Hardtail with XT/XTR
Bottom Line:
Is someone seeding my local trails with glass and nails? I never had this problem before, but I love this tire ... it's fast
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Don
a Weekend Warrior
from Trenton, NJ Date Reviewed: August 27, 2005
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
internet
Strengths:
Durability, Larger than 1.85
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Trailblasters,mosquitos,karma,Kozmic lite
Bike Setup:
Mongoose Teocali 5.5" Trailbike
Bottom Line:
This tire works very good in northeast trail conditions. The best front tire I've ever used. The rear is ok in wet conditions and Excellent in dry. I've ridden rocky, rooty and loose conditions with no problems. These are as good as the kenda stick-e rubber tires, but they don't wear as fast as the kendas. These tires are also a little over 2" wide and have large side lugs. Sidewalls are thick for a light tire. There's almost no tread in the center but they still hook up great in the climbs and roll fast in the flats.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from North Texas, USA Date Reviewed: April 28, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Cedar Hill State Park
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$19.00
Purchased At:
Cambria Bike
Strengths:
Price!
Weaknesses:
Has a tendency to break loose on fast corners.
Similar Products Used:
Bontrager revolt, Fire XC pro
Bike Setup:
Trek 8900,XT/XTR/SRAM/raceface drivetrain
Bottom Line:
This is a overall a great tire for the price. Zero flats in the past 1.5 yrs., wears just as any mtb tire would and excellent climbing ability. The only downfall I experiance is that the front tire tends to break loose on fast corners.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
gigsy
a Weekend Warrior
from bangkok Date Reviewed: October 20, 1999
Favorite Trail:
patpong road
Duration Product Used:
less than 1 month
Strengths:
light, looks good, good tread on thew edges, not too rounded
Weaknesses:
None as yet. Worried about flats. Wet, slick surfaces will be a watchout.
Similar Products Used:
IRC, Panaracer
Bike Setup:
Mongoose RockadileSX, with Indy C, Cross Link wheelset.
Bottom Line:
I like them so far. My theory is that if it gets a little boggy, the square edges should provide enough grip. Have noticed some linear wheel spin in the wet. Cornering is good. You have to consider that these are situation specific treads - they won't perform great in everything, but I think they're versatile enough in rougher conditions to prevent any disasters. If you're using them in conditions other than what they're meant for all the time, you're an idiot and need to choose a different tire. 5 ring stingers.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
GTRider
a Cross-Country Rider
from Bremerton Wa. Date Reviewed: October 11, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Victor Falls
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Light,Fast,hook up well under most conditions
Weaknesses:
Pain to get off rim.
Similar Products Used:
wildgripper sprints.
Bike Setup:
Cr18's with LX hubs
Bottom Line:
Great tires for all sorts of riding.But remember they are slicks.So they are not perfect.A pain in the tail to get off my rims when flat.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Willy
a Racer
from SLC, UT Date Reviewed: June 7, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Wasatch Crest, SLC Cottonwood Canyon, LV, NV
Duration Product Used:
less than 1 month
Bottom Line:
I had a MTB race this last weekend that had over 5 miles of pavement. I decided to use some slicks because of this. The day of the race it was pouring and everyone was changing to their mud tires. I didn't change (duh). When we got to the first muddy climb they mud was so sticky that everybody else was gumming up and the slick hooked up and I had no problems. I'm not smart enough to have guessed right I was just to lazy to change tires before the race and they worked great. For me this day, these unique conditions they are 5 flamers worth. I'll post another review after I ride them more.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Travis Allen
a Racer
from Melbourne Date Reviewed: May 30, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Arthurs Seat State Park
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Low rolling resistance, excellent cornering ability, low weight.
Weaknesses:
Muddy Conditions, Rocky conditions.
Similar Products Used:
Most other Tioga tyres
Bike Setup:
Mongoose rockadile SX with a RST Mozo Pro fork
Bottom Line:
This tyres are good only in hardpack dry conditions. They are pathetic in rocky conditions , even on dirt road with some rocks. I had 6 flats when riding these on a rocky dirt road which totally destroyed the rear tyre with cuts in several places (I tried to vary air pressure to avoid pintch flats but did not seem to help). If you ride on Olympic control trials these are fine but for normal racing and training conditions these tyres are not good enough
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Patrick Wullaert
a Cross-Country Rider
from De Klinge, Belgium Date Reviewed: May 6, 1999
Favorite Trail:
La Roche, Belgium
Duration Product Used:
less than 1 month
Weaknesses:
Virtually worthless in mud
Bike Setup:
Kona King Kikapu 99 w/ Magura brakes
Bottom Line:
The Tioga Factory XC Slicks came as standard on my Kona King Kikapu. They're not bad tyres, gripping well in dry corners and even on straight mud sections, but when the mud is in the corners the tyre is really loose (as can be expected). For a semi-slick I didn't find the tyre particularly fast. I changed them for my trusted Velociraptors (back tyre in reversed direction) and I'm almost just as fast now. Another thing : they were pretty difficult to put on my Mavic X517 rims; harder than with most other tyres.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Stummel
a Cross-Country Rider
from Netherlands Date Reviewed: April 11, 1999
Favorite Trail:
XC
Duration Product Used:
less than 1 month
Strengths:
Low rolling resistance Good tyre on dry and wet terrain
Weaknesses:
If there is to much mud there gonna slip
Similar Products Used:
michelin wildgripper
Bike Setup:
GT talera with Rock Shox Indy SL 98 front suspension
Bottom Line:
A good tyre if it's used in dry and not too muddy terrain. Low rolling resistance
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Scott
a cross-country rider
from Orange County, Ca. Date Reviewed: December 24, 1998
Bottom Line:
These tires are very fast and provide good climbing traction. They are a good racing tire for most courses. They would be ideal in tacky terrain, like in No. Cal. or some East Coast areas. Just keep in mind that they aren't necessarily ideal for training or all around riding. They have 0 bite or cornering grip when descending on hardpack with loose dirt, which is the case in most of So. Cal. I was also surprised at hoe heavy they are, especially for 1.85's.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ove Rekstad
a cross-country rider
from Norway Date Reviewed: December 22, 1998
Bottom Line:
I have bought the Tiogas and are very satisfied. They rolling quality is good. What i like best is the overall usage og the tire. I ride them everywhere and has not been disappointed. Of course they are not as good as tires whith large knobs in the mud, but i don't care, they are doing the job.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a cross-country rider
from Missoula MT Date Reviewed: December 13, 1998
Bottom Line:
I bought the XC Slick for the rear of my GT hardtail and love it. It performs great on the hardpack sections but when attempting some climbs I found myself spining. What I did to help fix this was to deflate it from say 65pound's of pressure to 45lbs. This worked well and is what I now do when I ride certain places. I dont think that I would run this tire on the front end, my WTB raptor has that job.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Raging Richy
a weekend warrior
from Antwerp Date Reviewed: November 13, 1998
Bottom Line:
Nice tires, came on my '99 Scott Comp Racing. They looked quite capable of dealing mud, but they didn't. The first pool was enough to make me kiss up with mother earth. Big downer, she stinks when she's wet! O yes, they work fine when circumstances are dry and flat, but that is not what I bought my bike for! (I'll buy the old 2.1 Banzais again..cheap and real mud masters) Why do manufactures put slicks on MTB's? I hate compromises!
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Scott Yates
a cross-country rider
from Britain Date Reviewed: October 17, 1998
Bottom Line:
These tires are very good, I needed more speed on the flats, and these tires do the job, they are pretty dangerous in the mud, and they can be quite worrying in the wet. Could not pump them up with my standard pump had to go to the gararge. Overall excellent tires, and they look OK as well
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Adam
a cross-country rider
from Colorado Springs Date Reviewed: October 11, 1998
Bottom Line:
Hey, I don't know what any y'all are talking about. This tire is really, really good. I usually race with Bonty slicks, which were the best I had found, but I got one of these for a real good price . . . It rocks. Whips corners like a really knobby, but rolls really fast, too. Versatile and tough.