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Home | Product Reviews | Tubeless Tire | IRC Mythos XC2 | ||||
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Submitted by
Jesse
a Cross Country Rider
from Charleston, SC
Date Reviewed: 4/9/2007 5:57:00 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | Stock tires |
| Strengths: | Great wear...they look new after a year of riding. Decent rolling resistance. Widely spaced lug pattern clears mud well. |
| Weaknesses: | I have no confidence in these tires when turning. Same result on any terrain: they're gonna lose traction and slide out. After a while its expected but not wanted. |
| Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Sugar 2+ |
| Bottom Line: | The turns kill this tire. If it held its traction a little better it would be a good one, but its current design can make cornering down right scary at times. I have no confidence in these tires when cornering. |
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Submitted by
unSane
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, ON, Canada
Date Reviewed: 10/23/2006 8:48:00 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Kingdom Trails/Kolapore |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $20 |
| Purchased At: | Pricepoint.com |
| Strengths: | Very light. Impressive grip. |
| Weaknesses: | Not for asphalt. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Lots of tires over the years |
| Bike Setup: | Niner SIR9 w/ American Classic 29" wheelset. |
| Bottom Line: | I'm a 190lb XC rider and got these tires as part of the pricepoint.com build kit for my 29er. I was prepared to reject them as cheap crap but once I figured out that they were (a) different front and back and (b) directional I suddenly realized they were a great tire. They are freakin' light and hook up really well. I run mine at around 30 psi or lower. I've ridden them in the slipperiest imaginable conditions (wet clay, wet mossy rock, wet roots) and been impressed. They do not shed wet clay that easily, but what does? They are noisy on asphalt although they roll very well. Over wet rocks and roots they are marginal at higher pressures (like anything) but at lower pressures they feel much better. Handling is super-predictable and I never washed out on a turn. Overall I was much more impressed than I had any right to be. Bottom line: I bought another set of wheels and tires (Specialized Armadillos) for commuting but kept these for trail riding as I couldn't find a good reason to swap them. I have had no flats so far and they seem to work really well at a variety of pressures. I may buy a set of studs for winter riding but I have no complaints at all with these tires for fast, semi-technical trail work. The casings are not massive so for DH/Freeride they are probably going to be marginal at best. |
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Submitted by
Richard
a Cross Country Rider
from Lymington, Hampshire, UK
Date Reviewed: 1/20/2006 5:56:48 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | New Forest |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | wiggle.co.uk |
| Strengths: | Grip, Predictability, Price |
| Weaknesses: | Havn't noticed any yet. I suspect they will wear quickly like my previous Mythos XC's (Mk1). |
| Similar Products Tried: | Mythos XC, Panaracer TrailRaker Pro PR, Hutchinson Bulldog |
| Bike Setup: | Giant Trance 3 |
| Bottom Line: | These tires grip almost as well as the TrailRaker pro in sloppy UK mud but they are much more predictable than any other tire I've tried. They are great over wet roots and to top it all, the rolling resistance is the lowest of any tires I have used. I always liked the Mk 1 version and I am thrilled with the Mk II. I suspect they will wear relitivly quickly, and I will replace them with the same type. |
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Submitted by
Michael Schoenly
a Cross Country Rider
from Fort Collins, CO
Date Reviewed: 10/17/2005 1:21:45 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Porcupine Rim today - who knows tomorrow |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $17 |
| Purchased At: | performance bike |
| Strengths: | Updated thoughts: The rear is great, climbs awesome. I would recommend the rear tire to others. Wearing real well. |
| Weaknesses: | Update: The rear is worn nearly flat after 200 miles (2 months). I put my old Fire XC pros on just to finish summer riding. The front is wearing well. These were tough to mount on my Mavic 819s |
| Similar Products Tried: | Panaracer Fire XC Pro. Specialized Roll-X |
| Bike Setup: | Specialized Stumpjumper FSR 04 with Mavic 819/XT rims and Avid BBDB 7 brakes |
| Bottom Line: | This is an update for my previous review, I now have 200 miles on these. Cheap tires for a reason, the rear wears out quick. The rear has great grip for climbing, the front does well in loose soil, not as good on hardpack compared to Fire XC pro (tubes). I don't hate these tires but I won't get them again. See my original post for more info |
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Submitted by
Craig
a Cross Country Rider
from Northern Colorado
Date Reviewed: 9/7/2005 7:54:27 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years |
| Price Paid: | $45 |
| Strengths: | Durable! These things can stand up to quite a bit of abuse. Tough to beat as an all-around performer. |
| Weaknesses: | Not a great wet tire, but there aren't very many tires that perform as well wet as dry. |
| Similar Products Tried: | IRC Mythos (non-tubeless), Nevegal/BG |
| Bike Setup: | Custom Prophet |
| Bottom Line: | Bottom line is these tires have been great all-around tires for me for many years. I've only recently switched to the UST version, but I have just over 5k miles on the Mythos tread style in and around Northern Colorado. I've been averaging roughly 2500 miles per tire set, but I admit some of those miles are road/training miles. They perform well in hardpack, very well in gravel, well in grasses, average on sharp rocks, very well on flat/slick rocks. They do not perform well on trails with a lot of stream crossings (you'll spin out coming out of the stream beds often--for posters not familiar w/ No. Colorado, Hewitt gulch, etc. from the poster below me is a trail with a lot of stream crossings). Maybe it has been the luck of the draw, but I have found the mythos tires to be susceptible to punctures. I haven't had as many punctures on kendas, but maybe that's been pure luck. In any case, when I was running the tube version, I used specialized airlock tubes in them with great success (the tubes would last ~ 2 years and I'd never flat). Now, I'm running Stans in the UST version. I had a couple slow leaks prior to adding the Stans, and since I've added the Stans, I consistently hold within a pound or two per week. I recommend these tires if you do a lot of general/varied condition riding. I don't recommend them if you live in a wet area, or ride trails with a lot of water. I gave 5 chilis on value because you can catch them on sale at great prices. I gave 4 chilis on rating because of their performance wet (but I wouldn't rate the kendas higher in the wet, either, fyi). Final note, if you ride like me and do a lot of road training (but do it on your MTB because you don't own a road bike), these tires are fantastic. Add about 10 pounds of air and the rolling resistance on these things is very minimal. Great tire for this cross-training purpose. Good luck! |
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Submitted by
Big A
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Collins, CO
Date Reviewed: 9/5/2005 8:31:01 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | so many |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Purchased At: | Performance |
| Strengths: | Cost and wear. |
| Weaknesses: | Grip and braking |
| Similar Products Tried: | Maxxis Highroller UST, Panracer fire UST, and tons of nonUSTs. |
| Bike Setup: | Yeti ASR with Mavic X3.1 rims Chris King hubs hope disks. |
| Bottom Line: | If wear is the number one thing for you this tire is it. I have abused them this summer and they still look new. The bad thing is they still act the same. They do loose grip but it is predictable so you get used to it and can adjust. Hard braking pulls to the rotor and will break loose. If you ride wet or loose conditions they suck. Think I will use them on slick rock only. Since slick rock wears tires out so fast and grips anything rubber. These may be my Moab tires but not my every day tire. For those of you who know the front range, they work good on trails like Hall/White ranch but not on Youngs or Hewletts Gulch. Did Monarch this year and they worked ok. My climbs and desents have slowed!! |
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Submitted by
Michael Schoenly
a Cross Country Rider
from Fort Collins, CO
Date Reviewed: 7/25/2005 3:02:51 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Hall Ranch - Lyons, CO |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $17 |
| Purchased At: | Performance Online |
| Strengths: | The rear is great, climbs awesome. I would recommend the rear tire to others. Wearing real well. |
| Weaknesses: | Front seems to want to wash out. I've had to adjust my riding style a bit to accomodate. I lose between 5-10 pounds of pressure on an average ride (7-12 miles). I have to adjust pressure everyride. Not sure if that is normal or not for tubeless as these are my first ones. The outer tread blocks get eaten alive riding on rocky terrain but the center ones are doing great. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Panaracer Fire XC Pro. Specialized Roll-X |
| Bike Setup: | Specialized Stumpjumper FSR 04 with Mavic 819/XT rims and Avid BBDB 7 brakes |
| Bottom Line: | Got a crazy good deal on these ($34 for the set) so I figure I'd try tubeless out for the first time. I was skeptical about going to tubeless but I have to say I am mildly impressed - enough to keep on using them. As for these tires I am indifferent (meh) about them. I am guessing they are average or so for tires. I put about 35pounds in these to start my ride and by the next time I ride the pressure is mid 20. But hey for $34/set how could I go wrong for tubeless. The price was right. If the front gripped like the rear I'd give 5 chills for overall I ride mostly on semi loose, rocky trails. At the time of this review I have about 70 miles on them. |
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Submitted by
Glenn A
a Cross Country Rider
from Newcastle, Australia
Date Reviewed: 4/21/2005 7:47:23 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Killingworth |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | Good in all conditions. I have tested the front in mud, dry rock, sand, hardpack and loose gravel - performed well on every surface. The only UST that I have not had to pump up everyday. Large air volume (is that what the 02 stands for?). |
| Weaknesses: | Not as fast rolling as the Ignitor or Python UST (but not meant to be). The front throws rocks and sand onto the rider due to the tread pattern. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Python UST, Ignitor UST (still used on rear). |
| Bike Setup: | 2005 Kona King Kikapu with Mavic Crossmax SL UST wheelset. |
| Bottom Line: | I purchased this tire as an all conditions front after losing the front a few times with a python. The tire has a large air volume and needs to be matched carefully with the rear tire. The Maxxis UST Ignitor I have on the rear is a low volume and this raises the front height of the bike. I will switch to a matching Mythos on the rear or revert to a python as they have a similiar large air volume. Overall very happy with performance, although a little heavy for racing. The new Maxxis UST is lighter and may be better suited for racing. Overall great for all conditions and for people who don't like changing tires to suit conditions, especially as UST tires are a pain to change. |
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Submitted by
Larry Giuffre
a Cross Country Rider
from Mineola NY USA
Date Reviewed: 4/8/2005 8:16:51 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Chimney Rock NJ |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $50 |
| Purchased At: | Price Point |
| Strengths: | Front and rear specific design. Great overall quality. Easy to mount and inflate. |
| Weaknesses: | Need to check pressure before each ride. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Specialized Roll Model, Hutchinson Spider. |
| Bike Setup: | Scalpel 900 with SRAM X.0 Rear deralleaur, XTR Front, FSA Carbon Cranks, Bebop Pedals, SDG I-Beam post and Bel-Air SL Saddle. |
| Bottom Line: | Don't overlook these tires because they've been around for so long. The tread grips on everything and rolls well. Just a great all around tire and a very good value for cross country riders. |
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Submitted by
Jonesy
a Weekend Warrior
from Ancaster, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: 12/4/2004 5:56:40 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | All of them |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $50 |
| Purchased At: | Pricepoint |
| Strengths: | -excellent traction in all conditions -front and rear specific tread design -low rolling resistance -tread design has stood the test of time |
| Weaknesses: | -tough to mount on Bontrager rims |
| Similar Products Tried: | -Bontrager Jones -IRC Mythos |
| Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel 95. Stock with all XT and Bontrager |
| Bottom Line: | I have ridden numerous tires over the years and IRC Mythos are simply the best all around tire. Mountain Bike magazine concurs given they recently rated the tubeless version #1. So, if you are looking for one set of treads that perform well in all conditions, this is your tire. And at only $50 a pair you are pretty much stealing them. I had a tough time mounting these tires on my Bontrager Race rims. However, based on other reviews I have read, the problem is that the Bontrager rim is too shallow making it difficult to mount any tubeless tire. So I can't blame IRC. I had no flats after 3 months and I can assure you my riding buddies can't say the same about their tubeless tires ! And finally, did you know the Mythos tread design has been around for 10 years ? Probably because nobody has been able to come up with a better one ! |
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