[walter]

I seem to forget that this site is read by people all around the world so sometimes good reviews for products may not apply to me so, heres the question, what tires have you tried, which have you liked and which have you disliked and where do you normally ride? Talking to people who ride in this great state will be a bit more useful than talking to someone who rides in a totally different climate/region, plus we may all have an idea of the different terrain at different parks so that may help out as well. Me, i live in ocean county and due to work and a newborn, can only get out to allaire and clayton. I am currently using 2.1 fire xc's and i have to admit, not to thrilled with them. Anyway, i guess this question is more towards the xc riders but any input will be useful, thanks.

walter

 

[Philo Beddoe]

I use Fire xc's as well

I use fire xc's and I think they are really good. I ride chimney rock alot so it's a bit different then the sandy conditions where you are. Although, I haven't had any probs with the fires at Hartshorne, which is somewhat sandy.

 

[jerseyjoey]

I seem to forget that this site is read by people all around the world so sometimes good reviews for products may not apply to me so, heres the question, what tires have you tried, which have you liked and which have you disliked and where do you normally ride? Talking to people who ride in this great state will be a bit more useful than talking to someone who rides in a totally different climate/region, plus we may all have an idea of the different terrain at different parks so that may help out as well. Me, i live in ocean county and due to work and a newborn, can only get out to allaire and clayton. I am currently using 2.1 fire xc's and i have to admit, not to thrilled with them. Anyway, i guess this question is more towards the xc riders but any input will be useful, thanks.

walter

The Panaracer Fire xc are a great overall tire but might be a bit of overkill for Allaire or Clayton. You might want to try another, albeit slightly less knobby, xc tire in the IRC Mythos. Even further down the spectrum, maybe the Hutch Pythons or Kenda Karmas.

 

[Red Ellsworth]

Tires

Over the years I have tried many different tires. I did not like the Fire Pros. They seemed to require higher tire pressures than I like to ride. I am slow, but reasonably good technically. Hartshorne is fun. I keep coming back to the Hutchinson Pythons. They worked in Moab and worked Mahlon. Lately I have been using the Lites and running them tubeless with Stan's stuff on my ID with 35/32 F & R. Wet NJ rocks are still tough with any tire, but overall I think I will stay with these. Hope this helps.

Bruce

 

[bubbrubb]

Over the years I have tried many different tires. I did not like the Fire Pros. They seemed to require higher tire pressures than I like to ride. I am slow, but reasonably good technically. Hartshorne is fun. I keep coming back to the Hutchinson Pythons. They worked in Moab and worked Mahlon. Lately I have been using the Lites and running them tubeless with Stan's stuff on my ID with 35/32 F & R. Wet NJ rocks are still tough with any tire, but overall I think I will stay with these. Hope this helps.

Bruce

I HATE the fire pros... although the knobbies bit hard, they'd break free w/ out much warning and the casing is complete crap. I sliced the sidewall at Chimney rock on a downhill... I wasn't even going fast, as I had a first timer with me.

for all around XC use nothing has beat my Hutchinson Pythons, for softer terrain I love the old school velociraptors. If you like the fire pros, try out the IRC Trailbear, its a similar design but a much better tire IMO.

I have a pair of Kenda Nevegal's coming in this week for Allamuchy-24, I'll trash em there and let ya know how they hold.

 

[PointBoy]

I didnt care for the Fire XC pros either; I agree in that they wash out without warning in turns and are a little sketchy at speed.

I tried some Maxxis Mobsters 2.1 tires as well, they rolled fast but again felt twitchy in the corners. Then I blew the sidewall out after only 3 weeks of use.

By accident I bought Bontrager Jones ACX 2.1 (the bike store had nothing else and i needed to replace the blown maxxis) which I have been surprised by. They corner really well and have little rolling resistance. They also weigh under 500 grams each.

Veliciraptors are good too but too much rolling resistance for my taste.

 

[walter]

Thats exactly it, the front end seems like it wants to do its own thing. Anyway, i do have a set of python lites here i think i'll throw on sometime this week, see how they work. Hey bubbrubb, let me know how the kendas work out, i've been looking at them also. thanks to everyone for the input.

walter

 

[Rev Bubba]

Mahlon Dickerson rider here

Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, Rockaway Twp., Kittatinny, Allamuchy. I.E. northwest NJ is where I mostly ride with time spent at Jim Thorpe when my schedule allows.

My current tires of choice are the Kenda Klaws. I find the 2.1 size serves me quite well in the wet, rooty and rocky conditions I frequent. I've also raced on Python Air Lights and these are excellent in the conditions they are intended for - dry hardpack. They are down right dangerous on wet rocks. I switch off these tires on my hardtail.

My FS currently has Continental Survival and Vertical Pros front and back in 2.3. I'm not as impressed with them as I first was. They are slow and don't offer the grip I expected. I may be a bit jaded since I really do not like riding FS bikes so that may color my opinion.
(to be honest, I hate riding FS bikes...... and can't see myself ever falling into that trap again when the current one wears out but that's another story.)

Prehaps the most universally great tire I've ever used was the WTB Velociraptor. The tread pattern of the Kenda Klaws is pretty much a copy of the V-Raptor. Not the fastest tire on the block but certainly one that fits most riding conditions.

Hope this gives you some insight.
REV

PS: I'm 185 lbs. and run 38 - 40 psi in my tires. Rider weight may influence tire performance.

 

[AndyE]

Conti Explorers

I seem to forget that this site is read by people all around the world so sometimes good reviews for products may not apply to me so, heres the question, what tires have you tried, which have you liked and which have you disliked and where do you normally ride? Talking to people who ride in this great state will be a bit more useful than talking to someone who rides in a totally different climate/region, plus we may all have an idea of the different terrain at different parks so that may help out as well. Me, i live in ocean county and due to work and a newborn, can only get out to allaire and clayton. I am currently using 2.1 fire xc's and i have to admit, not to thrilled with them. Anyway, i guess this question is more towards the xc riders but any input will be useful, thanks.

walter

I generally ride farther north, Ringwood, wawayanda, Blue Mtn. I like the FireXC 2.1 or the WTB velociraptors (when it's really nasty). Las winter I was riding in Allaire and was using the Conti Explorers and they were great there, good traction, and you can rip through the singletrack without sliding.

 

[MTbikerJM567]

Those Bontrager Jones'

When I first got my Fuel 95, they came stock with them. I thought they would be horible! To my surprise, they worked well! Very well on wet rock, root, log, mud etc. I ride 4 hours a day, and they held up, until the crash of all time. Away, right now i have IRC. Sorry, i forgot the name, they're new! They have a red side walls. They seem to be good so far.... i'll let you know.

 

[Red Ellsworth]

More tires

I weigh about the same but do not hammer as hard (I am sure). The Lites have been OK at Mahlon. Wet is wet and Mahlon gets slick on the rocks. I run lower pressure in the Lites and have found they are no better or worse than any other tire. One of the magazines said they work better turned around. I always have trouble with people who claim to know more than the engineers who design them, but they could be right. I ride the tires on light snow at about 30/28 with no problem but I think it is also a function of the bike and riding style. I am a slow rider on an Id is a far cry from someone hammering a HT. On my Specialist I use 2.24 MotoRaptors which have been OK but the bikes are so different it is hard to compare.

Bruce

 

[phatbiker]

irc mythos=bad, bad, bad

When I first got my Fuel 95, they came stock with them. I thought they would be horible! To my surprise, they worked well! Very well on wet rock, root, log, mud etc. I ride 4 hours a day, and they held up, until the crash of all time. Away, right now i have IRC. Sorry, i forgot the name, they're new! They have a red side walls. They seem to be good so far.... i'll let you know.

ahhh, the irc mythos. i did not have good luck with those tires at all, in almost all conditions. unless they have changed them since i used them a few years ago i will never use them again. i ride in northern jersey as well and i'm currenly running conti vertical pro ust tires. awesome tire so far. i also like the kenda kinetics ust but they were too heavy. i used the bontrager jones and revolt and liked them a lot as well but the side walls wore out too soon.

phat

 

[MTbikerJM567]

Well, i'm giving them a shot... Just to make sure we're still on the right tires, the width is 1.95. Just making sure we're talking about the same tire. Thanks for the the info.

JM

 

[Rev Bubba]

I tried turning the Pythons around

I read the article in Mountain Bike Action and decided to give it a try. Honestly, I could not tell the difference. The tread is minimal and they "seem" the same to me no matter what direction I mount them.

I agree with you comment on the engineers and when I remount these tires on my hardtail, I'll do so in the direction they were designed for.

 

[Rip]

I have found that Maxxis High Rollers do quite well, lately I've been running a 2.1 WTB Weirwolf on back matched to a 2.7 Maxxis HighRoller.