Lets talk Mountain Bike tires.

mantis · June 2006

Ok,
I need new tires. I'm currently using Tioga Xtreme XC tires and I think they suck. They slide and have poor traction. They are now wearing out and they are worse. I have tried different pressures to what kind of riding I'm doing.

I would like to find tires that are better all around XC tires. I ride Dirt, Mud, wet, dry, concrete so I need a tire that can do everything well. Mostly I ride in the woods on dry dirt but some of the trails I do also have concrete paths to get from one side ot the other. These trails can be from 1 to 5 miles long. I did a very cool road bike concrete path ride at Penny Pack Park and I loved it enough to consider getting a road bike as well. But Right now I need new tires and need help.

MTB rapter tires are suppost to be good as well as Specialized tires.

Dan

Demiurge · June 2006

Michelin XCR Dry2 TL 26 x 2.0 Inch Tubeless

Nokian Gazzaloddi Downhill

MacLeod · June 2006

WTB Velociraptors are what Ive got on mine and they are monsters!! I dont do a lot of hardcore trail riding but so far Ive not run upon anything they cant dig into and get going.

seo · June 2006

Hard to beat the original 2.1 panaracer Smoke.

$16.98 from Performance.

Was my favorite all around tire when I used to ride a lot off technical single track.

If you haven't tried one, give it a shot

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=15603&estore_ID=730

For muddy conditions (like here in the Pacific NW), a Specialized Storm Control on the rear is great.

http://www.bikepro.com/products/tires/spec_ext:cont.html

Scott (old school mtb'er)

MattN03 · June 2006

MacLeod wrote:

WTB Velociraptors are what Ive got on mine and they are monsters!! I dont do a lot of hardcore trail riding but so far Ive not run upon anything they cant dig into and get going.

I run these on my GT hardtail and they do great in all conditions (except really hardpacked dirt-they tend to slide some)

mantis · June 2006

MacLeod wrote:

WTB Velociraptors are what Ive got on mine and they are monsters!! I dont do a lot of hardcore trail riding but so far Ive not run upon anything they cant dig into and get going.

I'm considering trying these out. I have learned alot about using different pressure for different conditions. I might just go pick up a set in 26 x 2.1 front and rear and give them a run. they can't be worse then my **** tioga's

Dan

nadams · June 2006

I bought my dad a set of Hutchinson On The Rocks tires. They seem to work very well, but we don't have many rides on them. I'm looking to get a set for my own bike. At $10/tire, it doesn't get much better than that...

SWFalken · June 2006

Bontrager Jones AC's have worked very well for Me the last 12 months or so. They have a symmetrical tread pattern and well spaced tread blocks. The tires shed sticky mud easily and still offer good rolling resistance on harder terrain.:)

ohskigod · June 2006

seo wrote:

Hard to beat the original 2.1 panaracer Smoke.

$16.98 from Performance.

Wow, they still make those?

I had one as a rear tire, and it grabbed onto anything I asked it to. I beat the snot out of my bike back in the day and that tire never gave me crap. no flats, no nothing. I thought it was bulletproof for god's sake.

makes me want to break out my bike again. havent ridden in years, I have a Trek with no suspension whatsover, but good tires, good seat, and a Deore XT rear deraillure. made for a decent ride.

dorokusai · June 2006

The low priced alternatives like Panaracer are excellent. Unless you're competing, get a MTB tire w/ bite and sipe...plain and simple.

I love reading rubber tales....it's alot like audio. If you have good rubber and you can't get traction...it's the operator, not the tire.

brettw22 · June 2006

Does anyone have any good recommendations on tires and wheels that won't break the bank? I want to get some disc brakes and the current wheels I have aren't compatible. I haven't done much riding at all over the past year, but want to start up more and most of it will be just local area trails (no mountains in Chicago).

I have Bontrager Jones AC 49/54 tires and Bontrager Corvair wheels that came with my Treck Fuel 80 a few years ago.

brettw22 · June 2006

SWFalken wrote:

Bontrager Jones AC's have worked very well for Me the last 12 months or so. They have a symmetrical tread pattern and well spaced tread blocks. The tires shed sticky mud easily and still offer good rolling resistance on harder terrain.:)

I have them too, and ran across this site with less than stellar reviews. Jones AC's

I haven't really had any problems with them other than occasional slipping on mountain riding, but my mountain riding is so occasional i didn't worry about it.......lol.

SWFalken · June 2006

The terrain that I ride which includes sandy riverbottom, packed clay, hard pack, and the occasional trip on the city bike path has never given Me any of the problems that those reviewers claim. The only comment that I found to be on the money was that the casing is too thin. The casing on the Specialized tires that came with the bike never got punctured once in the two years that I rode them. The Bontragers on the other hand, it's a once a week thing. I think it's a fair trade off because the supple casing seems to help them grip at the expense of some steering feel and control.

wodom1 · June 2006

I'm pretty happy with the IRC Serac XC 26" x 2.1" tires that came with my bike. I drop them down to about 33 PSI when I ride off-road, and pump them back up to about 43 PSI when I'm riding on pavement in the city.

brettw22 wrote:

Does anyone have any good recommendations on tires and wheels that won't break the bank? I want to get some disc brakes and the current wheels I have aren't compatible. I haven't done much riding at all over the past year, but want to start up more and most of it will be just local area trails (no mountains in Chicago).

If the wheels aren't compatible, is your fork?

If you want to go riding at Palos Forest Preserve sometime, send me a PM, and we'll hit the trails. I'm not in the greatest shape though and get tired pretty easily out there.

seo · June 2006

ohskigod wrote:

makes me want to break out my bike again. havent ridden in years, I have a Trek with no suspension whatsover, but good tires, good seat, and a Deore XT rear deraillure. made for a decent ride.

That's all you need. Both of my MTB's still sport thumb shifters with the ability to go to friction if required. None of that rapid fire stuff for me. I know, I'm retro!:)

seo · June 2006

dorokusai wrote:

The low priced alternatives like Panaracer are excellent. Unless you're competing, get a MTB tire w/ bite and sipe...plain and simple.

I love reading rubber tales....it's alot like audio. If you have good rubber and you can't get traction...it's the operator, not the tire.

Ed Zachary.

TroyD · June 2006

do you guys put baseball cards in your spokes?

BDT

mantis · June 2006

MacLeod wrote:

WTB Velociraptors are what Ive got on mine and they are monsters!! I dont do a lot of hardcore trail riding but so far Ive not run upon anything they cant dig into and get going.

I picked them up today. I went with 2.1's front and rear. They also are front and rear tires only. They tread pattern is different from front to back. I set the back one rotation wise up for XC. I don't do alot of downhilling so I thought that setup wouldn't work out for me.

I thought about it and figured since I'm going to get a new bike, why Invest to much money in this bike. But I love upgrading. I got new grips and tubes to. Bontrager grips.

Troy,

baseball card bikes are in another isle in another store Bro.You may not want to shop there anyway and check out a nice used one.300.00 to 500.00 should get it done.

Dan

dorokusai · June 2006

I use small animal bones for my chopper sound....basically whatever I run over that day.

F1nut · June 2006

Doro smokes only the best rubber, inhales too.

exalted512 · June 2006

i had kenda claws on my bike...well, before it got stolen...thieving ****.
http://www.kendausa.com/bicycle/crosscountry.html
great traction in mud sand, rear tire wasnt so great on hard dirt, but the traction was much better if you turned the tire around...but then mud/sand sucked...

-Cody

mantis · June 2006

Well I got to test out the WTB Velociraptors and I got mixed feelinjg about them vs my Tioga Factory Extremes.
The Tiogas are faster on the street. I can feel more resistance on paved walk ways. At PennyPack Park which is where I do alot of my riding, I have to go on paved trails to get to parts of the dirt trails.it's a mix ride. Lots of hills to climbs and a killer workout.

In the dirt the WBT's grab much better in turns and loose dirt. I pushed my bike alittle harder to the point where I know the Tiogas would slip and the WBT's held the trail. I liked that. Hill climbing is also much Improved. I can dig into a really good climb without the back coming loose. The Tiogas when pushed really hard will slip on steep hills.I hated them for that and I thought that I was just not shifting my weight properly or my tire pressure was to high. Well I was wrong on both accounts and found that the WBT's are much better and I didn't have any of the slippage.

On wet paved hills it was the same result. Last time this one **** of a hill, my Tiogas kept slipping so I had to push my bike up the hill. I couldn't finish the climb.The road was damp. Today the same hill with the WBT's about the same about of dampness, I was able to finish the climb(well out of breath afterwards) and the WBT's didn't slip not once. Impressive.

So with the added drag on the paved trails, I may have to try alittle higher pressure. I like to run around 45lbs in dry to loose conditions and if it's really wet, I go to 40lbs. If I'm on road only, I boost up to 55lbs. Not a good off road pressure but maybe with the added traction I get with the WBT's, I can find a middle pressure that will give me alittle more speed on the paved trails and still grap well off road. Gotta try it out.

WBT also makes these nice Weirwolf tires. I'm gonna pick up a set of them as well and give them a try. Whatever pair I like better for both, I'll use and give the other pair to a friend of mine who is in need of new tires soon as well.

Dan

MacLeod · June 2006

I run 50 psi for pretty much all terrains on mine. Of course Im a little on the hefty side (Im not fat, Im just fluffy) and it seems to offer the best overall performance.

Willow · June 2006

TroyD wrote:

do you guys put baseball cards in your spokes?

BDT

Ha, I'm sure I ruined some rookie cards that way without knowing what they were. When I was young I collected the cards but just cause, then they made it on my spokes.

TroyD · June 2006

Matter of fact, I was cleaning out a closet and found all my cards from the late 70's/early 80's. Pretty cool stuff.

BDT

karpiel666 · June 2006

We should turn this into a polkies post your bike thread

to match the car one.

mantis · July 2006

2nd trip out with the WTB tires and found that in mud they are great. I remember getting stuck, slipping al over the place in a few inches of mud with my Tioga tires. the Rapters really dig in. They climb hills really well. I went up a hill today that I normally slip on when I pedal really hard to keep speed, the WTB's didn't slip not no never not even once. I'm very cool with that.

I'm still going to pick up a set of WTB Weirwolves as I heard a few more good things about them for the kind of riding I do. Hell I may even buy another set of rims to do swapping out fast for a good demo of both tires in the same conditions. Should be fun

Dan

karpiel666 · July 2006

PLEASE stay away from the weirwolfs, they are the 2nd worst tire I have ever owned, the worst being tiogas. On my xc bike for all conditions I use hutchinson pythons and they hold pretty damn good on anything, and that is coming from someone with a dh rig with a 2.8inch and 3.0 inch michilen 20 psi tires.

mantis · July 2006

karpiel666 wrote:

PLEASE stay away from the weirwolfs, they are the 2nd worst tire I have ever owned, the worst being tiogas. On my xc bike for all conditions I use hutchinson pythons and they hold pretty damn good on anything, and that is coming from someone with a dh rig with a 2.8inch and 3.0 inch michilen 20 psi tires.

There no good huh??? They look like a agressive tire with killer grip. I'm looking for a all around tire master of none type. I need a tire thats not going to slow me down on hard packed and paved trails but yet gives me good traction when conditions get messy. Is there such a tire???

Dan

karpiel666 · July 2006

I fell in love with theese after one ride. http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/11869-320_HUTPA3-0-Search--/Hutchinson-Python-Airlight-Tire.htm Although they are best on hardpack surfaces they have amazing mud shedding capabilities. They are the fastest rolling xc tire I have ridden to this day.

Lets talk Mountain Bike tires.

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