|   Calling All Desert Rats - Need Tire Opinions | dgangi
Nov 25, 2003 9:35 PM | | I live in Phoenix and do most of my riding in this dry, hot, rock-infested hardpack hell that we call home. This is a wasteland for tires -- some work well here, many don't, and most get eaten alive by the terrain. I have personally stuck with Bontrager Jones over the past 4 years because I liked the way they hookup in the dry, rocky stuff and the fact they are lightweight, but now I feel it is time to move on to a better tire on my new FS bike.
For all of you desert rats out there, what tires do you run on your bike for fast XC riding? What do you like about the tire? What don't you like?
Obviously, mud and sand traction are low on my priority list. Higher on my list are climbing ability, cornering ability on the dry stuff, and durability. I'm also somewhat concerned about pinch flats -- some tires seem prone while others aren't.
Thx...Doug |
| re: Calling All Desert Rats - Need Tire Opinions | Graw
Nov 25, 2003 11:19 PM | | I don't live in the desert, but the terrain here is usually loose, dry, and gravely with some sand. I would suggest a Geax Sturdy in the widest size, I think it might be 2.25. Another good choice would be a WTB Weirwolf 2.5 Race for the front (possibly too wide for the back). |
| re: Calling All Desert Rats - Need Tire Opinions | Threesticks
Nov 26, 2003 4:29 AM | | I know what you mean about the rocks. Its either rocky, sandy of a mixture of both. I have been using a Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1 on the front and a WTB Velociraptor rear in 2.1 on the rear. I ride Trail 100 and out around Pima and Dynamite regulary and have found this combination to work well in the hard pack, sand, and rocks.
Steve Frew |
| re: Calling All Desert Rats - Need Tire Opinions | ScottW
Nov 26, 2003 6:28 AM | | I'm in New Mexico, lots of rocks, hard pack, rubble etc and I really like Continental Vertical Pros. In order to run pressures around 35 psi and not get pinch flats I use Stans no tubes. Only downside I've had with the Continentals is that I will occasionally rip a nob off but I'm not sure of any tire that can resist doing that in the rocks. |
| In southern az I use
| rock crusher
Nov 26, 2003 7:25 AM | | a combination of tires. For XC I find that in the terrain like Mcdowell and Fantasy Island the WTB nanoraptors absolutely honch. They have large volume and seemingly infinite traction and a reasonable weight, too. This seems to be common on these terrains, I suppose that any large volume tire with a proliferation of small knobs would work well here. I have heard that the Maxxis Larson TT works fantastic too. Same with the kenda Stick-e XC tire.
The other types of trails. Eg. south mountain and starr pass types. Large rocks and loose conditions call for a more Freeride specific tire. I perfer the Tioga DH but it is seriously heavy, although I have never used tire with more grip and have never had a pinch flat even at 225lbs and low pressures. Others that seem to be good are the mid-weight freeride carcases in the WTB line like the Motoraptor or the Mutanoraptor which is a cross between the Moto and the aforementioned Nano.The geax Blade in the 2.25 is a fantastic front tire and the Sedona is a great all'rounder. The Sturdy is real good in Flagstaff although less competent in the dusty loose south.
Generally I have had the most luck from DH casings. I usually get about 1.5-2 years out of a pair of Tioga DH's. I have gotten 1 year from a pair of Nanoraptors on a Single speed. I have had much less success from Specialized tires (usually 3 months) and absolutely poor results from the IRC tires, especially the Mythos line which usually last 1 month. The geax tires seem to last forever although I am just a couple months in on a blade.
hope this compendium helps. |
| Geax Sedona | Yeti_Rider
Nov 26, 2003 7:21 AM | | comes in 2.0 and a 2.25 version. I've been running them for two years (just swtiched to the 2.25 a couple months back) here in San Diego and we also have a little bit of everything for our terrain. The trail can go from sharp rocks to sand to hardpack covered with marbles all in 100 feet. These tires hook up consistently on our varied terrain and are quite simply the best tires I've run. |
| Enduros | dobbs
Nov 26, 2003 7:55 AM | | I live in Phx. I'm not a racer, but I play one on TV. I am in love with Specialized Enduro Pros 2.2. They're fat, roll smooth, corner well, climb well and are damm light for they're size. What more could you want?
People have complained about shredding knobs off. I've only had one tire lose a couple of knobs, but it was near the end of its normal life span anyway. I'm using the UST version now and have been very happy. |
| re: Calling All Desert Rats - Need Tire Opinions | bmadau
Nov 26, 2003 8:39 AM | | I live in the high desert here is so cal, and I love my IRC Mythos F/R tires. roll fast, great grip, great consumer reviews. My terrain is about half hard, half loose stuff though. |
| re: Calling All Desert Rats - Need Tire Opinions | Santa Cruz 99
Nov 26, 2003 9:50 AM | | Doug, I been riding Phoenix for 8 years now and the best tire for Trail 100, Mormon, National, Desert Classic, Javalina, Hawes, TRW, McDowell Mountain, Usury Pass, etc.. has been the Panaracer Fire Pro XC 2.1. I love this tire.. It flat out handles better than many of the other tires that I have used. However, with anything, tires are going to be a personal taste. The Fire Pro is susceptible to losing knobby if you lock your brakes on rocky terrain and let the rear tire skid. If you use controlled braking there should not be any problems. |
| re: Calling All Desert Rats - Need Tire Opinions | swimbikerun75
Nov 26, 2003 11:01 AM | | I have been riding Fire XC Pro 2.1's as well for the past couple years on Trail 100, South Mountain, Hawes Road, and McDowell Mountain, and love them. Might want something that collects a little less mud if/when you take a trip to Flag, Sedona, or the White Mountains. If there's a little moisture on the trail there, you'll take half the trail home with you. |
| Hmmmm... | bugaroo
Nov 26, 2003 11:43 AM | | I tried running the Panaracer Fire 2.1s several times. While they are okay for the less rocky trails they frequently pinch flatted, had catastrophic failures or the knobs would fall off. Traction is ample, durability was always the issue.
The Tioge 2.1 DH are cheap, offer good traction and are reliable for most conditions. I've had very good luck with them at the 30 psi range for most of my riding. I live at South Mt. so most of my time is spent on National. The downside to the tires are they are heavy and have a high rolling resistance. At $20 for kelars they are a smoking deal.
I've had good luck with the WTB Wierwolf and Motoraptors. The Motos are psi sensitive. They roll fairly well and aren't super heavy. I run them on my xc bike most of the time. The Weirwolf has great hook up. Some people don't like the square profile for certain conditions. I have good luck with them around the 35-35 psi range.
The Conti tires are good but they are very expensive for their lifespan.
The Kenda Sticky tires have good traction but the rocks eat them up quickly. The good thing is that they are cheap.
Most of the tires are fairly competitive in performance. I prefer to run the highest volume lowest pressure I can for any given situation. Get something ecinomical, the rocks are always hungry. |
| A fellow desert rat's musings on the matter. | Spain
Nov 26, 2003 12:12 PM | | I'm familiar with what you describe as "this dry, rock infested hardpack hell that we call home." You're right in saying that it can be quite tough on tires. Here's what I've used and had the most success with:
1) The Panaracer Smoke (r) / Dart (f) combo (2.1). The Smoke provides excellet climbing traction and is a pretty durable tire. The Dart tracks well in corners and is quite durable as well. Rolling resistance is higher than some other models, but in the conditions you're describing, the trade-off is well worth it. Check the weight; they're not heavy, but I'm sure you could find lighter (BUT, at what cost?). Speaking of cost, The Smoke and Dart are not expensive; can probably find them online for under $20 (maybe) if you look around. A great pair of desert tires for the price.
2) WTB Velociraptor (f+r/2.1) is a terrific f/r specific set of tires. The tread pattern on both is similar to (actually, almost exactly the same as) the Panaracer Smoke/Dart combo. As such, the performance is about the same. Again, check the weight; I believe the WTB's are a bit heavier and probably a bit more expensive (not by much!).
3. IRC Mythos (f+r/2.0 {?}) is not a bad set of f/r specific tires. Tread pattern is, again, very similar to the two tire-sets listed above. I would not recommend these as highly as the two above however because I found that these tires are not nearly as durable as others. Lost some knobbies on the rear (they got torn off) almost immediately and continued having the problem throughout the usage period. These are fairly lightweight (if I remember correctly) and very inexpensive, but the durability issue was one that I couldn't overlook. Used 'em for a month or two, switched back to the Smoke/Dart, and never went back to 'em.
4. WTB Weirwolf (UST/2.1) is what I'm currently riding. Just made the switch to UST, and after lots of searching, I decided to go with these (by the way, they're available in non-UST/standard as well). So far, so good. Beefy, agressive tread pattern, lots of side knobbies to aid in turning traction, and very durable. Climbing traction is not quite as good as it is with a "paddle-type" rear tire (#1,2,and 3), but it's not bad. Can't give these tires a strong recommendation yet, as I've only been riding them a month or so, but as I said, so far, so good.
I noticed that some folks are also recommending the Panaracer Fire tires. They look good and get pretty good reviews, but I worry about the tall knobbies getting torn off in the rocky conditions. If I remember correctly from the reviews, some people had this problem. Might be worth checking out though.
Hope that helps some. |
| Interesting list of tires... | dgangi
Nov 27, 2003 8:07 PM | | Thanks a lot for your posts. Since tires are so personal, it came as no surprise to get a lot of differing opinions.
What is really interesting is that some of the tires listed as various people's choices are ones I am not wild about:
1) Panaracer Smoke/Dart - I had these on a bike about 5 years ago and hated how they climbed and tracked.
2) WTB Veloceraptor - I ran these tires for 3 seasons. They took a lot of abuse and hooked up very well on the trail, but they were *very* resistant to roll. Like they didn't even want to roll and I had to force them to move! They were also tanks.
Anyway, I decided to try a pair of Hutchinson Python Gold Elite's. I guess I was looking for a silver bullet from my post and I didn't get one, so I decided to try something different. I found these on sale for $30/pair for the kevlar bead (non-UST), so if they don't work for me then I am not out much money. I will let you all know how well they work in another month or so.
Thx...Doug |
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