Tyre review

You hammer round a bend in your local trail. The same bend that you have tackled a hundred times recently. But this time your front wheel breaks out from underneath you. Have you ever been there??
Whenever this happens to me, I usually take this as a tell tale sign that my tyre is worn beyond use. Even if the tyre looks to be O.K.The chances are you will have lost all confidence in it's ability to stick you to the ground. So you just go to a bike shop and throw any old tyre on your bike? Don't think so.
Choosing a tyre to suit the Scottish weather and terrain can be a difficult task. As soon as you pick up a magazine you will find out how difficult this can be.You will find that there are dozens of manufacturers out there plying for your business. If you multiply the number of manufacturers by the number of different tyres in their range, you will soon have a headache. Basically the Scottish weather dictates that the more aggressive tread pattern the better. However mud shedding is also an issue with our ever changing weather. Puncture resistance to me is also a major issue as some of our terrain has rocks that hard, that you could leave them outside in the streets of Glasgow and nobody would touch them.
We have compiled this review based on some of the tyres that we have tried and tested over the last few years.

Continental Vertical Expect to to pay: £13.99 approx

Specifications
Weight: 690g (Steel bead)
Size: 26x2.3
Ideal pressure: 55-65 psi.

This tyre is massive. It actually gives the impression that its a lot bigger than it is with its rounded knobbly profile. This is a very comfortable tyre on the trail due to it's size. Probably the best front tyre you can buy.

Performance: Excellent in both muddy and dry conditions. This front tyre has yet to give way on any terrain.

Mud shedding: Not a problem due to the wide spacing between the tread.

Puncture resistance: I only experienced one puncture in eight months of pounding some of the hardest terrain in Scotland.

Downfalls: Wears too quickly on rear.

Panaracer Fire XC pro.
 Expect to to pay: £20-£25 approx

Left -1.8 Right-2.1

Specifications
Weight: 580g (Folding)
Size: 26x2.1
Ideal pressure: 55-65 psi.

Another good all round tyre which suits Scottish trails. A symmetrical patterned , hard wearing tyre with distinctive red/blue/yellow sidewalls.

Performance: Generally good in muddy conditions. Can be a bit sketchy on fast, dry singletrack.

Mud shedding: Tends to clog up a lot.

Puncture resistance: Good at high pressures. But if you drop pressure expect lots of pinch punctures.


Downfalls: Puncture resistance and mud clogging.

WTB Weirwolf Expect to to pay: £20 approx

Specifications
Weight: 728g (2.3 race)
Size: 26x2.3
Ideal pressure: 55-65 psi.

This is supposed to be the tyre of the year.I don't know where this statistic came from, but it is certainly not true. I thought this tyre would give me new found confidence on corners, and in reality all that it has done is to make me want to revert back to the old continentals. On the dry this tyre is awful, it slides about as if on ball bearings. OK it performs pretty well on the moderately soft trail, but in the mud it brings half the trail with you. After only a couple of months use, the back tyre had a massive blowout and I was left with a large gash in the centre of the tread (Right in the middle of Glentress). After limping home with a makeshift repaired tyre, it has now been scrapped.Performance: Generally good in soft conditions. Sketchy on fast, dry singletrack.

Mud shedding: Tends to clog up a lot.

Puncture resistance: Thought it was OK, but the massive blowout killed a tyre instantly.

Downfalls: Everything really.
WTB Velociraptor Expect to to pay: £10-15 approx

Left-Front specific/ Right rear specific.

Specifications
Weight: 670g front / 660g rear
Size: 26x1.75 or 2.1
Ideal pressure: 55-65 psi.

Came across this tyre through default. They came fitted to a new bike I had bought. They are front and rear specific. The rear coming with a solid block design and the front with it's dart like tread.

Puncture resistance: OK, pretty solid.

Mud shedding: Rear not too bad, but front attracts a lot of crap.

Performance: For slow recreation rides its OK, but put this tyre under pressure and it will scare the life out of you. The front end is very unpredictable and could cause a nasty accident. Seems to perform best in slightly muddy conditions.

Downfalls: Scary at speed. Rear tyre very noisy on hard surfaces. Poor acceleration
Specialized Nimbus Expect to to pay: £24.99 set approx

 

Specifications
Wire bead
Size: 26x1.5
Ideal pressure: 70-80psi.

Having to drag the Enduro to work and back each day is certainly no fun. The chunky 2.3 tyres were like carrying an extra 3 stone. Any race you had home from work was absolute torture. I decided to switch to a hard tail for commuting which improved things considerably. However, as soon as I put the Nimbus tyres on things changed. These tyres are super fast….instantly. With rolling resistance dramatically reduced, commuting times have improved that much that I reckon I could take a roadie any day. The tyres also seem to grip very well in the wet although untested on frosty mornings. The only criticism I have is that with 80lbs air pressure, these things are rock hard and certainly not forgiving. But that’s a small price to pay for getting home for my dinner quicker

Puncture resistance: OK, pretty solid.

Performance: Fast as Feck

Downfalls: Solid and sore on the old nutsack


©2005Glasgow MTB Mad