fatter tires?

[Mark J. Rosen]

I've had my first mountain bike for a couple of months and a couple of
hundred miles (a Rocky Mountain hardtail). It has 1.95 maxxis mofo xc
tires on it, and I've been considering getting 2.1 tires. What sorts
of benefits are there to slightly fatter tires? Will I end up with
higher rolling resistance and thus slower speeds when riding on roads
or trails? Does the extra rubber help a lot in the trails?

I've looked at many of the reviews on mtbr.com, and for my 185 lb.
weight, two tires look good to me: the Geax Sturdy and the IRC Serac.
Any thoughts on these tires? Both use the same tire for the front
and back, unlike my mofos which have different front and back designs.
Is there a benefit with different front and backs?

Thanks for any help.

Mark

[Carla A-G]

"Mark J. Rosen" > wrote in message
om...
> I've had my first mountain bike for a couple of months and a couple of
> hundred miles (a Rocky Mountain hardtail). It has 1.95 maxxis mofo xc
> tires on it, and I've been considering getting 2.1 tires. What sorts
> of benefits are there to slightly fatter tires? Will I end up with
> higher rolling resistance and thus slower speeds when riding on roads
> or trails? Does the extra rubber help a lot in the trails?
>
> I've looked at many of the reviews on mtbr.com, and for my 185 lb.
> weight, two tires look good to me: the Geax Sturdy and the IRC Serac.
> Any thoughts on these tires? Both use the same tire for the front
> and back, unlike my mofos which have different front and back designs.
> Is there a benefit with different front and backs?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Mark
>

Ah yes, the infamous tire discussion. May I suggest a dejanews search, the
topic has been discussed many times.

- CA-G

Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!

[Mark J. Rosen]

Sorry, Carla, if it seems that I failed to do a quick deja search. I did,
but didn't find any discussion of the different effects of the size of the
tires, i.e., 1.95 vs. 2.1 vs. 2.3 etc.

Mark

"Carla A-G" > wrote in message
>...

> Ah yes, the infamous tire discussion. May I suggest a dejanews search, the

> topic has been discussed many times.

>

> - CA-G

>

> Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!

[Chris]

"Mark J. Rosen" > wrote in message
om...
> I've had my first mountain bike for a couple of months and a couple of
> hundred miles (a Rocky Mountain hardtail). It has 1.95 maxxis mofo xc
> tires on it, and I've been considering getting 2.1 tires. What sorts
> of benefits are there to slightly fatter tires? Will I end up with
> higher rolling resistance and thus slower speeds when riding on roads
> or trails? Does the extra rubber help a lot in the trails?
>
> I've looked at many of the reviews on mtbr.com, and for my 185 lb.
> weight, two tires look good to me: the Geax Sturdy and the IRC Serac.
> Any thoughts on these tires? Both use the same tire for the front
> and back, unlike my mofos which have different front and back designs.
> Is there a benefit with different front and backs?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Mark
>

Mark:
All things being equal - namely inflation pressure and tire construction
(sidewall/rubber stiffness, rubber compound, casing thickness) - a fatter
tire will roll slower, grip better, and provide more cush than a narrow one.
So, an IRC Mythos K Redwall in 1.85 will be faster/less plush/breakout
easier than an IRC Mythos K Redwall 2.1 (assuming both of those tires exist,
but you get the idea). Now, when you start changing
brands/models/thicknesses, all rules go to ****. There are too many
variables.

Some very general rules of thumb: If you want to new tires for more
traction, go fatter. If you want to go faster on your local trails, find
out where you have problems with your current tires, then ask us about what
we've found works well in your specific problem areas. If you want to go
slower on trails, go sit in the corner.

The IRC Serac, while the same tire front and rear, is mounted "backwards" on
the rear so you get a different style of tread making contact in back as you
do up front. Lots and lots and lots of tires do this.

FWIW, I run IRC Serac 2.1 (tubeless) on every bike I ride off pavement. I
find they're very fast, very smooth, grip awesome in everything but
swampmud, and when they do get all swampmuddy, they shed crap fast. Of
course, I ride on usually hard, kind of rocky,
every-now-and-then-a-water-crossing trails in Maryland. If you're in, say,
Moab, my tire advice means nothing. But for me, it's my perfect tire. As
of yet.

I'm also 185(ish), if that means anything.

The best way to learn about tires is to (drumroll) try them out. Buy a few
pairs (scandalous! The money involved!) and find out what works. Give the
ones you don't want to friends, neighbors, a-mb posters, Ebay, etc.

Chris

[Mark J. Rosen]

Thanks, Chris, for all the help. I live in the western suburbs of
Philadelphia, so I think the terrain we ride is probably pretty similar.
I'm looking to go a little bit fatter than 1.95 to get a bit more grip, but
I was concerned about having it slow me down too much. Sounds like the
Seracs are worth a try. Any good place to get them at less than full
retail?

Mark

[Chris]

"Mark J. Rosen" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks, Chris, for all the help. I live in the western suburbs of
> Philadelphia, so I think the terrain we ride is probably pretty similar.
> I'm looking to go a little bit fatter than 1.95 to get a bit more grip,
but
> I was concerned about having it slow me down too much. Sounds like the
> Seracs are worth a try. Any good place to get them at less than full
> retail?
>
> Mark
>

Heh. I just sent a free pair to Penny...if she doesn't like 'em, maybe she
can pass 'em on.

They're really popular, so don't expect to see them clearanced anywhere. My
UST pair was about $65, and that was with my LBS employee discount.
Tube-requireds should be, I don't know, like $30-35 each retail?

I am STRONGLY in support of LBS shopping, so check around your town first (I
know there is a pretty cool shop right near the Convention Center in
Philly...see what they'd want for them. Since they're a Fisher dealer,
there's even the chance they have a pair lying around that someone pulled
off a new Sugar).
If you must go online shopping, there are only three good sites IMO:
Cambria, where the 2.1s are on sale for $19 each, Jenson, who doesn't carry
them, and Pricepoint, where the tires are $54 a pair.

Christmas is coming; if that's your kind of thing, then treat yourself.

Here's the Cambria link...if you must:
http://cambriabike.com/SALE/tires_tubes/index.htm

Enjoy, and post a report if you pick 'em up.

Chris

[Penny S]

Chris murmured while asleep:
> "Mark J. Rosen" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Thanks, Chris, for all the help. I live in the western suburbs of
>> Philadelphia, so I think the terrain we ride is probably pretty
>> similar. I'm looking to go a little bit fatter than 1.95 to get a
>> bit more grip, but I was concerned about having it slow me down too
>> much. Sounds like the Seracs are worth a try. Any good place to
>> get them at less than full retail?
>>
>> Mark
>>
>
> Heh. I just sent a free pair to Penny...if she doesn't like 'em,
> maybe she can pass 'em on.

unlikely.. I've had a few rides on them and so far, I like 'em just fine.

[Chris]

"Penny S" > wrote in message
...
> Chris murmured while asleep:
> > "Mark J. Rosen" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> Thanks, Chris, for all the help. I live in the western suburbs of
> >> Philadelphia, so I think the terrain we ride is probably pretty
> >> similar. I'm looking to go a little bit fatter than 1.95 to get a
> >> bit more grip, but I was concerned about having it slow me down too
> >> much. Sounds like the Seracs are worth a try. Any good place to
> >> get them at less than full retail?
> >>
> >> Mark
> >>
> >
> > Heh. I just sent a free pair to Penny...if she doesn't like 'em,
> > maybe she can pass 'em on.
>
> unlikely.. I've had a few rides on them and so far, I like 'em just fine.
>
>

Sweet. Glad to hear it.

Suck it up and crack open the wallet, Mark :)

Chris

[Mark J. Rosen]

OK, OK. :)

I'm happy to pay for them. Is there any difference between the red walled
ones and the black walled ones? I'll be using them with tubes, but I know I
saw something during my googling about staying away from certain black
walled tires, so I think that was the Korean made panaracer fires rather
than the seracs. If the black walled ones are fine, I'll go get 'em at
Cambria for $19 a tire. I've checked all my local shops and no one has
them.

Mark


"Chris" > wrote in message
ink.net...
>
> "Penny S" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Chris murmured while asleep:
> > > "Mark J. Rosen" > wrote in message
> > > ...
> > >> Thanks, Chris, for all the help. I live in the western suburbs of
> > >> Philadelphia, so I think the terrain we ride is probably pretty
> > >> similar. I'm looking to go a little bit fatter than 1.95 to get a
> > >> bit more grip, but I was concerned about having it slow me down too
> > >> much. Sounds like the Seracs are worth a try. Any good place to
> > >> get them at less than full retail?
> > >>
> > >> Mark
> > >>
> > >
> > > Heh. I just sent a free pair to Penny...if she doesn't like 'em,
> > > maybe she can pass 'em on.
> >
> > unlikely.. I've had a few rides on them and so far, I like 'em just
fine.
> >
> >
>
> Sweet. Glad to hear it.
>
> Suck it up and crack open the wallet, Mark :)
>
> Chris
>
>

[Chris]

"Mark J. Rosen" > wrote in message
...
> OK, OK. :)
>
> I'm happy to pay for them. Is there any difference between the red walled
> ones and the black walled ones? I'll be using them with tubes, but I know
I
> saw something during my googling about staying away from certain black
> walled tires, so I think that was the Korean made panaracer fires rather
> than the seracs. If the black walled ones are fine, I'll go get 'em at
> Cambria for $19 a tire. I've checked all my local shops and no one has
> them.
>
> Mark
>

I know there is a preference for Redwall IRC Mythos tires, so I would
_assume_ with no first hand experience the Redwall Seracs would share
whatever magic the Mythos' did.

FWIW, I've never ridden Redwalls - as I understand it, the big difference in
between Jap and Korean models...I think. Whatever. The USTs are blackwall,
my earlier tubed Seracs were blackwalls, and I've never had tire life or any
other problems.

Christ, I should get a freaking royalty check from IRC. I don't work for
them or anything...or do I?

Chris

[bomba]

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 02:39:53 +0000, Chris wrote:

>> saw something during my googling about staying away from certain black
>> walled tires, so I think that was the Korean made panaracer fires rather
>> than the seracs. If the black walled ones are fine, I'll go get 'em at
>> Cambria for $19 a tire. I've checked all my local shops and no one has
>> them.
>>
>
> I know there is a preference for Redwall IRC Mythos tires, so I would
> _assume_ with no first hand experience the Redwall Seracs would share
> whatever magic the Mythos' did.

I had a feeling it was because the red wall Mythos' were the ones made in
Japan with the higher tpi. I don't know if the same is true for the
Seracs.

--
a.m-b FAQ: http://www.j-harris.net/bike/ambfaq.htm

a.bmx FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/bmx_faq.htm

[Chris]

"bomba" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 02:39:53 +0000, Chris wrote:

>
> I had a feeling it was because the red wall Mythos' were the ones made in
> Japan with the higher tpi. I don't know if the same is true for the
> Seracs.
>

That sounds about what everyone was saying...all my blackwall Seracs have
been Japanese, if that means a damn thing.

Chris