What is a good Mountain Bike tire to buy?

Question

I got a used mt. bike and it needs 26 by 1.9 to 2.2 tires for riding trails in southern California, rocky-adobe-sandy-dry-dusty. It doesn't need to be expensive, just well mad and good handling. Thanks!

Answer 1

When I lived in SoCal I used 1 tire exclusively on both my MTBs; Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1.

It's a particularly good tire in the dry and dusty conditions that I'd normally encounter @ Rocky Peak, Agoura Hills, La Tuna, Brown Mountain (JPL) and elsewhere.

Note: be SURE to get the Made in Japan Panaracers (if you choose to buy them) and not the Made in Taiwan models. The MIT tires are cheap and do not have the durability (due to a lower thread count) nor the light weight of the MIJ tires.

Biggest way to spot the difference: the MIJ tire will have large white silkscreened lettering on the outside whereas the MIT tire will have what looks like a color label or decal molded into the tire.

Check this link:

http://www.panaracer.com/eng/products/mt...

Look at the 9th tire down from the top. That's the one I recommend.

Bonus: it's available in 4 different colors w/ red being the most popular.

They all have the red bead.

You can find them at Performance Bike for ~ $21/tire.

Jenson USA has them, too, but the price seems higher than I've seen:

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/T...

I still use this tire on my Schwinn Moab 3 here on the east coast and I'll probably keep using them until they're no longer made.

I think they're that good.

Answer 2

maxxis are lightweight and good. michelin are durable and reliable

bikingthings

Answer 3

On dry ground just use Larsen TT, Hutchinson Python. You can either choose a Nobby Nic tire which is a good one.