[Closed] What's so terrible about Panracer Fire XC Pros?

Theres nowt wrong with them, there just not very fashionable at the moment.

Look at Tioga DH tires or Nokian Gazzaloddis, brilliant tires but there just not in fashion at the moment so no one uses them.

Fire XCs are good all rounders. If you want something faster, or grippier then you can choose other options.

If you like the fireXCs, can I suggest an ignitor on the front and an advantage on the back? Does me well in similar conditions to fire XCs, little faster maybe.

I like them (running 2.1" UST ones F&R); two of my friends also run F&R 2.1" tubes & rate them, and my bro runs a 2.4" front & a Cinder rear.

As you say, they're not the most cutting-edge tyre, but they work well, clear mud well (better than the Nevegals one of my friends had before switching). They could be better on wet rock, but tbh how many tyres are any good on that?

Andy

woahh there... by no stretch of the most perverse imagination is a tioga DH a brilliant tyre.

It simply cannot compare to more modern rubber (literally, they ride like they're made of porcelain)

Do you mean factory dh? They really are poo.

not sure if they've been updated to incorporate modern compound technologies?

I used to love them but they were surpassed by other manufacturers

if they've been modernised then i'd give them another go

i moved from them to nobby nics for xc and the awesome Intense Edge DC which is still my favourite tyre where there's not going to be a lot of mud for 'all mountain'

4 of my mates use and swear by fire XC pros.

Was out in the mud on Saturday and none of them had any grip issues.

I have never had an issue with Fire XC Pros.

They are a good all round tyre and have served me well although when I moved to using more modern (Specialized Eskars) tyres this summer I was astonished at how much further the bike could lean and how controlled the drift was. I don't know if new grippier tyres have the versatility of Panaracers though - I've been lampooned in other threads on this point (with justification) but am still not actually convinced. It's worth noting though that I have had some truly spectacular washouts on wet roads using Panaracers, never off road though (there are few rocky/slabby trails near me).

I am currently running an old Tioga Factory DH 2.3 as they are (in my view) an excellent mud tyre especially on the front. Although this is only because it was hanging in my garage unused and therefore free. If I was spending money, I'd get an offering from Maxxis or Michelin.

Nowt wrong with Fire XC's, they aren't the fastest or the grippiest but are hard wearing and not particularly prone to punctures.

If you are a fan of Panaracer tyres try Rampages they use a more modern compound and are a good all rounder

I have XC Pros on my HT and am generally quite happy with them. They're not as good in summer as the eskar/ardent on my FS but for winter they've been great and even in summer they're fine (I go slower on the HT).

Anyone used the 2.4 FR version? I need a big cheap tyre for my DH orientated hardtail and these are cheap at Wiggle

will never cost enough less than high rollers to surpass them in that category i reckon

2.4FR are fine - my son's used them very happily on his bike. I'd not race DH on them, but for big-rocks bouncing they're perfectly fine.

Very decent all round XC tyre. The centre knobs are fairly close which means it can pack-up with sticky mud. But maybe they are a bit pricy.

front end can wash out in muddy conditions (as I found to my cost last weekend,) but generally I'm happy with mine

They're cheap, robust and while not the best perfoming tyre ever, they do the job over most surfaces and conditions. Not sure I'd bother buying any more though.

My problem trying to find a better perfoming 'all rounder' is that 2.35 HRs are too huge to fit through the stays of a 90's Kona, the 2.1 is TINY and seems to suffer much more with the centre-to-sideknob transition grip abcence. Oh and they don't roll so well. Love them heading downwards mind.

Nobby Nics - pretty good, just darn fragile and spendy.

front end can wash out in muddy conditions

This is normal for MTB.

what about Maxxis Advantage on the back, High Roller on the front?

(I can certainly vouch for the puncture resistance of Fire Xc - on the Transrockies lat year, my team mate punctured his small block 8 every day, at least once....I got none!)

CRAP tyre...just ditched 2.1 F+R's bought from new and run from beginning of the year thinking i'm sure i'll find the ideal conditions for them...

Grip in muddy conditions - your having a joke, they turn into slicks, I shed skin faster than they shed mud.
Grip in wet cond's - average to crap, not confidence inspiring..
Grip in dry cond's - not too bad, only had one hairy moment when they let go but did recover afer a 6inch slide...

I like them for a day to day tyre, for racing I choose something which is lighter and rolls faster, my old favourites were Schwalbe Jimmys. I'm about to buy some more XCpros.

Odd - I find them less prone to clogging than High Rollers - in fact I'd say ability to clear mud is one of their particular strengths

I suppose it depends on the type of mud! I've never tried them in truly Somme-like conditions

so, nockmeister, what have you got instead?

Saw a few pairs going round Afan on Saturday, made me feel all nostalgic.

Agree with comments about being rubbish in mud though, and that there are better tyres out there for similar money now.

They're ok in a jack of all trades kind of way,my main issue with them is that they drag so much more than the "modern" tyres do....

Twodogs - Member
so, nockmeister, what have you got instead?

I used them on my HT BTW
I don't understand ppl saying they are draggy..The one thing i didn't find them were draggy. I've got Nobby Nics on my FS (jury still out on them!) but they are a lot draggier than the XC's?!? hmmm albeit 2.25 vs 2.10 i suppose...

This season i will be mostly riding...
Well I've got some Trailrakers to try (F+R 2.10's) and some Nevegals StickyE's (F+R 2.10's)

I ride on the border of the Dark and White Peaks..so the terrain goes from gloopy mud/peaty bog to millstone grit n rocks..no tree roots 🙂

mine are 2.25s..on hardtail and FS. not really tried anything else, so have nothing to compare to re drag.
the only thing putting me off the Nobby Nic Evolution is puncture resistance, but maybe snakeskin or double defence solves that (at a price!!)

lots of tree roots whereever I ride!

The key theme of this thread seems to be that different people have very different experiences with this tyre! Some have seen clogging, some not, some have felt drag, some not.

Strange.

I used them for years and found that while there's nothing 'wrong' with with per say there nothing great about them either: benchmark average tyre. There are other tyres out there which do what they do better. The other thing I found is moving from the panaracer 2.1 to a 2.3 added a lot in terms if grip and ride comfort

I used to run Fire XC pros but switched to 2.25 Cinders and found them much better - both mud performance and ruggedness. Also tried the 2.35 Rampage which were OK - fast rolling and good grip in the dry, but not so good in the wet and more susceptible to pinch flats.

If you get on with Fire XC's or Cinders you will hate HR's and Advantages because of the grip dead spot. You need to be upright or aggressively cranked over and/or like sliding

I'm now running Minion DHF 2.25F 60A front and back - best all round tyre I've found yet

If you are a fan of Panaracer tyres try Rampages they use a more modern compound and are a good all rounder

*for my particular and peculiar style of riding.

I find them a great allround tyre. Not particularly great at anything, but are skinny enough to perform pretty well in the winter. Summer months I changed the front to Rampage and loved the extra width and comfort it gave me - in contrast to Colin T!

I've had my rear on since Feb and havent had a puncture yet + they are only £12 each 😉
I ride chalk and tree roots, so to be fair, there isnt anything that'll grip well in the wet anyway, just slide and balance...

Been using fire xc for years. As others have said, a jack of all trades type. I've used them on the dusty hardpack CO trails and they don't have as much grip but I think they're fast enough rolling. Liked them in the UK as the trail conditions were more varied. Didn't have massive problems with clogging even in the nasty clay / chalk of the north downs.

I hadn't heard of the "grip dead spot" concept before.

So if I interpret your post correctly, Panaracers are best when upright or on the edge (not that it matters how a tyre grips when you're upright...except for climbing I suppose), whereas Maxxis HRs are better when you're somewhere between full slide and not edging at all?

Also - this may be me showing my ignorance - isn't a Minion a mud tyre?

For me XC Pros fell into the trap of being jack of all trades master of none. They're reasonably fast, fairly grippy, and not too bad in the mud, but on my bike they tended to wash out on slippery cambers at any speed.
Once they started ripping valves off my inner tubes (I tried most things to prevent it, including reinforcing the inners, talcing the tyre etc), it gave me an excuse to change them. I swapped them for Bonty Jones ACX and haven't looked back - for example they're definitely grippier on the cambers that I used to struggle with

i have them on my 26'' trials bike, xc bike and burly bike. Perfectly good tyres all year round, so i don't have to constantly swap them and thus change how the bike feels.

If you like them, why change?

I realised just how bad Fire XC's were when I swapped to other tyres; used to rate them before. Most others are better.

Nokian NBX
Maxxis Highroller 2.35
Maxxis Ignitor 2.35

They're all good.

if you like them why change?

well, yes, I do like them, but maybe there is something that does the job better......

Good to se that others find them bad too! Having bought a pair find, poor mud grip, slippery on wet grass and bounce alamingly off rocks..yet they seem to have high rating reviews eg MTBR that persuaded me to give them a go 🙁 Worse as an allrounder than Schwalbe Black Sahrk Mud 2.1 which ahve superb mud grip, and wet grass grip and are OK on rocks (better than Trailrakers anyway)

smoke and dart - it's the only way!!

(I don't like change me!)

Nowt wrong with fire xc's mind

I like Fire XC pros.

i've run 2.1 and now 1.8's and they are brilliant tyres for my all year all condition requirements.

A bike I bought second-hand came with Fire XC pros. They were fairly worn admittidly but offered no grip at all in the mud. I swapped them for a Rubber Queen up front, 2.2 as they come up massive, and a Maxxis Advantage at the back. Really happy with that combo, maybe a bit slow but feels super stable and gives you lots of confidence. I've got Rocket Rons on the HT - I really like them too, reasonably grippy and super fast.

they perform very well in dry sandy pine forest conditions. IMO 8)

I like my Fire XC pros - goodish all rounder and not so stupidly expensive that I would cry if I knackered one.