Have we done this yet?

http://www.gramslightbikes.com/2014/08/just-in-panaracer-firepro-tire.html

Looks like an improvement on a classic…

No 26″ version listed. 🙁

How can they be reviewed on a site called grams light bikes but he didn’t have any scales to weigh them!

I always though Fire XCs were overrated

If you like Panaracer tyres then Cinders are a good grippy all rounder (if a bit slow) Rampages were also pretty decent if you avoided mud. Neither had a decent tubeless version though.

Firexc’s were the tyre to have back in 2000.

As an all rounder back then they were pretty good, especially compared to a lot of the ‘stylised for aesthetics’ tyres that were around at the time.

Time moves on though and people expected more of their tyres. In the end, as my riding evolved I found them flimsy, grippier tyre compounds came to market and I wanted something wider without going for the ridiculously heavy 2.4 they made for the DH crowd.

This tire loves loose and gnarly chunder, and it digs into the terrain like it has large fangs.

I don’t remember ever riding any chunder loose, gnarly or otherwise on the originals, ran them as a back tyre, was pretty quick but iirc pretty useless on the front if you wanted to turn corners, or stay upright on off cambered rock….mud.

If you like Panaracer tyres then Cinders are a good grippy all rounder

I know someone who ran cinders until recently, when we convinced him to use more modern tyres, iirc he gave me permission to slap him if he ever turns up with them fitted again. Did like the soft rampage, just got a bit drifty in deep dust or more than a little mud.

I never got on with Fires.
Lost my front wheel a fair few times, totally unexpectedly when hitting moderate mud. A good all-rounder needs better mud performance than these in the UK.
(Saying that, I know people who swore by them, but they didn’t work for me.)

Perennial tyre arguments are about as subjective as it gets.

I’ve run Fire XCs on and off for over 10 years. Pretty happy with them for 9 months of the year – it’s just the mud and gloop they don’t get on with.

Still have an active pair now as I’ve not found something else I truly get on with.

I’ve also run Fire XCs on and off for over 10 years BUT I run Trailrakers in Winter/mud so I really on run the fire’s on fairly dry or maybe damp trails.

Just switched back to some Contis which seem betteer but they’re black chilli (expensive then) ones so should be good.

New Whyte that should be here in a few days has Maxxis Ardent TR front and Maxxis Ardent Race TR rear which I’m going to run tubeless so may retire my Fires

I used to rotate my XCs with Contis (Verts) too. Have been wanting to try Trailrakers since they first appeared. Maybe this winter.

Trailraker PRs 1.9 seem to be a good mud tyre and hard wearing which is nice 🙂

Old style conti cross countrys in 1.5 size were also really good in mud despite the tread not being very agrressive I think they were just thin enough to dig through the slop

Cinders were great tyres, always thought the magic Mary was just a reworked cinder

Fire xcs were fast but could be sketchy

I wanted something wider without going for the ridiculously heavy 2.4 they made for the DH crowd.

I used to love them. Heavy and slow but grippy as a grippy thing.

Porcupines 🙂

Another former Fire XC Pro user, mainly because they were rated as a good all-round tyre at a time that I couldn’t be doing with seasonal tyres. As above, they were pretty good, but had an inconsistent breakaway – you’d be riding along in a bit of mud, and then suddenly it’d completely wash out without any warning. Eventually I got rid because they were so loose on my rims that valves were getting ripped off my innner tubes.

Smoke and Dart?

I was excited until I saw the size, I used the 1.8 when I had 26 wheels and nothing else and would have done the same in 29.