more tire talk...

Since tires are considered the connection to the trail, there seems to always be endless discussions on the virtues of tires and the various characteristics that each type impart to the bike and rider. Tubeless, tubed, high-volume, TPI, low profile, semi-slick, etc., etc. Although I'm generally not a tire geek and usually just "ride what I brung" I did make a decent tire decision at the Mohican 100 when faced with the dilemma of what to run on a course that I had little experience with. The rocks are much sharper here than in Michigan and I needed something beefier for the back. I decided to leave the Schwalbe Racing Ralph on the front and swap out the Geax Barro race on the back with an old IRC Mythos XC 2.1 that I had laying around. The Mythos is a $12.00 tire paired with the $75.00 Schwalbe. As far as I was concerned it was a pretty good match up for the Ohio terrain and hooked up well. I feel if I had run that thin walled Geax Barro race tire on those gnarly sections of trail I would have flatted more than once. It was risky going with a cheap, old tire that may have failed but the risk paid off for me. Sure, it would have been easier to plop down another $75.00 on a second Racing Ralph for the rear but I'm all about doing things on the cheap. Great choice IMO.
Geax Barro race:

IRC Mythos XC:


Schwalbe Racing Ralph: