IRC Mythos Steel > Reviews > Beautiful tyres for XC riders

Author's product rating:   

Value for money	Excellent
Durability	Good
How does it compare to similar products?	Good

Advantages:	Nice tyre, sheds mud, corners, stops, goes, nuff said
Disadvantages:	Can be a swine to get on the wheel properly

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I bought a new pair of wheels the other , and these are what came attached to them. The tyres are available in two widths, 1.95" and 2.1", in my case, I'm using the more svelte 1.95" tyres. Looks are certainly impressive, with the red sidewalls going nicely with my red and black Trek, but who cares what they look like when push comes to shove? Anyway, after a good thrash, the red dissapears under a sea of mud.

Anyway, off we go to our regular riding spot, a quick bimble along the tarmac cycle path and then off into deepest darkest woodland. Riding along the tarmac, rolling resistance is pleasantly low and I'm getting worried about how the tyres will handle anything more severe than loose gravel. Maybe I should have brought my road bike with me instead?

No.

Actually, get them off-road, and the IRCs really behave themselves. The ride starts with a good uphill slog, and I'm off in the distance ahead of my riding partners. Granted, I feel like my heart is going to explode out of my chest when I get to the top, but let's not blame the tyres for that. Anyway, now for the fun bit. Lovely, lovely singletrack. Off we go on a variety of surfaces, tree roots, loose scree, mud (even though it hadn't rained for a week!) and the tyres are really going well. The bike corners like it's not being ridden by a complete moron for once, and even seems to stop when I ask it to, thanks to the tyres' excellent mud-shedding capabilities.

Yesterday I had to remove the tyres to get the wheels trued. Removing the tyres was far easier than any steel beaded tyre I've ever worked with before, slipping off with only a little assistance from Mr. Tyre Lever, and back on again equally simply, until BANG!, the inner tube explodes.

Yes folks, if you're a ham fisted moron like myself, you need to be careful putting the tyres on. They can pinch your tubes easily, as was testified by the second tube that exploded in as many minutes when I inflated my other wheel. I'm docking a star for that, but otherwise, go buy them!