Wheels & Tyres > less than 20 GBP Wheels & Tyres

Advantages: Comfortable, confidence building tyre, best in medium to soft terrain,
Disadvantages: Roling resistance penalty on hardpack and gravel

The Cinders so far are my favourite all-purpose trail tyre. I like them better than the Fire XC Pros, they're slower rolling, but inspire more confidence. I have the cinders in 2.1. And it is a full 2.1 carcass, unlike many manufacturers whose 2.1 carcasses look somewhat skinny. The tyre is best suited to medium to soft terrain, where it excels, hooking up really nicely finding plenty of traction in the soft stuff. I run them between 35-40 psi, ...
...shedding ability . In very thick/deep mud, they tend to spin rather than grip, and they don't clear quite as quickly as a mud-specific tyre, but otherwise as long as you keep the tyre pressures down, the gear low and go for it, they'll get you through most muddy sections. On hardpack and gravel, the high knobs makes their presence felt, and you'll pay for it in rolling resistance, but they seem to grip pretty well even when leant over. They're OK ... Read review

Advantages: Outstanding performance in mud
Disadvantages: performance on other surfaces is middle to poor

All tyres are a compromise. The mud Pro is a mud specific tyre, and at this it excels. However it's excellent mud performance is at the expense of it's performance on other terrains. On MUD: There are 2 thoughts for riding through mud 1) fat tyres run at low pressures to float over the surface. 2) thin tyres at high pressures to cut through the muck and find grip below. These are firmly in option 2. And in mud they are outstanding. I have personally ...
...up to 18 inches deep, and while my mates were left carrying their bikes, I just ploughed on through. Seems to work best at around 50 psi. The narrow profile and tall knobs really do cut through the surface, and where other tyres will just spin these will find grip. As long as you have the power to keep the rear wheel turning this tyre will push you through the muck. You're helped out by the narrow profile which prevents the mud getting as much of ... Read review

Advantages: Grip well in all conditions, durable, roll well
Disadvantages: None I can think of

...1.9's and going to the Panaracer 2.1's was a breath of fresh air. The increased grip, especially on the front, was amazing, and the rear tyre gripped like a mountain goat. Just make sure you put them on the right way around (follow the arrows on the side wall). As a tyre that can be used all year round, these are hard to beat. They grip well on the rocky bits, dig in on muddy climbs, and cope just fine on dusty fire road and singletrack. They don't ...
...corner very well, and I don't think I've ever had a front wheel wash out with these tyres, something that happened a few times to me with other tyres. The durability of the tyre is good, with a rear tyre normally lasting me about 6 months. The tyres are very predictable, and roll well, so aren't slow. I've used these tyres on both of my bikes for for a couple of years now and I'm sticking with them. If you want a tyre you can use all year round, ... Read review

Advantages: Light, Fast rolling Tyre, bit pricey
Disadvantages: Not amazing in the wet

I've used a pair of these on my Time trial bike for a few racing seasons. In fact they were the tyres I was using when I recorded my P.B. for a 10 mile time trial. They are light and fast, though grip is good for cornering as the twin tread design means the side rubber compound is far grippier than the middle. Conversely the middle strip is harder wearing. So the twin-tread idea - i.e. two different types of rubber on a tyre with the characteristics ...
...a very sound one, and a number of manufacturers use this nowadays - always hard wearing rubber in the middle, surrounded by softer rubber on the shoulder of the tyre to provide grip when leaning the bike over. Price is ok - the latest versions are still between £20 & £25, the wear rate was a little bit high - they only lasted two seasons of racing 10 mile time trials, so I wasn't exactly doing thousands of miles on them! This problem I would say ... Read review

Advantages: Good price, good longivity
Disadvantages: Bit heavy and slightly slow rolling

I used to use these tyres a few years ago. They are fairly well priced, and the wear rate was good. Grip in the dry was good, though in the wet they did slide around a bit, - as many cheaper tyres do. I always felt less confident going around corners (particularly roundabouts) in the wet. However, as a training tyre that is fine, and as they are a few years old now, I would imagine the price has come down from the £14 I paid. If they were under ... Read review