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What rear tire? IRC El Gato or Intense?

2712 Views 24 Replies 15 Participants Last post by  mickey_b12
I was looking for a pretty nice rear tire. But I've freerided and my style started to go more and more towards trials. I know my Intense EX909 NEVER pinchflated. 6-foot drops to flat concrete, bunny hops with tire landing crooked on the curb ledge, rear wheel stalls...never a pinchflat. I dunno if it's from the Intense tube in conjunction iwth the tire, or just the tire or tube?

Question is, I ordered an IRC El Gato, and will just be using regular thornproof tubes(not quite a DH tube). Will I pinchflat everywhere? I avoided the intense, although I swear by them, I didn't want to seriously weigh down my ride. 860 grams vs 1400 grams on the tire alone. Also, how is rear wheel traction compared to the Intense?

Anybody?
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I hated the El Gato, just because it pinched flatted so much, how ever smoother riders such as the Theolonious monk loved that tire for a long time. I think there's a lot of better tires out there.....
What is a good tire then?

I haven't really ordered it yet, as the Bike shop said they don't order till Monday...I can choose another tire up until then, which is when I need to make a final choice....which tire is good fr no pinch flatting?
The Michelin Comp24.

1200g ish, grippy as glue, great flat protection.

Shame they wear out pretty fast :(
Comp24 eh? Might look into that. How is the Hot S 2.5 for a rear? It's pretty light, but how is the pinchflat protection?
Look rear tire is not the place to save wieght 24.1 or bust nothing else will do (cept some maxxis tires) but dont ask me about them, ask some one who hates maguras.
Alright, cause I was looking at an Intense 2.35 with Intense Tube and it's 2027 grams. But it's pretty much pinchflat proof as I've landed on curb edges on LOW psi and still rode home....I'm just trying to get to the spot that will do, I'm scared the Intense are un-needed weight/overkill.
oicdn said:
Alright, cause I was looking at an Intense 2.35 with Intense Tube and it's 2027 grams. But it's pretty much pinchflat proof as I've landed on curb edges on LOW psi and still rode home....I'm just trying to get to the spot that will do, I'm scared the Intense are un-needed weight/overkill.
So it might be slightly overkill, durability is good. I would go with the michelin 24.1 or 16 soft myself. Maxxix Minion dh seems pretty awesome too in slow reezay. Intense tire would work fine though. I don't think they're nearly as sticky though.
Yeah, cause I can get an Intense 2.35 4-ply 50 duro rubber for $30usd shipped...LOL.

Those other tires are more expensive, but if they work better/don't pinchflat just like the Intense...I'm down. I'm gonna be riding this TO the spots, sometimes miles away.....I don't wanna have to walk it back home from a pinchflat.
you got two extreme ends of the spectrum with those choices. the el gato is a flimsy little beehotch school girl of a tire that will pinch flat if you look at it funny and the intense is an overgrown monster of a tire that will do to the rear of a bike what a kniffen fork will do to the front.

i would highly recomend the michelin 24.1 or the maxxis minion tires over both the intense 909 and the el gato. if you really wanted to pick between the gato and 909, go with the intense for sure.
Yeah...I just bought the Intense, but I'll be using just a regular weight weenie tube as the 4-ply casing should do everything and be fine (I hope). I was looking at some peoples set-up on line and they have Maxxis minions with DH tubes...that's heavier than an Intense with a regular tube, and even with a thorn tube. I dunno....I'm new, maybe there's a REASON people aren't using the Intense sidewalls, LOL
with dh tires you can get away with 1" tubes. those are super light and cost next to nothing. i have them front and rear and for the 7 months ive ran this its been more than fine. and good choice on the dh tire. rear tires are no place to save weight. well you know what i mean.
I agree with Roman. I've been using 1-1.25 (I think) tubes since Andrew told me about them in summer and haven't gotten any more flats then with normal tubes. I also like the 24.1 Comp but I haven't tried out many other good tires. O I also got 10 tubes for $17 at jensonusa.com
Martin
killjoy said:
use tioga factory dh2.3
no. well unless you love pinchflats and sliding around like your riding on ice.

who in the duece uses dh tubes with the minion tires? people without a clue? aside from downhill riders on their downhill bikes i have never heard of anyone doing this. all the trials riders i have ever seen with maxxis tires are running normal tubes.
killjoy said:
use tioga factory dh2.3

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:



NO but seriously...TRA uses dh tubes in his maxxis, but hes a big fucking beast. I've run 1" tubes in the back for a long time now, which has always worked out...I also did the same in the front, but now I run a huge thorn proof tube because of all the front wheel moves that have fucked up my regular tubes.
Yeah...I think I'll just use the regular tubes I have layin around.

Anybody know of the grip of an Intense compared to a Michy comp24.1? It was cheap, so I got that tire, usually not teh case with Intense, but it happens, LOL.
i run an intense dh tube in my michelin...stfu.

haha..i havent pinched though, and i have hit some hardy shit... but the tube is still probably overkill
yeah, on my .243, I had a D321 with an Intense 2.5 FRO and Intense tube....I've hit some hardy shit, rear tire landed diagonally on some sharp ledges from a drop, as well as a sloppy as bunny hop......LOL, I still rode home. :bigthumb:

That's why I'm hesitant to swap tires. The intense grip/pinchflat protection has always watched over me.....well, I slipped on a wet slick surface once cause I was leaning over and going REALLY fast.....but otherwise, they've gripped like a pervert on a porn mag.....
Those tire choices are the wrong ones I'm afraid. The El Gato is a piece of junk. I've seriously pinched that thing dropping 5' to FLAT GROUND! After three weeks of pinching on almost every ride I just took it off. That was like 2 years ago. A Worthless tire. Even with a DH tube it will still pinch every day.

Like everyne else said, there are really only two tires that are worth it for trials, Maxxis or Michelen.

Don't consider the Tioga Factory DH tires either. They don't grip on anything.
I used them for over a year before I discovered Maxxis and then I realized how much the Tioga was really holding me back.
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