mountain brakes and tires

[fultzie]

Hi all (or more specifically, all mtn bikers ),

I had a little mishap at my race this weekend involving poorly aligned brakes and the sidewall of my tires... long story short, day two resulted in a flat and a shredded tire wall 5 miles in to my 9 mile race!

one guy on my team (whom i trust pretty well... he helped me buy my road bike and has worked at a bike store... plus has ridden for years) recommended Avid brand brakes, point 3 or point 5 (because, in his opinion, the stock shimano ones i have are crap, hard to adjust, yadda yadda yadda) and Michelin tires (i forget which variety, exactly...)

another guy on my team swears by Panaracer Fire something-or-other tires (again-- it's late, i'm beat, and i've forgotten the exact name )

i was wondering if you ladies have any experience with any of these brands, or have any alternate suggestions. also, could you recommend a good website to order them from (nashbar? performance?) ... i need them in time for next weekned! <---- double eek!!

gratzie!!
~Katherine

[kimba]

I have Avid 3's on my bike- work great, easily adjusted. I've had NO problems- even after my endo.

as for tires- I think one of the Cycling mags just has a big tire issue- I'll dig it out and check for you.
IIRC a certain kind of Maxxis tires are hands down
the most populat choice. I've seen Panaracer Fires on sale on Ebay- check them out- you can probably get a good deal- and if you can pay by paypal you often get them shipped out the next day...

I'll go rustle up the mag -
<cue best Ahnold voice>
I'll be back!

Kimba
It's NOT a tumour!

[Irulan]

be sure to match tires to your trail coniditions.

Irulan

[kimba]

The most popular XC tire is the Panaracer Firee XC Pro ( Ithink it's pro)

They weren't in the top 10 of the Mountain Bike Action Tire report-
but it is the readers most popular tire.

Apparently it's good in a variety of conditions- but especially hardpack.

You can usually get them pretty well anywhere- if the ads in the cycling mags are to be believed.

Check Ebay too.

Kimba

[fultzie]

thanks ladies!
I ended up ordering a Panaracer Fire XC Pro for my back wheel (i'm cheap, and the front tire was still okay, so the stock specialized tire will stay for now )
i decided to wait on the brakes (again, the stock ones are working fine for now), but i found a pretty good deal on Avid SD 7s on Nashbar. maybe that will be next month's treat...