What happened to IRC tyres?

Chris Hughes

Dirt Disciple
What happened to IRC tyres? anyone know? Also are there any other brands that you used to use/wanted/owned back in the day that have disappeared? Klein, AMP etc ... where are they now?
 
I was only just reminiscing about the IRC Missile tyre.... and then remembered how crap they were, not due to grip, where they were actually very good, but due to puncturing all the bloody time!
 
Used to have Kujo DHs (they came out after the missile) with the red puncture-proof sidewalls - weighed a ton but they were ace - never punctured once in years of running them.

I've got some on IRCs on my hardtail just now, whatever the modern version of the Mythos XC is, and they're very good. Picked up from CRC for much cheapness. On the other hand my last new bike, a Cannondale 3 years ago came with IRC Tailbears which punctured all the time, didn't have much grip and were generally poop ding!
 
My Cannondale had Mythos XC Kevlar's, I used to get constant punctures, it was a running joke amoungst my friends, I got punctures 7 days in a row one week!
 
I'm running a pair of these on one of my bikes.


claw_comp.jpg



Essentially the same as the original YETI FRO branded tyres from the early 1990's.

Tyre technology has advanced leaps and bounds over the years, but this product was quite ahead of it's time as they perform on par with modern counterparts.

On the other hand I have memories of some spectacular crashes as I experimented with the cornering abilities of IRC 1.9 Geo claw comps. They wash out quite early as you pitch into a turn - which is no fun when you have a back tyre that does not wash out at the same rate.

v_claw.jpg


I like the way they refer to these as 'New' when they are the same design as what Brant Richards used to rave about when he built up a early RC-200 running one of these on the front in the early 1990's
 
I assumed they were still going as I bought a set of Mythos/Notos (front/rear specific tyres apparently) about a year ago and have never used them. Are they actually any good?
 
well I really like them, but that doesn't make em good I guess...

I had some geo claws in 1.75, got them as they were my first folding tyre and they were cheap (who wanted a 1.75 in the days of rigids)... so I rand them for a while in my old rigid DB back in late 92 early 93, one of the 1st times out was a DH race, very loose rocky, and i'll admit they break away early, but I found very progressive (F&R) and very controllable, I liked them... looking back now.... yikes I had some skills back then that I don't have now... (or bravery or soemthing...)
 
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