Mountain Biking - the REAL Fire XC's?

I heard something a while back about there being 2 versions of fire xc pro's. anyone know what im talkin about? anyway, could anyone tell me if these:
http://www.beyondbikes.com/bb/Itemdesc.asp?IC=f55%2Dbla%2D2%2E1&Tp=&link=4-15-04_ProductList
are the authentic ones? thanks.

The good Fire XCs are made in Japan and have 120 threads per inch (TPI). The EOM Fire XCs are made in Taiwan and have 60 TPI. One way to tell the difference in pictures is by the sideway logo. It looks like the ones at Beyondbikes have the white logo, indicating that they are the good, Japan-made Fire XCs. I could be wrong about that though. A year ago when I bought mine, Nashbar was selling the good ones for around $30, Pricepoint was selling the EOM ones for around $20.

The good Fire XCs are made in Japan and have 120 threads per inch (TPI). The EOM Fire XCs are made in Taiwan and have 60 TPI. One way to tell the difference in pictures is by the sideway logo. It looks like the ones at Beyondbikes have the white logo, indicating that they are the good, Japan-made Fire XCs. I could be wrong about that though. A year ago when I bought mine, Nashbar was selling the good ones for around $30, Pricepoint was selling the EOM ones for around $20.

cool, thanks for the info. how do you like em?

They're a good all around tire for the price. They're lightweight and have good grip in all conditions. They seem to wear well. The treads themselves never wore out on any of my 4 XC's, but interestingly, on 2 of them, the sidewall ripped after about 12 months, leaving the tire useless. My current tires are IRC Mythos, which are comparable in price and performance. I'd recommend either tire.

They're a good all around tire for the price. They're lightweight and have good grip in all conditions. They seem to wear well. The treads themselves never wore out on any of my 4 XC's, but interestingly, on 2 of them, the sidewall ripped after about 12 months, leaving the tire useless. My current tires are IRC Mythos, which are comparable in price and performance. I'd recommend either tire.

Interesting that, about the sidewalls. I had a sidewall rip out on the bead on a Firexc2.1, and this was for no reason. Checked all my other FireXC's and they are Japanese,(All 6 of them)
Tyre wear on the 1.8's is phenominal. 6 months and they are semislicks. the 2.1's I use on the tandem, and only wear out the back one, so new on the front, then the unworn front on the rear. This way I get 12 months to 3 tyres.

I used to rate The Mythos, but now prefer the FireXC's

Jenson USA had the 120 tpi fire xc pros for 22 buck recently. not sure if they are still that price, but i bought some and love them. They are a definate improvement over the stock specialized roll x that i had. I have alot more confidence in gravel corners and have yet to spin a tire on a climb. For a knobbie, they have a pretty low rolling resistance as well. The only bad place for them is in the mud, but i rarely run mud. I dont like all the gunk in the drive train. I dont think you will regret them if you get them unless you ride in muddy conditions.

Jenson USA had the 120 tpi fire xc pros for 22 buck recently. not sure if they are still that price, but i bought some and love them. They are a definate improvement over the stock specialized roll x that i had. I have alot more confidence in gravel corners and have yet to spin a tire on a climb. For a knobbie, they have a pretty low rolling resistance as well. The only bad place for them is in the mud, but i rarely run mud. I dont like all the gunk in the drive train. I dont think you will regret them if you get them unless you ride in muddy conditions.

nope, dont really ride in mud. im not into tearing up singletrack