Need help choosing multi-purpose tires.
 

Hey, I need help choosing tires for a build for my girlfriend. She plans on taking the bike to class and also joining me on some of my XC trips (roots and sand and dirt and logs and stuff.. you know). The problem is finding the right tires for both pavement and the XC stuff.

She would also need pretty decent XC tires because she really isn't "sporty", but loves biking and nature so the feel of the back tire sliding/slipping on turns and climbs would probably make her run into something and the medical kit I carry doesn't have splints or anything...

It sounds kind of unreasonable to get a relatively smooth running XC tire with good bite, but your suggestions/experiences would help. I've been looking at some Geax's Mezcals, but I doubt their ratings of little stars are all that great help. Oh, she is also limited in funds so two wheelsets won't work.. plus I don't want to be there everytime she needs to swap the rear wheel (until she learns it..)

My friend just got a set of these on his bike and from what I can tell they're solid on road and decent enough off road.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=5430

I'd just get her some full knobbies like some irc mythos or something similar with tightly spaced knobs so they are fairly quiet on the road and won't slip around too much on the trail.. sure they wear faster, but there is a certain enjoyment of removing a bald tire knowing you killed it.

You may also want to consider the Specialized Fast Trak Pro tires. They're light and have low rolling resistance, but I took them on plenty of XC trails w/o any problems.

Maxxis Crossmark.

+1.

I like my Panaracer Fire XC's. They are no fun on pavement though. I also have some Maxxis Ignitor that just went on the bike, and they are quite a bit better on the pavement. Not sure about trail performance yet.