Tires - how to choose?
 

I need to replace my rear tire. I am not an extreme rider but would go for tough roads/tracks. I am well familiar with road tires' characteristics. What to look for when purchasing a new tire? Kevlar is good or bad? Width?

i have no problems with kevlar and generally when folks are looking for a good balance 2.1 is a popular width

I've always used Panaracer Smokes in the rear and Darts in the front. Cheap, and they work. 2.1

Personally i run a wtb velociraptor rear and a specialized crosscountry front. I like the crosscountry and the wtb,, but the raptor may be much to aggressive if you plan to run on the pavement for more than a mile or 2. a crosscountry would be a nice back for you, but stay out of the mud :)

I'm very happy with my WeirWolf 2.1s, but what you want to do, honestly, is find something comfortable for you. Honestly, you're going to find that a lot of it is preference, but look at reviews on tires if you can. It'll at least give you an idea of what is GENERALLY good, and what is GENERALLY bad.

Iride is probably right regarding the velociraptors - they produce a lot of drag on pavement, but I'm sure they grip well on dirt.

I have panracer smoke and dart combo too. That's what I keep on my bike most of the time. For times when I know I will be riding on mostly pavement, I take em off and mount semi slicks on them. Cuts way down on tearing off the good knobbies off the Panracers from pavement riding. It takes about 10 minutes for me to switch them out, and is not somehting I do all that often so it isn't bad at all.

Kevlar bead seems to be the general preference I have found in various reviews. www.mtbr.com has tons of tire reviews.