Rear tire

J

jostby

Member
Hi all, my son has a question...... (say hi to Wes)

"does anyone know how a kenda budds creek or washougal tire runs or what is the best type of rear intermediate to hard tire?"


He just wore out a Milville sticky but I think for our single track medium to hard pack riding (single track trails) there is a better tire. I can't convince him to try a trials tire (I'm trying one next). Help him out anyone? I have always used Michelin M12 but have gotten a little disappointed with their change. Thanks!
 
The reviews on the Budds Creek weren't that great.

I've had excellent luck with the Maxxis SI(soft) and IT (intermediate) tires.
I'm waiting on their for new radial knobby.
 
An old school tire that is intermediate terrain and wears like iron is the IRC VE-33. It is a six ply tire w/ bead saver and resists flats very, very well. And reasonably priced as well...

I still run one of these occasionally in the summer months. In the winter here - michelins. Although, I have to say, I have had so little time to ride over the last few years that I still have a new ve-33 waiting to be used in the garage....


jeff
 
After running just about every brand knobby, my favorite is not a knobby at all.
The Pirelli MT43 trials tire is by far the longest lasting, best performing, cheapest per ride, best traction, best riding tire to date. I have tried all the trials tires, Michelin, IRC, and Dunlop.
Just my 2 cents.
GasGasDreamer
 
I really like my michlin s-12,, even tho its a "soft terrain" tire I use it for rocky technical terrain and in the larger/wider sizes it holds up well.. I run a 130/80 18 and no chunking in the rocks and wears great.. I had a smaller size that just threw the side knobs right off in the rocks.
 
I use a trials tire on a regular basis too, it's awesome but some guys just don't like them. Their loss.

Steve,
No offense, but I would never recommend the S12 for rocky terrain. Especially the stuff around Spokane, WA. We use the S12 up here, but it gets trashed in the rocks. Traction is great, but after a 3 hour hare scramble it is absolutely toast (mind you this is with my friend who is a AA racer using it. I only use an S12 in the soft stuff since it chunks so easily in the rocks). This experience is with the 130/80-18 and 140/80-18 tires.

If you want a knobby tire that lasts, the Maxxis IT is definitely one of the best. After the Rock Pile Enduro last week in Montana my IT rear tire barely looks worn. In fact, I'm using it again this weekend for the Canadian Enduro Championship races!
 
thanks for the input

Hey all, Wes says "thanks". Cycle Gear has the Maxxis IT for $63. That minus a $20 gift card he has means big savings so I think his mind is made up. Now I have a question... Maxxis IT or Maxxis Desert IT? Does anyone know the differance?

As far as trials tires, geez, I used to buy the IRC's for $63:eek: I'm curious about the Pirellis, Has anyone found who has the best deal on them? There are 2 local clubs here and neither seem to think much of the Dunlop trials tires and the Michelins are too much $$.
 
Chen Shen (spelling?) makes a great intermediate to hardpack tire and it's less than 50 bucks. All my ridding buddies here use them except for a few running Pirrelli MT-16s.
I was running a nearly new MT-16 on my bike and tried my friend's bike with a Chen Shen (both bikes were GG300s). The Chen Shen lasts just as well but hooks up much, much better. I took the Mt-16 off my bike and put a trials tire on that's been ridden 4-5 times as much. When the leaves start getting deep this fall I'll go to a Chen Shen knobby.
 
Never tried the Desert IT, but I think it just has a stiffer sidewall and maybe a tougher carcass on it to help with flats.

I use the Dunlops trials tire and it works great. No complaints, except the price (still $100 cheaper than the Michelin though).
 
The Maxxis is a good tire, as are the others mentioned here that folks like. I have had really good luck with the Michelin X11 trials tire, but it simply does not work where I ride in the middle of winter with the red clay. Honestly, the best, longest lasting tire I've ever run is the Dunlop 952. It's not the best traction when new compared to specific tires for terrain, like the Dunlop 773 for soft terrain, but after a few rides, it's more than made up for the initial difference.

All said, that $63 deal at your shop is a very good deal.

Just wait 'till your son rides with you on your trials tire and discovers how you crawl over things he struggles with......... He'll become a believer.
 
I ran an irc trials tire and a dunlop trials tire on the back of my 300 last summer. I'm back to running an mt 16. I found the trials tire to be a 50/50 kind of deal. Fantastic hook up in some situations and then riding on grease in others. When looking at what each tire took out of you when in the bad conditions the trials tire was worse. i.e. What the trials tire gave in traction it took away in physical wearing down of the rider when in greasy mud. The mt 16 may not have had quite the traction of the trials tire but in greasy mud it smoked the trials tire. therefore over the course of an event with any appreciable mud if you were running a trials tire you would be more wore out then running if running hte mt 16. I also think the trials tire can effect handleing to the point that over the course of an event you would have to put a bit effort into getting the bike turned. Another source of wearing down the rider. Keep in mind I ride alot of very tight stuff. in more open terrain with less back and forth probably not an issue. all that said ..... for normal trail riding if you don't regularly hit lots of greasy mud a trials tire will last all season and work great. I plan to try some maxxis si and it's and maybe a kenda over the summer. So far though I've been pretty happy with pirelli's
 
I've been running trials tires for years, before they became popular. Now I have two wheels, one sports a Mitas ET-01 Radial trials and the other either an S12, VE-33, or MT-16. I would always trail ride in the rocks with the trials and race the knobbys, but just before I got hurt I started to run the trials tire at the enduros and only the S12 in the south NJ sand races. I've said this many times before, you have to choose your tire based on conditions and if the advantages of the trials tire will be put to use on the course. You have to use good throttle control with the trials tire to get the most out of it, and once you learn this the scope of the tires use becomes broader. The only time I will not run one now is if there is a a lot of grass track, sand, or soft bottom mud (no rocks undernerath). Anything else its the bomb for me, in the rocks I fly with it. The Mitas and Dunlop have stiffer sidewalls and allow more aggressive riding in the rocks. I ride at the B level and I can get a season out of a Mitas, with a smooth throttle hand. The IRCs are a bit lighter in the sidewall but work good an a 125. I'm still amazed how fast my nephew can go on a GG125 with an IRC in the real nasty stuff.
 
SpeedyManiac said:
I use a trials tire on a regular basis too, it's awesome but some guys just don't like them. Their loss.

Steve,
No offense, but I would never recommend the S12 for rocky terrain. Especially the stuff around Spokane, WA. We use the S12 up here, but it gets trashed in the rocks. Traction is great, but after a 3 hour hare scramble it is absolutely toast (mind you this is with my friend who is a AA racer using it. I only use an S12 in the soft stuff since it chunks so easily in the rocks). This experience is with the 130/80-18 and 140/80-18 tires.
Click to expand...

I've heard some talk about chunking with the s-12's and I did running 120 and under,, but never on the 130 or 140? I know lots of people running this tire in the Pa and New England rocks with great results.. Might be the rock type.. our rocks are smooth boulder/river rocks.. out there are they sharp edged? And I lean very far in turns,, I'm planning on trying a trials sometime,, but I have issue with the cornering of them. I tried GMP's 03 with the trial tire and then his 07.. It pushed me out of the corners and slid or should I say "let go" when leaned over.. I think I would have to relearn cornering to use one.. which wouldnt be bad.. always good to learn another way thru a corner..
I've tried mt-16 before and didnt like them,, felt a little greasy on the big rock faces,, like the 756 dunlops I tried at the time..
 
Love the MT-16 for New Englands rocks, roots and mud. I now have a TuBliss system to try in it which should allow me to run 10psi or less for awesome traction. Pirelli Scorpion Pro on the front.

I'm also running a Mitas trials tire on my KTM 250 and it works well at 7-8psi and no funny stuff on the roads. I've put some really good gashes in the sidewalls but I just keep using it anyway. Pirelli MT-43 in waiting.
 
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