KDXRIDER.NET

Yeah I saw that Rockymountain was backordered up the wazoo on those. Get a 120 I think those are in stock

I have had personal issues with running larger tires and am trying to avoid it in the future. They run squirrelly in my opinion. The flatter the profile the better... that's what I have suspension for!

m0rie, a tire designed for mud or sand has a very hard rubber compound. To create the paddle effect, the knobs must be stiff to churn through the soft stuff.

Jason wrote:m0rie, a tire designed for mud or sand has a very hard rubber compound. To create the paddle effect, the knobs must be stiff to churn through the soft stuff.

Ah, I had it backwards. Thanks for the heads-up Jason.

It's like uh, no problem. Really. It's no problem.

The hard terrain tires are needing to be sticky, as they won't be biting into the sun baked dirt.

Rockymountain is at least $10 cheaper than anywhere I can find. I guess I will just order them and wait.....

I just stuck a trials tire on my 380 EXC to try. It definately has alot softer/stickier compound than any other tire I've run before.

I've heard interesting things about running trials tires on regular dirt bike rims. Some people say they are the greatest thing since slided bread. Let us know how it works out IC.

So how do they fair IC?

I have also heard great stories about trials tyres. Alot of guys over here swear by em...

I only have one ride on my rear trial tire - just over 40 miles. (Mitas E-01) Jury is still out - but initial impression very favorable.

I've been reading for the last 4-5 years about people who raved about the trial tire hook-up (Eric K on gas-gas site seemed to be very vocal) then there was a write-up in the BRC magazine last summer: Talked about hook-up and saving the trails by causing less rutting/erosion.

Locally a number of people seemed to be trying trials tires for the last 2-3 years. Personally did not know any of the people trying them to be able to sort out the BS to Fact ratio.

Local Honda dealer salesperson actually talked me out of trying one last year when I came in to purchase a rear tire. I was questioning them on the trials tire and he was saying for old slow people (I kind of figure I'm in this category at 54 yrs of age) they seem to work fine but for aggressive trail riding they squirm too much and there are a lot of pinch flats.

This year when it was time for a new tire I just read everything I could about trial tires. Made a decision to try one and ordered one. Since that time I see **** Burlson (sp) took 3rd place in a muddy enduro race using one. reportedly one of the tire manufactures is looking into possibility of creating a hybrid of the trials tire for off road riding.

I know I had second thoughts after mounting it on the bike. I looked very wimpy compared to the M5B which I have be primarily running for the last few years. Although the tire's performance on the one ride I took was very, very good.

I did have a chance to ride a little pavement, a little snow (3-4 inchs) mud on top of frozen ground and some dry frozen ground conditions combined with some rocky areas. I also ran the tire at 11 psi which is about 2-3 psi above what others seem to run the tire at. (I did not want any pinch flats or torn sidewalls) So I'm likely not getting the full benefit of the tire according to various forum members' comments.

FWIW - I do believe - based upon my one ride - that the trial tire hooked up better than either the M5B or S12 would have under similar conditions. It was stable and I did not notice any squirming of the tire at 11 psi. Brake sliding had me sideways a couple of times, that I believe was due to lack of side knobs but not sure on that, since the riding conditions were mostly mud on top of frozen soil.

Great IC - Keep us posted on how it continues to work for you as it wears down a bit.

the 'sticky' dirt bike tire sounds like a load of marketing hype. I call BS! This coming from a road race guy who also rides off road, and knows a thing or two about 'sticky' compounds.

Sticky and dirt sounds messy!

Dirt Rider needs to do a review on 'em!

IC... the trials concept goes back to my belief that a narrow contact patch greatly improves traction in low traction areas due to weight per sq.in.

Big tires look cool on a big 4x4 but it's the guys with the narrow truck tires that get though the mud hole!

Indawoods wrote:Sticky and dirt sounds messy!

IC... the trials concept goes back to my belief that a narrow contact patch greatly improves traction in low traction areas due to weight per sq.in.

I believe the real advantage to the trials tires is the soft tire carcass which tends to wrap itself around roots, rocks, and other trail objects. The sidewall is very soft compared to nomal knobbys and so the contact patch on the ground is likely bigger than a similar sized knobby.

The tire flexs like mad. Some reports that the tire diameter will grow significantly at speed so you need to allow more clearance between the tire and swingarm to avoid center knobs from contacting. We are talking speeds of over ~45-50 miles/hour.

I believe the knob pattern could be improved on over that which is offered - at least for the type of riding that most of us are involved in. I'm just glad there is some interest by at least one of the tire manufactures at looking into what off-roaders are finding in the trials tire.

So... are there any hybreds out there?