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I am having troubles climbing hills on my kdx 200. The hills were mostly loose dirt, sand, and rock. I keep losing speed and spinning out to the point that I am fish tailing up the hill. It makes the bike hard to control. So I think I need a new rear tire but I'm not sure which one or size. My current tire size is 100/100-18. I am thinking of going to a 120/100-18 so that it will give me a lot more traction and spin out a lot less. Would a wider tire help in hill climbing situations? I will be riding mostly in south east Idaho. Thanks for any input.

Also what is your thoughts on the Maxxis IT?

A new tire and/or tread

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I'd stick with the stock size. I put a wider tire on mine and while it could climb anything I tried, the steering ended up sucking pretty hard. The height of the tire increased even though I only went wider and I think, but I am not sure, that it was enough to somehow change the steering rake. Just my observation. I'd be curious if any one else has ever experienced this issue.

Keep in mind tires are sized by tread width, sidewall height and diameter. So a 100/100-18 is 100mm wide, the sidewall is 100% of the tread width, and the rim size is 18 inches. A 120/80-18 tire is going to be 120mm wide, 80% of 120mm high, or 96mm, and an 18 inch rim. I have run the Maxxis IT and liked it, but am thinking of going to a trials tire (Pirelli MT-43) as a lot of guys I ride with now are running them and LOVE them in the rocky, loose stuff.

I have two sets of wheels. One set has a trials tire which is way larger than the 100/100. I think it is amazing for almost everything. The second set has dunlop d739at with a 120 on it. I like the extra large tires and I have never noticed any handling problems. Also because the tire is larger there is less chance of a pinch flat. If there are any handling differences it hasnt been anything I have noticed. I have successfully raced hard on both tires this last season and have not regretted the tire sizing at all.

Hills dont all have to do with the tires. Sometimes it is technique. I am no expert though thats just what I have always been told.

I would do both. Go bigger and replace.

SE Idaho...as in Poky?......If that is the case, then tire size isn't the problem......Torque and HP are....you must tell us what your gearing is and what gear your trying to ride up the hills in.....
New tread helps alot of things!

We actually ride around Kelly Canyon area but have been riding black canyon next to bone road. I have stock 13/47 gearing.

I'd go to a 12 on the countershaft. I did on mine and it made it much easier to lug slowly and pick my way around the rocky nasties we have in New England. It made hillclimbing at speed much easier as well as I could pull a gear higher and keep the speed up. Top speed suffers but it still goes fast enough to scare the crap out of me in the woods...

bufftester wrote:Keep in mind tires are sized by tread width, sidewall height and diameter. So a 100/100-18 is 100mm wide, the sidewall is 100% of the tread width, and the rim size is 18 inches. A 120/80-18 tire is going to be 120mm wide, 80% of 120mm high, or 96mm, and an 18 inch rim. I have run the Maxxis IT and liked it, but am thinking of going to a trials tire (Pirelli MT-43) as a lot of guys I ride with now are running them and LOVE them in the rocky, loose stuff.

Get ouddahere, really? I actually had no idea that is how the sizing went. I thought the second number was a measurement, not a percentage of the first. That would explain why my ass end raised about 3". Two inches for the higher profile of the tire and one inch because I ACTUALLY HAD SOME FREEKIN' KNOBS AGAIN.....

No one has mentioned tire pressure yet. Makes a huge difference. I've ridden with guys that have all sorts of troubles, only to find out they were running 20-25 psi for fear of pinch flats.

Depending on tire choice, tube used, terrain, riding style, etc, you can run maybe 6-14 psi. Big range due to all those factors.

adam728 wrote:No one has mentioned tire pressure yet. Makes a huge difference. .

+1 this is overlooked a lot. My trials tire buddies are all running under 10 psi and have no issues with flats (running HD tubes.) I have one friend who runs a dunlop desert tire (super stiff sidewalls) with tubliss system and 3 psi in the desert...never gets flats either.

+1 for tyre pressure making a BIG difference, even just a few PSI