125-200cc Tire recommendation

Looking for the most Trials like tire for my wife's 125. She has 19" rear. I will not be able to put on a 18" rear right now but that is going to happen just not right now. But in the mean time I’m looking for a tire to run in dry hard Idaho mountain type of terrain that has the best grab. Any ideas or knowledge in this hunt?

I'm trying a Maxxis Desert IT soon as l want an all round tyre that can take some punishment from rocky trails....S12's don't last and they don't make 752's anymore.

Currently have a Mitas CO-2 Stone King and it is the best wearing and gripping rock tyre l have ever used but the downside is it's crap in slow speed, muddy corners.

I have had the Maxxis Desert IT and it was a hard compound. The C0-2 looks good in potos but can not find any on -line

Maxis IT's And Cut sipes in the tread blocks. Most endurocross guys do this{with there personal choice of tire} since the trials tires were banned.

Pirelli MT 16

Do the sipes really help that much? I'm hopeful that they will I understand the flex of the tire thing but is the compound tacky/soft? Thank you for your response. That Perelli Mt 16 looks promising

It works well on hard surfaces, like rock ledges and logs. We also run low tire press 8 1/2 to 9 psi. They feel a little squirmy not as bad as a trials tire but they stick
well and you get used to the squirm and don't notice it. We're going to try the Maxxis radials once we use up our IT's, We've used Pirelli's and Dunlop's in the past
both worked well. You may want to look at Motoz tires, I know a couple guys that are loving life on the Motoz.

Ok then, siping is what I will do thanks for the replies all.

Yea that is what I want Wood's. Thanks now i have to find out how to order one

How the bloody hell do you sipe into knobs like that on a trials tyre? Utility knife or a groover?

A knobby knife will get it done on a MX tire.

Hmmm...might try that on my Mitas CO-2's...

Called VER and spoke to the owner, nice guy by the way. He told me they are in the states but still have not arrived at his warehouse. He expects them this week.

Can someone please explain the snipe theory to me and apart from the grip angle does it equate to better or worse tyre longevity

siping is a process of cutting thin slits into a tire to improve traction in wet or icy conditions. just like your car tires. in theory, cutting these thin voids into the tire will help the knob (in this case) flex and grip better. i believe the tire heats up quicker too. i would imagine, depending on the depth of the siping and tire compound, longevity will go down pretty severely.

question for you guys that have run the OEM Michelin Enduro Comp III's... i hear these tires aren't that great due to the FIM-legal knob height. my WR144 came with a brand new set mounted. should i ditch them for a better tire? just run them until cooked? i see they have a pattern already on each knob, could i sipe them a little deeper and get better wet rock traction? i'll be riding this bike in new england woods. (rocks, roots, mud)

Cut knobs can flex more and have more bitting edges. As for longevity they wear quicker and tend to shear knobs off. I've only ridden a trials tire once for a brief
period it was on a 250 2 stroke, it felt kind of odd in the faster corners and seemed to slide more when using the rear brake. Traction wise it was very good and it really
would bite on side hills and roots, and the up hills felt like you were riding on pavement. The guy that owned the bike said he got used to the handling difference after
a couple rides and the tire had been on for just over a month and seemed to be holding up well. It had been very dry so don't know what the trials tire will be like in the
mud in the spring.