Tire testing with Tubliss

So I've tested several tires from Jeff at Tubliss suggestions, the trend seems to be that the name brand tires work and you do get better traction with Tubliss even on the name brand tires but.... It's interesting that the cheap tires are working as good if not better than the more expensive name brands.

A short list of tested tires

IRC m5b rear
Pirelli xcms front and rear
Kenda washougal front and rear
Kenda millville 2 rear
Mx32 front
Bridgestone M59 front
Artrax SE3 front
Artrax tg4 rear
AT81 front and rear
Sedona 880 rear
Sedona 907 rear
Shinko 520 rear
Michelin x12 front
Mx51 front and rear

These are few I've tried, the current leader of awesomeness for a rear tire is the ,believe it or not ,the Shinko 520 run at 3-4psi. I highly recommend this one for a do it all rear tire, it will work in just about anything and grabs like a toddler on rocks and roots, works in mud and sand as well as grass and harder packed terrain however hard pack is not its shinning glory.

The m5b/mx32 front combo Is my go to mud set up with 8-9 psi rear and 10 psi front.

The washougal set is a great mid/ hard pack set and will make its way through the mud if called on but they won't shine. Front 10-11psi rear 8-10psi

The millville 2 rear is mediocre and for the money there are better rear soft terrain tires I feel.

The bridgestone m59 front and the sedona 907 rear are a great rock set up. Consider the rear a trials tire with braking, it still corners like a trials but is better I feel. Front 10-12psi rear 5.5psi

The pirelli xcms is a decent soft terrain set up I personally don't care for the rear but do like the front quite a bit for a do it all tire in the Midwest. Front 10 psi rear 10psi.

The sedona 880 rear is a stout rear that can run at zero psi yes zero, which comes in handy for rocky nasty races. It was the top rear do it all tire until the Shinko was found. Rear 1-3 psi

The Artrax SE3 front and tg4 rear are actually a great set up. The front for me is tied for 1st with the m59 and xcms fronts. The rear works nice in Sandy to hard pack. Front 5.5psi rear 5.5psi.

The Michelin x12 I wasn't impressed or unimpressed with it did everything but to me wasn't confidence inspiring.

The at81 front and rear I haven't had much time at all on and these are the standard not the RC (desert) version. My first impression is that I may not like the front as it feels a little unpredictable at full pace however the rear may be a nice soft to intermediate tire but I am thinking it will not like extreams of hard or mud. I also have some longevity consern as they don't appear as though they'll last the long haul. Front 9-10psi and rear 8psi.

The mx51 front and rear are not a fav. The front is my least liked front and the rear is my least liked rear. I found myself in a constant two wheel slide in and out of every corner. The only place I ever found this set to shine was in a grass track setting where it did grip fairly well.

What are on my rims right now, an xcms front and the Shinko 520 rear do it all. The mx32 front and irc m5b rear mud. And the front and rear At81 set for testing and had thought for dryer conditions but have yet to confirm.

It would be interesting if anyone else had other tire with Tubliss psi numbers to add and their experience with terrain.

Thanks for the informative post. I'm planning on a tubliss for the rear of my 300 next. Went through a few rear tires looking for a good deal that worked for me. I ride mountain trails in the SE forest, mostly wet and thick with some nice grass tracks and a couple of rock gardens too. And, to get there I ride @ 7 miles of some gravelly, some hard pack and mostly washed out, rocky fire roads. The only rear that has done well so far is the IRC VE33 in 5.10-18. Would be interested in how you like it with Tubliss.
On the front I got lucky right away with Maxxis EN which worked very well and only started loosing some traction after @ 4 months of 3-5 rides a week, WFO abuse.
The price is right online for both of those too.
The VE33 started to roll a little w/8 psi on the fast parts, no noticeable improvement in traction below 10 psi, so I ran 9 which cured the rolling and performed great in the woods, even rocks.
With the EN I went down to 10 psi, then back to 11 with no noticeable difference. Any less it started to wiggle in the fast, hard part, any more and it started to slide a little in the slippery turns.
I've been running Bridgestone standard tubes which are very hi-quality, no leaks or flats. Even re-used the rear tube last tire change and wore out a Milleville II without any tube prob's.

Funny, 3 decades later and the M5B is still the go to mud tire at least for the more budget conscious.
Good to hear the Washougal works for you, I'll plan to give it try soon.
First good words I've heard from a trusted source about the Shinko or the Sedonas, will consider them at some point too.

Yes the Shinko 520 has a soft grippy rubber compound harder than the sedona 907 but softer than the 880. It corners nicely as well. It takes a couple hours of break in as does the 880.

I don't like to speak of tires I haven't personally tried but a good friend of mine who rides AA (and who has tire popping troubles) used the Dunlop 756 rear and the xxxRR front ( can't remember the number) he said they were a little sketchy however he raced a rock infested national enduro and a rock infested local enduro and never had a flat, which his typical set up he probably would have had two if not three flats lol.

Oh and also the fronts on the EN, s12, and the Artrax SE3 all have the same/similar knobs and layout.

Good to know. The 880 sounds like it may handle my home turf, but the VE33 is going to be hard to beat.
I've heard the D756 is a great tire, but I don't think it likes to get wet. I wonder how it would do in IT with tubliss and lower psi
Yes, the EN pattern is also on Pirelli, Mich and maybe some others. No more Mich for me, Maxxis does this tire well and a few $$ less than the Per.
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/new-tires.78981/

I'm working away from home for 3 months. It's been 34 days since I rode the Husky Last trip I made it through month 2 before I started ordering parts and dreaming about riding. This time I'm feeling it already. I think Tubliss and tire changing stand this paycheck and tires next month.

My Tubliss favorites


Dunlop AT81rc rear @ 4.5 psi Decent life even on my son's yz450 performance as good as anything so far on any surface from hare scrambles, endurocross to motocross.
Dunlop AT81 front @ 7.5 psi As good as an m59 at same psi. but lasts twice as long
Sedona 907 Rear @ 3-5psi excellent long lasting tire
MT43 rear @ 5-6psi lasts a ridiculous amount of time but not as good as a low psi knobby in sticky mud or sand.

My best yz125 set up I use front m51 at 7.5 psi and rear m52 100/90-19" @ 6psi

In general the stiffer sidewalls let you get by with less psi ending in better traction.

I had a soft motocross tire on my wr250 and punctured it badly with a staub. It made it 7 miles out of the woods with zero air but the sidewall was shot, if it had been an AT81rc or Sedona 907 it wouldn't have trashed the tire.. If fact I have a Sedona on my wr250 right now that has been punctured badly twice once requiring 2 worm patches doubled to fill the hole and the tire still has at least 50% life left.

My experience with Tubliss is do not over inflate the low pressure side. I've never needed over 6 psi and I believe that if you air it up too much it will spin more and chew the tire up. Trust the tubliss and run low pressure the way it was meant to.

More great info, thanks. Are you riding mostly hard, dry terrain? Or saying the hard pack tires work every where with Tubliss and low psi?
And what brand are the m51/52 on the YZ?

dunlop mx51/mx52

Yes Dunlop mx51/52 on the yz125 and I ride everything central MO and the Colorado mountains had to offer. They are great on rocks, sand hardpack logs mud. wet logs and roots. They would be good on a bigger bike but wouldn't last like a Dunlop AT81 but they don't sell an AT81 in the 100/90 19 size and on the 125 I found the tire needs to be more narrow and light... the 450 is like the honey badger it don't give a f#@k.

Also I don't change the psi for terrain the low psi works everywhere and going up to 8-9 psi doesn't help anywhere, in fact you will get spoiled with such good traction at 4-6 psi that 9 psi will leave you saying "What the crap is wrong with my bike!"

On another note; Since the Tubliss holds the tire to the rim 360 degrees at any pressure you will not get dings or bent rims unless you do something so extreme that a conventional set up would have suffer a trashed/broken rim and there wont be dirt and water inside your tire corroding up the spoke nipples

hate it when your nipples get corroded

Hi Chums, any updates? How about the AT81s?
I'm getting ready to order tires, ordered tubliss for the rear for now. Probably get what I know works for me first, VE33/EN front, and have a Metz MC5 front to try too. During the winter will be going downstate to ride/race and will test some other rears then.

So the at81's that came on my 300 we not good on that bike the 110/100 rear was just to small so I swapped them all over to the 350 running 8psi rear and 9psi front and I'm really liking them on the 350, not sure if its due to the extra weight or smooth torque but hardish sand and dirt to sand and good loose black dirt they work good, no mud test yet but guessing they won't shine in mud.

I had an at81 rear with a tubliss on my 450 xc-w. The tire wore quickly through the 150 miles but but stayed that way with very minimal wear for the next 200 miles. My te300 came with an at81 which I amusing with the stock tube. It's holding up really well but I'm going to try the shinko 520 with the tubliss soon. I really want to put an mt16 on the front with the tubliss but I'm worried about the soft and only 2ply sidewall. I am not a bridgestone fan at all, I personally never had any luck with them. I ride a lot of North jersey single track and rock. Is there anything very similar to the MT 16 that's a thicker ply and a little more durable?

Don't mean to derail the thread but thought I'd ask a captive audience:

Q. Is it normal to see black rubber and the strengthening material inconsistently around the Tubliss bead area on Gen 2's ? I'm new to Tubliss and keen to clear up my concern before fitting in case I should send them back for a swap.

Maybe the Metzeler Unicross for old school tread pattern and durability. I use Metz MC5 front on my xr250, no issues in rocks, gravel, hard, rocky, fast roads as well as in the woods. Getting ready to mount one on the wr300, even though they're just 80/100. I know all the Metz MC series are 3 ply, not sure about the Unicross.
I just wore out a Maxxis EN front on the same terrain, WFO, for months with out a single issue. Great tire.
Or go for a dez type tire like Maxxis IT Desert or a Metz 6 Days Extreme for toughest HD tire.
Will be interested in which you choose and how it works with Tubliss on the front.

Just put tubliss in after a bad experience with some mousse. Fitted a new GT fatty at the front and a Motoz mountain x hybrid at the back.
Tubliss is easier to fit than mousse and seems fine for now, only done an hour ride to try it out.
The GT fatty on the front is magic, love it. Plenty of grip and feel. Running 10 psi
Not convinced about the Motoz hybrid, it seems to have plenty of traction forward and braking but lacking side grip, a sniff of throttle while leaned over makes the back step out badly.
Running 10 psi bit lowered it to 8 as the tyre seems to have little give, might improve after a few rides.

I'd give them a call or drop an email. From what I've heard they have great customer service. I've got one waiting to install when I get home in a month, but don't have any experience yet.

Got a reply from Jeff at Nuetech about the bead area. He said "it's typical and fine..."

The ones I jus put in didn't had that flaw, all nice red material all over. Do as NCSteve suggested, drop them an email.

Steve is the king of customer service

I just put a michelin mh3 on the front with a tubliss and ran 9psi. I love the tire. Had excellent grip and absorbed a lot of the rocks. Rode in some tight rocky single track and some open groomed trails. It's my first michelin but definitely thumbs up. My shinko 520 will be here tuesday