Bike: '09 TXC250 After my last ride it is obvious that I need a new rear tire. Man, the Mich. enduro's that came OEM on the bike hooked up great when new, but once the wear went past the "sipes" the traction went away completely! I am considering a TT. No road riding, all typical western NC stuff. Probably have narrowed it down to the Mich. vs Dunlop. I don't brake slide the rear, but I do tend to be a "spinner". To stay in the power the TXC likes the mid and upper RPM range, so not sure if a TT will be my best choice. Anyone with personal experience with a TT on the 250's? Any opinions on Mich vs. Dunlop?
not sure why the whole TT thing....not great in the mud...and really not great for high RPM's either...
I used a Dunlop D803 on my WR250 for a while. I switched to a knobby because the trials tire has no side knobs and I would crash every time that I leaned the bike over...
Once a trials tire starts to spin then there is far less traction than a knobby, which could be good or bad depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Until it breaks free and starts to spin it has more traction than a knobby, depending on the riding surface. When the tire finally breaks loose the transition is quite dramatic. If possible try someone elses bike if they have a trials tire. I've used one of each. The Dunlap had a bit more traction than the Michelin and was much cheaper. They both seem to last, but I believe the Michelin is lasting longer that the Dunlap. Personally I don't think you would be happy with a trials tire. My bike is a 2006 TE250, very close to your bike.
The more I research this the more I think a TT is not for me. I'm too old to adjust my riding style! There are lots of riders in my neck of the woods that LOVE their trials tire.
Perfect! Go take a ride on one of those bikes and see if you like it! Then you will have your answer.
If you like the knobby's mud capability and the stickiness of a trials tire on rocks, roots and the like, try a Motoz Tractionator S/T! Super soft yet durable and really bridges the gap, I believe. Motosportz sells them and they're not priced like they're made of gold.
Yep! Motoz has kept my interest over the TT due to its more diverse nature. Handles mud and loam great and is soft enough compound to still hold its own on logs, roots and rocks. I like having the side knobs available for cornering and off camber stuff. I'm running it at 6lbs with a Tubliss system. It will not do as well as my MT43 on logs, roots and rocks but much better than the stock Michelin. It's not DOT either.
I put a Pirelli MT43 on my TE 250/310 for this spring. One down side was the taller tire rubbed through my mud flap and also changed my gearing. I switched to a larger sproket/new chain that I left longer to push the tire back and replaced the mudflap. Like Coffee says, it took me awhile to get used to brake sliding (or lack thereof) - when they break loose, they really go I have learned to feather the front brake more when going down a steep incline - which IMHO will make me a better rider if/when I go back to a knobbie. On the plus side, I have never experienced such traction going over logs, rocks and roots - almost getting myself in trouble a few times because they hooked up too good and almost shot me off into the trees when I didn't clutch in time. Another plus it I'm now actually faster through the tight ST rock-fields because I run only 6psi with the Dunlop Ultra HD tube - it smooths out many of the bumps which gives me more control = more confidence to go faster.
Very helpful info...thanks. Won't all the trials tires have a higher profile (not just the MT43)? There definitely is limited space between the tire and mud flap.
TT are real good in the dry and on rocks. I don't like them at speed or the durability and they suc in the mud / clay. several of my buds have switch from TT to the Motoz and are not going back. One dude was a long time TT lover and now runs Enduro ST's a LOVES them. Not trying to sell you Motoz just letting you know the deal locally.
Trials tires RULE. On the right bike. The TXC for me is not the right bike. It doesn't build power and make traction like a trials tire needs. It revs and spins too easily. MotoZ all the way on the TXC. My WR250f will probably never see another knobby on the rear. It works so well with a trials tire it is just awesome. I have a michelin X11 take off from my trials bike on it now. 800 miles since I moved it to the WR and it has 1/4" of knobs left. It sill works better than a partially worn knobby and now brake slides much more consistently than a new trials tire. I run 6-8 psi in the trials with a moose or bridgestone ultra HD tubes. I have never had a pinch flat with this setup in 4000+ miles. I have had two valve stems pull out though. One from not tightening the rim lock enough. The other from tube/tire creep and having the valve stem nut against the rim instead of the cap so I didn't see it moving. Also the mt43 is not a radial like the Dunlop D803, and michelin X11 tubeless so it will have a taller profile and not squish down as much. There is a reason you don't see the MT43 mounted to a competition trials bike. Here is a video from yesterday of my trials tire equipped WR at a local ISDE special test Later,
Man you were cruisin' in that video! Thanks for all the advice. Too many wet, muddy days in the red clay around here. Going to stick with the knobbies.
I just mounted the 803 on my WR250 this past weekend and can't wait to go try it out this weekend. I live in CO and ride alot of really rocky terrain. The one negative I keep hearing that has me worried about trying the trials tire is on steep loose down hills, which seem to be common here. I'll report back after this weekends ride. Brad,
When I used my 803 I removed 1/2 of every other row of lugs - this helped with the braking, and clean out some.
Bradass80 - just remember to feather the front brake and you'll be fine. I was going down some steep rocky powerlines the other weekend and had total control.
Well I put 75 miles on the WR yesterday with the new 803 and a Bridegestone ED 11 in the front. The most surprising thing about switching to a trials tire was that I really didn't notice it wasn't a knobby most of the time. The traction was amazing throughout everything, rocks, roots, steep losse hills, and deep mud. I didn't adjust anything about my riding style, the trials tire just plain worked better everywhere, even brake sliding into corners the tire was predictable, despite what I had been reading, the trials tire cornered just as well as any other tire I've ever ridden on. I went into this ride expecting to have some issues with adjusting to the tire, but I felt right at home, I'm pretty sure I was faster with it even. As far as steep loose downhills, again it really didn't react any differently than a knobby. I'm not one to lock up the brakes on steep hills anyway, I kind of pulse off and on with the brakes and I was pleasantly surprised again that the TT felt similar to a knobby in this situation. I'm now a believer, and don't see any reason YET to go back to a knobby, especially if this tire lasts as long as people say they do. One place where the TT definitly felt different than a knobby was in deep mud, yes we do have some here in CO and we found it on Saturday, where the knobby would just spin and roost it's way out of the mud the knobby hooked up and tractored me right out, everyone else on the ride had knobbys front and rear and they all had issues with the mud. For those of you on the fence about trying one of these tires, here's another report from a convert that is super happy I made the switch and as of right now, I only have one ride on the tire, I don't see any reason to switch back. This ride was probably 60 miles of singletrack and 15 miles of dirt road. I'll post up a video of me being chased by a fast b rider once he sends it to me. Brad.
