TRIALS TIRE

I run the Pirelli MT43 on my FE570 and I could not be happier with it.

I do the occasional transport section on tar roads (5 - 10 kms) up to 100 km per hour and i have not found any heat build up issues.
On the dirt it hooks up fantastic ! I run about 6 psi in her and have not had a pinch flat yet, but I do generally ride and pick my lines with care (even when running knobbies).
I have tried her in really muddy sloppy conditions and she still hooks up and throws roost a country mile. Have not had her in really thick clay yet, and from what I hear this is where it is not as good as a knobbie.
In the rocks and up big hill climbs you will never want for another tyre again.
So for since changing to the MT43 I have put around 800 kms on her and it stil looks like brand new (a knobbie would need replacing by now)

I have run the dunlop 803 and pirelli mt43. Hands down the dunlop provides much better traction. The only reason I switched to the MT43 is because I do ride some road sections and the road will absolutely tear up the dunlop. Go with the dunlop if you don't ride on the tar.

Mt43 works for me here in Colorado. It's harder to mount than others I've had because of it's stiffness, but that helps it survive the hard hits in the rocks. Kind of heavy especially with the Bridgestone HD tube.

i have used numerous trials tires. Currently have the mt43 on my bike as i do alot of hwy commuting. the MT43 is a lousy trials tire once 75% and continues to get worse in the dirt as it wears. I ride dry, rocky terrain with alot of roots and some soft stuff. I have a new dunlop D803 hanging in my garage that i will try next (hopefully going to buy a dedicated street bike). Michelin X-11 is by far the best tire- not looking to spend crazy amounts on money- mitas et-01 is cheap and lasts a LONG time- a decent tire. Bottom line, DOT rated and trials are oxymoron's in my opinion, you cant have them both

I use Dunlop or Michelin and can't tell the difference. Both are excellent and provide unbelievable traction in most conditions. Especially wet rocks and roots.

I'm using the pirelli MT43. here in the Icelandic rocky gravely hard-pack dirt roads it grips like Velcro.
i even works when worn but it gets a little worse in the lose stuff when worn. i use 8 to 10 psi

I have not tried any other trials tire but i think they would self destruct in these conditions.
the rocks we have often sharp edges and are pointy. we even have rocks in the sand, flat rocks made of volcanic rocks they can destroy tires when you are spinning you tire in the sand and hit them. that is in the most popular places to go ride in the highlands of Iceland.

Regards

I have used both the Dunlop and the MT 43 in the Southern Nevada Desert. I did not notice that much difference in performance. The MT 43 lasts much longer though.

MrX said:

Bottom line, DOT rated and trials are oxymoron's in my opinion, you cant have them both

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But if you need them both because you need to be able to ride on pavement for non-trivial distances (more than a mile) to get to the trails, then the DOT tire is necessary; the non-DOTs will disintegrate in a short distance on pavement at traffic speeds.

If you are never going to ride on pavement (for more than a mile or two) to get somewhere, then by all means, get the non-DOT trials tires as they *are* much better.

I use the Pirelli MT43 because I was riding my bike to the trails - 25 miles each way. But now I have a truck to haul the bike so when the MT43 wears out I will probably get the Michelin.

Ok, so which trials rear aside...what do you guys run in the front when running a trials rear? I'm getting close to having torn the stock "6 days" up so looking for a new setup. I've been wanting to try the trials tire for years. I'm in California and ride such a mix of terrain from loamy woods to rock/shale canyons...lava flows here and there...just some of the ugliest stuff you can imagine but it varies so I want a good all around tire that will hold knobbies upon abuse.

In the front am running the stock Bridgestone knobby that came with the bike. It does okay, but at highway speeds there is a lot of vibration (probably unbalanced).

I have asked around about a trials front - some people run them and say they are okay, others just run a knobby.

we all use michelin trials competition, not the X11. The trials comp has a stronger sidewall and a firmer compound so lasts well and copes with road work.

up front you won't go wrong with a michelin comp 4 or s12 xc

I ran an IRC Trials on the front with success in Colorado with some dual sport action. On the rear, because of my 19-inch rim stock on FX-450, I was relegated to one selection, the Shinko Trail Pro 225, which is the only 19-inch trials tire I could find. This tire should be avoided at all costs; it has a terrible narrow profile, wore in three days and had poor tractability. I bought a nice Michelin from Fritz in Gunnison while out there as it is the best for the rear and I will mount on 18-inch spare rim I picked up.

I would love to use a true trials tire on my bikes, and I have attempted to several times. I have tried the IRC competition trials tire both with tubes and with the Tubliss system. In both cases the IRC performed superbly however I was plagued with rim pinches with the tubes and punctured tires with the Tubliss system. Unfortunately the thin-walled IRC with the Tubliss setup would not hold a repair plug. I am currently on my 2nd Pirelli MT43/Tubliss setup and it performs very well (much better than a knobby) when the air pressure is dropped down to 8 psi or lower. In the last several years this combo has suffered 3 puncture flats which were permanently plug repaired on the trail in a couple of minutes.

I've used nothing but the Michelin X11.

I've never pinch flatted, the tyres last a long time ( I've one that will be going back onto my every day rear wheel that has done about 2700km - no longer that good in soft / loose dirt, but still sticks like the proverbial to my local rocks and tree roots - my fresher tyre will go onto my 'good' wheel for non local rides) and the grip is phenomenal.

About the only thing that's a worry, is when I'm running very low pressures, you get a Lot of tyre roll, especially on the tar, making for a 'wandering' back end. To alleviate that, I've recently changed to 2.5" rims, with the thought that it may stabilize the tyre - it's a Radial, so I figure that wider rims will give it more support. I needed new rims anyway - my spare wheel dates from 1989. :mrgreen:

I use the tubeless type tyres - thicker side walls, seemingly better , more robust construction. The tubeless bead makes it a bit more difficult to change tyres, but it's no real problem.

I've been curious about the new X lite Michelin -by it's name, you'd think it would be too specialized, but, on researching it, it had a speed rating ( the X11 had None), plus a load rating that was higher than the X11 This last bit may be mixed up, it's a while since I did the research, but it was quite surprising.

Like any tyre, trials tyres have their limitations and foibles - I've gone entirely to them on the rear because the benefits for me far outweigh any deficiencies.

I've read about the Shinko 19s - They 'sort of' look a bit like a cross between a trials tyre and speedway tyre. I've always wondered how a speedway tyre would go on a 19" - as that's what they are, 19", but I have no idea if it would work / last at all.

^^^^^^ speedway tyres are by design very poor at gripping and really don't work on our type of bikes/riding.