Tires whats the hot ticket lately?

Michelin S12

someone needs to standup and make a tire with a taller than 3/4" knob that rule only applies to MX/SX no such thing in off roar world if for no other reason than wear

I'm building up a 360 in a 73 WR frame for scrambling this year, typically most of our tracks have a loto grass on them and this is the tyre that does the job.

I will second the S12. I have run those since they came out. First on the BSA B50MX and then on the 73 CCM. Stunning tyre (English spelling !).
For green laning and enduro use I prefer the old Trelleborg Army special 644 (now made by Mitas). The 17" version is brilliant. Almost as soft as a trials tyre but has the depth of an enduro one. For the Husky's front I use the Metzler 6 days.

wish GT & Mitas would get a US distributor

mitas really needs one..it seems they purposely dont want it for some reason. they make alot of dual sport tires people want as well.

We always want what we can't have.

i got my mitas winter frictions anyway, just had to ship them from latvia via ebay. just would be easier to have a us distributor instead of a canadian place gouging people marking a set of tires up 200 bucks..they use the old trelleborg mold and compound. they are that good of a winter spiked tire people will pay or go thru the hassle. whats weird is that even tho they came from latvia, i had them in four days from the time i ordered.

Canadian???? i bet the hozer keeps a pile of them in the basement

I'm buying all 100 tires from ZipTy when they come in and sell them to the highest bidders on EBAY!.
Actually I only need 2.

I have a Pair of S 12's en route. They seem to be the standard that everything is compared to, and really don't have any bad reviews. I have never ridden them, however I'm about to.

I dont like them at all. I found them to be very good in sand or mud but marginal everywhere else, I can feel the knobs squirming around on hardpack. The first set of S12s I got I was expecting them to be very good, not only were they not good, the knobs started shredding off on the second ride. I tried one set and that will be the one and only set for me. I know I am in a distinct minority, but it completely baffles me when I read the rave reviews of S12s.

Same here Kartwheel68. I shredded a set of the Michelin S12 Cross Comps in 2 rides and took them off. The front tire had the side knobs cracking away, chunking and splitting. Rear tires knobs were worn down like crazy from the little bit of hard pack and slag rocks here near the old smelter pile.
A place I usually stay away from as the mining security trucks will chase you off.
I do mostly intermediate and rock filled sand washes riding here. The rear was Ok in the sandwashes but noticeably suffered after the knobs started chunking and rounded off after the first good ride.

That is exactly the type of terrain I don't ride on so I would suggest that you check with the local hot shots use where you ride!

In Wisconsin and Illinois I prefer the Dunlop MX 51's. We use them on all of our bikes, old and new.
We have used the AT 81's lately but like the old MX 51's better.
We would try the MX 52 if Dunlop would make it in an 18" tire.

I just put mitas tire in the ebay search box and not far is a seller named moto_race in Wilbraham Mass. The same name as used to come on trellborg tires as a sticker and the same name as a fellow club member used to work at. I couldn't find any ten masters rear tire not sure if that was the one that came as a light or not. Might be worth the effort to contact this guy or gal or company. How about this one a stone eater tire, that is right up there with vulconduro for naming success. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mitas-C-17-...rcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item58bef26fd2

For me a new tire is pretty impressive. If you ride on your own property things are looked at a bit different than if you ride on a closed course (or any course) that you pay for an entry fee and there are trophies. The difference seems significant when conditions are not dry.

in Wisconsin and Illinois you use a different tire than somebody in a rock pit in Arizona
that is a better explanation of your tire choice
when i ride in the loam in the Sierra Nevada range in N. California the S-12 works great!
when i ride in N. Nevada and SoCal i prefer the M5B on the rear and either the Metzler Unicross or an M-12 on the front
we all have opinions but we all have different terrains
same manufacturer makes 3 different almost identical tires
tall hard knobs for loose (mud to loam) useless on hard pack,, wide knobs don't grab
soft short tighter tread (like trials) great on rock and hardback but useless in mud (they fill up and won't self clean)
when i say different almost identical use Michelin as an example they had 3 S- tires for different applications
hard tires are for soft terrain and soft tires are for hard terrain
that said they are all a compromise to different terrains
riding in the trees to open areas as in many of my rides the Unicross on the front gives a DECENT traction in most settings
but when i am only in loam i use the Michelin S-12
the M5B 140-18 works great in soft terrain but is very skitterish on hard pack with sand on top, the Michelin on the rear is even worse in that situation
there are better tires for hardback but i see so little of it i don't really care
i typically get about 70-80 hours out of tires, but my terrain is fairly soft too
i love the comment about the bead locks, yes they were for competition enduro, down side the wheels crack at the holes
when they did it, it was for competition not to last 35-40 years, i have 3 cracked Nordisk rims from the 80's, but yes they do work

I have Nordisks with pins and no cracks and I have Nordisks with no pins and cracks so I'm not sure that is the cause. I've got several bikes with Sun rims with pins, none of them have cracks. I've also drilled DIDs myself for pins and none of them cracked so far.

as i understand it (not all knowing)
to be competitive you need to reduce unsprung weight, so to keep your rim tough and lighter than the other guy
you make it thinner and harden it a little more
from a PURELY competition mindset it did work they reduced a TINY amount of weight but at a cost
that said winning competition events is not the same as longevity
Nordisk was the choice they made and harder was the route they took
funny on your luck, most of the ones i have seen cracked at the drilled holes

They didnt do it to reduce weight, although that is a secondary advantage, they did it to do tire changes without having to fight a rim lock. Also with pins you can run lower tire pressure and the tire will not slip at all, where even with a rim lock at low pressures the tire can slip and rip the valve stem out.