And yet another tyre question, knobblies for rock.

[Mad Hatter]

Ok I hate to do this, but I've got a tyre question, and I've tried the search function but if I go specific I don't get any hits and if I go vague there's a week's worth of sifting through threads

Basically, I'm doing some events at sweetlamb again this year (sprint rounds and what not) on the DR, but its mainly rock there and the co2 I've got on the rear doesn't suit it (it does by home though where its all mud and sand) and an ac10 on the front which I get on with and like the feel but again could grip better on rocks especially when its wet. I need tyres that are going to grip and turn better on rock at speed but need to be road legal.

I'm not bothered about road miles as they won't be doing any I'll swap my normal tyres before I go and just run them there and I don't mind cost too much but obviously within reason and they're probably only going to get a few hundred miles on over the year so overall wear doesn't matter too much just grip.

[Tonibe63]

Raced at sweet lamb many times on lots of bikes from wr250f to a CCM644 and always used a Mitas CO2 on the back and Mich comp or Bridgestone gritty on the front.

[captinktm]

Ah that's funny because the c02 is called (here at least) the stone king. Anyway I know what your saying they are shite when new. We ran them on the hire bikes in Turkey (rocky) and the punters would always insist on a new tyre, which they got. I would use their week old tyres which were brilliant. 6 days of battering makes the wall soft and half the height of the knobs, run them at between 6 and 9 psi with double tube or a mousse and your smokin! Or of course get the proper extreme tyre from Golden tyre, but they are only going to be good for one day.
I have also used trials tyres on the rear and these grip really well. The only problem with them is riding at speed, you either have to run them hard or slow down as they will roll off the rim.
Riding rocks is more about the flexibility of a tyre than the tread.

[Mad Hatter]

Raced at sweet lamb many times on lots of bikes from wr250f to a CCM644 and always used a Mitas CO2 on the back and Mich comp or Bridgestone gritty on the front.

I do love the co2 on the back, its a brilliant tyre and I've only got stuck once with it but that was a particularly steep rocky hill climb I had to stop on and it was always going to be a pain in the arse to get started on.

On my dommie that I run the same setup on but with the extra power I'm happy to just have the bike sideways and hold it on the power until it bites again but the wee Dr hasn't got it so I could do with something that sticks like the proverbial so I can eek every last bit of power out of it

The plan is too buy something in between with more power but still light just to do that sort of stuff on but I'm buying a house first apparently

[Mad Hatter]

Ah that's funny because the c02 is called (here at least) the stone king. Anyway I know what your saying they are shite when new. We ran them on the hire bikes in Turkey (rocky) and the punters would always insist on a new tyre, which they got. I would use their week old tyres which were brilliant. 6 days of battering makes the wall soft and half the height of the knobs, run them at between 6 and 9 psi with double tube or a mousse and your smokin! Or of course get the proper extreme tyre from Golden tyre, but they are only going to be good for one day.
I have also used trials tyres on the rear and these grip really well. The only problem with them is riding at speed, you either have to run them hard or slow down as they will roll off the rim.
Riding rocks is more about the flexibility of a tyre than the tread.

Its called the stone king here as well which I find amusing in a way because although it grips I've used better, I have found it unstoppable in the sand stone soil we get around by me because it just digs in and grips.

I'm not sure if its just me being after something that doesn't really exist or if there is something out there with a similar tread pattern but a softer compound. I had thought about the hybrid tyres with the trials type centre but normal knobbly knobs on the sides.

[Tonibe63]

I used trials tyres for LDT events and they were great on rock but rubbish in mud.
Michelin comp 4 always gripped the best on the back but often ripped off knobblies on the rock/slate and of course they are expensive plus they struggled to do 1k miles.
Golden Tyre were mid way between C02 and Michelin.

[PHILinFRANCE]

C02 rock eaters all the time

[Welsh Gar]

I always used Trelleborg Army Special for the rally events I did.. Cambrian Rally, Red Kite Rally etc.. fantastic tyre on hard pack surfaces and lasted a good time too. It's a knobbly tyre with smaller gaps between the knobs. . Always used it for trailriding the lanes around South Wales, would find grip where all the Enduro comp tyres would slip and slide.. well worth a try..

http://www.mitas.co.uk/Adventure-/Safar ... -Rear.Html

[Magnon]

I found the CO2 too hard to grip on rock, more like a paddle in mud but bloody lethal on wet roads especially when new.

The best thing for rock is without doubt, trials tyres, but they’re not very versatile. I’ve been happy with the MT21 front on rock although they are a relatively hard tyre, but you’d probably be better off with a Comp4 or a Metzeler 6 days. The E-09 (not the dakar version) is OK on the rear.