CRF250 L thread

[minkyhead]

i like m21s ok they are resonable on the road and far far ahead of the ircs off road ...i find the front m21s tend to wear in to triangilar blocks quite early ..the 644s are much more even on wear and last much longer ...both the e09 and the m21 are a decent duelsport tyre but neither are much good on adverse cambers but for most trails most of the time they do ok ....if yer having trouble you may as well just boch some m21s on they are a good starting point to see if you want mere aggressive tread off road or less for on road

[garyboy]

yes .. I agree the mt21's are a great starting point.
I was recommended them on my then DR350 .. they were my first off road tyre.

047.2 by gary boy, on Flickr

they are great for say 60/40 (on / off road) as they cope well with light trails and are excellent for grip on tarmac.
However they wear quickly if ridden fast on tarmac, (tho last very well if gentle) and unevenly, in a chunky way.
But it is off road that they fail .. changing across even small ruts causes an alarming rear end slide, due to the mild nature of the tight knobs.

Several bikes later, i ended up with a new crf250L .. complete with the irc .... really bad rear for off road .. but.. the front i thought was really good, especially on tarmac, and lasted 6 ot 7000 miles, with still some to spare if u pushed it.

20160814_173507c by gary boy, on Flickr



But when i changed the front to a xt644 i could see the difference and explained why i used to shite all over the seat on muddy slopes.

20181024_142851 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr


It is a second hand front tyre and perhaps that explains its weird handing .. it seems fat and sloppy, but if u pump it up it bounces of rocks alarmingly? Also, on tamac it is very sloppy and vague .. perhaps the pressures? .. i dunno, but will be looking for a different tyre next time .. a thinner tighter one?

E09 rear is good for 50/50 trails, i find, but side slips greatly, leaving a lack of confidence on muddy grassy welsh slopes.
Also it chokes up easily in mud ...

20171101_122338 by gary boy, on Flickr


i now go for smaller deeper knobs ..

20190428_175111 (2) by gary boy, on Flickr

but this particular tyre is 90% profile and I had a lot of trouble with it so will be looking for a different one in the future

[rbailey]

i like m21s ok they are resonable on the road and far far ahead of the ircs off road ...i find the front m21s tend to wear in to triangilar blocks quite early ..the 644s are much more even on wear and last much longer ...both the e09 and the m21 are a decent duelsport tyre but neither are much good on adverse cambers but for most trails most of the time they do ok ....if yer having trouble you may as well just boch some m21s on they are a good starting point to see if you want mere aggressive tread off road or less for on road

Just in case it helps someone else... there was a bit of debate as to whether the XT644 Army is obsolete or not... I can confirm it now is. I have had emails from a few tyre dealers who said so, and today I received a mail from Mitas directly, who have also confirmed it is now obsolete and they are not making any more.

They have advised that the MC23 Rockrider is their replacement for the XT644. You can see that here: http://www.mitas.co.uk/Adventure-/Trail ... rider.Html.

Having looked at all the advice, and taking into account the riding I will be doing in the next 3 months (as many trails as I can, but 3.3K of unavoidable roadwork), I am gonna go with the E09 rear. Wondering if either of these would be a better bet than the E09 front (which does not seem to review well.)

1. MC23 Rockrider http://www.mitas.co.uk/Adventure-/Trail ... rider.Html.
2. E10 http://www.mitas.co.uk/Adventure-/Trail ... Front.Html
3. E09 http://www.mitas.co.uk/index.php?main_p ... cts_id=277

Interestingly, not sure what difference it makes, but in the write ups on the Mitas site (links above), the E09 is aimed at lighter trail bikes, the MC23 at medium sized, and the E10 at larger adventure bikes.

Speaking to mitas, they recon all of the above would be ok for over 3.5K road miles, so would fit my purpose. They also mentioned the E13, as a good trail tyre, but they were not sure about its longevity / suitability for longer road use.

Be interested in any comments on the MC23 / E10 if anyone has a view....

Roy

[garyboy]

I see that those treads are very similar to the MT21 and ck80 ??

I think that for most trails .. like the tet .. they would be ok … for most of the time … but I know (local) sections that they would struggle on ….. so for that 1%, personally, I think it is worth getting more aggressive treads …. but for lasting … durability .. these treads look good, as they have more rubber per sq inch ? …. making them a good average bet over distance?

[Pavillon Noir]

hi,
this weekend in woods



A+

[garyboy]

great video
nice bike
fab trails
great countryside
J'aime la france


must try to get out there next year, or before

[minkyhead]

its to tough to advise ..pleanty of guys like the maxxis ITs and if your on a shorter trip off roading i wouldnt argue ...personally ive used most of everything at one time or another .. pure of road i like mettler 6 days ... but i pretty much never do pure off road

i have a default front and each bike has a spare rear wheel which i use for short days in the winter .. you just have to try stuff ...telling someone what tyres to use is like telling em what film to watch or what music to listen too ..everyone has a take ...

here is the rub ..whichever way the mop flops the rule is written the better on the road the worse off road they will be ..if your doing distance its tough ....if i were goin somwhere harpacked and dry like marroc .. your choiced increase dramatically ..if your doin wet french trails for days on end ..you will need the more extream end of the scale and just slow down and corner less ..there is no silver bullet

the crf has a advantage over bigger bikes as its very easy on tyres ...i dun a kendatrackmaster for 2.5k in the balkans and its was fine ..after 12/1300 miles it starts to flatten and looks like the top of frankensteins head and handles bad as it tips to long side knobs ...you have to slow down corner less at angles a brake early ...that is just the way it is and there is no other choice high knob enduro tyres diminish i road comfort by the day ...on the flip side if it pisses down and your in wet woods it drives like a rotavator ..needless to say it never rained and it was over kill....you would never get 5k out of it and for a lot of road work its the wrong choice

if you fit full enduro rubber go 110/100/18 a 120 maxxis of a crf would probab;ly handle bad and try and rip the cat flap off they are mahoosive ..to give you a take i can get 4k out of a e09 on the 450 but its past its best off road at 2k ...i can kill a maxxs or a trackmaster on it in 900 miles ..rog used a e09 on his 690 for portugal and killed it in 1000 mles ..so hard riders and late brakers have a bigger headache

if i were doingdg distance id go m21 front and rear ..or m21 front and e09 rear ..the eo9 will drive through most stuff but it will spin ..as long ast the fronts planted its no big deal ..ive never ever been stranded by it ..the trick is to spin it to clear ..it is very good on the road /motorway ...above average under braking of tar ....wears better than any true knobbed tyre by a big margin..but there will be times when its simply beyond whats asked ....what we have to weigh up is ..how many times that will or is likly to be ..
i were down in devon last year on a half shagged e09 and it was proper wet and proper slippy ..but it did just fine ..it wernt half bad and the mild crf finds grip on slippy suff where some of the big bangers were having some triuble setting off on full braaaap enduro stuff
.
just keep trying stuff ...i got two mc360s in the fall did 15 dry road miles on one and took it off and sold em ...lethal under any form of braking in the dry on tar ....wouldnt even tyhink about using em in the wet .. road legal but extream ....but i now know ..they would probably be awsome in the shopshire snow ...but shopshire is 120 miles away ?.... the e09 is a good duel choice for higher milage ..but has its limtations it sits between the full knobs and the catspaw class ...

just keep trying stuff boch em on and ride ...eventually you will find your own choice ...

keep well

[johnnyboxer]

I fitted a pair of Metz MC360 to the XR 400 and find them very good - wet or dry
Out on them yesterday in heavy showers/wet roads and all good at 60 mph
Great off road at 20 psi
Used them for last 800-1000 miles and no sign of wear
Done 2 days in Devon and 8 days off-road in Dales & Moors, all good !

Cheap too at £89/pair

[catcitrus]

Agree with Minky--for a combination of distance and trails I also run a 644 front and an E09 rear--the E09 rear does find a surprising amount of grip and wears well. The 644 army special does a grand job in the front -I have a part worn 644 rear stashed away because you can't get the rears anymore--its also important not to overinflate on road trips--15 psi front and 20 psi rear on my wr250r.
I have a stack of part worns about 6ft high--you spend loads of money on bikes and trips so having good rubber is a minimal cost when viewed overall--the key to the 644 front is that it doesn't saw tooth on a road trip--I toasted an enduro tyre on a little crf 230 and was nearly stranded in Montenegro. However, for basically trail work with no big road miles I use proper enduro tyres on my little Kawa Super Sherpa--6psi front and about 8 psi rear with rim locks.

[garyboy]

I find the xt644 ok on the front, off road, but uncertain on bends on the road.
I find the e09 great on road, and lasts really well, but off road it side slips alarmingly on cross cambers, especially in the wet, and also does not grip enough on steep welsh nadgery trails, dry or wet.
but overall they are a good package.