Pirelli Trials Tire for Trails and Dessert racing.

Recently ive swithced to a pirelli trials tire on the rear because of the rants and raves ive heard on different forums about them. Some say to only run like 8 to ten pounds in them so the first ride out i tried that as did my dad who had a tubliss system in his ktm450. Both of our trials tires were flat by the end of the ride. the tire was so soft it was horrible to ride in on flat. I was way dissapointed.
I didnt give up on him though and im currently running normal air pressure (around 16 lbs). Now I think im in love. the thing hooks up in the nasty stuff like it was covered in super glue and duct tape! you wouldnt think so but it is decent in sand as well, although, it doesnt clean out thick mud well.
I went with the pirelli because it supposedly has a stiffer sidewall for dessert applications but most of the other brands ive seen are praised very highly as well. just check out the reviews here.http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/home.do
 
I picked the Pirelli because it is DOT rated. I would worry that you could overheat the thing in high speed racing. At 16 psi you should be OK. I've been running 11 psi on my XR600, but I'm a big boy. No flats yet, but I'm just trail riding. I do pressure up to 15-16 if I'm going to be doing a lot of high speed riding or pavement

I find that at higher pressures I loose a lot of the incredible stickiness. Try going down a bit in pressure. The sidewall is a lot taller so you can get a way with less than a knobby.

From what I understand the Pirelli can handle the higher speeds somewhat better than the "real" trials tires. They also don't have quite as much stickyness. It's all a tradeoff.

Trials tires have one major downside that I have experienced. On the insanely steep sketchy down hills you loose a lot of your rear breaking. The tire just locks up and slides. Well that and deep mud, but I don't get much of that. Everywhere else it rules. It's like cheating.
 
I have heard good things about the trials tire for trail riding, but I do not think it would make for a good tire in racing conditions. I have not tried the trials tire yet myself, but maybe my next purchase will be one to try myself.
 
I LOVE trials tires... Front and back - for northern California. They would probably not be the first tires I would consider for so cal desert though...

Up here they grab bare rock and hardpack great!
 
I LOVE trials tires... Front and back - for northern California. They would probably not be the first tires I would consider for so cal desert though...

Up here they grab bare rock and hardpack great!

Understandable since that's what they use on trials bikes........I wouldn't think they'd work well in sand/loose gravel either, not a whole lot of hard pack in the dez.
 
.I wouldn't think they'd work well in sand/loose gravel either, not a whole lot of hard pack in the dez.

They actually work surprisingly well. They first time I hit the deep sand I was worried, but the tire worked just fine. No problem at all. I'm old on these tires.

Oh and the fact that they last 3 times longer helps too.
 
i am not sure if i like it or not to be honest. what i miss is the ability to hit the throttle and move the back end around with a knobby. on the other hand it sure has been nice on the granite and hard pack. it may become a summer tire for me.
 
I use it as a slow ride summer in the trees tire, when I feel like changing the wheels. I used mine on my 200 in the snow and it worked better than I thot it would, but not as good as a knobby in the snow. When i go on multi day trips I take it as a spare in case I break a wheel or get a flat on the 3 KTMs I have. I have them geared the same and it fits all 3.
 
Yes, if you like to steer with the throttle, then they are not so good. In the sand they do break loose and slide around though. the harder the surface the more they stick.

I miss the power steering, but I like the other benefits more.
 
like others have said... a great hard pack tire with decent milage on the street (if you dual sport)... Better in the sand than I expected, and just as crappy in the mud as I thought they'd be.

I went for a ride Sunday, and was having a rough time going up a loose climb... checked my tire pressure at the top - 31 psi... oops! forgot to air down after setting the bead! D'OH! Aired down to 16 and they performed great all day.

now- I don't run race pace, so it's hard to say how they'd work for that... also... another bonus I noticed... they spoon on much easier than most knobbies... must be the soft rubber; maybe the taller sidewall has something to do with it, too
 
Question, what kinda psi do you guys run front and back, do you run more in he front so you don' ding a rime?
I need your
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allmighty ones!!
 
like others have said... a great hard pack tire with decent milage on the street (if you dual sport)... Better in the sand than I expected, and just as crappy in the mud as I thought they'd be.

I went for a ride Sunday, and was having a rough time going up a loose climb... checked my tire pressure at the top - 31 psi... oops! forgot to air down after setting the bead! D'OH! Aired down to 16 and they performed great all day.

now- I don't run race pace, so it's hard to say how they'd work for that... also... another bonus I noticed... they spoon on much easier than most knobbies... must be the soft rubber; maybe the taller sidewall has something to do with it, too

I was told optimum is 8 psi. I don't know what you can get away with when running a tube, but at the KM trip, Chris Horgan from SOS, had the tubeliss system, and he hauled ass all day. He gave the big speech about them also, how they tread lightly, and don't create whoops. I still think, all that is well and good in the forest, I just don't trust it for the Dez.
 
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