[Eric K]

I have run trials tires for 9 years on my ’01 GasGas XC300 and for 3 years on my ’06 EC300. Radial trials tires provide great traction on hard greasy clay, wet rocks, wet roots and the slime found in western Washington and Oregon. Trials tires have some downsides in that they are not as effective a knobby in deep snow or aggressive cornering.

When my Tubliss arrived last fall, I thought it would be a excellent opportunity to try a good knobby at low pressure. I have heard much about the Pirelli MT-16. However, the MT-16 it is not DOT approved. I read that the Metzeler Unicross is very similar to the MT-16 and is DOT approved (for dual sport riding), so I bought a Metzeler Unicross rear tire.

The Tubliss system with rimlock is 1.5 lbs. My Heavy Duty tube with Talon rimlock is 3.5 lbs. I netted a 2 lb savings in unsprung weight.

Mounting a tire with the Tubliss system is soooo much easier. No more jammed knuckles working the tube into location. The Tubliss allows me to run very low air pressure without concern of pinch flat.

I have ridden the Metzeler/Tubliss for 507 miles on my ’06 EC300. I ran pressure down as low as 4 psi. I found 5 psi to be the sweet spot for traction and higher speed control. At 4 psi it had occasional behavior similar to a flat tire. For comparison, I had the Mitas ET-01 trials tire on my ’01 XC300 normally at 6.5 psi with a HD tube.

The most difficult conditions where I ride are mostly greasy, wet clay and occasional snow/ice. On the greasy clay the Metzeler/Tubliss at 5 psi is very comparable to the Mitas at 6.5 psi. On glare ice, they both have difficulty hooking up. In deeper snow, the Metzeler has a clear advantage. In loose rock the Metzeler has a clear advantage. It pulls harder and straighter. On solid, exposed rock the Mitas a slight advantage. Cornering clearly goes to the Metzeler. It is more stable and predictable in hard, leaned over cornering.

The Metzeler is holding up very well, no torn knobs, flats or slow leaks. I expect the 5 psi inflation provides a larger footprint distributing the tire load over more knobs, contributing to longevity. At the rate it is going, I could probably get about 1000 miles out of the tire.

I am definitely sold on the Tubliss and the Metzeler Unicross.