Trials tires in sloppy weather???

[kendunn]

I went back to a knobby after almost a year with my first trials tire thinking the ground will be wet for the next 4 months but I was pretty disappointed in it. Do you guys run a trials tire even in nasty weather? I was having a little trouble in the deep mud hence the reason for changing, but I found it wasn't worth the trade off. It helped in 10% of the places, hurt in 50%. Do I need more time to switch back or is a trails tire the hot set up all year long? Right now the knobby is looking like a short timer.

Edit-guess I made it sound like I ran one tire for a year, but I just meant trials tire(s) for a year.

[GMP]

Like you figured out somewhat, it really depends on the terrain as a whole and if the +s out weigh the -s. For example if a ride or race is technical with more rock than deep mud then its an advantage. If the terrain is good dirt with fast cornering, not too much rock then why run the trials? You also have to change your style between the two, being smoother with the trials and cornering more upright, but the terrain will dictate that to a degree as well. Two wheels, for a quick swap is the answer. For those situations where its a toss up, a good knobby with a Tubliss @ less than 10 PSI is a good choice.

[roostafish]

+1 on the Tubliss. I ran a knobby last week, 4 psi front and rear in the snow. Snow is actually the only terrain I have found the trials tire is no good. The slop is not so hot either, but we have slop in sections here, not entire riding days. The Trials tire is even better with less air too. 4-5 psi in a trials tire is NUTS!! If you do the Tubliss, keep it a secret with your riding pals, run 5 psi, and smile all the way to the top of the hill no matter which tire you're running.

[hannesd]

i only ran knobbies,never trials tires before on my bike (i've only got my gasser for about 5months :-p ) but i went out for a ride yesterday, just before the snow came in.
the grip wasn't great,neither upfront with the knobbies, but when you really mean it, pin it to the floor, you crack the throtlle open en she'll dig in thrue the mud and when she get's the grip, hang on...
but in less wet conditions, i can imagine trials tires being a very good option.

hannes.

[hannesd]

Originally Posted by roostafish

+1 on the Tubliss. I ran a knobby last week, 4 psi front and rear in the snow. Snow is actually the only terrain I have found the trials tire is no good. The slop is not so hot either, but we have slop in sections here, not entire riding days. The Trials tire is even better with less air too. 4-5 psi in a trials tire is NUTS!! If you do the Tubliss, keep it a secret with your riding pals, run 5 psi, and smile all the way to the top of the hill no matter which tire you're running.

5psi???? what about your rims if you hit a rock or tree?

[kendunn]

Originally Posted by hannesd

i only ran knobbies,never trials tires before on my bike (i've only got my gasser for about 5months :-p ) but i went out for a ride yesterday, just before the snow came in.
the grip wasn't great,neither upfront with the knobbies, but when you really mean it, pin it to the floor, you crack the throtlle open en she'll dig in thrue the mud and when she get's the grip, hang on...
but in less wet conditions, i can imagine trials tires being a very good option.

hannes.

Yeah, you pin and grin guys that come and ride my single track take off like a bat outtahell whilst I try working on my clutch/throttle control. Hard to keep them in sight for the first mile or so, but the first time we hit a nasty, off camber hill I go by them trying to push their bikes back up the hill ! The little engine that could!

[Eric K]

To improve trials traction in the snow & slop...

1) low pressure - going down from 6.5 psi to 5 psi made the difference between an unclimbable deep snow hill to motoring up.

2) cut out every third row of knobs makes for a big improvement in mud, slop and loose stuff, without much downside.

[hannesd]

Originally Posted by Eric K

To improve trials traction in the snow & slop...

1) low pressure - going down from 6.5 psi to 5 psi made the difference between an unclimbable deep snow hill to motoring up.

2) cut out every third row of knobs makes for a big improvement in mud, slop and loose stuff, without much downside.

good to know eric! :-)
can i allso run 5psi without tubless?
i do realise that i'm limited with knobbies, they're worth sh*t in the street.

hannes.

[kendunn]

Originally Posted by Eric K

To improve trials traction in the snow & slop...

1) low pressure - going down from 6.5 psi to 5 psi made the difference between an unclimbable deep snow hill to motoring up.

2) cut out every third row of knobs makes for a big improvement in mud, slop and loose stuff, without much downside.

I saw that cutting knob trick and thought about trying it. Do you guys use some type of groover or what to cut the knobs?

[flybars]

Very interesting Erik. I run the MT43 rear because I ride blacktop to get to local trails. I wonder if cutting every third row would cause the tire to wear faster on blacktop?
I would think your method would work great on all the loose rock in this area. How about getting over exposed roots? Thanks.