Cheater tires
Unless you don't care about the breakthroughs happening in the world of off-road motorcycles or you've been in a vacuum the past five years, you have heard about people running trials tires on their off-road machines.
As funny as it may look this tight pattern of shallow grippy rubber is cheating.
The soft compound conforms to the nasty surfaces riders are often confronted with, taking some of the technical difficulty away from each obstacle.
Roots that used to slip and skip the back end of a bike equipped with knobbies are miraculously absorbed like the Lego's your barefooted dad used to step on; though, without pain and zero complaints.
Rocks that used to shuck knobs while send bucking feedback to a riders hands and feet are painted smooth and controlled with the same mysterious technology.
Classic knob tires rely on their square edges to score into the dirt's surface and lay down a minimal contact patch.
They also loose their integrity after that edge has been rounded creating an unstable feel when accelerating, braking, turning and any other situation that involves movement between the rubber and the ground.
This can be as early as one ride depending on the rider and conditions.
Knobbies give hugs like sea urchins, unwilling to conform to the contours of jagged rocks, sticks, roots and other trail hazards.
Trials tires work so well in poor conditions that they were banned from Endurocross competition.
This might have had something to do with Maxxis who used to sponsor the event and doesn't have a trials tire in their product line.
Trials tires last a long time.
They don't rely on the square edges alone to create grip.
That soft, fluctuating rubber fans out to provide support long after rounding occurs.
They also more friendly to the ground.
Trials tires don't chew up the dirt like scratchy knobbies can.
With all this unconcealed cheating you are bound to get caught.
There are some noteworthy downsides to running trials tires.
If you ride in wet clay like the hills in the southern Willamette Valley in Oregon, or the snot soil found in Castle Rock, Washington you will find yourself spinning at high rpm in a tall gear and going nowhere on the most modest incline.
Snow is kryptonite to the trials tire.
If you have a 19" rear you are out of luck because no manufacturer makes such a tire.
Stylistically, if you are a rear brake slider or like to spin up the rear you will end up less than satisfied with the performance of the trials tire.
The rear will lock up without subtly like you are on wet grass, even when the traction is superb.
Michelin, Pirelli, IRC or Dunlop each have their own profile and compound and retail prices range from spendy to expensive.
All are effective and easy to mount.
Trials tires are no secret, but they haven't won over everyone in the off-road community.
They are still designed for trials use where railing turns and speed is not a priority.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-9668-Portland-Motorcycle-Examiner~y2009m9d3-Cheater-tires