ANOTHER 18" WHEEL QUESTION

[bianco013]

ok so im at a bit of a crossroad. bear with me on this its kinda long. I just bought an 01 yz250 and its been treating me really well except the sprocket somehow lost some bolts and they eded up cracking my rear hub while i was riding. long story short im just going to replace both of my front and rear wheel setups with the tusk impact ones link: https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/3636/42645/Tusk-Impact-Complete-Front-Rear-Wheel-Kit?v=1620 here is my issue: i pretty much only trail ride and i do not race so my bike is woods bike only. I just purchased a maxxis maxxcross it rear tire in 120/100-19. is it worth going from a 19in wheel to an 18in and buying another tire? id have to seel the on ei have and deal with that and buy an 18in maxxis tire. in my situation, would anyone recommend i stick with the 19in setup or is it worth the hassle to stitch to 18in. thanks for being patient!

[William1]

Running trails, I'd go with the 18". Less chance of a pinch flat and a broader selection of trail tires.

The only hassle you will have ti selling you 19" tire. You still need a rim, spokes and hub, irrespective of the size.

[indy rider]

I'd go with the 18" but performance is more important to me than the cost. For years I ran 19's with tubes, now I run a 18 with bibs and will never go back.

[motovita]

 The 18" is well worth it, you'll be glad you did.

[bianco013]

i reallly appreciate the help! thank you all. definitely gonna go with the 18" wheel. any suggestions on tires? i know the opinions and threads are endless, but ive been researching and im second guessing my choice to run the maxxis IT in the Pennsylvania woods......

[Dieselbeast90]

18 for sure. I switched and ill never go back. And as far the as impact wheel set. Its fantastic. Blue hubs with black rim. And for a tire. It depends on where you ride. But i love the bridgestone m102 rear for mud, sand, anything medium to soft terrain, along with the goldentyre fatty 90/100 front.

[MorrisM]

I'd say 19 if all the pros at Redbull Hard Enduro series run with it.. but don't. so I'd suggest 18. the comfort that comes along with it is great. Air volume. 

[OLHILLBILLY]

1 hour ago, bianco013 said:

i reallly appreciate the help! thank you all. definitely gonna go with the 18" wheel. any suggestions on tires? i know the opinions and threads are endless, but ive been researching and im second guessing my choice to run the maxxis IT in the Pennsylvania woods......

I tried a set of Maxxis ITs some years ago. For rocks, roots, mud and gravel, one phrase described them well.. They sucked. No traction anywhere, period. Worst woods tires I've ever had.

The best tires I've found for slimy woods has been the Shinko 524/525. They grip the wet roots and slick rock like trials tires, grip the mud and pea gravel like the old Bridgestone 404s, wear like iron, and are cheap.. In my world, that's a hard combo to beat. ?

[indy rider]

The new Michelin Starcross 5 soft are a really good performing tire. Sheds mud exceptionally well and its actually a pretty soft compound which is unusual for soft terrain tires. Great grip on wet rock and roots unlike most soft terrain/harder compound tires. That grip comes at a cost, if you spin a lot they show it in wear. No where near as soft as a gummy/sticky tire but they are definitely one of the easiest tires to mount.

[trackmaster]

I found out the hard way with aftermarket wheels, make sure the rim lock is correct. I would much rather change a flat on an 18" rather than a 19". I like new tires, try them all til you find some thing you like and you don't mind dealing with. Maxxis it tires are stiff, but for moto, there are alot of better choices out there

[The Inquisitor]

After 6 years I needed a new rear rim on my CRF250R and decided to go 18".

I only ride flowy/technical single track with 13T/51T sprockets and I just put on a Shinko 505 rear.

I've only had one ride on the new set up I honestly can't say I noticed a HUGE difference to the 19" and I was wondering if having the 18" would effect top end speed in anyway but I need to more time on the 18"

Then I also put on a Shinko 505 for the spring and at 7ish PSI with a UHD Tube the tire hooked up incredibility well but I we see how durability is.

Tires are a whole other topic but one of the reasons I went 18" is that there are more options in this size and I'm looking forward yo trying them at different PSI depending on conditions

I lot of buddies (and pretty much everyone has an 18) are running the Michelin StarCross 5 Intermediates (not sure what PSI) and are liking them.

[jamracing]

The best 18" rear wheel you could get is a rear wheel off a WR426/450. OEM quality, and usually as cheap as a cheap aftermarket unit.

[Behind Bars]

Yeah, go with the 18". I would never go back to a 19" over a tire, especially the standard Maxxis IT. You want the Maxxix desert IT. I also had an IT once by mistake. It was terrible and wore like iron so I couldn't even wear it out. I finally took it off and threw it away. The desert IT is a different animal. It hooks up well everywhere I ride and wears really well.

[The Inquisitor]

My go to tire on my 19 has been the Desert IT and I'm looking forward to trying it in 18" at some point ?

[Behind Bars]

11 hours ago, filterx said:

My go to tire on my 19 has been the Desert IT and I'm looking forward to trying it in 18" at some point ?

Same for me. I used to ride a lot more (or harder) and went through several tires a year. I experimented more. Now I use less tires, so I've been sticking to the tried-and-true Desert IT. I recommend it with abandon as it does pretty well everywhere and is very predictable. My second up is the venerable M5B. It is a beast but rounds off too quickly and seems to slide around mountain mud. That said, little is better than a fresh M5B.

[The Inquisitor]

Ya I found that I've getting way better with clutch/throttle control hence not as hard on the rear tire as I used to be.

With that said and for me in a wide variety of terrain and conditions, the Desert IT is a durable tire that I can run at 2ish PSI with a UHD tube.

But I do love putting on new tires front/back and as I will always say, you really need to spend the $$$ and try a tire to see how it works for you.

 

[Nevada Al]

18" is the way to go..  I'll never run a 19" rear again......  ever

[bianco013]

Thank you all, I ended up buying a set of Tusk impact rims...21" and 18" 

I also purchased a shinko 525... i found one for $50 so it was hard to pass up even to just try it out. 

On 4/29/2017 at 11:43 AM, OLHILLBILLY said:

The best tires I've found for slimy woods has been the Shinko 524/525. They grip the wet roots and slick rock like trials tires, grip the mud and pea gravel like the old Bridgestone 404s, wear like iron, and are cheap.. In my world, that's a hard combo to beat. ?

Thanks for the recommendation, we'll see how it goes!