Best Tires for Ocotillo Wells

[MaynardF16]

Time to get new tires on my new (used) 03 WR250F. After searching the threads here it seems like a Maxxis IT on the rear and a Dunlop 756 on the front. I ride 99% of the time at Ocotillo Wells on the trails/washes. Trying to balance tread wear with traction. Any further advice would be great.

Thanks

[theclone]

I have the Maxxis IT front and rear. I think they get pretty good traction. If you get the IT desert version (same tire, but harder compound) it will last you a LONG time. But it's heavy as hell so I think I'll be switching to a regular IT rear in the future.

[zoomzoom]

I really like Maxxis IT for the rear. But didn't have a good experience with it on the front. The Maxxis ST worked much better for me on the front.

[Rokatt88]

I was real big on Maxxis IT's for out there. You should try a set of Dunlops 952's. I think you'll like 'em! Wear just as good and I feel, give better traction.

[MMotohead]

Michelin S12. The Maxxis IT tires last a long time but do not hook up in any slippery uphill sections. The back tire squirms all over the place.

[FeliX 450]

I also ride Octillo Wells 99% of the time and use Dunlop D952's and they work great ? , but for my next set i'll try Maxxis IT's and see how they will wotk out for me!

[Patster]

Michelin S12. The Maxxis IT tires last a long time but do not hook up in any slippery uphill sections. The back tire squirms all over the place.

Ditto. I just went back to an S12 after using the Maxxis Desert IT. My bike is certainly no power hog but even in 5th gear down a wash I could easily get the back tire to break loose and squirm sideways while I was going perfectly straight. It did seem to want to wear forever, though. I commuted on it a lot this summer and it held up very well.

[Rokatt88]

Ditto. I just went back to an S12 after using the Maxxis Desert IT. My bike is certainly no power hog but even in 5th gear down a wash I could easily get the back tire to break loose and squirm sideways while I was going perfectly straight. It did seem to want to wear forever, though. I commuted on it a lot this summer and it held up very well.

Yeah! The Maxxis IT's are good D/S tires oddly enough! I'm just about done with the set I have on my D/S XR650R. Very impressed by how they held up to asphalt. They're not DOT but...

[bikeslut]

Motoworld has a set of Dunlop 952 on sale for $89... or was it $98? I'm dyslexic. They aren't mounted yet, but it seemed like a good deal so I bought two sets.

[MaynardF16]

I went to Motoworld and saw the sale. Did you have to pay the $6.75 per tire California tire recycling fee? Sometimes I hate this place.

[dvasquez]

I didn't like the Maxxis at all. I still have a 75% tire in my garage that I'll probably save until next summer for dual sport riding. The lugs on the Maxxis are too close together and the compound is too hard; therfore it doesn't work anywhere. They are too slippery on my 525. Although, it was fun running like a flat tracker around the airport in 5th. I put on a pair of Dunlop D756's and they work GREAT, but they wear fast. I'm going to try the D952's next.

[XR250rdr]

I'd think the IT would work better for the high desert where there are a lot of rocks. In sandier areas like Ocotillo I'd go for something with a bit wider knob spacing.

[Patster]

I put on a pair of Dunlop D756's and they work GREAT, but they wear fast. I'm going to try the D952's next.

Hey, you should try an S12. They're pretty good. And they're Michelins, made by the French! Sure, you wouldn't wanna buy a gun from the French, but a tire? Why the hell not?! I've also heard they're real popular on the Formula 1 circuit, but I really wouldn't know too much about that.

[dvasquez]

I was trying to keep my Michechin hating thoughts to myself, but since you brought it up.... NO MICHELINS!!!! Since Michelin pulled out of the 2005 US GP at Indy DURING in the warm up lap leaving 6 cars to run a Formula 1 race, I will never own a set of Michelins.

[SpringChicken]

Maxxis tires are French too. I didn't like the Maxxis IT much though. It wears well but the traction is lacking IMO. I like the S12 but I ride mostly track so I'm going to try the D952 next.

[Patster]

Maxxis tires are French too. I didn't like the Maxxis IT much though. It wears well but the traction is lacking IMO. I like the S12 but I ride mostly track so I'm going to try the D952 next.

Are you sure they're French? I went through the Maxxis website, and found it incredibly vague on where the company was actually HQ'd. This was just my guess, but I suspected that they were Chinese, perhaps related to Cheng Shin somehow.

[SpringChicken]

I know they're pronounced Max-seez. (Frenchy accent). LOL. Definitely not Chinese. I love their mtn bike tires...absolutely the best there is! Their MX stuff I'm not so excited about though.

[SpringChicken]

Hmmm... I was checking out their site. Maybe they are base out of Taiwan. All the guys at the bike shops always told me they were French.

[Rokatt88]

Parent company is Cheng Shen.

Maxxis would be like Lexis is to Toyota