Whatever happened to the 20" front tire?

[IL8APEX]

I remember a few years ago this was the salvation of off-road riding... Fewer flats, etc.

Now you can't find a 20" front tire anywhere. What happened?

-T

[jbrandt]

A smaller front wheel, IMO, will handle worse, and is harder to roll over obstacles.

I don't remember any such "revolution", then again, I'm not usually one to give into the hype for the next greatest invention. I mean, I STILL haven't gotten a rear trials tire...

[Chuck.]

The 20 incher never worked out well, it was just one of the smaller non-events in the evolution of dirt bikes. The success of going from a 19" to a 21" was proof that 20" was not the right way to go.

[Denn10]

yeah i remember when the factory MX teams were testing them in SX or MX i dont remember, but it was a wash out and they didnt see any positive out of it i guess

[YZ450t]

yeah i remember when the factory MX teams were testing them in SX or MX i dont remember, but it was a wash out and they didnt see any positive out of it i guess

Funny how things fit or dont fit in . Remember back long ago..Honda sold a 125CR with a 23 inch front wheel . Didnt expand to any other bike...and was gone soon .

[Slackkinhard]

Funny how things fit or dont fit in . Remember back long ago..Honda sold a 125CR with a 23 inch front wheel . Didnt expand to any other bike...and was gone soon .

Had one. It actually had some advantages offroad. It rolled over things easier, and since the 125's didn't have any bottom end, it allowed for slamming thru things that the smaller wheels had a harder time. On the track, it was a nightmare becuz it wouldn't cut corners as well.

The 20incher could find an advantage here and there, but it wasn't significant enuff to market.

[WAMXP1MP]

I think the final death of the 20 inch was with they came out with the 90/100 21 fronts.

[ThunderChicken]

20s are great for offroad, especially in the desert on smaller bikes like 200 cc two strokes and 250 cc four strokes.

I'd love to have a 20 for my 250X.

Tire selection killed the 20. Plus, a lot of guys ride their off road bikes in moto practice and you end up needing to have an extra 21 for moto which isn't that big of a deal (since most also have a extra 19 rear).

What ultimately killed the 20 was a lack of tire selection. Plus, as it was said above, fatter profile tires mimic some of the benefits from the 20.

[K-dogg]

A smaller front wheel, IMO, will handle worse, and is harder to roll over obstacles.

I don't remember any such "revolution", then again, I'm not usually one to give into the hype for the next greatest invention. I mean, I STILL haven't gotten a rear trials tire...

It is a smaller rim, but the outer diameter of the 20" tire is the same as a 21" tire.

[fenderbmxer86]

I have a 20" on the front of my rmz450 and cant find tires anywhere. Anybody hae any ideas?

[yz426em]

I have a brand new 20 in. dunlop at the house if your interested pm me.