Trials Tires - Comparison

Michelin
Model: 4.00R-18 TT(Rear) X11 Trial Competition Radial, $183.41Michelin is the preferred brand for most serious trials enthusiasts and comes standard on more trials bikes than any of the others. Trials riders prefer the tubeless radial tire (which is built largely for tubeless use), but we focused mostly on the tube type radial since it seems to work better at anything more than a crawling speed. Clearly, the rubber on the Trial Competition has more stick than the other brands, especially on the rocks. It also has a softer sidewall than the others and won't run when flat. It is easy to mount, though the sticky rubber likes to be lubed up to get over the rim.Tractionwise, the Michelin gave the best grip or bite just as the wheel got going, and most riders were really impressed with how far you could lean this tire over and still get bite out of it. It was slightly squirmier in sand than on hardpack but was still rated high by all riders. This tire was also one of the worst feeling when really skidding, yet it had great control while on the brakes under control. Durability is great for how soft the rubber is, and it continues to work at a high level even when the tread wears out heavily.The tubeless type, on a true dirt bike is just too wallowy for anything other than actual trials or other extremely slow riding. But if you only ride on loose rocks, the tire acts like a really good suspension upgrade.

Dunlop
Model: 4.00R-18 D803, $118.98Dunlop's new 803 replaces the 801 and, for the trials guys, has been a huge improvement. The radial construction makes the tire very compliant yet not nearly as wallowy as the Michelin radial, but it does have that spongy feeling. It feels like the Dunlop has a bit more sidewall stiffness and, at the same time, has great bite under normal trail riding speeds. It worked well everywhere, and only a few riders thought it wasn't as grippy as the Michelin, mostly on ultrahardpack. It was noticeably better in sand, though. The tire was a little tighter on the rim during mounting and really needed lube. You cannot ride this tire flat.

IRC
Model: 4.00-18 Trial Winner Tube Type, $104.95IRC has the distinction of being very middle-of-the-road in every aspect. It gave decent traction everyplace, with no real standout points. It isn't noticeably wallowy or flexy, and at the same time, the tire is far from stiff feeling. It gets great marks for durability and, if anything, suffers a little in aggressive riding, where it doesn't bite as well right off the bat. That did allow it to earn high marks in sand, where it was constantly rated high. It has a good balance between being bump-compliant and not too soft. One of the strange things is that the IRC "heats up" on longer road stints; you can feel the tire become increasingly wobbly in turns. And it was the only one that chucked knobs off the carcass during extended high-speed running, but this was when riding 70-plus mph across a 10-mile-long dry lake bed. The IRC was stiff to mount but still installed easily because the rubber on the bead isn't so sticky. It, too, cannot be ridden flat.

Pirelli
Model: 4.00-18 MT 43, $80.95 The MT83 is the stiffest of the trials tires we tested and the only one that deviates from the standard square-only block design of the tread. The rubber is harder, and it is very easy to mount. Tractionwise, the Pirelli gives up to all the tires just a little on grip, mostly from the less-sticky rubber, but the tire is still compliant enough to flex and grab traction as only a trials tire can. It does most of the good things that the others do, such as stick where a knob would spin, help the suspension and last a long time, plus it is also the only one that you could ride for any distance on a flat tire. It is, again, just under the others a little in braking performance, and when it wears, it loses just a bit more performance than the others. But it does last a long time and is also the cheapest tire of the lot.