Cheap tyres

[honda_power]

for cheap tyres - shinko holeshot [muddy/wet terrain] and kenda milliville [pretty much everything] get my pick. shit, my milliville is supposed to be for soft-med terrain, iv done 3 long rides on hard, and the edge is almost perfect. id acually buy one over a Pirelli any day, esp as the kenda is $40 cheaper.

[cheese]

I had a kenda milliville and thought it was shit. I think that the S12 I had was twice the tyre.

[B0000M]

I went for the MS3 due to all the shit wet weather we have in and around auckland and they work well even in the on harder terain prob not last as long as a MH but they holn on better when worn than so brand new tyre ive had in the past.

the hard compound tyres are designed to be used on soft ground, and the soft compound tyres are meant to be used on hard ground. common misconception.

in saying that, a soft compound tyre wont last long on hard ground. so your safe bet is hard compounds all year round! - eg the MH3 or similar.

[oldskool]

the hard compound tyres are designed to be used on soft ground, and the soft compound tyres are meant to be used on hard ground. common misconception.

in saying that, a soft compound tyre wont last long on hard ground. so your safe bet is hard compounds all year round! - eg the MH3 or similar.

Really? Now I AM confused (but what you say makes sense), the salesboy at cycletreads advised me simply that hard compound is for clay and soft compound is for sand, seeing as the sandpit is the closest and therefore handiest track to me I opted for a medium soft....but having said that the tyre selection for a 17" rim is rather limited anyhoow so it's a moot point in the bigger scheme of things.

[honda_power]

I had a kenda milliville and thought it was shit. I think that the S12 I had was twice the tyre.

hmmm well each to his own i guess.

[B0000M]

Really? Now I AM confused (but what you say makes sense), the salesboy at cycletreads advised me simply that hard compound is for clay and soft compound is for sand, seeing as the sandpit is the closest and therefore handiest track to me I opted for a medium soft....but having said that the tyre selection for a 17" rim is rather limited anyhoow so it's a moot point in the bigger scheme of things.

the theory is that a hard compound with a sharp edge will bite into soft ground / clay / sand etc and not just mould into it or bend over, while on the hard ground the knobs will bend and flex in order to get the best possible grip on the solid ground but also wear out real fast

[warewolf]

Yep, soft terrain tyres have tall, narrow knobs, widely spaced, hard-ish compound. The knobs punch through the sand/mud and kinda work like a paddle.

Hard terrain tyres have short, wide knobs, narrow-spaced, soft-ish compound. Almost trying to emulate a road tyre, utilise rubber-on-surface friction more, hence the soft or sticky compound. I'm not convinced that the knobs themselves flex, would think it is the carcass. Knob flex is the death of grip and wear in sports road tyres; it is part of the reason for the semi-slick tread patterns: they create effectively very large knobs that don't bend tangentially (but would flex radially).

Additionally, these tyres are often designed for rocky conditions where a tight trials-like pattern is better than something very open. The former presents a consistent surface to the rocks, the latter is rather erratic (knob, gap, knob, gap) which is not so good. Same effect happens on the tree roots at Woodhill.

Very broad brush strokes there, but hopefully paints a useful picture. The problem with cross-country racing is that you can encounter ALL of the surfaces in one lap, needing 5 different tyres for optimum performance!