Dirt tire reviews

[Shinyribs]

Whatcha using? What do you like? What do you hate?

Coming from a couple years of running exclusively 525 Cheaters out back I decided to try this Michelin Starcross 5 in Soft. While the Cheater made crawling up gnarly stuff easy, I was shocked at how much traction I gained everywhere else when going to the 5 Soft. Some much more traction while accelerating that it felt like the bike picked up 10hp.

Oh, and the little nubs between the knobs that Michelin says helps them evacuate mud...they work!

 

[Gravelcruiser]

Haven't found anything that bad wowed me yet, but I absolutely despise K270/shinko 244. A tire that honestly performs poorly at everything.

 

[Shinyribs]

Haven't found anything that bad wowed me yet, but I absolutely despise K270/shinko 244. A tire that honestly performs poorly at everything.

I'm with you on that one buddy. I don't know why different manufacturers are building copies of that tread pattern when it's so bad.

I swear I think they shrunk down an ATV tire or something

 

[Ridefreak]

I would ask: Dualsport or strictly dirt? Based on my experience I'd have hard time recommending a Soft Compound tire on anything outside of a strictly dirtbike use, especially on larger bore bikes. Your pic shows why I stay away from a soft compound tire on the rear, a 500 will make a SC tire look like that in a couple rides if I don't show some right wrist restraint and who wants to do that in the dirt? That tire would already be a takeoff for a competitive racer.

SC tires can be an expensive proposition depending on the bike the terrain and the rider. Soft compounds provide great handling, you'll find other SC tires tend to work well also, they tend to be ligh(er) and compared to a similar sized cheater the Starcross probably drops 4 or 5# off the rear's sprung weight. That's significant amount and a very good thing if handling is the main priority. Unfortunately many do exactly like the one in your pic is showing, concentrate most of the wear on the center knobs early on, especially if it's on a 450/500. It's not much different than with cars or street bikes, soft compounds grip well at the expense of life. Comes down to priorities, handling vs tire life. I'd prefer a similar tire to that starcross on my 300 but would never put it on my 500 that needs a tire that will be there 800mi into a 1000 mi DS ride.

 

[Shinyribs]

I would ask: Dualsport or strictly dirt? Based on my experience I'd have hard time recommending a Soft Compound tire on anything outside of a strictly dirtbike use, especially on larger bore bikes. Your pic shows why I stay away from a soft compound tire on the rear, a 500 will make a SC tire look like that in a couple rides if I don't show some right wrist restraint and who wants to do that in the dirt? That tire would already be a takeoff for a competitive racer.

SC tires can be an expensive proposition depending on the bike the terrain and the rider. Soft compounds provide great handling, you'll find other SC tires tend to work well also, they tend to be ligh(er) and compared to a similar sized cheater the Starcross probably drops 4 or 5# off the rear's sprung weight. That's significant amount and a very good thing if handling is the main priority. Unfortunately many do exactly like the one in your pic is showing, concentrate most of the wear on the center knobs early on, especially if it's on a 450/500. It's not much different than with cars or street bikes, soft compounds grip well at the expense of life. Comes down to priorities, handling vs tire life. I'd prefer a similar tire to that starcross on my 300 but would never put it on my 500 that needs a tire that will be there 800mi into a 1000 mi DS ride.

Any and all info is good. Tires are always changing, being updated/discontinued/replaced with new models. All experiences and use cases are helpful to anyone reading this.


I'm with you on soft compound tires. The gummy Cheaters would wear down on the back of my 520 exc just from running hard on a turn course we made in the back hayfield. The Starcross 5 Soft isn't a soft compound, though. It's confusing, but the Soft moniker means it's meant for soft terrain. It's actually got the some of the stiffest knobs I've owned. The compound on my sport bike tires will take a fingernail easier than the Stracross Soft will. I've got 1.5 summers of woods riding on that tire and would have gone through 2 or 3 Cheater 525's by now.

 

[Shinyribs]

My 300 has Tusk T35's ( Soft Terrain) tires on it now. The front has tall, narrow, stiff knobs with good spacing. Too early to speak on durability yet, but the front absolutely digs in to soft terrain and RAILS corners. I would recommend for a woods rider.

 

[Ridefreak]

I guess it depends on what compound you get. I just looked and it comes in 5 different compounds, I wasn't aware of that. The one I purchased locally was a soft, no doubt about that. The Cheater actually held up better compared to the starcross that I ended up with.

 

[Shinyribs]

Do you remember which Starcross you had?

 

[klaviator]

Haven't found anything that bad wowed me yet, but I absolutely despise K270/shinko 244. A tire that honestly performs poorly at everything.

I thought the Shinko 244 was a pretty good all around tire. I ran it for years on my KLR and I have many friends who swear by the 244. The Kenda 270 on the other hand sucks on the pavement. I am currently running dunlop 605s. They perform like you would expect on the dirt for a 50/50 tire and outstanding on pavement. I can ride my KLX like its a sportbike in the curves. If I had a pure dirt bike I'd get real knobbies but I am a dual sport rider so I want something that works everywhere.

 

[Shinyribs]

I remember using both 244 and 270 but don't remember which bike. Might have both been on my XL500S. I know had a 270 rear on my KLR. It locked up so easy on payment.

Shinko 700's look way less aggressive but work really well. Especially on pavement. Plus they ride super smooth and quiet.

I'd run 700's on my FZ09 if they made em to fit my wheels

 

[Gravelcruiser]

I thought the Shinko 244 was a pretty good all around tire. I ran it for years on my KLR and I have many friends who swear by the 244. The Kenda 270 on the other hand sucks on the pavement. I am currently running dunlop 605s. They perform like you would expect on the dirt for a 50/50 tire and outstanding on pavement. I can ride my KLX like its a sportbike in the curves. If I had a pure dirt bike I'd get real knobbies but I am a dual sport rider so I want something that works everywhere.

I know many really like those tires, I was just really unimpressed with them. Perhaps my ride style, perhaps the terrain I ride, I don't really know. I do know I took the front off of my DR 650 in less than 200 miles and discarded it properly. It was not a pleasant experience.

Oddly enough, I did really like the Kenda Washougal 2 on the front of that bike. It performed better everywhere than it should have and the wear was not disagreeable. Now one should bear in mind I'm certainly not an aggressive slab rider, quite reserved actually. But I'll turn it up on the dirt and gravel.