21" Front for The California Dez?

The M5B front is garbage IMO.  My personal favorite for the desert right now is a MX53 for primo performance.  If I want longevity, I’m using a Maxxiss IT Desert.

MX53!

The "Fat Tyre" fronts are comfortable- especially on long, hard-pack, choppy roads (like the main road to Mike's Sky Ranch). However, you pay for it in turning ability. It will "float" on sand and gravel; meaning it won't cut a sharp line like a good 80/100.

I almost always spec a soft(er) terrain front tire for desert riding, and especially racing. My recommendations:

1. Pirelli XC Mid-Hard

2. Dunlop MX33

3. Maxxis SI (available in 90/100 or 80/100)

4. Kenda Washougal II or III

I would add the Mitas C19 90/100 to the list. 

We just used the Michelin Starcross front for 12hrs at the GH 24hr. I was SHOCKED how good it looked after half the race. Grip was pretty good but the bike wasn't setup for me so it's a little tough to give a performance review. 

MX33

Michelin Enduro Medium is the best all around off road front tire made. 
 

It’s the same tread pattern they use for Extreme Enduro & Dakar. 
 

Buy one, you won’t be disappointed. 

Pirelli XC-MS is our "go to" front tire here in CO.  Works well for about 700 miles for me and continues to be a decent tire after the knobbies are rounded.  I'm sure the XC-MH would work.  I also just tried a Shinko fat tire for a while.  It's not bad for an old guy like me but it does take some getting used to.  Full disclosure: I want DOT legal tires here to be legal and the Pirelli and Shinko are DOT legal.

Tusk Recon Hybrid Fat Tire. Great all around tire, if you hate it you're out $54.

I grew up riding river sand with trials tires, so I don't really care what kind of knobby I'm running for the front in sand. The 90/90-21 tusk EMX 35's have been really good for my mixed riding. They're comfortable in the rough rocks and roots, grip pretty good on mixed clay, zero issues with sand, and the price is great. 

I ran 2 MX3SF Dunlap's and they were good, but they're hard to get and not enough better to go through the trouble of finding them. I also tried the Michelin StarCross 5 and liked the initial traction, but it faded a lot after several rides. I was going to try the StarCross 6's, but the tusk recon and EMX fronts will probably be my go to for the foreseeable future.

I think it all comes down to what your priority is. I race all the D37 races. For proper desert races, I run the Shinko 216AA Fatty front(basically the same tire as the GT). It's big and heavy- which makes the bike very STABLE, comfy, and I feel when fresh it actually has good traction. The trade off is heavy steering, and it can be can grab the side of  ruts and other trail trash you hit at very shallow angles- which you need to be ready for. These are things I can deal with when trying to go Mach Jesus through the Mojave. Slower desert stuff, like Enduros, I will some times run MX34. It's now my go to tire for MX/GP's. When changing direction becomes a bigger priority, I'll mount the 34 up.

On the rear, I run a 120 Dunlop 952. It's their price point tire and I can usually get one for $75-80. It's priced right, wears decent, and performs as good as anything else in the loose desert dirt. I feel fresh knobs is a bigger factor on the rear than the actual make and model in the dez.

And if you're not running mousses, get on it. There are some trade offs there as well, but nothing beats the feeling of bashing rocks with ZERO concern for flatting. If you're riding that FE anything like I've seen you ride that Maico, you need them. ;-)

Hope that's helpful.

What size 216? I’m not a fan of the fatty but I love the 90/90 for the desert. 

The 90/90 216 is the best front tire I've found for all around SoCal riding. I used to run the full fatty, but as said above you do have some trade offs. I also the fatty difficult in tight single track because it would tend to climb/pop out of ruts and push more on slow tight turns. 

With the 90/90 you do lose a little bit of the cushion from the fatty but it feels just as precise as a "standard" front tire. It works a lot better on tight single track too if you plan to take the bike into the mountains. 

Michelin starcross 5 medium for rockier offroad. Starcross 6 mid/soft if softer less rocky

Don't sleep on that Michelin Enduro Medium, it's not real popular because it's a "Euro Tire" and also pretty spendy, but I'm telling ya it's legit.

Good enough for Dakar, good enough for the Cali Dez.

You can’t vote twice!

Especially for some funky European stuff…
 

(totally joking!)

Damnit!  I feel strongly about it though! 

Does the enduro medium have a softer sidewall like the Starcross 5 and Goldentyre? Or is it a stiffer sidewall like the Starcross 6, Dunlop, and many others?

Pirelli XCMH gets my vote

It's on the softer side.

For me, it's the best off road front tire I've ever run and I'd like to think I've tried about everything.  YMMV

The Tusk Emex 35 (soft intermediate) is basically a MX33 copy and the Emex 45 (hardpack) is a MX53 copy.

I run the 35s here on the East Coast for harescrambles/sprint enduros and they are great, if you arent racing over an A level they have plenty of performance and last great so if you dont mind running chinese tires, they are a great option.