Tires for everything - soft/intermediate or intermediate/hard?

shortty761
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Newport News, VA US
10/8/2025 7:38pm Edited Date/Time 10/8/2025 7:38pm

40 hours on a rear tire is absolutely nuts. 

2
erik_94COBRA
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Houston-ish, TX US
10/27/2025 5:36pm

Update: Have 2 off-road races and one MX practice day on these Bridgestone X31 set now. 

Soft terrain: pretty good, but not as good as Dunlop MX34. Rear hooks up good in a straight line, but rear breaks loose pretty easily with any lean angle. Not as predictable as 34.

Mixed/Intermediate: about the same as MX34, but will probably wear better  

Hard terrain: slightly better than MX34. Doesn’t break loose as easily on the rear.  

At the first off-road race, the tires were brand new and were pretty good on the hard packed stuff, and not quite as good on the very soft stuff. I also had a real problem with the front tire trying to climb out of sandy ruts that was a shitshow. Really fought the bike. 

MX practice at a track I ride a whole lot confirmed what I felt on where they hook and where they don’t. 

Second off-road race was sand and slippery wet clay. I would have preferred the extra hook up of soft terrain tire at this race. 

Verdict: a more intermediate set of tires than the Dunlops, but gives up some performance and predictability IMO. I will very likely buy a set of Dunlops to put on my race bike and move these to another bike that needs some fresh tires. 

1
Gmyersdork
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Beverly Hills, FL US
10/27/2025 6:40pm

Dunlop mx34. Done

10/27/2025 7:31pm

I like the Maxxis IT up front with the Desert IT out back for AZ desert terrain. As far as the moto track I will stick with the Dunlop offerings. I would avoid the cheap Tusk tires, you immediately feel a positive change going back to a known good brand. 

The Shop

jmo443
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NY US
10/28/2025 2:09am
Kyle978 wrote:
I personally am not a fan of the AT82’s, especially rear. I find the rubber compound to be less pliable, kinda feels more like plastic compared...

I personally am not a fan of the AT82’s, especially rear. I find the rubber compound to be less pliable, kinda feels more like plastic compared to a MX34. I said this to my buddy that trains the KTM/Husky off-road team (practices on a factory bike), he agreed and said he hates those tires, front and rear. I know some factory racers were running the AT82 at times during the season, but they were not the same compound you and I can get.  

I personally feel you gotta bite the bullet and run 34 if you want optimal traction. I have heard of people running the Tusk rear tires and not minding them, maybe run one of those in the rear and a MX34 front. 

Yep if you’re going for all around I always ran a more aggressive front tire. Fuck I’m old. 

jmo443
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10/28/2025 2:11am
Spooner wrote:
It's really hard to beat the Michelins for a do it all tire.  I run the Starcross 6 medium/soft in rocks, mud, hard pack, loam.. you...

It's really hard to beat the Michelins for a do it all tire.  I run the Starcross 6 medium/soft in rocks, mud, hard pack, loam.. you name it.  It's pretty damn good in everything and predictable.  They last a long time too and work great even when you lose the edge.  I just tossed on the new Enduro 2 on the front as I really loved the original version and have heard good things about it.  Seems a like a softer rubber compound than the Starcross and I'm heading to South Dakota for an off road event next week and wanted to see how it worked there. 

IMG 0110 1

I was never too picky but always preferred the mid soft Michelin tires. 

3strokemx
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US
10/28/2025 6:46am

I know a fast guy that's been using the Tusk T-35's all year for the GNCC's, terrain varies wildly.  
His average finish is 54th overall.

I'll probably try a set when I go through my current stock of tires.
 

1
Sandusky26
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Eastern, NC US
10/28/2025 7:16am
shortty761 wrote:

40 hours on a rear tire is absolutely nuts. 

I run my MX14 for 40 hours.

Mostly because I'm poor.

wrc777
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Greenwood, IN US
Fantasy
10/28/2025 9:06am
shortty761 wrote:

40 hours on a rear tire is absolutely nuts. 

Sandusky26 wrote:

I run my MX14 for 40 hours.

Mostly because I'm poor.

I could see it being ok in deep sand. 

Cactusone
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Mesa, AZ US
10/28/2025 10:37am

X31 front and rear is a strong combo especially with the current rebates it’s a no brainer.  

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