Front Tire Wear

[cedric]

It seems like I always end up trashing my front tires by ripping all of the side knobs off. The knobs are still there but have been cracked off. Then you enter a turn and they just roll over (and I end up on the ground...).

Does this happen to everyone else? The tires usually still look pretty sharp but are tough to ride on. Any tires that seem to stand up to this better than others?

[Spinalguy]

Washougal will last you forever, and i like that it has a similar tread pattern as the Scorpion Pro had.

[trailguy]

Dunlop AT 81 front wears like iron and no knob cracking/loss, BUT they suck compared to MX 31, MX 32 and Golden tire 216 fronts. They are average in most conditions and I have not found them to be great anywhere.

[Braap791]

After trying to buy tires for longevity and durability I have finally concluded that tires are wear items. I have started treating them as such. Now I buy for traction and replace as necessary/as much as my wallet can afford. The Goldentyre 216 front is not the best in terms of wearing (side knobs like to chunk off especially if you like rocky fun times) but in the traction department its a pretty sweet tire.

[KTMpilot]

Front tires wear different than rears, you will probably never wear out a front tire but rather, chunk it out or lose knobs on the side and have to replace it. I suppose if you ride on the asphalt you may wear out a front tire but not on dirt. AT 81's and 403's are great and wear well. Always check the manufacture date on a tire before you buy it, old tires tend to get "brittle" as the rubber ages and are more susceptible to chunking knobs off.

[cedric]

Not looking for a magic tire, and I understand they need to replaced periodically, was just wondering if everyone else ends up tossing them because of side knobs falling off vs. the edges getting rounded. This latest victim was a Kenda Millville. Not too impressed. Next!

[Dobi]

I have had good luck with my 404/404 bridgestones. I seem to get dull knobs before loosing any. I also notice the carcass gets soft.

I also run the dunlop MX71 combo in dry conditions and have had really good luck with wear on this one. It is very predictable, but doesn't have as much bite in the loamy, soft stuff as the Bridgestone

[Spinalguy]

That Kenda Washougal is truly magical. i saw it on a bike in Big R's garage after he and the owner of the bike got back from Cali. It looked brand new still even after lots of hard miles including some pavement. Pattern was similar to my favorite, Pirelli Scorpion Pro that chunk way too quick!!!
i bought 2.
Never chunked a knob off and saw many rides on 2 different 450's. It still has lots of life left and is sitting in my garage.
Put the other on the 950SER and no chunking at all after seeing some good ST duties at Maclean.
It is a good all around tire in almost all conditions except Porky's slime days.
It happens to be DOT too which is not why i got it as i did not know until it arrived and i saw it stamped on there.
If you are not racing, that tire will get you through 2 seasons. (You know racers, they change tires often).

EDIT: just looked and i sold my last bike with the Washougal on it. i know he was going to dual sport it so if he is reading this i am curious how much longer that tire lasted

[malcolmzilla]

M12 fronts hit or miss, I have had some last and last, others give it up after a couple rocky rides, current M12 on the TE (lighter than my thumpers) cooked, wonder if the bibs did it in? Maybe a tube flexes more?

Might try the legend of the Washougal now. Then I will blame Tom if/when I end up in the rhubarb.

[Shibby!]

Another one for the M203 / 403 tires.

Been running them for years. Work well.

The Berg has MX51's and I'm not sure what to think. I donno if it was conditions or the tires but I wasn't jiving with them.

[dirtyboy]

I'm not impressed by the MX51 tires. The blocks are all in a row and they don't seem to hold well in a sideways direction.

My favorite is still the Maxxis SI front. I feel like that tire communicates well with me.

[350scott]

I'm with Dirtyboy, the Maxxis SI is great. I've yet to find any tire that communicates better. What we mean by communicate is that you can feel it start to slide before you end up on your head. This communication gives the confidence to be able to get closer to your limits. There are surely tires that have more grip, but at my level I'll take more feel over more grip.

As for chunking, the SI fronts don't chunk much but the nobs do partially tear.