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Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? Anything to do with the bikes equipment, saddlebags, etc. Questions on repairs and maintenance of the bike itself belong in the Brand Specific Tech Forums.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 19 Dec 2008
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Can't really agree with extending tire life by over-inflation. Long tire life might save you a few bucks, but there will come a time when you need ALL of the available traction that tire has to offer. If you shaved off even 5% just so you could log an extra few clicks, that might be enough to wreck you. The aim with tires should always be maximum traction, not maximum life.
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Old 27 Dec 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitchface View Post
The aim with tires should always be maximum traction, not maximum life.

surely not? or we'd all be running race tyres on road bikes for max grip. where as most people run touring tyres for nearly as much grip but a vastly longer life.
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Old 27 Dec 2008
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I think we're just talking about tyres that are designed for on and off road use but even then you have three basic categories: Road tyres like TKCs which have a rigid sidewall so when the tyre pressure is dropped from the recommended the tyre only deforms by a relatively small amount allowing the tyre to become flatter and give better traction in sand and mud but only to a point. If you drop the pressure too much the tyre will just overheat and the sidewall will break up. Enduro tyres like Michelin Comps are more flexible so you can run then down to less than .5 bar if conditions need it but they are horrible on a paved road at that pressure and wear very quickly. Also, obviously, need rimlocks. Trials tyres are very flexible and are designed to be run almost flat but again feel bad on paved roads at low pressures and still tend to overheat and wear very rapidly. As with everything dual purpose, tyres are a compromise. True road tyres grip the road in a completely different way to the way in which a full motocross tyre finds traction on muddy terrain.

I use 1.5 bar (23psi) front and rear in the TKCs on my GS (no rimlocks) on all surfaces but wouldn't go anywhere near some of the mud I go through on my KTM Exc fitted with Michelin comps 1 bar in the front and .6/.7 bar at the rear.
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