I used TKC80s on my XT recently. They handle surprisingly well on tarmac considering they are a 'knobbly'. My XT was seriously overloaded and this caused me problems with my rear tyre. I had two failures where one of the 'knobbles' broke through into the tyre and punctured the tube. This could've been because I was running them at too low a pressure though. The failures happened at approximately 2/3 wear, so a reasonable distance into their life.
However, my front TKC80 lasted from Scotland to Morrocco, over to Iran and then back again, which I reckoned to be about 20,000km! (I'm not sure, my odometer gave up in Kent!) The tyres did go straight into the bin (they were totally knackered) when I got back, but they did the distance!
Maybe putting a TKC80 on the front for lateral stability in sand and something harder on the back might be an option.
I rode from Hungary to the UK with that front TKC80 and a Michelin T66 on the back, it worked fine. Whether having a front knobbly with a more roadie tyre on the back would work in sand is something I don't know however, as I did not try it out!
Matt
Hope this helps!
__________________
http://adventure-writing.blogspot.com
http://scotlandnepal.blogspot.com/
*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!
Last edited by Matt Cartney; 1 May 2007 at 16:34.
|