I've ridden my XT nearly every day for the last three and a half years plus, covering in excess of 68,000 kms, in all weather, on all surfaces and usually loaded.

Having had Bridgestone TrialWings, Metzeler Tourances, Vee Rubber and now Heidenau, I have come to the conclusion that it is all a matter of personal choice, riding styles, climate and how your bike is loaded.

Personally I thought that the Tourances were rubbish, gave little confidence in the wet and due to their tread pattern (or lack of it) were pretty useless off road. The only good thing about them was that they wore consistently and were both shagged at 8,000 km.

Unlike a lot of riders I liked the Trailwings as a true dual sport tyre with a road bias. I made my way through several sets and loved the feed back they gave, particularly in the wet. The rear usually lasted 8,000 km and the front 16,000 at a push. And not too much road noise to boot.

Vee Rubber (that was all I could get hold of at the time), initially was an excellent dual sport tyre with a road bias, but after 5,000 km they were getting a little unpredictable. Changed both the front and rear at 8,000 km.

After pushing my last Trialwing combination to 10,000 and 16,000 km, I have switched to Heidenau with a more aggressive pattern for off road work. I have to say that these tyres have exceptional road manners given their tread pattern and the off road grip is also in the same league. The only downside is the road noise, but I can live with that given their all road performance. So far they have covered a little over 3,000 km and appear to be wearing slowly.

As I have said before, a tyre that suits one rider could instil fear into another. So workout what you want out of a tyre, do your research and make your own decision.

PS, I always buy my tyres from these guys MyNetMoto they ship anywhere (and everywhere when requested) and are pretty cheap to boot.

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