Need 'slab oriented tire recommendation

[AndrewA]

I'm getting ready to replace a set of Continental TrailAttack 2's after 11,500 miles. They actually still have 3/32 tread depth in the center, but I'm leaving on a 5k trip in a few weeks, and don't want to change tires midway through. I'm trying out some Shinko 705s this time, and realize there are a LOT of opinions, positive and negative, on them. Will have to wait and see how they do, I guess.

But based on my experience, I'd have no trouble recommending the Contis. They were a fantastic road tire - great grip, very confidence inspiring, and obviously good mileage.

Good luck,
Andrew

 

[Checkswrecks]

I'm getting ready to replace a set of Continental TrailAttack 2's after 11,500 miles. They actually still have 3/32 tread depth in the center, but I'm leaving on a 5k trip in a few weeks, and don't want to change tires midway through. I'm trying out some Shinko 705s this time, and realize there are a LOT of opinions, positive and negative, on them. Will have to wait and see how they do, I guess.

But based on my experience, I'd have no trouble recommending the Contis. They were a fantastic road tire - great grip, very confidence inspiring, and obviously good mileage.

Good luck,
Andrew

The biggest problem we had with Stinko 705s (iirc) was tearing the tread blocks after running on gravel/dirt. If you do run off pavement, it's a good idea to keep watching for cracks at the bases of the blocks. Our second big problem after low mileage was that once the tread blocks were nearly gone, they wore to the cord in a couple hundred miles and we almost got stranded on a Sunday.


Just watch them closely and see how they do for your own circumstances.

 

[AndrewA]

The biggest problem we had with Stinko 705s (iirc) was tearing the tread blocks after running on gravel/dirt. If you do run off pavement, it's a good idea to keep watching for cracks at the bases of the blocks. Our second big problem after low mileage was that once the tread blocks were nearly gone, they wore to the cord in a couple hundred miles and we almost got stranded on a Sunday.


Just watch them closely and see how they do for your own circumstances.

Yeah - I've found that they do seem to attract fairly wide and strong opinions. I am a 95%(99.5%?) road rider, so hoping I can avoid the tread block issues. Barring some sort of catastrophic failure, I figure the "next-worst-case" scenario is that they last this one trip, I hate them, and put something else on. If that happens, I'll chalk it up to a $150 "lesson-learned" and go back to something like the TA2s, Avon TrailRiders, or Pirelli Scorpion Trail 2s, etc. Even then - 5k miles for $150 is about the same as any of those tires mentioned, so it wouldn't be a total loss. Guess I'll figure it soon enough.

 

[rbernie]

As follow-up:

I went with the Bridgestone A40s, simply because they were what I could find in stock. I had planned on using the Michelin PR4 rear / PR4 Trail front combo but they were out of stock everywhere in late May. I almost went with the Mitas but decided that I wanted a strictly road tire.

The ride was 5K miles spread over six days across the western US (TX, NM, AZ, CA, NV, ID, MT, ND, SD, WY, CO). The bike was fully loaded with touring kit. The rear tire started with 11/32 of tread and ended with 6/32 of tread depth, with tire pressure set at 38R and 36F. The rear squared off badly and the 'edge' became noticeable during cornering as the trip progressed. The front also developed a pronounced flat band, but didn't cup like other front tires.

Assuming that the tire is swapped out with 3/32 of tread depth left (it has no wear bars that I can see), I would guess that this rear tire on my bike with my riding style is worth about 8K mileage. That's better than I got from the OEM Bridgestones and the original Tourance's (6K each), and on par with the mileage that I'm expecting to get on the Tourance Next's (I took off a set of half worn Next's with 4K on them for this trip, because I didn't think they'd last the whole run).

Truth be told, I didn't find the A40's very confidence inspiring; they had less handling precision and oddly inprecise tip-in characteristics (especially when new) compared to either the Tourance Next or the Michelin PR4s. They did what I needed, but I dunno if I'll run another set when these wear out.

 

[BaldKnob]

Tire manufacturers are putting a lot of love into the 19/17" combo and these are the Pirelli Trail II at 2,500 miles. Quiet, comfortable and capable. A recent trip to the Smokys saw me grinding the left footpeg and nearly erasing the rear chickenstrips. The TC light only came on when the front was coming up. Wet roads... no problem. Road irregularities/ tarsnakes...ignored. These tires even feel stable on grated bridges while on throttle. They are priced in with the top-tier tires but offered a gift card and I took the bait. I see why KTM uses them as OEM.

Biggest surprise was they work great for dry dirt/packed gravel roads like this...

 

[BaldKnob]

this...