Howdy all,

Up here in North Idaho we have a LOT of gravel and shale, along with slick clay mud. In the summer, the clay turns to hard pack, which is about the same consistancy as concrete. Weight is also an issue. I'm considering getting new rims to offset the increase in tire weight.

I'm looking for some tires which will wear well on the hard stiff, but also claw thru the snow and goober clay in the winter and spring.

Any Ideas?

These are going on a '03 Rancher. If anybody knows what the largest tires I can run on this thing W/O a lift kit, that would be great also.

Thanks!

Scott

 

I'll bet you guy's go through tires out there...LOL

I ran a year & half on a set of 26" Goodyear Mudrunners... I pounded some of the rockiest trails I could find ( rocks on the bluff trails along the Mississippi, between Minnesota & Wisconsin, can be the size of a barrel, to gravel )... competed in several Mud Bog races, beating much larger specialized mud tires, ran though snowy trails ( 8" - 10" ) , my riding buds could barely keep up with me, while I was riding in 2 WD, & they were all in 4 WD... I even raced a few Hare Scramble races on very hard packed clay... I sold them to a buddy that really liked them, & had just bought a new 650, & couldn't afford new tires... they still looked nearly new... I'd reccomend the 26" Mudrunners, over the 25", as the lugs are taller, & the tires are 6 ply instead of 4 ply...

I think the new Maxxis radial Big Horns would also be a good tire selection for your type of riding...

 

Ah yes, but what about molten lava?


Sorry, couldn't help myself.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

Because of the gravel, shale and hard surface, I'm going to say the radial Bighorns. I think they only come in the 25's right now. The tread is 28/32 deep, the front tire weighs 21.4 lb and the back weighs 27.1 lb. I'm not sure what the weight of your stock tires are but my front dunlap is 14 lb and the back is 17 lb. So the weight difference would be around 7 to 10 lb more. The tread depth of my stock tires are 17/32 front and 19/32 back. So it would be a gain of 9/32 to 11/32 from stock size. I know that you probably have different stock tires on your Rancher. It's just to give you an idea of size and lb comparisons. You would probably have to go with new rims anyway (for certain tires) because the rear stock size is 25x9-11 (Rancher 4x4) and most larger sized tires seem to be 12's.

Is your Rancher a 4x4 or 2x4?

I like the looks of the 589's but they are heavier. They have depth around 33/32 to 36/32. (25's & 26's) More rubber = more wear, unless the rubber is really soft.

 

I run ITP Holeshot ATR's on the Ranchers, on 12X7" aluminum rims, which lightens things up nicely! Greatly improves the handling of the machine, and it widens the track by several inches, for a nice increase in stability.

They do very well on hardpack and snow. Can't say I have a lot of experience in the mud with them though (I ride desert mountains).