I am looking at dressing up my Rancher since in the past I've never had money to trick anything out. Not that I'm rich, but I am in a little better position financially than in the past.

So I'd like to upgrade to 25"-26" tires front and rear. I am pretty set on the Delta Steel Wheels in black (I like the "utility" look).

What tires would you experts recomend for mostly hard/firm trails (gravel, firm soil, old jeep trails, etc) with a bit of mud (not 4 ft deep peanut butter) and shallow puddles/creeks here and there?

I have looked at Kenda Bearclaws, ITP Mudlites, and others.

Any suggestions would be apprecitated!

 

GBC dirt tamers.....FTW

 

25" ITP TerraCross R/T radials on black 12X7 ITP Delta wheels. For me these tires completely changed the way the bike rides and handles on loose dirt and hard trail.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Orion6

I am looking at dressing up my Rancher since in the past I've never had money to trick anything out. Not that I'm rich, but I am in a little better position financially than in the past.



So I'd like to upgrade to 25"-26" tires front and rear. I am pretty set on the Delta Steel Wheels in black (I like the "utility" look).



What tires would you experts recomend for mostly hard/firm trails (gravel, firm soil, old jeep trails, etc) with a bit of mud (not 4 ft deep peanut butter) and shallow puddles/creeks here and there?



I have looked at Kenda Bearclaws, ITP Mudlites, and others.



Any suggestions would be apprecitated!</end quote></div>

That is pretty much identical to the type of riding I have in mind. I have convinced myself that radial is the way to go for me, and have narrowed it down to either Maxxis Big Horns or ITP Terra Cross. I like what I hear about the handling improvment that you get from radials.

If I were to go with a non-radial tire, I hear excellent things about the ITP Mudlites. They seem to be the most widely used tire out there. I also have read great things about the Kenda Bear Claw.

None of this is based on my personal experience, only on what I have read. I have a thread going trying to get some practical advice on my two choices of radial. I will be following this thread closely as well.

 

I think you would be well served by going with a radial. I'd bet Bighorns or TerraCross tires would work very well.

I don't have either, but from talking with other riders Bighorns wear like iron, do very well in rocky or loose dry terrain and OK in mud and snow.

Terra Cross might be a bit more oriented to soft surfaces (mud/snow).