I know this must be getting old but i need some help desideing.. I will be getting 26in and i ride 30% STEEP hills, 30% DEEP mud, 30% trails and 10% snow. i want something that wond rob alot of power and give me alot od traction, witch one do yall think will give me the most traction for my ridding? thanx

 

i was reading some mud tire test and it said the 26 in. claws are actully only 25 in. and they will rob more power then the mud lites, thus the name mud lites. but the claws really do hook up good and I have heard goo things about mud lites (no first hand experience with them the mud lites)

 

I beg to differ on the claws. Those tires let me down more than I can mention on steepish, hardish surfaces. They just do not put enough rubber on the surface and the angle of the long lugs would slide more than bite. Just look at all the open area between lugs. To me the MudLites look like they would be worse for my type of riding. Both the the Claws and the MudLites in the mud however is another story.
IMO, If I were going to attempt a cross setup between Mud and Climbing I would got with the MudSharks. They were rated very high on rock crawling and have the lugs to get you by in the mud. I believe when they were first released and tested they were rated best in the all around catagory in a shoot out. I have not heard much about them since.
I avoid deep mud anyway and run the N. GA mountains and have more steep stuff to deal with than anything else. The HoleShot ATRs do the trick for me. With more rubber contact ( more lugs and the bigger radial foot print) and diagonal biting edges I do much better when climbing.
And since I do the mountain thing I do not care to get any higher than I have to because of the need for all the Off Camber stability I can get. They say to run the ATR Radials at a higher psi than Bias tires but I find 3.5 in the front and 4.0 rear gives me comfort as well as a bigger yet foot print. If I go to a location with more open fast trails I go up a bit.
The quest for the One Type Fits All Tire is yet to be obtained.

 

spider-tracs and realtors are another good option

 

My buddy has the mud lights on his 660 Grizzly with almost 1000 miles on them and they still look like there new. On the other hand my bearclaws have about 300 miles on them and they show more wear than his tires do. I would go with the mudlights.

 

super swamper vampires! nuff said

 

I have 980 miles on a set of bearclaws on the rancher......ne problems at all!!!!! They do nothing spectacular but to EVERYTHING well.

The new batch of mudlites seem to be holding up better than the first run. I'd still be leary of them. But for the money lites may be a good tire.

I put Outlaws on the prairie....rung her out today. Those tires are friggin AWESOME!!!!!!! Didn't need 4wd anywere. Even found a hole that he clawed rancher couldn't negotiate but i ate in up on the prairie in 2wd!!!!! love the bike and love the tires!!!

I'd go with the Bearclaws over the Mudlites but Outlaws over both!

l8r
cart

 

The Bearclaws are great on loose gravel and most soft terrain. They are just okay in mud. They bite too much on hardpack for my liking. The steering effort can get tough over a hard days riding hardpack trails.

The Mud Lites are a tad too soft for my liking. I heard they changed rubber on the ATR's so maybe they hardened the Lites up too. There are a lot of happy riders using them though.

For fast aggressive riding my next tire will be Maxxis Bighorn radials.

 

My bro has 26" bearclaws on a P400. They do everything pretty well. They don't wear fast at all, at least they pretty much have no wear signs at 300 miles. They have really nice bead protection. They are not short at all. Good in mud, good in snow. Not as good in mud as the more mud oriented tires. Not as nice on rocks as tires like bighorns or ATR's.

You are going to have to consider a compromise on any tire. You could get one a little better in mud and worse in snow or vice versa. After you pick something, just be happy with it. You can't have your cake and eat it too with tires. Some people vacilate between this tire and that tire, almost going in circles.

My brother's snowblower broke down last winter. He also has a blower attachement on his riding mower (12hp jacobsen) that was being stored in a shed in the back yard. The mower wouldn't go a foot in the 1 foot deep heavy snow in his backyard. Not even with chains. He towed that mower through 1 foot snow using bear claws all the way to the street, at which point his P400 wouldn't pull it through the snowbank. The 4x4 truck was then attached to get it into the street. At that point the mower was able to move on it's own and comense clearing the driveway. Bearclaws are good in the snow[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]