i recently sold my prarie 650 with alum.rims and itp blackwater xt's,27-9-12 and 27-12-12 sizes
i now have an '04 700 and im looking for new tires/rims again
heres the dilemma...i dont ride that much mud...but when its in the trail you want to get through it of course...
90% of the riding i do is hardpack,my blackwaters were an excellent COMPRIMISE choice for trail riding at higher speeds.
does anybody have any other suggestions with all the new tires on the market...mudlites?589?dirt devils?blackwaters again
im looking for weight savings AND smooth riding...i dont think the tire im looking for exist
highlifter says 28"tires will work on the prarie...does anybody run 28'' tires WITHOUT a lift kit?

 

if most of what you drive is hardpack, IMO, you'd be better served with one of the new radials... ITP ATR's, Maxxis Big Horns, Goodyear MTR's, Carlyse Bad lands, High lifter radial Outlaws... you get the picture... while blackwaters are an OK all around tire, they are definately old school, when it comes to tread designs...

Also, if I hardly ever ran mud, I don't know ( other than looks ), why you would even be looking at a 28" tire... I do run 28" X 8" Mudzilla's for mud racing, with out any lift...

 

90% hardpack sounds like Radial Bighorn territory to me. From what i've read they seem to be a tougher tire than the Holeshot ATR and better in the mud. I haven't heard much info on the others that newbeetle mentioned. good luck
cart

 

let me expand...i dont actively search out mud holes...BUT...when you live in florida you have no choice but to understand that your going to hit it on any trail ride during the summer months...
i dont know of anyone running the big horns...anybody know how they handle the hardpack?
i just took a look at the bighorns...with all the lugs on the side of the tires it looks like there gonna grab every root and rut on the trail...they almost look dangerous...
anybody running the radial outlaws???

 

vquad,go into search and type up the kind of tire you might be interested in,I got some good info on the BIGHORNS,now they are in my garage waiting to get put on the 650.. you're right about them tires....they do look dangerous..YAHOOO!!!!!

 

sometimes dangerous is good [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Mike Pendland races GNCC with them, I'd think they'd handle hard pack well...LOL...