Tyre life

King Rat

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Those who have had their Xcountry long enough to gauge such a thing....winter is coming and I was wondering what kind of tyre life you get out of your lightweight 650s - and who favours what tyres?

I have Mitas E7s I think they are at the moment. They seem OK, bit weird when tipping into a corner because they flop about a bit, but no real dramas - but then I am not a boy racer, just a steady plodder so I can eat up the miles without wearing myself out. The tyres seem to be wearing pretty well so far, but they were on the bike when I bought it, and I have done about 6000 miles so far. I have a set of TKC80s to put on when these are worn out. That will be interesting! Hopefully they will give me the confidence to tackle some of the Derbyshire and Staffordshire Moorlands byways. I expect them to be horrible on tarmac though - they were on the 1150. There isn't so much weight or power going through them on this bike though.

So, what can people tell me please?
 
often had the Michelin Anakee 2 for the bad Irish roads as well as for the lanes and macadam forest roads. Switched again to the Heidenau.
100/90 19 M/C 57H TL K60 front
130/80 17 M/C 65T TL MS K60 Scout plus tubes = 200€ Fresh from the factory incl. the postage.
Did a couple of 1.000km and they look like new.
 
I have some e07s on my road wheels at the mo. Hardwearing tyre. They are good in the dry as most tyres are, but i not as convinced when pushing along on the wet.

I am likely to swap out to a softer tyre for the winter i think.
 
Cheers chaps - I am not fussed about 'pushing on' in the wet. I can't afford to risk dropping this bike, I'm saving for crash bars still, so any drop is going to end in tears at the moment. :eek: I haven't had any sense of slips in the wet or slithery country roads so far, even muddy covered ones, I just ease off to take account of those conditions. My bike isn't a toy, it is to get me to work and back, carrying my camera kit, so I have to ride with a degree of caution to look after the camera bag and its contents. I have heard good things about the Heidenaus from various sources on different bikes, but these Mitas ones seem to be lasting OK, and the TKCs are sat in the shed ready for when these wear out - I was just curious as to what sort of tyre life these little bikes provide - they are so light they should be fairly economical on tyres I would have thought, unless you are ripsnorting away from every light and slamming on the brakes at the last moment to scrub to a stop. I often don't have to touch my brakes for miles - I had a friend I haven't seen for a long time follow me doing a video, we did 19 miles through the Staffordshire lanes heading to Cannock Chase. When I eventually pulled in he told me my brake light didn't work...I said it was when it was MOTd....turned the ignition on and sure enough, both foot and hand brake light worked perfectly. It was simply that I hadn't needed to use them at all. I think my tyres will last the winter and I shouldn't worry. :thumby:
 
I have Avon Trailriders on my f650 (very similar bike) and have to say they are without a doubt the best "dual sport" tyre I have ever used. Superb grip wet and dry (as fast in the wet as dry) very planted very confidence inspiring. Like all 90/10 road/trail tyres they are no good off road in mud, wet grass, slippery forest trail etc but that is pretty standard.

So far, in terms of mileage looks like about 5-6k till its spent on the rear and no real discernable wear on the front, easily get another rear in before the front wears. And I tend to ride like a nutter at times and the roads here on the IOW are very rough and bendy, but fast, hardly any straights at all.

Made here in England and not to expensive either.
 
Another tyre that you can try is the Mitas E09 when you want to take the bike offroading more. I swap between the E07's or E09,s depending on what I am planning to do and usually have a spare set of both in my garage. I've tried most of the others and have been happy with wear an ability of the Mitas tyres. I actually used the K60 Scout and the MEFO equivalent before settling on the Mitas.
 
Another tyre that you can try is the Mitas E09 when you want to take the bike offroading more. I swap between the E07's or E09,s depending on what I am planning to do and usually have a spare set of both in my garage. I've tried most of the others and have been happy with wear an ability of the Mitas tyres. I actually used the K60 Scout and the MEFO equivalent before settling on the Mitas.

Oh, I'll have a look at those, when I have worn out all the tyres I alreadyhave. When I bought the bike it had these M07s on it and the pair of TKCs (brand new) came with it. I also have another TKC80 rear I was got cheap it is about 10%worn only, so I have rubber for ages it would seem - if anyone wants a cheap TKC80 rear, give me a shout. happy to let the one go.
 
I had a set of Mitas E07's on my X Country. It took a while for me to get used to them but once I did I found them very good in the wet despite what others reported on forums like this one! When the time came for me to change them I opted for same again. I returned from getting them fitted on a fine sunny day and started to scrub them in, all good great feel as before etc, but then I took the bike to France. A few dry days at the start all good, but in the Pyrenees we got rain. The tyres were bloody awful, little feeling from front and the odd slip front and rear had me concerned. Further investigation of the tyres revealed a yellow stripe around both tyres. The dealer informed me these were the harder wearing "Dakar" style tyre. They maybe harder wearing but for the wet I hated them. I'd still consider the non Dakar tyre in future though!
 


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