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Question about mud tires vs all-terrains on a mostly hardpack trail system
So I ride a 2019 Rancher 420 on mostly hardpack clay and gravel trails up near Council Bluffs, and about 6 weeks ago I swapped my worn out all-terrains for a set of full mud tires because a guy at the shop said I'd never get stuck again. The thing is, on hardpack they grab every rut and pull the bars left and right, and I'm fighting it the entire ride instead of just cruising. My old all-terrains slid a little in the loose stuff but they tracked straight and I could ride 25 miles without my shoulders burning. Now I'm wondering if I wasted $480, because the mud tires are only better in the two or three wet spots on the whole loop and worse everywhere else. Meanwhile my buddy runs all-terrains on the same trails and he's never once been the guy we have to winch out. So where do you all land on this, do you pick tires for the worst 10 percent of the trail or the 90 percent you actually ride?
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thompson.christopher5d ago
The whole "do you pick tires for the worst 10 percent of the trail or the 90 percent you actually ride" thing cuts the other way though. Those two or three wet spots on your loop? They're the exact places where you either keep moving or you're the guy standing in the mud hooking up a strap. And here's the part people forget, all-terrains pack up and turn into racing slicks in clay gumbo, so your buddy hasn't been winched out YET. A 420 Rancher is what, 600 pounds with no locker? Half worn all-terrains give up real quick once that clay fills the lugs. Yeah you're fighting the bars now, but air them down a few PSI and stop gripping so hard, let the front float instead of trying to steer it. $480 isn't wasted if it's the difference between riding out and calling someone with a winch.
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