Which Dirt Bike Tires Should You Use?

There are plenty of different brands and types of dirt bike tires available on the market these days and if you don't know what you're doing, you may just fit the wrong type to your bike. What type of tires you should get depends on what type of riding you are mostly doing. And putting the right set of tires on your MX or trail bike is more important than most people think. A good set of knobbies will greatly affect your speed, braking, cornering and all-round control.

To simplify it for you; there are 3 basic categories of tread type.

Soft Terrain: The spaces between the knobs are further apart and usually in a 'scoop' like pattern. Use these tires if you are mostly riding in soft, sandy or muddy conditions.
Hard Terrain: The spaces between the knobs will be closer together than the soft terrain tires. Perfect for use on hard, dry ground and definitely no good in soft or muddy conditions.
Intermediate Terrain: Like the name suggests - somewhere between soft terrain and hard terrain tires. An excellent choice of tire if you aren't serious about racing and enjoy riding in all different types of conditions without having to keep swapping your tires around.

It pays to get a good quality tire too as you always get what you pay for. The rear tires on modern dirt bikes cop a royal thrashing so if you've slapped on a budget set of 'el cheapo's' you'll be spitting out rubber knobs on the forest trails rather than dirt. Basically any good MX store will be able to supply you with some trusted tire brands. Pirelli, Dunlop and Bridgestone are major brands that won't let you down.

Serious MX racers change their tires after every race as tires stop performing at their optimum as soon as the knobs loose their edge. But if you're not that serious you can get a lot more ride time in than that. Just keep and eye on the knobs and don't let them become too rounded. It's also a good idea to replace the front tire whenever you change the rear.