How To Choose The Best ATV Tire
Chances are that you bought your ATV without giving much thought about the tires. If you’ve owned and used your ATV for any length of time, chances are you’re going to need some new tires soon.
If that is the case with you, then choosing your new ATV tires is very important Keep these easy tips in mind when choosing the rubber that goes on your next ATV. Pick the wrong tires and you can be left alone out in the backcountry.
You’ll have to stop and think about how much money you have to spend on atv tires. Don’t go cheap! If you buy used, make sure there is still ample tread left. It would be a real bummer to buy a used set of tires only to find you they’re wore out.
For starters, sit down and think about the type of riding you do. There are tires designed to do one thing really well – like riding in sand, then there are tires that try and be all things to all riders – which means they won’t excel at one thing very good – like mud bogging. With today’s technology, an ATV owner can easily match tires to his or her type of riding for peak performance.
ATV sand tires are tires with paddles on them. Loose sand is not a problem for these wide slick paddled tires. The paddles scoop the sand as the wheel turns, giving excellent traction. These types of tires excel in all types of sandy terrain, but don’t think you can use them anywhere because you can’t. The all smooth ATV sand tires are designed for the front steering wheels of a two wheel drive ATV.
If you find yourself riding down high mountain trails one weekend and riding over sand dunes the next, then a general purpose tire may be what the doctor ordered. More than likely it’s what came with your new or used atv. General use ATV tires are geared more for the casual rider or those that ride over fairly hard soil types.
Mud tires have aggressive treads to displace lots of mud and to keep the tire clean as it goes round and round. This allows the tire to dig deep and grab firm ground for traction. Mud tires are great for nearly all soft soil and some rocky terrain as the lugs will grab the rocks you’re trying to move over. Some owners think mud tires will work good in sand do their diggin action. They’re wrong. Mud tires are not a good trade off for sand tires. General purpose tires even work better in sand than the aggressive treaded mud tires.
High performance ATV tires are meant to be ridden on hard packed surfaces. You’ll also notice that many sport or performance tires have a lower profile and some will have taller and wider wheels. Normally the high performance or Sport ATV tires have smaller X shaped treads as well.
As you can see, just choosing any old set of ATV tires won’t do. By giving a little thought to your next set of ATV tires, you can virtually gaurantee yourself a long and happy ride.