Afan
Elite Member
I always thought that off-road riding "requires" off-road tires. At least 90-10%. I know you can have simple off-roading on the street tires - I did it several times, on my Pilot Road 5, but you know what am I talking about...
By the way, just to clarify, I'm totally newbie in off-road riding, and all my off-road riding was actually gravel riding (I'm from Iowa ). And if I put all numbers together, I don't think I rode in total more than 60-70 miles. No experience whatsoever. And all of my "off-roading" I did on my NC700X - never rode a dirt or dual-sport bikes.
Last weekend I made a trip to Villages of Van Buren, and took gravel roads along the Des Moines River. The gravel roads from my last weekend trip were ok.
I read many articles and watched many YouTube videos how to ride on gravel roads and it helped me. Didn't have a lot of trouble - until I hit a VERY LOOSE, probably recently poured gravel section, shy of 7 miles. I was horrified! It looks like the loose gravel was extra loose. I was dancing left and right. I almost crap myself. The worst experience ever.
Anyway... When I got home next day I did research again about the riding on, and tires for extra loose gravel - and found that actually off-road, knobby tires do not help much on loose gravel roads - if not even make it worse.
Ok, this is from bicycle website (because nothing similar didn't find on motorcycle websites), but the same principles apply, right? And when you watch off-road tire reviews, the knobies are actually linked to mud, sand, fire-roads, single lane roads, and gravel "in general"...
The main reason why am I writing all this is because couple days ago I found the Shinko 705 front tire in the "original" size (LINK) and it's pretty narrow. I was thinking to order it, but I live in Iowa, and I'm pretty sure 90% of all non-paved roads are actually just (loose) gravel roads. So, if I kinda didn't have trouble with "just" gravel roads, hard packed roads on my PR5, why then should I buy narrower tire and crap myself on next loose gravel road?
Comments?
P.S. One thing actually I forgot on my trip was to air down the tire pressure. Just simply forgot. Probably would help a bit...
By the way, just to clarify, I'm totally newbie in off-road riding, and all my off-road riding was actually gravel riding (I'm from Iowa ). And if I put all numbers together, I don't think I rode in total more than 60-70 miles. No experience whatsoever. And all of my "off-roading" I did on my NC700X - never rode a dirt or dual-sport bikes.
Last weekend I made a trip to Villages of Van Buren, and took gravel roads along the Des Moines River. The gravel roads from my last weekend trip were ok.
I read many articles and watched many YouTube videos how to ride on gravel roads and it helped me. Didn't have a lot of trouble - until I hit a VERY LOOSE, probably recently poured gravel section, shy of 7 miles. I was horrified! It looks like the loose gravel was extra loose. I was dancing left and right. I almost crap myself. The worst experience ever.
Anyway... When I got home next day I did research again about the riding on, and tires for extra loose gravel - and found that actually off-road, knobby tires do not help much on loose gravel roads - if not even make it worse.
"... The truth is that on gravel, knobs don’t make any difference. Without semi-firm ground to dig into, knobs can’t do anything. When you slide, it’s because gravel is sliding on gravel, not because your tires are sliding on the top layer of rocks..."
- Why We Don’t Make “Gravel” Tires | Off The Beaten Path
Ok, this is from bicycle website (because nothing similar didn't find on motorcycle websites), but the same principles apply, right? And when you watch off-road tire reviews, the knobies are actually linked to mud, sand, fire-roads, single lane roads, and gravel "in general"...
The main reason why am I writing all this is because couple days ago I found the Shinko 705 front tire in the "original" size (LINK) and it's pretty narrow. I was thinking to order it, but I live in Iowa, and I'm pretty sure 90% of all non-paved roads are actually just (loose) gravel roads. So, if I kinda didn't have trouble with "just" gravel roads, hard packed roads on my PR5, why then should I buy narrower tire and crap myself on next loose gravel road?
Comments?
P.S. One thing actually I forgot on my trip was to air down the tire pressure. Just simply forgot. Probably would help a bit...
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