1Fast4500

Like the title says, I'm goign to Myrtle Beach in april and I'd like to ride the beach. last time I was down there I didn't realize the beach there would be hard enough to ride on (where the waves splash up) I was cought off gaurd and without my bike, and ended up buying a $100 GT Backwoods, to ride

Anyway, This time I'm taking my "Good" bike (Trek 4500) that used GT had some POS X-mart 1.95" tires and sank prety bad in the sand, but it was rideable, My Trek has 2.35" Michilen All mountains on it now and with 25psi in them they squash out real nice.

I'm just wondering if there is a decent tire desighned for loose & slopy wet sand?

ALSO my frame can only handle a 2.5" tire at the most in the rear. and a 2.5" will probably rub some. I have plenty of room for a 2.5" up front with no rub but not much more (Judy XC)

thanks guys,
Tom D

[bEn]

I've heard that the WTB Weirwolf works well in sand.

willtsmith_nwi

For sand and deep snow, the biggest tires you can fit are the best.

Al.canoe

I'd go with the widest tires that will fit, at least on the front. I used a 2.35 front and a 2.1 rear in the Moab sand which is very fine and can go on for hundreds or yards. On the wet sand, you can do fine with 2.1's here in N Florida, but if you hit a dry patch, the bigger tires are helpful. A lot depends on the grain size and slope of the shore line.

Al

1Fast4500

Any tred patterns better than others?

here is what I have now, in a 2.35" width

think it would be worth my while to step it up to 2.50's

I know with the X-mart 1.95's the faster I went I could feel the bike lift up on plane kind of like a boat and I could fly, but if I slowed down I could look back and see I was running deeper down into the sand. and getting up onto dry sand was NOT an option


I was thinking about a wide tire with a less agressive tred pattern, but not a full slick like a hookworm, I think Michilen makes a gravle tire, that look kind of like a farm tractor tire with the big <<<<<< pattern they say is good for loose gravel paths and they are cheap ant like $15.00 each.

Tama

I'd also put my vote in for the Weirwolf.

You guys might be interested in this link - Jakub rode over 2,000km across the Australian desert on this bike: https://wildworks.co.nz/csr/equipment.php

Ronin

Im no sand expert,but I do ride thru a couple patches (20 yards) on my local single track. My mtb with 2.3 Scorpions is really hard to pedal in it,yet my cross with 700x35 semislicks rolls right thru like it's not even there. Since I only have a couple patches of it I havn't experimented much with tires for sand.

Tama

Woodhill which is a mountain bike park near Auckland, New Zealand is mostly sand. Here's a discussion on the best tyres to use at Woodhill: https://www.vorb.org.nz/ftopict-29394.html

It looks like 2.3 Conti Vertical Pros came out the winner.

jeff williams

Any recommends for a lube that doesn't attract the grit?
-like would waxes be better than oil?
I've done a few sand rides, but usually avoid it as it fouls the drive so bad.
I am to go to the desert this summer and ride...?

Dannihilator

If you are anywhere near aggressive, stay away from Michelin's dual compound tires. I've torn two sets up literally in 8 days. Weirwolfs are a sad joke of a tire as well.

1Fast4500

I have noticed that my Michilens are very pick as to where I ride, they aren't verry versitile, mine are fine on moist/ forest, leaves & falen timber, once i hit hardpack or pavement I fell like I'm riding on a 3/4" layer of slime, the rear wiggles in turns and the brakes feel mushey the lugs are extremely soft.

1Fast4500

I wash/ lube before & after I like to ride down where the waves come up onto the beach last time the tide was going out and the waves where getting smaller and smaller , I found myself out about 50 away from the dry sand when a big ass wave came up and I was riding in about 36" of ocean and as the water came back I nearly came to a complete stop (bad place to be cought in 10th ) I didn't put a foot down and I got back to the "safe zone" under my own pedal power.

I know how good salt water is for all the working parts of a bike, but hey, thats why I ride a $500 bike and not a $3,000 work of art

SpiderMike

My Panaracer Fire XC 2.1's handled the beach I ride. I would drop them down to 25 psi. The beach has areas where soft clay is exposed, or barely covered by sand. There are other sections where the sand was really soft. In the soft sand was sketchy at first, but I would pedal through it. I kept thinking that something bigger would have helped more.


First time I put a foot down on the whole ride, was when I offered to get a wrecker out for the Hummer that was stuck to the frame. Couple of the passengers ribbed the driver how a bike was able to get through what he couldn not.

The other times I put a foot down, was when my wife (then girlfriend) and her family offered me a beer as I passed by.

blitz993

my bike came with wtb weirwolfs and I live in Panama City Beach,FL plenty of sand and they work well for me.

ken cummings

Had a friend in the hpv movement build a bike for use in loose beach sand. He built a bike that could take 8" wide tires from something like a go-kart. And a jack shaft reduction gear. Worked fine. Just very slow. A winter biker in Alaska connected pairs of MTB rims and ran side by side fat tires. worked in snow. My touring bike is limited to 700x43 tires for off roading. The consensus seems to be the fatter the better.

jeff williams

I would think wide\square profile tires, like DH. Even try running a rear on the front.
Lower psi both.

dminor 

I prefer Maxxis MaxxCross Desert IT's: a meaty 5.00x18 on the rear and a 3.80x21 up front - - oops! Wrong two wheeler . . . .

iamthetas

I fourth on the Weirwolfs, BUT , the Panaracer Cinders I use now do even better for me on sand, especially dry deep sand. they hook up better in the corners

Al.canoe

I'm a little north and east of you in Lynn Haven. I just put my best time in at Pinelog and Crooked Creek (18.3 miles total) at 9.8 mph avg (not counting the time for a few snack breaks) and I'm running narrow tires. They are rated 2.1" but measure 2.0.

It's really loose out there now, but the Ritchy Excavaders hang very well on the many turns and seem to have low resistance except for those few places where the sand is really deep. They are also my favorite tires on the hard pack of the N Geogia/S Tenn. mountains.

Al

valbowski1980

I am a huge fan of Larsen TT

Iceman69

Do you know where online you can get those Michelin tires in 2.35 size********** Thx

1Fast4500

you know I look the other day and they are 2.25 I'm not sure what I was thinking I found them in 2.5" though.

Joe1946

I have both a 26x4" setup on 65mm wide Large Marge rims and 29er 2.35 Big Apple setup on 44mm wide SnowCat rims.

1Fast4500

I want that !!!!!



I wish my frame could handle even a 2.5"er Without shaving down the side lugs I slaped a 2.5" Michilen all mountians on the rig today, the front buzzes and the rear won't spin damn Trek !!!!!

I'll probably take a razor to the side/corner lugs and the front so they can spin with out taking off all my paint and run the 2.25's in the rear

CrashVector

I've always liked these tires:

https://www.ems.com/catalog/product_detail_square.jsp;jsessionid=EdSN1DcF6XE9EwPjCKrRFIRdrcGPVkrq3yrgNhm4YsbQTldIptvw!-1009699017!174391830!7005!8005?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442586633&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=25343743028 66143&bmUID=1142805069246


yeah, they're not as expensive as the Michelin tires, but for $25 a tire, they can't be beat if you're on a budget.

I've found they're a good compromise tire for varied conditions. They're kind of like a Toyota Camry: not stellar at any one particular thing, but pretty good at all of them.