bike - tyres

Heavily loaded.

Riding days on end on corrugated, soft or rocky roads.

That means there’s two main issues with off road tyres.

Longevity and tyre width.

In these conditions, far from possible replacements, it’s worth having the most reliable, most long lived tyres you can find.

And they have to capable of surviving running at low pressure on hot surfaces for extended periods.

Low pressure?

That’s the trick of riding in these sort of conditions. Fat tyres with not much air. Just enough to stop hitting the rims on bumps.

You might not set any records in your travels but the sponginess gives a better ride and bounces over rocks and potholes. And much better traction where the wheels don’t just hack through a soft surface.

My Schwable Marathon XR 26 × 2.00 lasted 15,000 kms of tough conditions before replacement: sharp limestone country, solid rock, and just long stretches of rough gravel.

Pump ‘em up and you can even make some progress heading down the highway.

Russell Worthington used 4” tyres on his 10 Deserts trip, which not longer has a website. He zipped along the Tanami, (1050 km of which 850km is dirt) in 6.5 days. (Others meander along in 12 to 14.) The big tyres really made it possible for him to traverse the sand on the Canning Stock Route and the Anne Beadle Highway. Maybe overkill on most of the tracks discussed on this website, after all you need a special bike to accommodate that girth.

Let’s say it again.

Biggish tyres, lowish pressure.