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Rexx Riot

Tread Design and Southern CA Conditions

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Hey team!

Being a dirt noob I have many questions (tired of me yet?). As of now I've had a single outing off the pavement east on highway 76 where I encountered some hardpack with a generous sprinkling of loose dirt/dust that made for slippery riding with the knobbies that are on the DRZ at speed (I went too fast for my first time on dirt for sure but wanted to push hard and see how much I could scare myself...stupid? Yeah, probably). I then climbed palomar mtn again in some hardpack with rocky sections and some very loose dirt sections. I found the knobbies that are on the bike now (Motoz Mountain Xtreme on the back as I recall) absolutely devoured the loose soft stuff as long as there was nothing hard lurking beneath the surface. Anyway I have not enough experience nor enough trail knowledge to know with any accuracy what kind of conditions I'll be in most often...

So I'm here to ask for inputs and advice about what to expect in Southern California in general. Are there any rules about road surface and tread design? Is there a dominant preference for tread patterns when riding in Southern California? Is there enough variety in surfaces lurking out that there can't really be any hard and fast rules? Lots of mountain and desert riding are in my future living primarily in Idyllwild and I'm interested in eventually acquiring a second set of wheels (or getting good at swapping tires at home) eventually so I can have the right tools for the job on hand whether I spend a day exploring the mountain on road with my wife strapped to the back or hitting Palm Springs, sticking to trails at altitude, dropping into Cahuilla valley or indio for lots of open space riding, camping through mojave, or whatever else strikes me. I figure a decent 'take all comers' 50/50 tire would be the bread and butter (shinko 244s are cheap!) and having something more aggressive to swap to for dedicated hard riding would be best but I am unsure what to really do. 

Long story short: what are your inputs on tire selection for various surfaces and locations around the area? Anything I should avoid or, conversely, be sure to shoe on the DRZ at least once to try out? Is the new kid overthinking stuff again?! Any info is appreciated, and I particularly love reading the dialogue that develops and hearing more and more opinions so anything is valid and valuable to a total noob like me. 

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you will get 1000s of different opinions. so here's mine. and its way different that 90% of US riders. I am very Euro centric in my bike choices and equipment choices.

FIM tires- always DOT legal, the best possible compromise do all, wet/dry, pavement, hard terrain/mud/sand, trials like rock grip with flexible sidewalls to wrap around sharp stuff.  . Do they last long? depends on how you use them, low energy, not much spin and slide they last quite well.

Engineered to perform under extreme conditions of enduro racing, meaning any terrain including pavement . used in all FIM world enduro grands prix and all FIM enduro competitions by regulations. Used by most of the extreme enduro riders with some compound variables (soft- hard) . There are basically 2 sizes for fronts and 2 sizes for rears. 90/90-100-21 and the fatty 90/100-21 for the rear there are also basically 2 sizes the big 140/80-18 (250- 300+ 2 stroke and 450-500+ 4 strokes) and 120/90-18 (125 2T and 250-300 4T)

the big fat 140/80 finds traction in ruts on the sides due to width, while standard width tires trench into the groove, plus they ride high on sand and on soft stuff like a balloon on top spreading weight instead of digging a trench hole, for rocks they are like balloons that wrap around and get more rubber contact.

brands are Michelin enduro comp, Metzeler 6 days extreme, Pirelli scorpion pro fim, Golden Tyre 216s, Shinko 216s and probably more. 

All this but I'm still a freak in the eyes of many US riders constantly chasing hardcore tires with trying trials tires and hybrid types.....when 90% of the extreme enduro guys run FIM pattern tires with mousses. and 100% of world enduro guys run them with mousses. BTW this isn't a mousse thread and for DS it really cant be anyway but 100% of the MXGP racers use mousses. Jarvis is now running the latest version of Michelin Enduro comps with Michelins new fatty front.

note my level of riding is more to the extreme side of the spectrum than most folks.

Now you can hear the 999 other opinions, best of luck choosing.

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Try dropping air pressure first. 

Theres lots of hard pack gravel type roads out there that are slick no matter what tire you run. 

I run the Hybrid extreme at 4 psi off-road but I’m using tubliss system. 

Dont go that low with a tube but try 12 psi for starters. Nothing worse than an over inflated tire on the dirt.  ( my opinion)

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I'm eager to head back to the same spots and have another go at the same 15psi I was at on the day of, then lower to that 12 you recommend and feel the immediate difference. Good inputs thus far, thanks. 

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simple and effective, airing down. good call take the simplest route first.

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