hey, i just recently got a nail in my rear tire, it was due for replacement anyways and my front is due soon too, anyone have any experience/opinion of the bridgestone tw203 and tw204 tires? i get off road once and a while not often, no friends currently have bikes, id be generous if i said 20% of my riding was off road generally do some trailriding/hillclimbs but nothing extreme. Should i stick to the stock Bridgstone tw34 rear and go for a maxxis 6006 front ? Any opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time
Tires
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I have the Shinko 428 front coming. (Should be here today) http://images.marketplaceadvisor.ch...nneladvisor.com/hi/78/77778/87-4480-sr428.jpg
I have the TW34 on the back and don't plan on replacing it just yet, but plan on getting the matching Shinko rear.
I have the TW34 on the back and don't plan on replacing it just yet, but plan on getting the matching Shinko rear.
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P.S. tire arrived 4 days after hitting PayPal button. 4.00 x 18 may be slightly taller and narrower than stock Bridgestone and that would be a good thing. This tire looks gnarly, can hardly wait to get it on.
P.S.#2 Kenda has several sizes that could work for the front including 120/80 -18.
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42 Posts
I put tw203 and tw204's on a couple weeks ago and love them. I had the stock knobbies on and the road buzz was killing me. Like you, my riding is mostly street and some dirt when I cut through the state forest on the way home. The new tires are much more street friendly and I did have to get used to more traction in the corners.
on my ride the other day to take my weekly photo, I had the chance to ride on and off road. On road it's superb! (obviously), on hard pack and grass it was good, in dirt that wasn't to loose, it was ok. In sand, totally sucked (but this was obvious too). This is for the Shinko 428
@ktrout01 and @mike thank you both for some good opinions, still have not quite decided for myself
@O'Mhurchu i had a hard time finding a price on those tires, any idea general ballpark for a set? and have you had them a long time? i heard the rubber compound is soft on them because there made for dirt racing, they wearing ok?
@O'Mhurchu i had a hard time finding a price on those tires, any idea general ballpark for a set? and have you had them a long time? i heard the rubber compound is soft on them because there made for dirt racing, they wearing ok?
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I bought them at http://www.blackcircles.com/ and after about 10,000 the front does show a littlt wear.
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I expect the Shinkos will replicate performance of the 203/204 combo. Consider them a street tire, but I have ridden them on the ranch roads of the Texas Hill Country, the service roads of the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas, and the loamy trails of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. The pretty much suck in sand and mud.
I would not mix either the 203 or Shinko front with the TW34 rear off road. That is a recipe for severe washout and many faceplants from lowsides. That really sucks. Don't ask me how I know. On the other hand, tractionwise, the TW34 works as well as the TW204 on pavement and far exceeds the TW204 off road for a minor sacrifice in noise and vibration. Also, the TW34 will outlast the TW204 by 6000 to 8000 miles, and the cost is the same. It is the stock TW32 that is the culprit in ride discomfort.
For onroad, the TW203 is a good choice, even with the TW34 on the rear. That is the combination I ride on road, but I have a second wheel and brake pad set with a very aggressive Kenda Trakmaster K760 for for the dirt.
The Maxxis 6006 seems to be the best replacement dualsport tire overall, equal to the TW34 both on and off road. The Kenda K270 is a great choice for dualsport use, but the side rows of knobs are fairly soft and when pushed hard on the pavement the steering is a little squirrely. If you don't drag your pegs in the corners you probably won't have a problem with it. I've ridden the 5.10-18 size and expect the 4.00-18 size to be more heavily loaded and consequently even more squirrely. Granted, not many people have pushed a TW to its peg-scraping, knee-dragging limits on pavement, so I expect for most people the K270 would be a good performing tire even if somewhat short-lived due to its soft tread compound.
As far as I know, those K180s are not available in the U. S. of A. in the TW sizes. That's a shame, too, because they are a flat track tire with a soft compound for monster traction. It is commonly used for Tourist Trophy racing in Europe, kind of like motard racing in the U. S. of A. that combines roadracing, flattrack, and motocross style elements on the same track. Great fun.
I would not mix either the 203 or Shinko front with the TW34 rear off road. That is a recipe for severe washout and many faceplants from lowsides. That really sucks. Don't ask me how I know. On the other hand, tractionwise, the TW34 works as well as the TW204 on pavement and far exceeds the TW204 off road for a minor sacrifice in noise and vibration. Also, the TW34 will outlast the TW204 by 6000 to 8000 miles, and the cost is the same. It is the stock TW32 that is the culprit in ride discomfort.
For onroad, the TW203 is a good choice, even with the TW34 on the rear. That is the combination I ride on road, but I have a second wheel and brake pad set with a very aggressive Kenda Trakmaster K760 for for the dirt.
The Maxxis 6006 seems to be the best replacement dualsport tire overall, equal to the TW34 both on and off road. The Kenda K270 is a great choice for dualsport use, but the side rows of knobs are fairly soft and when pushed hard on the pavement the steering is a little squirrely. If you don't drag your pegs in the corners you probably won't have a problem with it. I've ridden the 5.10-18 size and expect the 4.00-18 size to be more heavily loaded and consequently even more squirrely. Granted, not many people have pushed a TW to its peg-scraping, knee-dragging limits on pavement, so I expect for most people the K270 would be a good performing tire even if somewhat short-lived due to its soft tread compound.
As far as I know, those K180s are not available in the U. S. of A. in the TW sizes. That's a shame, too, because they are a flat track tire with a soft compound for monster traction. It is commonly used for Tourist Trophy racing in Europe, kind of like motard racing in the U. S. of A. that combines roadracing, flattrack, and motocross style elements on the same track. Great fun.
thanks for the insight qwerty, i didn't know the tw34 would outlast the tw204 by that much, if i am being soaked for 190+tax+install for a rear tire in Canada i might as well get the one that will last
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ill probably go for a kendra k270 front 5.10 width, or the maxxis 6006 front, that one more less depends on price although i will keep in mind they wanted 122+tax+install for the tw31 i heard people complain about it but my tires are nearly bald so i couldn't really tell really how good it was
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