- Joined
- Feb 6, 2006
- Messages
- 12,144
- Reaction score
- 5,580
- Location
- Cape Town, deep in the lentils
- Bike
- KTM 990 Adventure
I’ve just got a set of Mitas E09 - a 21 inch and 150 18 inch.
I have a certain need for my tires. I want them to have a lot of grip off road and at least get me to where I want to be on the tar. I suppose I am an 80/20 user of Dual Sport tires.
PistonPete showed me the set one Friday and I liked the look of them. The rear has a similar tread pattern to a Michelin Desert and is a meaty beast. The knobs are tall and the rubber feels pretty hard.
The fronts' tread looks fairly plain with small knobs.
I’d hate to have to change the rear in on the road, the tire change guy was sweating and he was using a machine! It has a harder carcass than anything I have come across. Putting my full weight on it I could barely dent the tread. It has 4 layers in it and is touted as a Dakar or Baja desert tire. It can be run tubeless too. Part of the reason is that it has a lot of extra beef in the sidwalls and bead according to the manufacturer and after sitting on it, I believe them.
I put a set of ultra-heavy duty tubes in. That’s nearly a centimetre of rubber between me and the road excluding the knobs. Sadly I had to put 180gramms of weights on for the rear. That’s an enormous amount. I don’t think my rim is out. I might go back to the tire guy and take it off just to check the rim is not the fault. But the combination of knobs and ultra-heavy duty tubes can create balancing issues. So the jury is out on the this bit about the tire. The front mounted fine with minimal weights.
So how do they ride?
Very confidence inspiring on tar. Lots of grip. I can brake pretty aggressively before it starts to slide the front. I’d put it at about a TKC. The rear moves about a bit under acceleration but has a lot of grip. I can feel the knobs moving but it’s tame with no slip/grip type stuff. More than a Desert and about TKC level. The bike is neutral and doesn’t flop or fall in corners. In the wet it did fine, but I didn’t push to see where the limits were. The back could be provoked to spin up, but then I’ve yet to try a knobbly that didn’t.
They are not as noisy as a Desert, but not as quiet as the TKC’s.
On gravel it is sure footed and didn’t wander, tracked well. The rear has good grip with nothing unpredictable. Because it is such a hard carcass it loses some feeling but really I am nit picking. Braking was fine. Again confidence is great with this set. Nothing like the E10 front that I hated. The profile of the front is pretty round, more like a Scorpion than the flatness of a TKC. But I do have a thinner rim than standard so OEM rims might pull the curve out a bit.
In sand it has a lot of traction from the rear. It doesn’t point as well as a Desert but really again it’s a small difference doing really well in difficult conditions.
So far I’ve done 450k’s on them and haven’t babied them at all. The rear is one tough tire. There are a lot of brands that would have shown more wear than these.
The front had a little chipping to start but is wearing normally now. Maybe, I might run out of front before the rear, which will be a first.
I have been a loud supporter of Michelin Deserts and I think for more heavier offroad work, I’ll stick with their front but still use the Mitas front for true dual purpose stuff. However, this rear might be the tire of choice in the future for me. I like them. They are cheap for a 150 tire and perform very well. I am really interested to see how time and distance works on them.
Price you may ask? Currently 150/18 = R1498.00 Dakar & 90/21 = R675.00 Dakar, but with the Rand doing it's thing, it might be the bargain you want to get now rather than later.
Stay tuned for the 1500km mark.
Disclosure; I paid for the tires myself and offered to write this piece unsolicited.
I have a certain need for my tires. I want them to have a lot of grip off road and at least get me to where I want to be on the tar. I suppose I am an 80/20 user of Dual Sport tires.
PistonPete showed me the set one Friday and I liked the look of them. The rear has a similar tread pattern to a Michelin Desert and is a meaty beast. The knobs are tall and the rubber feels pretty hard.
The fronts' tread looks fairly plain with small knobs.
I’d hate to have to change the rear in on the road, the tire change guy was sweating and he was using a machine! It has a harder carcass than anything I have come across. Putting my full weight on it I could barely dent the tread. It has 4 layers in it and is touted as a Dakar or Baja desert tire. It can be run tubeless too. Part of the reason is that it has a lot of extra beef in the sidwalls and bead according to the manufacturer and after sitting on it, I believe them.
I put a set of ultra-heavy duty tubes in. That’s nearly a centimetre of rubber between me and the road excluding the knobs. Sadly I had to put 180gramms of weights on for the rear. That’s an enormous amount. I don’t think my rim is out. I might go back to the tire guy and take it off just to check the rim is not the fault. But the combination of knobs and ultra-heavy duty tubes can create balancing issues. So the jury is out on the this bit about the tire. The front mounted fine with minimal weights.
So how do they ride?
Very confidence inspiring on tar. Lots of grip. I can brake pretty aggressively before it starts to slide the front. I’d put it at about a TKC. The rear moves about a bit under acceleration but has a lot of grip. I can feel the knobs moving but it’s tame with no slip/grip type stuff. More than a Desert and about TKC level. The bike is neutral and doesn’t flop or fall in corners. In the wet it did fine, but I didn’t push to see where the limits were. The back could be provoked to spin up, but then I’ve yet to try a knobbly that didn’t.
They are not as noisy as a Desert, but not as quiet as the TKC’s.
On gravel it is sure footed and didn’t wander, tracked well. The rear has good grip with nothing unpredictable. Because it is such a hard carcass it loses some feeling but really I am nit picking. Braking was fine. Again confidence is great with this set. Nothing like the E10 front that I hated. The profile of the front is pretty round, more like a Scorpion than the flatness of a TKC. But I do have a thinner rim than standard so OEM rims might pull the curve out a bit.
In sand it has a lot of traction from the rear. It doesn’t point as well as a Desert but really again it’s a small difference doing really well in difficult conditions.
So far I’ve done 450k’s on them and haven’t babied them at all. The rear is one tough tire. There are a lot of brands that would have shown more wear than these.
The front had a little chipping to start but is wearing normally now. Maybe, I might run out of front before the rear, which will be a first.
I have been a loud supporter of Michelin Deserts and I think for more heavier offroad work, I’ll stick with their front but still use the Mitas front for true dual purpose stuff. However, this rear might be the tire of choice in the future for me. I like them. They are cheap for a 150 tire and perform very well. I am really interested to see how time and distance works on them.
Price you may ask? Currently 150/18 = R1498.00 Dakar & 90/21 = R675.00 Dakar, but with the Rand doing it's thing, it might be the bargain you want to get now rather than later.
Stay tuned for the 1500km mark.
Disclosure; I paid for the tires myself and offered to write this piece unsolicited.
