ON THE TRAIL TESTING

Dirt Bike Magazine’s ‘On the Trail testing’ is an ongoing look at the products and machines that we’re testing in the field.  It may range from Dual Sport machines, to fuel-injected 2-strokes and from off-road slanted gear in the form of helmets, boots, and enduro jackets to Gummy tires and flat proofing your machine. This week Southern California off-road hasn’t been stellar as high winds have plagued our riding spots. Still, the show must go on.

 

SHINKO 216 MX 90/100-21 GUMMY FRONT

We are testing the Shinko 216 MX in the 90/100-21 Fatty and opted for the cheater gummy compound. This size tire has been a favorite of ours for years in sand, rocks, and muddy conditions. Now that it is offered in a gummy compound we are liking it even more. This sticky compound really excels in the rocks and roots. You notice this on steep canyons when you’re descending and really relying on the front brake to slow you down. The gummy compound locks into the rocks allowing you to slow down when braking instead of deflecting or sliding all over the place. This also makes for a much plusher ride up front and alot less deflection on trail hack and debris. It took a few minutes to get used to the tire at speed. Coming off of a regular compound tire this may feel a bit squishy and soft when pushed at high speeds. We ran a bit more air than usual, around 13-14 PSI to counter the soft carcass and tread. After a few minutes you adapt to this compound at speed and there are no real drawbacks. We ran around 12 PSI for our extreme loop and slow riding. The wear has been minimal and the benefits of the tire are abundant, providing loads of grip in all sorts of terrain and a plush ride up front. This tire rates very high in our book for all around riding and for our extreme enduro days.

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Testing up in the mountains with our 300 TPI. If you look closely Webb is wearing Sidi Trials boots. Why? Coming off of double knee replacements the boot is very light and its easier to get his feet up and back on the pegs.

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The Flexx bar is a great way to sooth some of the hack out of the trail. Webb likes to use any space he can find to store spares and tools on the bike so he doesn’t have to carry them on his body. In the crossbar pad he fit a little screw driver (for quick suspension clicker changes), zip ties and an Allen sized to work on his rear shock adjusters.

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TRAIL TIPS
When using a front Mousse (foam insert) make certain that you size it correctly to your tire. Too large of an insert is akin to riding with super high air pressure in the tire. Likewise, a too small foamer will have the tire rolling on the rim during cornering. The Nitro Mousse has been a favorite of ours and they have a good sizing chart on their website.

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What’s the tape on the front fender? It’s a good place to lay down some strips of duct tape for easy access on the trail. For years riders wrapped tape around a bolt and it is painful to remove. This offers a rip it off and small it down mode of operation.

 

WHAT’S THIS?
TWebb broke his baby finger and damaged his ring finger and has been having issues holding on properly and twisting the throttle. He built up the throttle grip on the outside so that these digits that don’t want to bend can find a better purchase.

 

IN THE GARAGE
Hanging on the wall in Kyle Redmond’s garage is a horribly mutilated pipe. Check out the note left on it- Romaniacs 2007.

 

 

 

 

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