Maxxis Mud Bug Radial Tire Reivew
Saturday, June 07, 2008 (03:20:49)
Posted by Weasel
The areas that I ride most include the foothills of the Canadian Rockies outside of Calgary, Alberta, logging trails in the mountains above the North Okanagan of British Columbia, and at on the beach at our cabin on Mara Lake, BC. I ride 12 months of the year, and as such, require a tire that is suitable to handle all types of weather and trail conditions. From dusty hard pack, to gravel, loose shale, beach sand, jagged rocks, muskeg, mud, snow, slush, ice, fallen logs, tree roots, grassland, and everything in between, these are the conditions that I encounter at times throughout the year. My tires have to be as suitable as possible for all of these conditions.
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Maxxis Mud Bug Radial Tire Review
Manufacturer:
Maxxis International http://www.maxxis.com/
Tire Model:
Mud Bug R M967
Specifications:
Front Size: AT26X9R12
Ply: 6
S.W. (in.) 8.7
O.D. (in.) 26.0
Tread Depth (in.) 1
Weight (lbs.) 19
Rear Size: AT26X11R12
Ply: 6
S.W. (in.) 10.5
O.D. (in.) 26.0
Tread Depth (in.) 1
Weight (lbs.) 24.2
Preamble
The areas that I ride most include the foothills of the Canadian Rockies outside of Calgary, Alberta, logging trails in the mountains above the North Okanagan of British Columbia, and at on the beach at our cabin on Mara Lake, BC. I ride 12 months of the year, and as such, require a tire that is suitable to handle all types of weather and trail conditions. From dusty hard pack, to gravel, loose shale, beach sand, jagged rocks, muskeg, mud, snow, slush, ice, fallen logs, tree roots, grassland, and everything in between, these are the conditions that I encounter at times throughout the year. My tires have to be as suitable as possible for all of these conditions.
In 2005, I set out to find a ‘perfect’ all conditions tire, and although I found a good tire, I found that the brand that I chose had a few weaknesses that left performance lacking; weak cut-prone sidewalls, and a tread just not quite aggressive enough in deep, thick mud. My search has continued for this best all around tire ever since.
In March, 2008, I put a set of the new 26” Radial Maxxis Mud Bug M967 tires on my KingQuad 700, on the stock KQ aluminum rims. From what I could tell, these seemed to have an aggressive mud tread, yet not too aggressive, hopefully making these tires also very suitable in snow and on hard trail surfaces, thus ensuring a smoother ride. I was impressed with their weight, as they are not too heavy, and the fact that they are radial tires, which helps to ensure more tire tread is in contact with the ground on hard surfaces and more lug penetration occurs on soft soils, creating an overall more complete footprint.
In comparison to the original Mug Bugs, the lugs on the Radials are not as tall (1” at the center vs 1.2” for the original Mud Bugs) shorter in length, and are less of a broad paddle. They seem to be pointed someone more aggressively forward, with sharper edges to cut and dig in, whereas the original Mug Bugs seem take broad stroke swaths at the terrain as they roll over it. The Radial’s lugs are high at the center, and taper or round off towards the sidewall of the tire, which may cause a bit of a sacrifice in chewing through deep mud, while the original Mug Bug’s lugs are deep from the center right through to the sidewall. This may be a factor when off camber on a soft or muddy slope where sidewall traction is essential, but so far has not proven to be a detriment to me.
Like the original Mug Bugs (RIGHT PHOTO ABOVE), the Mud Bug Radials (LEFT PHOTO ABOVE) also have broad sipes running the length of each lug. While this will aid in traction, especially on hard, wet roads, and in snow and ice, I find that they fill with mud, pack tight, and do not self clean well. It is an area of concern of mine in that I have yet to go for a ride, with the exception of on dry hard packed logging roads, where the sipes have not packed up, rendering them questionable in terms of their usefulness. I have to blast the caked in mud out of them with the pressure washer whenever I am done riding.
They are a six ply tire, and have a stiffer sidewall than the previous brand that I used. I am happy to say the sidewall roll seems have been minimized since changing over to the Mud Bug Radials, and I’m not so concerned about a sidewall cut, either from a rock or the rim itself. The other thing that impressed me once I installed these tires is the really thick bead. This was not a feature that I was aware of, but was pleasantly surprised to see. Since I like to run my tires at about 4psi in summer, and as low as 3.5psi in winter to help with tire spread to increase the contact patch, I have considered a bead lock, but with the thick beads on the Mud Bug Rs, I don’t feel a bead lock system will be necessary.
Before writing this review, I wanted to be able to ride most conditions that I encounter in a year. Spring in Southern Alberta can throw 4 seasons at you in one day. I have had the tires out in deep fresh snow, on ice, in slush, through deep water, deep thick mud, over slick and greasy trails, up rocky slopes, in off camber situations, long stretches of hard pack and gravel logging roads, and have specifically crawled over rocks and logs to test the hook-up of the lugs.
As I was hoping, these are a smooth running tire on hard surfaces, both at slower speeds, as well as speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour. Hook up from a standstill is good and aggressive.
When put to the challenge in deep snow, I was duly impressed. I was able to chew my way through deep thick wet snow with relative ease, while a few other riders eventually got stuck and either had to be pulled out or had to plow back and forth to make their way out of the snow (Big Horns and Swamplites were with me that day). I know the last set of tires I had would have not made it through and I would have been one of those who had to use my winch or tow strap that day had I not been running the Mud Bug Radials. On ice, I find that they are as suitable as any other tire, although on glare ice, really one tire is not much better than another unless it’s specifically an ice tire. For icy days, I still rely on my tire chains.
I found some muddy sections on the trails during the spring thaw, and had to pull through a fair amount of fresh, thick mud. I was quite impressed. While I am not suggesting my any means these are the best mud tire out there, they are a respectable mud tire nonetheless. I was pleased with the way they continued to pull through the mud instead of simply spinning out. The sharp aggressive lugs seemed to bite and pull through the mud rather than simply dig in deeper and deeper (the fact that they are radials and spread out the tread helps in this regard too) Even the sharp points of the lug at the sidewalls helped to pull through the narrow ruts. I feel that the way the lugs taper at the side walls helps to prevent them from grabbing into the side of narrow ruts pulling the front wheels sharply one way or the other; they pulled straight and true forward without jarring the handlebars in my hands.
I was pleased with the way the tires handled crawling over logs with an aggressive hook up. They did not tend to simply spin as I’ve heard it many times the original Mud Bugs tend to do. The same goes for crawling over rocks, here too they were good performers. In fact, I made a point to scramble up and down a trail that has always made me nervous about cuts, punctures, or sidewall cuts due to sections of large sharp jagged rocks that make up the entire trail surface. You have no choice but to simply pick your way over these rocks, and I know that many a tire has been cut broke a bead due to the jagged rocks. The stiff sidewalls and thick beads held up fine, as did the 6 ply tires. Traction was good as well.
I have to conclude that thus far, these tires have met my needs. They are a good mud tire, but not an aggressive mud tire; there are great single purpose mud tires to chose from for so-included deep mud enthusiasts, such as the original Mud Bugs. They are a good dessert and rock tire, but not strictly a dessert and rock tire, where Big Horns are a very good choice. They good in snow, more so at lower pressures in the 3.5 to 4 psi range, good on slippery, slushy trails, good over roots and logs, and not too aggressive on grass. I was unable to give the tires a good muskeg trial, and as such can’t comment in this kind of condition. In sand and gravel they are good too, again more so with low 3.5 to 4 psi pressures. In fact, the only time I would think of boosting my pressures any higher than that, to 5 psi or higher, is times when I am riding at faster speeds on hard pack trails and logging roads. I carry a 12v portable air compressor with me so that I can easily adjust my tire pressures given the conditions that I am going to ride at any given time of the year.
I am concerned about the broad sipes that pack with mud and have to be blasted out with the pressure washer. I wish these were designed so that they self-cleaned better. Time will tell whether this will prove to be a negative.
I recommend these tires to anyone looking for a respectable mud tire who also rides other types of terrain. I would tend to categorize these as an all-purpose mud tire.
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