Cheng Shin Jackal
For a 25-inch tire, the performance of the Jackal impressed our testers. Most said the tread design made it acceptable for a wide-variety of uses and terrains. The mildly-aggressive tread design tracked well through most types of mud encountered and they self-cleaned very well. An added plus for the Jackals was steering on hardpack. The test riders said this was one of the best "trail" tires in the 25-inch category. In the shallow mud, the Jackals? side lugs and non-aggressive tread worked great. This tire did not perform too well in deep mud. With the Jackals, our testers needed to coax the ATV a lot more in order to get out of the deep bog. With the problems in the deep mud, the Cheng Shin Jackals are an average tire in the mud, and great everywhere else.
ITP Spider Tracs
The Spider Tracs feature an aggressive tread design. Wide angled spider-leg lugs are designed to disperse the mud, and triangular knobs on the shoulders give additional sidewall bite. This looks like a serious mudding tire. And it is, provided the tires stay clean. This tire is fine in the watered-down trail-ride mud, but can fill up in the sticky and deep mud. Its aggressive design made the ride a little choppy on the hardpack. But they added ground clearance to the Rancher and gave it a wider, more stable feel. Over rocky terrain, the Spider Tracs had some minor traction trouble. That was probably due to the wet and muddy tire, not the tread design.
The Spider Tracs are better at aggressive trail riding than pure mud bogging.
Sand Tires Unlimited Bi-Claw/Tri-claw
We liked these tires in the deep mud almost as much as our Honda Rancher did. The innovative tread design looked cool, but, more importantly, performed. In the deep stuff, the Bi-Claws and Tri-Claws did not pull as well at high rpm. As soon as we dropped the rpm, however, the tires immediately hooked-up and pulled the Rancher out of the deep stuff. A plus for these tires was their self-cleaning; this tire was close to the best in this category. In the thick and soupy stuff, mud refused to cake in the treads allowing them to bite in all types of mud.
In the shallow stuff, the tires were a little shaky, literally. We had to wrestle with the handlebars in order to corner at high speeds. We felt this was a product of the overly-aggressive tread design of the tire. This shakiness translated to the rider when traveling on hardpack, too. At the end of a hardpack ride, our riders said these tires provided a handlebar rattle.
The area where these tires outperformed was in a muddy hill climb from our test bog to the hardpack trail. Most 25-inch tires struggled to get the Rancher out; the Bi-Claws and Tri-Claws did not. They pulled us to freedom effortlessly. These are ideal mud tires.
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Goodyear Mud Runners
In past tests, the Mud Runners have received praise for their great muddin? ability. This year was no different. For 2001, Goodyear changed little, and has a great all-around 25-inch tire. The mud is where this tire most impressed us. The thick stuff was no problem. Looking at the tread on these tires one might get the impression that they would not perform, but they do. We aren?t sure if this simple design contributes to their self-cleaning because the tires were one of the best in this category. All riders praised the Goodyear Mud Runner tires. In deep mud, the tires pulled the Rancher through the thick stuff. It was a smooth ride, not jerky like some tires. Turning in the shallow stuff worked well, too. A slight turn of the Rancher's handlebars was all it took to get going in any direction. Tracking was great, one could carve through the mud like it was a hardpack trail. Speaking of hardpack. The tread design contributed to the Mud Runners smooth ride. Out of all the tires, the Goodyear tires were the smoothest. On high-speed turns, the back end did not break loose and felt safe. Over rocks it was much the same.
Interco Super Swamper TSL
This was another tire that got positive reviews, and testers ranked it well above average. The TSL tires differ from the larger Vampires in that they have smaller, less-angled lugs and square knobs on the sidewall. One tester put it in contention as best 25-inch tire! But all testers, not to mention half of Louisiana, agree that these tires are a great value, too. In the deep stuff, the Super Swampers refused to get stuck. No matter what the angle, the tires pulled through the muck. We attribute this to the tire's ability to self-clean. There were a few spots where the thick mud would cake in the tire treads. The Super Swampers still pulled through this stuff unscathed. A few times our test riders said the tires would force the Rancher in the direction the tires were pulling, not where the rider wanted to go. In mud, the tires tended to bite almost too well. Steering could be rough at times, but the tires got us out of the mud. On hardpack, the tires felt as smooth as stock tires, with the benefit of added traction. The ride was not bumpy and steering was easy. We especially liked the performance of this tire at high-speed. They felt confident and did not break loose when taking a high-speed corner. The Super Swampers did not back down to rocks either. On sidehills, the Swampers did slip a little.
In all, the Super Swampers have always been a favorite. Their design is tough to beat, and the price is right too.
Titan 489 X/T
Titan hasn?t changed this tire much in the years we?ve been testing mud tires; performance always ranks up there with both the old guard and newcomers. We feel the 489s are an average tire with good all-around qualities. While not the best tire in the deep stuff, its performance was mentionable. With self-cleaning, the thick, sticky mud would fill in the tread design. In the shallow stuff, the tire was great. They tracked well and took the Rancher where we wanted to go. More side-to-side steering input was necessary to get the tires through the thick mud. Our testers said this caused the tires to splatter them with roost more than others. Hardpack gave us a bit of wobble up front. But again, it wasn't anything that threatened confidence or performance. On the trail, we feel these tires are just fine. That's probably because we've ridden Arctic Cats, which used to run a different version of the 489s, on the trails, and liked how the tires handled.
Kenda Bear Claws
The Bear Claws feature one of the more aggressive treads and lugs found on the 25-inch tires we tested. The tread's function, however, diminishes the tire's ability to self-clean. As long as we stayed out of the really thick clay-like material at the bottom of our deepest bog, the Bear Claws performed well. The tires work great on wet soil and soupy mud that frequents most trails. But it's the width of the Bear Claws that makes a difference on hardpack. When traversing down the trail, the tires can hunt and bite, not always running on the center row of lugs. The aggressive tread favors dry and loose conditions. While we would not like to characterize these tires as a full-out mud tire, we do think they outperform in the utility category.
An ATV owner with a set of Bear Claws can confidently tackle most terrain and make it home for dinner.
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