Off-Road Riding Tires

Just picked up your first powersport vehicle? Congratulations! You’re on your way to some awesome adventures off the beaten path with lots of thrills and excitement. But if you ask around some of your local off-road enthusiasts, they’ll let you know there’s a lot more that goes into the performance of your off-road vehicle than what rolls out of the factory. If you’d like to customize your machine to fit your needs, then turn your attention to areas like the tires. Certain tires are better for handling certain terrain better than others.

Choosing the right type of tires can help you manage the trails you frequent a lot better. That’s why Riva Motorsports Miami has provided you with a simple guideline to help you find the best tires for you. If you still need the machine itself, then stop by our location in Miami, Florida. We welcome all patrons from Ft. Lauderdale, Kendall, Broward County, Fort Myers, and Naples.

Parts of Tires

Before we get into the tires themselves, you’ll want to know some of the most important components of off-road tires. There are essentially three parts that matter to you:

First, you have the knob size. Knob size refers to how much of the tire’s surface area makes contact with the ground. Thus, the bigger the knob size, the more traction you’ll get.

Next is tread depth. Tread depth is how much of the ground will be displaced by your tires, or rather how deeply they’ll cut into the material. Deeper tread displaces more substance, which is advantageous in certain areas.

Finally, there’s pattern shape. This describes the way in which the grooves and channels are carved into the tire. Certain pattern shapes are better for dry terrain while others will be more helpful for wet terrain.

Terrain

Now it’s time to match the tire to the terrain type.

Hard Terrain

Hard terrain is compact and doesn’t shift much underfoot, like hard-packed dirt or rock. You’ll already have a great deal of traction so adding bells and whistles can actually hinder your ride. Looks for tires that have shorter knobs placed closer together with less tread depth. We also recommend something with a more flexible carcass so you won’t get stopped by every little bump.

Soft Terrain

On the opposite end of the spectrum is soft terrain, which does shift easily underfoot. This could include materials like sand and gravel. For these areas, you’ll want all the traction you can get. The knobs will need to be more spread out and you may even want additional knobs. You’ll also want to increase the tread depth in order to cut through the loosest layers of material fairly quickly.

Intermediate Terrain

For everything in between, you’ll need a mixture of the other two tire types. Intermediate terrain can refer to terrain with a little bit of displaceable material, but people who use these kinds of tires can also lead lifestyles that take them through a variety of terrain. Keep in mind though, they’ll be better suited for harder terrain than soft. These types of tires come with taller knobs that are longer and closer together. They also only dig into the ground a little bit, but not enough to give you a lot of traction on soft terrain.

This should hopefully help you narrow down your options, but there’s still a lot to consider. If you need additional help choosing the right tires, or you’d like to check out some of the off-road vehicles we have in stock right now, then stop by Riva Motorsports Miami and let our experienced staff know how we can help you. We’re in Miami, Florida, near Ft. Lauderdale, Kendall, Broward County, Fort Myers, and Naples.