Pirelli Scorpion STR tyres

[dallas95]

Thought I'd share a quick review on these after fitting with my new wheels. The stock CB500x came with Dunlop trailmax tyres which were OK on the road but only worked on hardpack dirt off road. Useless in mud and vague on gravel which accounts for a lot of the trails that I ride so they had to go. I chose the Pirelli's after reading a few reviews and have to say after 400 miles I'm very impressed. The grip on the road is better than the Dunlops and once you get on the loose stuff they are in a different league. They dig in well and find grip in deep sand as well as gravel and have ploughed through muddy sections with a bit of fish tailing. So all good! If the Dunlops were 5 out of 10 then these are 9 out of 10 and I'm looking forward to being able to go further afield once lockdown lifts to test them more.
After yesterday's on/off road trip to the co-op I gave it a wash this afternoon and checked the pressures to make sure the tubeless wheels were holding air. All good!



If you want to hear the Leo Vince go here:

[mangocrazy]

So spoked wheels can run tubeless tyres these days? Progress indeed.

[KungFooBob]

So spoked wheels can run tubeless tyres these days? Progress indeed.

Any spoked wheel will run a tubeless tyre if you seal the spoke holes with special tape and/or sealant and don't worry too much about the safety bead.

but iirc from the build project thread these are proper jobs.

[mangocrazy]

So spoked wheels can run tubeless tyres these days? Progress indeed.

Any spoked wheel will run a tubeless tyre if you seal the spoke holes with special tape and/or sealant and don't worry too much about the safety bead.

but iirc from the build project thread these are proper jobs.

That all sounds a bit 'wing and a prayer' for my liking. I hate inner tubes with a passion, having nipped too many tubes back in the day when fixing punctures or changing tyres. There's no bike I currently fancy that runs spoked wheels so it's not really a concern. Surely sealing the spoke ends makes any spoke adjustment that much more difficult?

Having said that, I also hated spoked wheels and the way they could slip out of true, so I've no desire to go there, really.

[dallas95]

@mangocrazy, the wheels are designed to be tubeless and warranted by Rally Raid. I don't have any concerns. As said, tubes are a PITA and for travel I just want to carry a tubeless kit and a mini inflator. The spokes are beefy so I don't expect these wheels to go out of true.

[mangocrazy]

@mangocrazy, the wheels are designed to be tubeless and warranted by Rally Raid. I don't have any concerns. As said, tubes are a PITA and for travel I just want to carry a tubeless kit and a mini inflator. The spokes are beefy so I don't expect these wheels to go out of true.

Cool, that would be enough reassurance for me. I'd have expected things to have moved on from 60/70s standards of wire wheels. I'd never buy a bike now that required tubes; I hate the damn things with a passion. It's the only thing that really pisses me off about my 350LC. I did try running the wheels without tubes, but they're designed for tubes and I suspect the castings are porous, as they gradually deflated over a week or so.