A few weeks back, I built myself up a fresh set of wheels. I figured new hubs, new, spokes, new rims… I gotta put some fresh tires on, right? With so many options available these days, I was in a pretty heavy toss up on what I was going to run. I decided to hit up our Facebook to see what people suggested. There were a ton of suggestions, with a pretty large number of votes for the new Animal MTT tires. I was already kind of leaning that way, so I figured I better pick up a set to give a go. After riding these for a few weeks, I figured it would be a good time to put together a review for those of you who are on the hunt for some new tires as well. Let’s take a closer look!
Going into the tire, I had a pretty solid idea of what I was working with since we did that INSIGHT with them about the design. Essentially, it’s a tire that was designed to hold up to anything you might want to ride on and ride over if it gets in your way, haha.
The MTT tire, or Monster Truck Tire, features a heavy grooved and directional tread pattern that has 3 centers of contact (Sides and Center) which helps you keep the wheels under you when you are rolling with plenty of traction. There’s a tighter center tread to keep that rolling resistance down and the bulked up sides increase the sidewall protection when grinding.
The MTT tire is available in two sizes; 20×2.10″ and 20×2.35″. The inflated width of the 2.10″ is 2.12″ (54mm) and a diameter of 20.3″ (515.6mm) with a weight of 25 oz. The inflated width of the 2.35″ is 2.40″ (61mm) and a diamter of 20.8″ (528mm) and a weight of 28.7 oz. Both sizes feature a maximum 75 PSI rating.
Both tires are available in wire bead and black wall only. Animal mentioned they may do a Kevlar bead and other color options further down the road, but they’ve kept it simple for right now.
Installing the tires were a breeze. It’s been a while since I had actually changed my tires out (I think almost 2 years?), but I still had that surgeon precision with two flat head screw drivers (I’d suggest tire levers, haha). I personally went with the 20×2.10″ tire front and rear. I’m pretty sure I could have ran the 20×2.35″ version up front no problem, but I didn’t want to risk it not fitting my fork. I’m a pussy… I know.
Riding the tires for the first few times were pretty interesting since I haven’t had tires with this aggressive of a tread since my old Odyssey Aitken tires. I definitely could feel the tires thudding as they monster trucked over the cement making for a bit of a bumpy ride, but it wasn’t anything I personally was bothered by much. I did notice the grip these tires have right away as well. I’d try to kick out the back end to slow down and it wouldn’t budge. They also held the metal from the prefab ramps at my local park which was nice since those can be pretty slick.
After a few sessions, I noticed the tires definitely softened up a bit and that rumbling feeling wasn’t nearly as apparent, which I’m sure a lot of you pickier guys might appreciate.
The MTT Tires have a max 75 PSI rating. I’m personally somebody that likes to have my tires pretty hard so I’ve been running them right around that 75 mark. I am used to running closer to 85 / 90 PSI with my old tires, so this took a little getting used to since I kept thinking my tires were low for a little while. With the tires being a little softer and having more rubber, it absorbs the impacts from drops better so that’s a plus for sure.
Overall, I am pretty stoked on these tires. I like having that more aggressive tire since I know they will last me a while and I don’t have to worry about washing out on some slick ramps and cement or loose dirt since they hold the ground real well. Having new wheels kind of threw my judgement for noticing a weight difference, but I’d assume these guys are a little heavier than my old tires due to the thicker tread pattern, but once again, that’s not really something I’m too worried about personally.
The actual look of the tire took a little time getting used to since it’s kind of a crazy tread pattern and I wouldn’t mind a little more air in the tires, but both of those things aren’t a deal breaker for me and like I said, I do like how these absorb impacts.
Here’s a look at my current setup with the tires.
I think if you’re looking for some new tires and you are into having something a little bigger with a more aggressive tread, these are definitely something to consider picking up for your bike. I know Animal put a lot of time into these tires to make sure they were something that would actually benefit the rider versus just pumping out another mold for the sake of getting a tire that’s got a little more beef to it.
You can pick the MTT tires up for $24.99 on Dan’s Comp or you can have your local shop get ahold of Animal Bikes direct to get you some ordered up.
If you want to learn more about how they made these tires, check out the INSIGHT we dropped a while back.
You can find out more about Animal and their products by checking out their website — ANIMALBIKES.com
That wraps up this review. Head back to the front page for more Originals or hit the Daily Section for all the latest videos, news, products and more!
