# Modifying Tires [cutting]



## trailadvent (Jun 29, 2004)

Modified/ying Tires!

So I been wanting to do this for awhile, now with winter coming though still nice n dry on our trails but in prep I decided to give the cut down Wetsream mod a try for the season.

This was Gees secret weapon in 08, he ran them in the dry as well as wet, not so good this year on a mix of Maxxis blacked out and Continentals?

Anyways got out my sidy's and snipped away, was a little worried initially, these are great tires near new so cutting em up is like blasphemy.

But I got to say I'm pretty stoked and the tire profile looks great enhanced the floppy knobs that tend to get squirmy are now much more solid but still have that nice supa tack feel to em.

So I'm looking fwd to beading em in and seeing how they compare to my std fav the Swampthing and Minions.

Maybe this could be the new fav, who knows! but I dig em so far..

Yeah gotta love that name WET SREAMMMMMM... . .
oh baby

Here's some picc's!

Top view half and half, front closest to bottom is cut down rollin away is the view of the knobs yet to be cut.


















Done my 2.2 and 2.5 yeahaaaaaaaa now just need more rain and some wetish conditions.


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## brillantesdv (Oct 24, 2007)

should play with the syping while your at it.

there was an article, scanned from some magazine, that showed the different ways to cut Michelin tires. principles can apply to any tire really. ...dont feel like searching for it though...


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## trailadvent (Jun 29, 2004)

brillantesdv said:


> should play with the syping while your at it.
> 
> there was an article, scanned from some magazine, that showed the different ways to cut Michelin tires. principles can apply to any tire really. ...dont feel like searching for it though...


Um am I a spy? 

I'll do a search on cutting I did not do anything scientific it may be pretty rough but I figure the knobs would shape pretty quick to my style, who knows see what happens, I tried to cut em shorter but still std profile any rouh bits should even up otherwise could be some interesting results 

I'll do a few runs at full tilt down the firs roads to bead me in and get some drift on if they let go:thumbsup:


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## CaveGiant (Aug 21, 2007)

Cutting tyres is the way to go, huge improvements when I modded my nevegals.


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## Ghea714 (Dec 10, 2008)

I cut down every other horizontal row on my High Rollers, it rolls great :thumbsup:


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## schneidie (Aug 30, 2008)

CaveGiant said:


> Cutting tyres is the way to go, huge improvements when I modded my nevegals.


That's the only way to ride nevegals. Some tires I won't touch (ardent, minion, swampthing), but the rest are pretty much fair game. Trimming off all the transition knobs on a nevegal makes the tire really bite in the front. Every other one on the rear helps it out a bit too.


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## [email protected] (Dec 29, 2003)

Not sure if I would sipe those small knobs, but I would ramp cut the leading edge of the center row.


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## trailadvent (Jun 29, 2004)

Good stuff guys

Scott ya probably right but its sorta a bit of self lesson I had already finished so too late, trails have definitely buffed up some today so didn't really need mods but it was soft enough to try and with my first major stack at high speed it might have been wise, my Minions lost it off a steep series of drop offs and on the last one I was totally side ways the wrong way off the last drop so side crash landing over the intersecting B line.

I thought my Leatt and Stelt were going to get tested, as it was my TLD bones got hammered as did my arm and side, still I somehow missed the tree, rode it out to the end then bailed moto style laying the bike into the ground, not what ya want to fresh off a broken neck lol.

Needless to say I gave another run on that track a miss for the day.
We did and I did cleaned up a new gapper we added to another run further down so am stoked I nailed that a my confidence was a little dented.

Anyways will see how they go as is the Wetscreams this weekend report back!

I was stoked after wards I hit and nailed out new section on our we trail, tun in is tight we chicane some 15-20m back and pretty flat run in so pedal to the medal:thumbsup:



















Here's my bud running out smooth, and in technocolor!










he had a good stack today as well bar twisting on a big gapper and wrapped a tree lol, suffered a broken watch, never wear ya watch especially stainless linked ones, no pic of that one duh,


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## commencal-guy (Aug 20, 2008)

I didn't know you were supposed to cut the side knobs also. I was always told 1mm cut on the top (middle) portion of the tire.


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## bighitboy (May 16, 2004)

Angle cut the center row, sipe the transition knob

Sipe as in a diagonal cut through 1/3 the know, this will let it split open on brakes and corners. it will wear super fast though


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## trailadvent (Jun 29, 2004)

Well spent a day riding and shuttling which was nice to have a bus take ya back up the hill all day, on our DH National course in Roto Vegas NZ

F****ing awesome day, bud got some carnage and ended up with a hopefully only a severely swollen ankle, only had one spill an OTB on the gnarliest steepest section of course I had to go and find a line no one had ridden, not tires marks and this course shows every tire mark if ridden,

It had rained all week, we are about 3hrs away from RV so a 6hr dive 6hrs riding DH and been 18hr day nice!

Am rooted to day but in a good way am warm and still smiling maybe cause I survived but had good riding trip company and ripping fun.

Anyways it actually was dry as there, and I had my mounted Wetsreams on and giggles from everyone!

But I was not concerned even not getting a test run in on them since as some other complications arose so it was DH Nat track in dry test conditions yeahaaa nothing like the deep end

Even this track in pure dry is WC worthy with the biggest ruts holes and super steep in places big gaps drops and just about everything ya want in a DH track, 4min plus runs

Multiple lines etc etc, and one of the boys had been back less than a day from a Year n Vancouver too and said it was good to be back on a real nar DH course, [He loved BC though nothing beats home in Vegas kiwi style though lol.] Home of the 06 WC?

Anyways with all the ridding about my tires, they rocked, first run was sketchy coming off the track into some gravelly hardpack corners but I let about 5psi out of the front for next run and she bite like a Vamp out of Twilight, not issues still felt super quick on pedaly sections, no squirming and even my lack of scientific cutting didn't seem to affect the quality a def improvement over the std full knob setup, they bite in when it got soft no worris which was rare, the main DH run is soft in places though nice loam.

There's many roots and rock in the dry, still rocked and would use em no worris here even in ful summer, I'll take the ribbing for the control and all out performance they offer, not that to be honest I could extract it, though right now I need all the help I can get to get back into shape and ride safe within my limitations after coming back from a broken back and neck.

I did a few runs on a jump trail not as steep an nar as the DH run but very hardpacked and solid almost like hard concrete and even here they just gripped super hard I could drop into a corner and ext on the inside no worris, caught me a few times how quick and how much corner control they had this is where I expected them to let me down, here I may lost a bit of rear pedaling speed due to the rear, some sections for me its hard to keep up speed as long as ya hit the tranny's no issues, some I could not, but many no probs and totally fun to, this is a DH jump so similar drop top to bottom as the DH course just not the nar and steep most ride this trail, I still preferred the Taniwha [Nat Dh course yo]

So am stoked with the setup and def worth a try you might surprise ya mates and def will be impressed if ya can run em on yr side?

For me I think I will leave em on for this winter so full thumbs up from me yeahaaaa:thumbsup:


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## bsteven2 (Jul 13, 2009)

I roll kenda nevegals also and im a little confused at the process of cutting and which knobs to cut as well as the benefits of such?


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## jawdrop on hardtail (Dec 6, 2007)

Here you go. As for how it rides: well, I'll find out today.


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## jawdrop on hardtail (Dec 6, 2007)

@bsteven2: Modded nevegals: *F-*
For the washed out, sandy dirt I ride in, you lose the ability to hold a straight line by doing this mod. Super sketchy. Cornering was barely better. I can imagine these working for softer tackier dirt, but unfortunately I'm not gonna keep these tires long enough to find out.


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## trailadvent (Jun 29, 2004)

bsteven2

The whole point of cutting, is more to do with wet tires for soft rocky rooty conditions, there is no need to do this to std tires!

For example Gee Atherton run Wetscreams all season in WC 2008 on every course dry and wet, hence his best season ever! Alot of pro's did this, I'm not a pro but its def made a sig improvement to the tire for most conditions I'll use it in!

Cutting down, if youv'e had Wetscreams you'd know they are quite long thin knobs and tapered, which is great for the conditions they work in best.

I also run normaly another wet tire for wet grass of not so soft wet conditions the Maxxis Swampthing an awesome tire, but I also wanted to try the cutdown Wetsreams as its softer and even in super soft conditions the pros really rated it as one of the best.
The knobs on my WS are still longer than the Swamthings though cut down!

Note: both the SWT and WS are wet tires! But I use the Swampthing even in the dry on the front as its such a good tire, more moto than the Minion and nearly as fast, but gripper, thought it does not drift too much grip! can be a good or a bad thing depanding on ya style or what ya want, I love this tire up front mainly.

Thats what Ive found, here we can use wet tires without course people nazi's going off at us, like Europe, maybe in the US its not so good I dunno!

But its a top tire and I'm stoked I can now use it all winter instead of when it super soft which is mayeb a few times during the season, now I can run it non stop. And will do so in the dry where its loamy and super steep and its still fast and even pedaling there's little difference, at the nat track I mentioned above it makes no difference becuase it a true DH steep course, it only gives more control and ability to trhow it out there imo, if ya can why not take advantage of it. like I said Gee A had his best season on these, check out the 08 season!

Not rec for std tires, but hey if ya want and fell the inclination go for it, I wouldn't myself.

:thumbsup:


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## HTFR (Jan 11, 2007)

The specialized storms have a stepped knob to help reduce squirm but can also be used as a guide for cutting. That way all your knobbies are consistent for the circumference of the tire. Its a nice touch.


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## AL29er (Jan 14, 2004)

Jawdrop, cutting off every transitional knob on the Nev is a bit silly. It opens up a mile wide gap between the center and side knobs, neither of which is aggressive enough to catch it once it starts to slide. Basically you converted a predictable drifty tire into an unpredictable tire. Scary :eekster: I have heard that mod makes it more like a high roller, but there are some key differences...

HR has a square profile, so the side knobs engage sooner in a lean
HR has more tread in the center, so it can rail even fairly upright where the nev can drift sideways.
HR has a narrower channel between ctr and side knobs with every other center knob also functioning to transition the tire.
HR has more aggressive side knobs to really rail and hook

At any rate, out of the 3 basic nev mods you chose the sketchiest. Heal up quick brother :thumbsup:


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## 545cu4ch (Aug 11, 2005)

I doubt I could notice the difference if I cut up my tires. Besides, they are too expensive!


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## trailadvent (Jun 29, 2004)

545cu4ch said:


> I doubt I could notice the difference if I cut up my tires. Besides, they are too expensive!


Well unless ya tried how would ya know!

That said I don't see any point unless ya doing it on Wetsreams or a similar tire!

Though Peaty had cut down HRs on the rear of his WC winning V10, I'm not interested in trying that myself I see no point of std tires!

But for the WS it imo has made a significant difference to std, its faster, corners better, grips amazingly, breaks better, I obvioulsy haven't tried it in super wet sodt conditions yet, but should be pnly a few weeks away, keep raining keep raining. braaaaaaaaaaaaaaap :thumbsup:


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## trailadvent (Jun 29, 2004)

Well had my first full on wet session and had to get tire pressure right as usual but WOW what a diff, this track is off camber rooty as hell barley notice in the dry, first run was a bit slippery, drop a few psi front and rear and zooooooooooom

Loving my cut down wetsreams, would prefer a 2.5 rear over the 2.2, 2.2 is better in deep mud on the rear but for me the 2.5 would be better in cut down mode for more stability on this type of trail, stil had sweet control ad I need all of that in my raggity state


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