With the temperatures getting colder, I decided it was time to order this year’s winter tires for the Ural sidecar to facilitate my year round riding. The Heidenau K37 Snowtex I have on now are proper winter tires with the snowflake printed on the side. They’ve worked great for the last two years, but are now pretty worn out. This will be my fifth winter riding, so I guess it is fitting that the Duro is also the fifth tire I’ve tried for winter riding (Uralshina, Duro HF308, Kenda K335, Heidenau K37 Snowtex, and now Duro HF307).
Above, you can see the K37 Snowtex on the left and the new HF307s on the right. If the K37 Snowtex worked so well, why did I switch? Cost. One K37 Snowtex is about $180. I found a deal on the HF307 which put them at $65 a piece. I bought three HF307s tires for just under $200 shipped. It was a pretty easy choice once I looked at the money.
The Heidenaus were very difficult to get on because they were so stiff and barely cleared the rear swingarm and drive shaft. The Internet promises me the HF307s will be easier to install. We’ll have to see how lazy I am this weekend before I can find out. I’ve been admiring them in the garage for a week now. hehe.
I wrote about the K37 Snowtex a few times. They worked really well in the snow, but I couldn’t justify the price difference. I hope the Duros work as well as people say they do, and last longer than the crappy K335s.
K37 Snowtex posts:
Wow! That really is a bargain. It looks like there is some siping to help with side forces, is that what they're for? have you ever tried siped tires for traction on ice?
ReplyDeleteThe K37 on the front looks barely worn. Are you going to change it as well?
Yes, indeed. An awesome bargain! I'm thinking the siping is for wet traction. My wife's blizzaks have siping as well. They work really well, but I haven't tried a siped tire on the motorcycle yet.
DeleteThe K37 on the front is cupped; all the knobs are like little ski jumps. I was planning on replacing it as well.
Pretty serious tread on those tires, but I guess it has to be for snow riding.
ReplyDeleteWill be interesting to see how you like the new ones compared to the Heidenaus.
Yes, I'm curious as well. A different pattern than the K37s or the K335s. I'm also curious how long they last. I'm just hoping to make it through the winter without having to rotate tires.
DeleteWoohoo! Looking forward to more great Uraling Polar Bear videos. I will be nixxing the whole PBC ride thing though. The spirit of that community is great, but they really do prefer to suck the fun out of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I will make some more snow riding videos, but I'm on the fence if they will be PBC or not. I agree they do suck the fun out of it for sure!
DeleteDo you have your own tire mount tool like the motorcycle shops have?
ReplyDeleteYes, I have my own machine. I bought it a few years back after spending $400 in one year on replacing tires ($50/tire). It's more than paid for itself since. I still use spoons sometimes though.
DeleteThe HF307s do pretty good on snow and I like them. But I've found they don't last as long as the Heidenau K37s.
ReplyDeleteAs long as they make it through the winter I'll be happy. I really liked the snowtex, but 1/3 of the price is hard to ignore.
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