There are a lot of personal preferences on those questions you ask, hard for others to give you advice without being in your personal situation / riding style. We can all add our 2 cents to help tho...
As far as tire size goes - taller tires give you more ground clearance. Bigger tires weigh more depending on the tire, your running a 1000 so i wouldnt be too concerned about tire weight. If you go a lot taller you will want wheel spacers, not only for clearance but also so your balanced out, you dont want to be tippy!! for example, stock 25" tires, you goto a 28" tire you want a 1.5" - 2" wheel spacer for tire clearance and to make your quad wider to compensate for the 3" height gain.
There is no reason to go 14" rims unless you want to run HUGE tires, i think the tire selection for like 32" big tires are more for bigger 14" rims, but theres no gain to changing up to 14" rims.
Tire size will pull in lots of debate... typically you run a 10" front and a 12" rear. You dont want a super wide front tire as it will be hell to steer it, again your running a 1000 so you prob have power steering and wont be as effected by big front tires. A lot of serious mudders run the same size all around so the back tires run in the lines of the front tires causing less strain to chomp thro the mud/snow. Others will say you want lots of contact area to grab more to go.
Now if your riding DEEP snow ONLY, then a big lug tire would be good, if your also running trails with those tires you want a tire thats not so specific to mud/snow so you dont have a real rough ride (constant thudding and bouncing on the treads) This again is your personal preference, some tires i've found smooth where others say they ride horrible on hard pack, the slower you ride the rougher mud tires will be for you.
Specific questions are better than general questions

 

Taller tires will give you better ground clearance but you will end up Ruining the feel of the atv in the handling department. 14 inch wheels will let you run Taller tires and still have roughly same side wall height with a bigger tire on there that will help with ground clearance (28 inch tire 12 inch of that will be rim diameter, 28 inch tire with a 14 inch rim 14 inch of that will be rim). 14 inch wheels can make you run less side wall and have better trail type tire or you can run the big mud tires. Even thou your running a 1000 you have to understand a bigger tires weight will still take more power to rotate, Being stuck in a mud hole with big tires might strain and bog down the 1000. I would still consider a clutch kit. Bigger weight tires also have a effect on braking, steering, and suspension.

Bead lock wheels can help you run lower tire pressures without popping a bead off, rock crawling that kinda thing you would want that and it also if you do get a flat you have less chance of busting the bead off the atv

I am running stock can am renegade itp hole shots and I find them good in the snow. I do plan on upgrading to a bigger tire but a 26 inch big horn.

 

28" tires will only give you an extra 1.5'' clearance.

Mega Mayhem's work really good in the deep snow.( but are heavy).
the zilla's are what a lot of guys run because they are lighter. I hear they have weak sidewalls.
I would go with a Pitbull Growler myself... 26''(they run big). They are very heavy and expensive but with a 1000 rene and some clutch work, you wouldn't notice it.
Or the Big Horns (original not the 2's)

I am in northern NB and I think we get pretty much the same weather.
Last year I put 27'' mega mayhems on a renegade 800X and I was impressed.
It had big horn 2's on it before, and they worked good as well.
The original Big Horns would be better I think because they have a larger lug.

14'' rims might improve the handling depending on the size of tire. but your back will notice the harsh ride. MSA makes some nice looking rims.

1 advantage of getting same size tires in front and back is that you can rotate them.

 

28" tires will only give you an extra 1.5'' clearance.

And "overall height " .

 

any mud tire on a 14in rim that are 27in or bigger will need a clutch kit or you will feel the power loss. beadlocks will also help with tires that have aggressive side walls as mud and ruts tend to debead the tire I kept my stock tire's and rims but after running megas I have never used them

 

go big

I went with 27" tires because i wanted o retain trail riding handling and get a more aggressive higher tire. I went with 14" rims because they have an offfset and do not need spacers. the wider stance helps stability as other have stated. I have never regretted outlaw radials in 27" with 14" rims. I have some mods and a clutch kit on my 1000 to compensate for the extra weight

 

How bad does handling suffer on non ps bikes if changing to same tires on front as back in 25 or 26"?
Snow tracking was sometimes a pain with my stock staggered setup, but i frequent sandy and slightly rocky dirt and gravel trails during summer too.

 

Snow riding is hard to pick a tire for. Because as the snow gets deeper you can have 32" silverbacks that have 2" lugs and still get stuck. Snow riding is all about ground clearance. If you don't have it, it's only a matter of time until you get stuck. If you want something that is great in the snow, get tracks. They are expensive but will not let you down. Or go with something that has a lot of lugs. 28" or bigger bighorns will do great. They have more lugs so that equals more traction. Look at a snow tire for a car. They have a lot of small lugs with seeps cut into them. This allows for excellent traction.


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No room to store tracks and no money for them either. the biggest Im willing to go is 27" and would rather stay 25-26 because I don't want any broken parts or other reliability issues down the road or throwing money towards clutches to keep speed that I have now. my only concern is how will handling differ with non staggered tires? Im guessing it will be much better than current in snow. Which isnt really that unmanageable now. How will it act in sand and dirt trails especially cornering?

 

I've spent the night reading reviews, old threads, manufacturer's websites and have come up with a decision.

I'm staying with the 12" wheels. I don't want to have to buy new wheels, or add spacers. So this sounds like the way to go.

I do however want bigger and wider tires. So I think I'm going with 26-10-12 front and 26-12-12 rears.

Keep in mind I'm looking for a tire that will work good on summer trails (hard packed surface, grass and forest trails). But also perform really good in snow (both compacted trails and some powder for when we get some big storms and the trails haven't been groomed). I think I'll mostly use the quad in the winter, as I'll be on my boat most of my time off in the summer. But I still want to ride some summer trails as well.

Decision is between maxxis bighorns or mudlite XL.

am I on the right track ?

 

Yup right track,
Big horns if you do everything and very little mud, Mud tires if you want to do mud as well. Big horns are radial tires, I also think the mudlite XTR are radial tires as well.

 

Your on the right track. If you want to use factory wheels look at mega mayhems. I run 27x9x12 and 27x11x12 on my factory wheels they fit fine and ride great. They take me anywhere I want to go and you don't need a clutch kit or wheel spacers to run them. They are half the price of bighorns and out last and out perform mudlites. They are better than zillas IMO.


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Aren't the mega mayhems hard core mud tires ? How do they perform on forest trails ? How about snow ?


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They are listed as a pure mud tire but the ride great on hard packed and snow.


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Bighorns are made for speed and traction. They aren't great in mud but on hard packed, snow, even gravel they hook up. They are made to take corners and straight trails at high speed. They are a great tire. If you went 14" wheels you would have less side wall flex giving less body roll.


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I went with GBC Dirt Tamer 27x12-12 all around for the snow. I havent got them yet but I think those will do very well in the snow! They are cheaper then Bighorns and ride/wear real well on the hard stuff. Also very good traction on stumps ETC.
The ones I have tried was 27x12 rears and 27x9 on my Outlander 800, they where good in the snow but I wanted more flotation at the front.

Thats my useless .02

 

ams swamp fox is a real good tire may look into them ive run them on my king quad for years

 

i know this probably doesn't apply to the big machines we are riding now, but has anybody ever run sand paddle tires in snow? i would assume snow and sand would be similar(if you had a lighter machine) in that you don't actually want to dig down into it? the less tread the better right to keep you on top? except for the paddles. just wondering. i have the bear claw HTr's and those seem to pull pretty well in mud and snow and ride just as good, if not better than stock tires in the woods. i went 26/9/12 and 26/11/12 and it gave me 1-1/4 more height than the stockers. and they are pretty light

 

Paddles are useless in the snow. Sand is heavy and resistant, snow is fluffy and slippery. paddles shovel snow great at low speed, then as they increase speed they become useless and throw snow a mile high behind you. I watched my buddy run a set on his Sport quad and he hated them. If you ever try to turn with paddles, your rear tires have no side traction, so they just fishtail non stop and you spin out in corners because the rear is like a slippery bananna. It sounds good in theory, but not the answer for snow.

 

Whatever about The Kenda Bearclaw ?? Reviews seem good, and the price is even better. Half the price of the bighorns. But in line with the mudlites.

Any opinions ?

 

I have considered the kenda bear claws for my next purchase as well. I havent seen any in action but they are 8ply tires as well. If i was putting any tires on my atv that arent going to be used for mud use i would highly consider radial tires (which the bear claws are depending on model I think its the HTR). You might have to air down the bear claws to like 2 psi to get a stable and smooth ride. I have heard that they are true to size as well.

I have ran my renegade 1000 xxc through some serious snow and not had any problems with the stock tires. Just saying but i might be not riding in as much snow as others i guess

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153618305050035&l=5679594164008158249 not sure if the video will work but just a quick video

I am sure any of the tires you are looking at will do a even better job then the stock tires

 

you'd be surprised how smooth the HTR's are. i run mine around 6 or 7 psi and they are very smooth. they actually eat up a lot of bumps too, like rocks and roots. a lot of stuff you barely feel. i need to balance mine though, they shake above 30

 

I see lots of people have issues with balancing both the bearclaws and the HTR's on stock wheels.

Is that a common issue with the width and sidewall of the tire and the stock renegade wheels ? Or is it that just like any wheel and tire, proper balancing is a must ?


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The Black Diamond XTR's are a great choice as well not to heavy great radial traction and the price is good

Personally I would stick with a 26 not a 27 the handling at a faster pace is better it really depends how you ride I wouldnt go back to a bias ply after running radials but thats my 2 cents

 

I just put the HTR's on a few months back and so far I have nothing negative to say, would recommend. As far as balancing issues which I read about prior to purchasing I added about 5-6oz of the beads inside when mounting so have had no vibration at higher speeds.

 

if your two choices are between mud lites and bighorns i would vote the bighorns for obvious reasons... 1.bighorns seem to just last forever... mudlites seem to just melt away...2.i have seen some people go farther in snow and mud with the horns then the mudlites..3. bighorns have more of a radial stance to them then the mudlites witch makes them have a way better drive on hardpack... and the mudlites also have a softer rubber compound then the bighorns... so expect chunks of rubber to be missing if you mount them on a gade

 

NB is correct. I have ran both and the bighorns are way better than the mudlites. They run smoother, don't wear as fast and in mud they perform almost the same in my opinion...

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Ok. So the mudlites are out.

Decision is between bighorns and bearclaws HTR.

ion either case, I'll be going with 26-9-12 front & 26-11-12 rear..

So the 3 last remaining questions are:

Which of the 2 tires would u recommend based on my needs ?

Is going to the above mentioned size going to work with a stock renegade 1000x ?

Is the offset something I should worry about ? I see some of the tires have an offset of 9, 8.9, 11, etc. (I think it's the offset that I'm referring to. It's another number that is listed on the tires mfg site ). Is that something to worry about since I'm running in the stock 1000xxc wheels ?


I can finally see the light.


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No need to worry on offset with that close to factory sizes. A lot of people like the bighorns. But I think the bear claws would do better in mud. No personal experience just judging by tread design.


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Better in mud = better in snow ??


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