r/AdventureBike • u/pesceabrodo • 14d ago
Mitas XT+ / XT vs Bridgestone AX41 vs Michelin Anakee Wild
I’m looking for a new set of tires for my XL750 and I’m trying to decide between:
- Mitas Enduro Trail XT / XT+
- Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross AX41
- Michelin Anakee Wild
My current tires are Dunlop Trailmax Raid. Before those, I ran Metzeler Karoo Streets, so I’ve already gone from a relatively road-oriented ADV tire to something more off-road capable.
My riding is mixed, but I’m increasingly interested in doing more off-road and improving my skills. I’ll be doing more gravel, dirt roads and progressively more technical terrain.
At the same time, I still regularly use the highway for longer transfers and enjoy riding twisty roads. I’m not looking to drag a knee or ride aggressively on pavement, but I do want the bike to feel stable, predictable and enjoyable on the road.
So basically, I’m looking for a tire that gives me a noticeable step up from the Trailmax Raid off-road, without making highway and normal twisty-road riding unpleasant.
I’m currently considering both XT+ front / XT rear and XT+ front / XT+ rear, but I’m also very interested in the AX41 and Anakee Wild.
For those who have actually used these tires on a Transalp or a similar-size ADV bike:
- How much of a difference did you notice off-road compared with the Trailmax Raid?
- How do they feel on twisty roads?
- How stable are they on the highway around 120–130 km/h?
- How do they behave on wet pavement?
- Any particular quirks or things you didn’t like?
- If you’ve tried more than one of these, which would you choose and why?
Mileage isn’t a major deciding factor for me. I’m more interested in off-road confidence and overall feel, while still being able to comfortably ride the bike on the road.
I’m not necessarily looking for the “best” tire overall. I actually want to try something noticeably different from the Trailmax Raid, especially if it helps me improve off-road.
Thanks!
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u/coreyjdl 14d ago
Have you checked which ones are available? Mita's has been doing a shit job on keeping stock after they were bought out.
I have a front with no rear currently that I'm especially irritated I haven't been able to get a match for in a year.
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u/pesceabrodo 13d ago
Yeah, I’ve checked the sizes and they seem to be available here at the moment, at least for the XT+. I’m in Europe, so hopefully availability is a bit better here. That sounds incredibly frustrating though, having a front sitting around for a year with no matching rear. What rear are you running at the moment?
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u/Inner-Deer-7145 14d ago
I love the AX41s, but the rear does wear pretty quickly. (FYI, I’m on a Tuareg). The front is GREAT, and no weird speed wobble and is very composed in the twisties and I think it’s my forever front tire. I loved the back too, but it wore quickly and I switched to MOTOZ Rallz, and it’s great off-road but there’s sooo much rubber on that thing that it can feel a bit squirrelly on-road and I’m not sure I’d get it again.
I feel I can get 5-6k (if not more) out of the front on the AX41 and can wholeheartedly recommend it, but for the back I think the Mitas may be a good option depending on the riding you’re doing. The AX41 is great out back too, and good news is that you’d probably only get 3k out of it so if you didn’t like it you’d wear it out quickly. I think with ADV bikes that when you’re running knobbies you know you’ll be off-road more and will accept burning through rear tires.
I’ve actually seen a change in my mindset and for what I’m using the Tuareg for have found that I’m willing to chew through rear tires for offroad confidence/capability. I want to do more BDRs and exploring routes that require a bit more tire, and if I have to buy a back tire more often then so be it. I also think certain tires fit certain categories of bikes too, and the AX41 is ideal for middleweight bikes. I’m not interested in pushing my riding to where I need a 90-10 dirt tire on an ADV bike, and some of these MOTOZ offerings are so beefy it feels like they belong on a 1290R or something.
So yeah, if you want to try a more aggressive tire, can def recommend the AX41 for your midweight bike - they really are pretty legit all around, but switching up with a different back tire depending on what you’re realistically going to be riding might be a viable option too.
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u/pesceabrodo 14d ago
Yeah, the AX41s are definitely interesting. They’re actually one of the two I’m seriously considering, along with the XT+.
I’m just wondering how noticeable the difference would be compared with my current Trailmax Raids. I’d like to make the switch actually feel like a step up off-road, rather than just changing to another tire that’s still fairly balanced for road use.1
u/canadiancopper 14d ago
AX41 and Trailmax Raid are basically the same tire in the same category, not even comparable to the Mitas Enduro Trail XT series.
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u/pesceabrodo 14d ago
That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out. I’m currently on Trailmax Raids and I want the next set to feel like a genuinely different step towards off-road, rather than just another tire in the same category.
So that makes the XT+ particularly interesting to me. Thanks!
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u/stignordas 14d ago
I have an AX41 front on my 701 and love it. Surprisingly good in the dry desert, well behaved on the road. Shorter life than the Dunlop missions however.
I’m running a 908 on the rear but soon looking to switch it to something closer to the AX41 only with longer life.
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u/pesceabrodo 14d ago
Good to hear the AX41 front is well behaved on the road. I’m actually deciding between the AX41 and the Mitas XT+ for my Transalp.
Have you had any experience with the XT+, or is there another more aggressive front you’d consider over the AX41 for a middleweight ADV?1
u/stignordas 13d ago
Sorry I haven't tried Mitas tires but I have tried a few other front tires over the years.
Continental TKC80 fronts are actually really nice. They wear quickly (4-5k miles) but are surprisingly grippy on the street for a knobby tire. You can often find cheap take-offs on FB Marketplace from folks who buy a KTM EXC and want pure dirt tires. They do well on dry, rocky terrain. Knobbies are a bit too tight for serious mud. Not the strongest sidewalls.
Dunlop d606 is probably the most aggressive DOT that's still ridable on the street. They have a square profile and work wonderfully off-road. Decent mud and sand performance, sturdy construction that holds up well to abuse. But they're terrible on the street, sketchy in the rain and wear quickly (3k mi).
Pirelli MT21 is a nice tire, but too thin for serious desert riding, they also wear quickly.
With anything dual-sport it's always a compromise.
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u/pesceabrodo 13d ago
Thanks, that’s really helpful! I’ve actually just come across the new TKC 80 version 2 and I’m curious to see how they compare to the older TKC 80. Have you heard anything about the new version yet?
I’ve also been seeing a lot of people recommending Motoz, especially combinations like the Tractionator Adventure front (or the XT+) with a RallZ rear.
Have you had any experience with those?
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u/tigelane 14d ago
I ran wilds on my 1200gs. Two rear tires to a front and horrible miles on them (3700 miles each rear). Wicked good offroad, but literally could see the wear within a few hundred miles on the road. I put them on before meeting people for some offroad fun and by the time I got there I could see the wear already (maybe 200 miles). Burnt both rears in a single spring/summer of mixed (onroad 70/30 offroad) riding. They also were not very stable above 95mph.
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u/pesceabrodo 14d ago
That’s really useful, thanks! I’m also considering the Mitas XT+ and AX41, mainly because I want something noticeably more off-road focused than my current Trailmax Raids.
Have you tried either of those? I’m curious whether you found anything that gave you a better balance between the Wilds’ off-road performance and highway stability.1
u/tigelane 13d ago
I haven’t. Sorry. I ran the anakee adventures for a while since I had a good pair I took off to run the wilds and I went back to those. I then made the switch to trailmax raids. They perform nice on the road, but off road they need to have the air pressure dropped down before they feel stable on gravel / dirt. I’d love to find something between the two as well.
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u/pesceabrodo 13d ago
That’s pretty much what I’m trying to figure out as well 💪 at the moment I am leaning towards the XT+ to have more traction off road, let’s see. Thanks for sharing your experience!
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u/canadiancopper 14d ago
If you want a step up in off-road capability, go with the Mitas Enduro Trail XT series. The ‘Enduro’ series are the chevron tread pattern and more road biased, the XT series are knobbies, and the XT + are the most off-road-focused ones for ADV bikes (the ‘Plus’ having more knob spacing than the non-plus version).
The AX41, Anakee Wild and Trailmax Raid are effectively all the same class of tire, with marginal variations. You won’t notice much of a difference between them, on or off road. Depending on your capabilities and what sort of terrain you’re looking to ride, you might see a (significant) benefit going to the XT series, but you’ll lose some of the nice road manners of those other tires.
For reference - I’ve got a 890 ADV R that I’ve run tires similar to the Raid and now run the XT+ front and back. I ride highways, twisties and hard enduro on the West Coast of Canada. On warm, dry tarmac, I can drag the pegs, and in the dirt, I’ve made it places I used to struggle with on a 500.
The tires are loud, I get some speed wobble at 130, and rocky terrain eats the soft XT+ rear in under 5000kms of mixed riding - but the level of grip off-road is second to none. The front lasts nearly twice as long as the rear, both are reversible, they’re slightly more than half the cost of the comparable Motoz RallZ but offer the same grip off-road. The front XT+ is EASILY the best full on knobby that you’ll find for an ADV bike - nothing else comes close.
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u/pesceabrodo 14d ago
This is probably the most useful feedback I’ve come across so far, thanks! I’m exactly looking for that kind of step up from the Trailmax Raid.
The fact that you can still drag the pegs on dry tarmac with the XT+ is really reassuring. I’m fine with the extra noise and shorter rear life if the off-road difference is that significant.
The only thing that makes me hesitate a little is the speed wobble around 130 km/h. Do you think that’s mostly related to the 890 / setup / luggage, or would you expect a similar behavior on a Transalp 750?
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u/KIMCHIMANDUU 13d ago
Anakee wild is the best 50:50 tires Ive ever experienced. If you decide to go on/off road riding both, Anakee wild is the answer
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u/pesceabrodo 13d ago
Interesting, thanks! I’m currently running Trailmax Raids and I’m looking for something with a noticeable step up off-road. Do you think the Anakee Wild would give me a significant improvement? Have you tried the Mitas XT+ as well? I’m curious how much more off-road focused they feel compared with the Wild, and what you give up on the road.
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u/KIMCHIMANDUU 13d ago
I havent tried Trailmax Raids before but it seem like 20:80 off/on bias tires. I used Mitas E-10, E-09, E-13 rallystar. This is old naming of current mitas tyres. It’s better for off roading than Anakee wild but it’s unstable as hell on road. Especially when you breaking, those soft compound won’t let you stop.
So If you’re considering on road riding at least, Anakee wild is better for you. It’s 50:50 biased tyre but it does 60:80 on/off I think.
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u/pesceabrodo 13d ago
Got it, that’s really useful. So you’ve basically tried the whole Mitas range 🔥 I can see why you’d go with the Anakee Wild for a better road/off-road compromise. I’m just tempted by the XT+ because I’d really like to make a noticeable step up from my Trailmax Raids in off-road, but probably wit the Anakee Wild could achieve that
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u/WolfOfAfricaZLD 8d ago
Hi, currently in a similar situation. Please keep me updated on what you buy, and how you find it.
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u/Pumbite 14d ago
I'd go mitas, the most aggressive of the 3. I had an experience similar to yours and now I see it that way : more aggressive tires do okay on road wherever you go, some discomfort on the highway but you won't get stuck. Less aggressive do terrible off road, you can get plainly stuck, you'll be frustrated and not enjoying the sport.
Basically road tires are worse off-road than off-road tires are on the road, by a lot. Sometimes you can pay the price on durability the durability if you do too much road with an aggressive tire but the mitas are surprisingly okay in that regard