Dunlop Trailmax Raid tire test: better than the Anakee Wild and the AX41?

After testing the Bridgestone AX41 in 2019, then that of the Continental TKC80 in 2021 and the Michelin Anakee Wild in 2022, I continue to test the new products in the field of 50% road / 50% offroad tires. And this time, I tested the new 2023 tire from Dunlop which is launching into the very active 50/50 tire segment, with the Trailmax Raid.

I covered around 2000 km in 3 weeks with these, with 80% use on the road and 20% on the way, with a mix of all types of roads but also paths in the North of France, mainly grass, gravel and mud. So I thought I could now give you my opinion on it. Besides, if you see me driving on the left and with my speedometer in miles per hour in this video, it's normal because a good part of these road kilometers were covered during my road trip in England for which I will give you a video dedicated to the month of August, so you're in the know!

So what are these new Trailmax Raids worth compared to the competition? Are they pleasant and relevant for everyday use, in the rain, on walks and on the paths? This is what we will analyze in this essay!

For this Trailmax Raid test, I was able to carry it out on my Triumph Tiger 900 Valkyrie which has a 21 inch wheel at the front and 18 inches at the rear (with inner tube) and which weighs 200 kg with the approximately full. So I have not tested these tires with motorcycles with 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels.
I will also not necessarily address the chapter of wear or sensations on heavier motorcycles, but this will already give you good feedback and a good understanding of the technologies contained in this tire since we will see in this test of first the technical part, then the practice and finally the price and competition dimension part.

Last point to clarify to avoid nasty or unpleasant comments, a tire test remains, as always, a fairly personal opinion above all. It is carried out on a specific motorcycle, in a specific environment and with a rider who has his habits, his way of driving and his knowledge in relation to other tire tests. It is therefore entirely possible that you do not have at all the same opinion or the same result on your side because you are riding a different motorcycle, in a different region than me, and with a different driving style. So don't hesitate to share your opinion on these tires in the comments if you have them, or have had them, giving details about your motorcycle, your region and your driving style in order to enrich the opinions on these tires as much as possible. . This will be useful to everyone and it will be super constructive! With that, we attack the technical specifications of these Trailmax Raid.

Theoretical level, you should know that these Trailmax Raid are brand new tires as I told you in the introduction. The engineers therefore started from a blank sheet to design them, but they still made a few nods in the design to a model already present in the Dunlop range, I am thinking in particular of the D908RR with its crampons in the shape of cross found here on the central strip of the front and rear Trailmax Raid tires.
I really like the look in any case and the rendering of this tire mount on my Tiger 900 Valkyrie. It's quite aggressive in terms of style for a 50/50 tire and it doesn't look like competing models so there's no risk of confusing them with another model.

The shape of these tires is also quite rounded and not V-shaped (especially on the front tire), thanks to a specific production mold called DFF (Dynamic Front Formula) supposed to provide a good compromise between the effort that is made to the handlebars, high-speed stability and feedback. The deformation of the front and rear tires has been optimized thanks to this DFF in order to have the most homogeneous behavior possible. We'll see later if this is confirmed on the road.

The manufacturing process also uses a specific construction that continuously wraps a seamless nylon tire around the carcass of the tire in order to provide more maneuverability and stability in the area in contact with the ground.

In terms of rubber, we find a rather unique increased silica content since this Dunlop model is the very first trail tire to benefit from a surface silica which is, I quote, “highly dispersible and high density”. In French, this allows the rubber to be really flexible (so there would be no need to deflate the tires too much off-road in theory), and it allows them to heat up super quickly, thus providing a road feel. and increased comfort. This should also help stabilize the tire in terms of wear.

Finally, as for the last notable technical information, you should know that it is a radial tire both at the front and at the rear, that they are only available tubeless, but you can still use them with inner tubes if your rims are not tubeless as is my case. On the other hand, it will be impossible to use them with foam bibs.

Last notable details to note, they are M+S (Mud and Snow) approved, which allows them to be mounted on your machine even if the speed index is lower than that of the manufacturer. The speed index will vary in S and T depending on the dimensions, i.e. between 180 and 190 km/h maximum speed. So that’s okay, we have plenty of room to ride in France!

Apart from that, 2 other things that I find very cool on these tires, it's the style of the tire sides with the little mountains all over the molding, well OK it's pretty useless in absolute terms but it's stylish I think. And as for the Dunlop Meridians that I tested last year, the Trailmax Raids bear the inscription made in France! These motorcycle tires, like all other large-capacity motorcycle tires from Dunlop, are in fact manufactured in the Montluçon factory, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which is also the testing and development center for this tire. So if we want to be a little chauvinistic, we can say that buying Trailmax Raid from the English brand Dunlop supports employment in France, unlike the French brand Michelin which has its Anakee Wild tires manufactured in Thailand. It seems quite paradoxical.

Well this time it's good, we've covered all the theories announced by Dunlop on this Trailmax Raid. Now let's see what it does for use on the road, and on this point, I was really amazed by their road quality on dry ground (in the rain it will be a little different but we'll talk about that later).
On the other hand, as they are somewhat the last to arrive on the 50/50 tire market, we feel that all the recent technologies used in these tires are not in vain and there is a new stage in the dual sport tire category.

It's simple, I really feel like I'm dealing with a road trail tire and I've never driven so dynamically and confidently with a 50/50 tire (within the legal limit on camera of course). is not it …).
We clearly have excellent grip and warm-up time and you can really take the angle with it, all in a progressive manner, without it suddenly diving down.
In terms of cornering, it's manageable, precise, progressive, stable when the bike is leaning, and above all the grip is real on the angle which allows you to re-accelerate when exiting a corner without slipping or panicking the electronics, in any case. case with my Tiger (with the tractor torque of a GS it may not be the same but you will tell me in the comments I am sure!).
There is not at all the effect of the motorcycle falling on the corner quickly as one can have with certain other studded tires, we do not feel any movement on the corner thanks to this shape either. specific crampons, in short you will have understood, I was won over by the pleasure aspect of driving on the road and I was able to enjoy myself on the small roads not always in good condition in the English countryside.

In terms of braking, here too the behavior is similar to a road trail tire. We do not feel any movement in the direction or wrinkling of the studs, even when braking hard or braking in curves. The crampons being quite long in the rolling direction, this should help a lot compared to other more compact crampons. The tire grips well which means you don't have to have prolonged braking distances despite its studded profile.

When the road deteriorates or you start driving on the cobblestones, you feel that the carcass is rigid because the tire stays in the direction you want to go, but for all that I didn't feel any real losses of comfort or behavior. This is very dependent on the bike and the suspensions (my WP XPlor Pro / Bos Suspension set certainly has nothing to do with it), but we feel that the tires remain very steering and precise when the road surface deteriorates.

On the performance part on wet roads which was really the point on which Dunlop placed the most emphasis in the strong points of this tire, I must admit that it is better in terms of behavior than a TKC80, Anakee Wild or AX41 , but it is also not as efficient as a tire with a smooth, road profile. It's not worth a Dunlop Meridian that I was able to test recently on the chain, an Anakee Adventure or even a Tourance Next 2. You can ride with confidence on shiny asphalt without feeling like you're walking on eggshells, but you will not go full throttle when exiting a corner or do heavy braking, because at these times, the electronics panic or your motorcycle will slip if you do not have ABS or Traction control. The tires always heat up quickly even if the temperature drops and they allow you to drive without a second thought as long as you keep a smooth and constant pace, they just don't appreciate sudden changes in throttle or braking. It's a little better than its direct competitors, of course, but the limit compared to more road tires remains present and tangible.
We therefore drive flexible and progressive, we avoid accelerating or braking hard on the white stripes and exits, and everything goes very well. I really had to push hard to get them to fault, which in my opinion makes them perfectly usable as everyday tires.

Regarding the issues of vibration and noise generated by these tires, when we go to the pressures recommended by the motorcycle manufacturers (I stuck to this setting for my road test because that's what Dunlop recommends) , well I did not notice any vibrations or noise generated by these tires. Here too it is a great feat and it shows that this very particular design on the studs helps prevent this noise defect that is often found on tires 50% offroad or more. Even on the highway or at any legal speed, I have nothing to report on these 2 sides which makes them all the more possible as everyday tires if you are charmed by their look.
If, on the other hand, you lower the pressure because you are off-road and you have some asphalt roads, in this case it starts to make noise from 70 km/h but it is not shocking since the pressure is deliberately lowered to better adhere to the paths.

This gives me a ready transition to talk to you about the use of these Trailmax Raids off-road, and on this part I will be less enthusiastic than on the road part.
First of all on the tire pressure part, Dunlop indicates that the tire is effective at the original manufacturer pressure but for my part, I found them much more grippy and efficient by dropping the pressure to 1.8 bars, as I can already do this with many other tires.
At road pressure on dry or rocky roads, we feel that the tires tend to bounce and do not grip well between the studs, which does not allow the torque of the engine to be transformed into traction on the ground. At 1.8 bar on the other hand, it was good and I felt they were really effective.
The only thing I missed on these Trailmaxes is better grip on the sidewalls of the tires in order to be able to drive harder in turns and limit sliding when exiting the corner when going around to drift more precisely. It's not a rally tire you'll tell me and you're right, but I prefer to point it out.
The traction is, however, very good on the central strip, both in the slightly dusty earth and in the gravel (even if on this stony part, my northern paths are not the richest so I was not able to investigate as much as I would have liked).
Where I found it starts to go wrong is when the ground becomes soft, muddy and slippery because that's where these rubbers will be least comfortable in my humble opinion.
I suspected it a little given the design of the rather massive studs compared to its competitors (which was an advantage on the road part but it becomes a disadvantage here for this situation), and I must admit that this was not always the case. easy to ride in the very muddy areas near my house due to the heavy and regular rains this past week. I had a little difficulty holding on at the front, it slipped quite quickly from the rear if I put too much gas, even at 1.8 bar, so it was difficult to have a significant rhythm in this layer of mud. For example, I had the right to a very sticky passage, with roots and holes, and I had a little difficulty finding grip to get out of a hole at one point. I felt the rear tire slipping in place and not towing effectively.
For me their biggest limitation will therefore be the mud because for the rest it went well, even in muddy puddles or flooded path areas with a hard bottom. I was able to make some nice splashes without having to lock up or get stuck in these passages.

So clearly, they may have the style of a D908, but it won't be worth a D908 or a D906 off-road if you stay with Dunlop (which are 90% off-road), and it won't be worth a Mitas E09 or a Metzeler Karoo Extreme that I recently tested on the channel. The latter are much more efficient in precarious offroad conditions but will also be much worse on the road than these Trailmax Raids.
As always, what you gain in off-road performance, you lose on the road and the goal is to find the tire that will have the slider ideally adjusted for your use.

For the lifespan of this tire, Dunlop, like all other manufacturers, announces a good longevity which it would have been difficult for me to verify in 1 month and 2000 km. It is therefore complicated for me to give you an answer on the real lifespan of these tires but according to the test by Benoit Lafontaine which is published on the site le repaire des motards (it is a very good test of the Raid which I invites you to read, the link is in the description), several sources would have given it a lifespan range of between 5,000 and 8,000 km depending on the motorcycle and use, and that we would consume 2 rear tires for 1 front tire.

For my part, I measured 10 mm of studs at the front and rear when they were new, and here I am at around 7 mm of thickness remaining after 2000 km so it seems consistent.

Afterwards, as usual, the lifespan may be very different for you depending on your environment, your motorcycle, and your driving style. It can really change everything from one biker to another.
So don't hesitate to share your feedback with us in the comments by detailing your profile if you equip your motorcycle with these Trailmax Raids. This will be useful to everyone!

Finally, in terms of available dimensions and price, you should know that they are offered in 9 different sizes ranging from 17 inches to 21 inches, which allows you to generally cover all the trails on the market requiring rolling along the way. To cite a few examples, we will have the BMW R1250GS, the KTM 890 Adventure, the Honda Transalp, the Triumph Tiger 900 Rally (not the GT), the Honda Africa Twin, the Aprilia Tuareg, the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE and many more. still others.
Regarding prices, we are generally around €250 / €280 per set of tires depending on the dimensions, a price quite similar to the Anakee Wild but a little more expensive than the AX41, Enduro Trail + or TKC80.

In conclusion, these new Trailmax Raids offer an interesting new offering in terms of 50/50 all-terrain tires with a clearly more pronounced appetite for dry and wet road performance, as well as dry all-terrain.
If I had to compare them to its competitors that I have tested in the past, I would say that in my opinion (so this is a purely personal opinion) they are the best 50/50 tires for the road section that I was able to try, especially on wet ground where I found them better than an Anakee Wild which was already not bad at all, that they are on par with its competitors in dry off-road, and that they are behind the AX41 and Anakee Wild in any loose or muddy terrain.
The wear chapter also seems promising and they seem to be able to last longer than a Wild, a TKC80 or an AX41 but only the feedback from various users will be able to confirm this over time!
So I think they will be very popular with those who want studded tires that are both efficient on the roads and allow you to have fun on the paths in good weather. However, they will not be ideal if you want to do off-roading in technical environments, or if you live in regions where paths very often rhyme with mud due to the local weather.

So ! That's all I wanted to share with you about this Dunlop Trailmax Raid test! I hope I have managed to answer as many of your questions as possible about this new feature.