Dunlop Geomax AT81F and AT81 RC

What it is

• Dunlop's long wearing, high performance off-road tire

Dunlop has developed what the company calls the next generation of off-road tires. The Geomax AT81 is said to offer more all-around performance plus higher levels of ruggedness for off-road racing and riding. The rear’s rubber compound is a newly formulated high-wear-resistant compound offering enhanced resistance chipping and tearing. The Geomax AT81 RC (Reinforced Construction) rear tire carcass features four nylon plies where the front tire construction includes two plies of nylon wrapped with a third ply of polyester for a strong base. The front’s pattern is very familiar to those who ran the 739 while the rear is an all-new design.

How it works

• Very consistent performance no matter the surface.
• Wears quick in the beginning but then lasts for what seems like forever.

We tested the AT81 RC (Reinforced Construction) rear and AT81F front looking for a long-wearing tire that also gives high performance traction, a tough call for sure. Long time favorites for many riders from Dunlop were the D739 AT  and the newer D952 which are being phased out by the new AT81. The tread pattern on the front should be very familiar but the rear is an all-new design. Dunlop has a lot of fancy terms and technology to describe the features of the tire but they make sure to reinforce that the AT 81 and specifically the RC tire is built to be tough and long lasting especially in harder terrain. You can feel the added carcass stiffness when mounting the rear tire. The front is about average stiffness and both install with a solid seating bead lip that lets you know the tire is set on the rim.

In the beginning we ran the tires at 12 psi and found the traction to as good as could be expected on harder to medium dirt surfaces. Nothing stood out good or bad. The front is very similar to the feel of the 739 in a straight line but had just a little more bite when turning on any surface from what we remember. It tracks straight and does not grab at ruts like the MX51F can. Under braking the front is average and does not do anything funny. It isn't particular about pressure, like some tires, but once below 10 psi the front tire does not turn in like it did with higher pressure, it gets vague. At higher pressures, like you might run for flat protection the performance does not decline that much. If you really push the limit of traction the tire lets you know it is sliding in a very consistent way and does not just give out suddenly.

The rear is an all-new pattern and an all-new feel. It works very consistently in all dirt conditions where it is never the best tire we’ve ridden but always above average. The best way to describe the feel of the AT81 is that it will spin up a little easier than most tires with a boost of power. Yet the way it holds or grips the ground once locked in or just spinning a little is great. And again, very consistent feeling with no surprising feedback. Additionally the tire can be run at low pressures or with a soft mousse to grab more traction without the sidewall giving up and ruining the handling of a bike. The open block pattern has the look of a very widely spaced trials tire and in rocks it pokes for traction rather than using a soft compound to stick.

The wear of the tires, especially the rear, was a little quicker in the beginning than we expected, to the point at which one might take it off if you are looking to keep a square edge if racing. But from there on the tire wore like iron, lasting much longer than we expected. The amazing thing is that the traction did not fall off nearly as much as you would think looking at the tire. We ran both tires for well over 1,300 miles till the center knobs were ¼ the original size. Even after running in very rocky areas (see King Of The Motos) for much of the tire's life there were very few chips or chunked knobbs so the construction definitly proved tough. On the front tire the sidewall knobbies started to tear but with that much time it is to be expected. Additionally the stiffness of the rear tire definitely aided it in flat protection. Of note is that the rear is one of the best tires we've used with the Tubliss system running very low (>3 psi) pressures.

The suggested retail for the tires is roughly $120 for the front and $140 for the rears. We see them in the $80-$100 range which is just a little bit more expensive than other tires in this category.

Our conclusion is that Dunlop has hit their target with this tire. It never offers the best grip when compared to tires that wear much quicker but grips way better for way longer. And compared to some of the other long-wearing tires (most notably the Maxxis Desert IT) it does offer superior traction.  Tires are a very personal choice therefore trying them is often the only real way to know. But we’d easily say the Dunlop AT81 and AT81 RC are worth a try.

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