ITP 589 Review

[Ken]

During our ride a couple weeks ago, I was taking keen interest into the performance of the ITP 589.

I initially purchased the 589 in the winter time, so my previous experience was in the snow and mud. Obviously, given the 2" lugs, the tire thrives in those conditions.

However, Rock Crawling is our true passion, so how the tire would perform on rock, was unknown. As the owner of a 1947 Willys Jeep, I've had 3 different sets of tires on it, as well as friends (Jack) who have had various brands on their Jeep. So, over the past 20 years I've had a lot of experience in tire performance on the rocks.

The good: On the trail, the tire was fantastic. Totally surpassed my expectations. The one area that is critical for rock crawling, is the tire's ability to transition from water to rock, sometimes steep rock. One of the main features of the Rubicon Trail, particularly in the late spring/early Summer is water from snow run off. There are many occassions where you will be near submerged in water, and need to climb out onto granite rock. Some of these transitions, appear to be very smooth granite, with a steep incline. The 589 was KILLER. I hardly spin a tire. The tire would consistently grip the surface, and pull the ATV right out and onwards...until the tire dried out.

The Bad: The one thing that seems to be true of the 589, and most likely the key of it's success, is a soft compound. In 6 months, I seem to be having wear on the tire. While this is a problem, it was not entirely unexpected, which is why I kept all my Goodyear Rawhide Grips for trail riding. Why waste those lugs on flat dirt.

The Ugly?: I sustained a fatal slash in the sidewall on Day 1. We were able to plug the hole...somewhat, but it required replacing the tire. I suspect the tire was pinched on a rock, in order to cause the slice. I was running 3lbs, as were 2 other 589 riders. I was the only one to sustain a slash to the 6ply sidewall. I will continue to monitor this on future rides, and I may increase my tire pressure to 4lbs, to add a tick more firmness.

Summary: The ITP 589 is a tire that so far, I would buy over and over again. It's beefy, has excellent traction and seems to protect the rim a better.

[wibornz]

I have had the 589s for about 4 years. I love the tires. They work well just about everywhere. My only complain would be that they do not have alot of side traction. Meaning that they are very easy to power slide with. All the traction is geared twards forward movement. So it is overly easy to slide it sideways or if you are trasversing a hill side, it is easy for the quad to slide sideways down the hill.

[Ken]

Yup..agreed.


They're also not very graceful on smooth trail riding....but I like have the bite, when I find something nasty.