MX Midwest ATV Wheel Buying Guide:

Before purchasing new wheels for your ATV you need to decide which of the following categories your riding falls in to. There are several types of wheels for each of these types of riding; we will do our best to point you in the right direction.

Trail Rider
Racing, Motocross
Racing, Cross Country
Racing, Tourist Trophy

Trail Rider:
Although trail riders can very greatly in skill level and terrain their wheels are pretty much universal. A low priced but durable wheel such as ITP’s T9 Pro Series will get the job done for most riders. If you’re going for a bolder look you might like ITP’s C-Series Sport wheels of Hiper’s new line of consumer rated carbon fiber (CF1) wheels. However, more experienced trail riders who will also be doing lots of jumping and crashing through rocks may want to check out ITP’s GP rolled edge wheel or their famous Baja line of reinforced wheels, both available in polished or black.

Most Common Sizes:
10x5 Front Non-Beadlock
9x8 Rear Non-Beadlock

Motocross (MX):
Here’s where it all comes down to the best wheels made. You don’t want to skimp here. You want to buy the finest wheels money can buy or you’re going to be replacing them so often you will actually spend more on replacements than top of the line wheels cost in only one season.

From ITP we recommend the GP front paired with the Trac-Lock rear. ITP also now makes a Trac-Lock front if you prefer beadlocks on the front but we don’t consider that necessary for motocross unless you are just going for the look. ITP also makes a more expensive Pro-Lock wheel that has a more advanced beadlock but considering that the Trac-Lock quality is probably 95% as good or more, we recommend the Trac-Lock unless money is not a concern. Both Trac-Lock and Pro-Lock are available in polished aluminum or black.

From Hiper we recommend the non-beadlock front with a single beadlock rear. Hiper also makes a beadlock front if you prefer and a dual beadlock rear. We normally stick with the single beadlock rear because it is strong enough for motocross, weighs significantly less and costs significantly less. The benefit to having a dual beadlock is that it is easier to change tires trackside than a single beadlock. Hiper wheels come with black rings standard but have colored rings available in any size, as well as lexan wheel plugs to keep the dirt on the track, not in you wheels.

Most Common Sizes:
10x5 Front Non-Beadlock
8x8, 9x8 Rear Beadlock

Cross Country (XC):
For Cross Country we run the same quality of wheels as Motocross but ad a beadlock to the front. The reason being that if one of your front tires gets punctured and goes flat the beadlock will hold the tire on the rim until you make it back to the pits. Cross Country wheels also take a tremendous amount of abuse. Not from huge jumps, but from the constant pounding against logs, rocks and other obstacles. Don’t skimp here. Like MX, you’ll just spend more in the very near future.

Most Common Sizes:
10x5 Front Beadlock
9x8, 9x9 Rear Beadlock

Tourist Trophy (TT):
For TT you don’t need an expensive wheel because you are far less likely to bend them. Although there may be some jumps and wheel to wheel banging, the jumps aren’t large enough to do wheel damage and most bent wheels usually only come from a wreck where the ATV rolls sideways.

From ITP we recommend the T9 Pro Series although you may substitute for GP’s on front or all the way around. From Hiper we recommend the Non-Beadlock series. Although these wheels are the most commonly used, other riders certainly do use beadlocks all the way around or reinforced wheels although we really feel this is overkill. ITP’s T9 Pro Series and GP wheels are available in polished aluminum or black. Hiper Non-Beadlocks are only offered in black.

Common Sizes:
10x5 Front Non-Beadlock
10x8, 10x9, 10x10 Rear Non-Beadlock