I have a pair of unused Pirelli MT73 tyres that were on a bike I bought a couple of years ago - are they any good or should I bin them? The front is tubeless but has a tube in it (rim is tubeless) is this likely to work OK; I have read that tubeless fronts don't stay on the rim very well?

You do not say what bike they are fitted to. I use Pirrelli's on my Bulto with tubes front and rear on tubed rims This is fine as it is only used on the road and the odd off road trail ride as they are harder wearing tyres. If competeing I use Mitchilin on the Beta tubed front tubeless rear .

Its a Fantic 245, initially I bought it to use the engine and forks on my Fantic 240 but have decided to ride it instead. The MT73s were on it when I bought it, I was just wondering whether they would be any good for competition or not.

No they are to hard for serious comp use.

Edited October 21, 201213 yr by naichuff

short answer - no (for serious competitive use)

long answer - don't throw them away, they've not been made for years (decades?) but if they've been kept out of direct sunlight (UV) they won't have cracks, etc and would still be good for trail riding, roadwork, a bit of fun, etc.

BTW I think every new tyre is now tubed for the front

Yes, I realise tubeless fronts are a thing of the past; can anyone tell me if a tubed front will stay on the tubeless rim OK? I have got a tube type rim I can lace up if needs be but it would be easier to use the one fitted if it will work.

i've in years past (before i had family in the tyre game) i ran my beta with a tubed tyre on a tubeless rim

The current Pirelli Trials tyres,front and rear are tubeless (MT 43 PRO).