Based near the village of Ovens, just west of Cork city, Hugh Hegarty runs a contracting business, specialising in hedge cutting and verge mowing.

Established over 35 years, Hugh and his team run six hedge cutters and a fleet of Massey Ferguson tractors.

Other equipment within the arsenal include verge mowers, a wheeled excavator and tree shears.

Alongside private work, Hugh and his team undertake an increasing amount of hedge and verge cutting for Cork County Council as well as local football clubs, golf courses and other attractions such as Fota Island and Blarney Castle.

To provide a better service by treading lighter on these sensitive sites, he invested in a pair of Nokian TRI 2 block pattern rear tyres in 2024.

In search of a solution

With this type of workload expanding, Hugh felt it was time to change tack and fit more suitable rear tyres.

“After the wet summer of 2023, ground was quite tender, resulting in us leaving some lug marks on gardens, pitches and golf courses. I knew I needed a tyre tread pattern that offered a larger contact patch, but yet something sturdy to handle the weight. A simple turf tyre wasn’t the solution,” Hugh said.

Hugh had heard good reports from a few local contractors running Nokian crossover tyres, with a hybrid lug and block pattern and was aware it offered full block pattern tyres too, which he felt may suit.

At the FTMTA show in November 2024, Hugh spoke directly with the Nokian reps who recommended the TRI 2 tyres.

With the intentions of swapping them out during the winter for the originals, he priced up two rims also. Nokian also build its own rims in-house in Finland. “They seemed competitively priced so we went ahead with them,” Hugh said.

Trying to keep the overall width to a minimum for access purposes, Hugh tends to fit either 520mm or 580mm rear tyres.

Unfortunately, Nokian doesn’t offer the TRI 2 range as a 580/70/R38, identical to what was already fitted to his Massey Ferguson 6S.155.

Instead, he fitted a pair of 650/65 R38s which do offer the benefit of a wider footprint. However, clearance was an issue for the hedge-cutter brackets, so spacers were required, adding to the overall width.

“Although stability has improved noticeably, the extra width brought about challenges in certain entrances, so we’ll have to fit narrower spacers for the coming season,” Hugh said.

Performance

Nokian offers the TRI 2 range alongside its Soil King VF, Ground King and MultiPlus ranges. Designed for work on hard surfaces in all seasons, Hugh liked the TRI 2 mainly for its square carcase and large contact patch, unlike the typical ‘Agri’ lug pattern whereby weight is focused on the lugs in drier conditions. Hugh was keen to avoid leaving lug marks on lawns and on more delicate grounds.

Having clocked up over 800 hours since having them fitted, Hugh is more than happy with how they have performed so far. “On the road, they’re far superior in terms of comfort and stability over the standard lug pattern,” he said.

“We fit tyres with stronger side walls as the unbalanced weight of the hedge cutters have caused tyres in the past to deform, leaving tractors unsteady and uncomfortable on the road at certain speeds. I’ve seen this happen to tyres that weren’t even one third worn.”

“The Nokians have great strong side walls but yet offer good comfort. I’m happy with how they’ve worn so far. The difference in how we can travel at those more delicate jobs like on lawns and pitches, is day and night. I would go as far as saying, we’ve actually had some additional work come our way on the back of fitting them,” Hugh said.

However, Hugh runs part-worn Agri tyres on the front of the same tractor mainly for additional grip in certain situations. “Running the standard agri tyres on the front works well with the rear block type pattern, providing that bit extra grip, useful especially before we remove the Nokians towards the back end of the year.”

“The rims too are exceptionally well made and cannot be faulted. Going forward, we will always run one tractor with the TRI 2s on the rear for those particular jobs. But, at the rate they’re wearing, I can see them lasting a very long time.”

Nokian Tyres

Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd is part of the Nokian Tyre Group and is one of the few European manufacturers of agricultural and forestry tyres.

Based in Nokia, Finland, the brand focuses on the niche market segments, forestry being the main one given the large forestry sector on its back door and in Scandinavia.

Other core ranges catered for include mining, trucks and buses as well as agriculture and other heavy uses. In recent years, the brand has placed a renewed focus on its agricultural portfolio, now offering a complete range, incorporating the latest VF technology in addition to block type pattern and crossover tyres.