Bontrager 29-3 29er Tire

4.08/5

(12 Reviews)

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MSRP : $35.00

Product Description

Team Issue versions are lighter non-TLR versions of our race proven 29-3 TLR. First tires specifically designed and engineered for 29ers. Versatile tread design allows the 29-3 to be effective in a variety of conditions. 2.25 size is large volume for maximum control while the 2.00 size emphasizes traction and speed.

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Reviews 1 - 12 (12 Reviews Total)

User Reviews

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Submitted by robpad a Weekend Warrior

Date Reviewed: May 10, 2012

Strengths:    light weight, rolls fast.

Weaknesses:    none so far

Bottom Line:

for the TLR 2.00 version, running it on the rear. surprisingly good traction for a narrow rear tire. works well in moist and dry soil. haven't had the chance to try it in the mud yet. great value for the price. will probably get another one. when this one wears out.

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Bike Setup: 2011 Giant Anthem X3 29er

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Submitted by dcarterdman a All Mountain Rider

Date Reviewed: May 9, 2012

Strengths:    puncture resistance, holds air, and death grip traction,

Weaknesses:    there is no specific review for the 29-3 front tire.

Bottom Line:

This is review is for the Front 29-3. Hands down the best front tire I have every used, I live in Arizona and the trail here are very unforgiving. these tires take a licking and keep on ticking. I recently counted the number of punctures in the tire by counting the wet spots from the sealant the day after a ride and there were 55 holes in the tire. Despite having 55 holes in the tire it will still hold air for over two weeks in a tubless setup. Our terrain here is like riding on kitty liter and beneath it are sharp rocks and countless thorns of all types. In the year I have owned this tire it has never gone flat except when stans dried up. put in more stans and keep it moving. The traction is incredible along with the braking. I love this tire. I had to retire the tire because there literally no tread left. I felt bad removing it because it still grips but with no tread and 55 holes. It is time to replace the tire with yet another one. Do not ever stop making this tire.

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Favorite Trail:   Hawes

Price Paid:    $55.00

Purchased At:   Adventure Bicycle

Similar Products Used:   Contenental, Geax, Specialized, maxxis

Bike Setup:   Rocky Mountain Hammer 29, CK hubs, BB, and headset, Velocity blunt rims, shimano xt shifters and xtr rear derailluer. White Brothers Fluid 29, Bontrager RXL seat

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Submitted by mudpuppy a Cross Country Rider from Palatine, IL, USA

Date Reviewed: March 18, 2012

Strengths:    Great all around use, this tire works well on hard packed soil, XC type trail surfaces, lightly wet conditions, pavement, and even gravel paths.

Weaknesses:    The one situation you will be wishing you had a different tire with a more knobby tread is in more heavily wet and muddy condition. This tire does not shed mud well (but its not the intended conditions for this tire type anyways, so that's given).

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for an all around great 29er tire for general purpose use and decent price range this is a no-brainer.

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Duration Product Used: 1 Year

Bike Setup: 2011 Trek X-caliber 29er

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Submitted by rob1035 a Cross Country Rider from Charlotte, NC, USA

Date Reviewed: February 14, 2012

Strengths:    Good weight, good volume (2.25" is accurate), SUPER easy to hook up tubeless, seemingly durable sidewalls; rolls fast

Weaknesses:    Less volume and grip than I'm used to on the front, not enough of either for me when running rigid; not terrific on the rear (not surprising as its Front Specific)

Bottom Line:

This review is for the 29-3 Team Issue *Front* tire. I bought it on impulse hoping it might be a slightly more aggressive rear tire to replace my race king out back for less than dry conditions this winter. Not a good rear tire at all for me, but I can't say that's a negative, as it isn't for the rear. Swapped it to the front: much lighter and faster than the Ardent 2.4, which is great. The volume is good, but not big enough to ride rigid for my tastes. Ultimately, I missed the volume and grip of the ardent and switched back. The 29-3 would be great on a bike with full time front suspension, or someone looking for a faster front. This was the easiest tire I've ever hooked up tubeless, used a worn out floor pump. Overall a good quality tire, it simply doesn't jive with my preferences and uses.

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Favorite Trail:   BYT

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $65.00

Purchased At:   www.firstflightbikes

Similar Products Used:   Conti Race King 2.2 (rear), Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 (rear), Maxxis Ardent 2.4 (front)

Bike Setup:   Misfit Dissent, singlespeed, Reba sometimes rigid sometimes.

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Submitted by yeahdog31 a Cross Country Rider from Ohio

Date Reviewed: January 31, 2012

Strengths:    Nice volume, reasonable weight, great traction.

Weaknesses:    Packs with mud

Bottom Line:

Let me clarify that this review pertains to the 29-3 2.25 version, NOT the 2.0 version. The tread pattern for each is vastly different.

At first I just ran this tire in the front and I was pleased with the extra cushion the larger volume provides. It is a slightly unusual tread pattern and it looks like it would not be very grippy, but looks can be deceiving with 29er tires.
I switched my rear tire to the same, and I am quite happy with them. In dry or only moist trail conditions, they are pretty great. They aren't overly heavy, roll fast, have predictable cornering, and have pretty great traction for climbing and braking. When riding on wetter trails, they packed up with thick, clay-filled mud, but surprisingly this did not seem to affect the traction. The real downside is when all that mud cakes in there, you add a ton of rotational weight. The tread pattern does not seem to shed this mud as easily as some other tires I've used.
Great tire for dry - decent tire for wet.

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Favorite Trail:   Shhhh it's a secret!

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $30.00

Purchased At:   eBay

Similar Products Used:   Bontrager 29-3 2.0, Schwalbe Nobby Nic, various Kenda.

Bike Setup:   2010 Chumba HX2 29er

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Submitted by hags707 a Weekend Warrior from Red Deer

Date Reviewed: June 1, 2011

Strengths:    Fast rolling, lightish, good dry traction

Weaknesses:    Weak sidewalls ( rode one trip in the North Shore, BC and side walls have rubber mising ), Very slippery on wet roots and rocks,

Bottom Line:

Good for dry condintions, I won't buy these tire's,will ride if there on the bike.

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Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Similar Products Used:   Schwable Racing Ralphs

Bike Setup:   2011 Trek X-Caliber

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Submitted by joebreez a Weekend Warrior from CT, USA

Date Reviewed: October 18, 2010

Strengths:    Good rolling resistance, decent traction

Weaknesses:    Slight scuff in sidewall

Bottom Line:

When I picked up the bike from lbs I looked at the tires and was sure within a week or so I'd be replacing them. I'm used to a 26 inch bike with some meaty treads. Nevegals and small block 8's are what my old bike had so I thought for sure these weird looking tires would be coming off quickly.
I have to say that after over a month of thrashing the bike I'm actually surprised at the traction these tires have.Good cornering and climbing traction, even on smooth rocks.
They are larger volume at 2.2" and have a pretty smooth ride. I'm about 210lbs and run about 32psi in both tires. No problems so far on wet roots and rocks and the tires seem to hang in there as long as you're not riding above about 9/10ths. Even then I only get some controlled drifting, but very predictable.I'm fairly quick but not a thrasher of a rider. I can and do use a fair amount of finesse while bombing down trails.So far I haven't had any one area where they are lacking, overall a very good do everything tire.
When these wear out I may just replace them with the same tires. I'm only giving 4 overall chili's because I haven't ridden many other 29er tires.

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Favorite Trail:   Monster at Blue Mt NY

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Purchased At:   Came on bike

Bike Setup:   Rumblefish 1, stock, 29-3 TLR tires,same pattern F/R

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Submitted by TrekSErider a Racer from florida

Date Reviewed: August 31, 2010

Strengths:    strong sidewalls, light, easy to mount, rolls fast

Weaknesses:    braking traction at high speed (specifically on hardpack decents)

Bottom Line:

I have been on these for a few months now and put a few hundred miles on them, mostly in the rock quarry riding we have in Florida. The tire has always been good- not as supple as the Maxxis Ignitor (my go-to tire), but this is in a different category also. The narrow, low profile traction rolls fast and the sidewalls have held up well. I run them around 25psi (175lbs). The big downside for me is when I go north for races- I can bomb down some hardpacked stuff in Ga and NC and the braking traction is down right scary (or lack of traction I should say). Great flat- mid-land course tire, not so much for the mountains, based on descending

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Favorite Trail:   bent creek, nc

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $40.00

Purchased At:   the cycling hub

Similar Products Used:   laundry list of tires

Bike Setup:   niner air9- xtr, notubes wheels

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Submitted by Rider a Cross Country Rider from Ontario County, NY

Date Reviewed: July 26, 2010

Strengths:    Easy tubeless setup, tough sidewalls, excellent performance in mud, roll well on dry trails. Great all-day tire.

Weaknesses:    A bit heavy for XC racing.

Bottom Line:

Purchased a few weeks ago. Tubeless setup was simple, completed with a floor pump. Easiest tubeless installation ever, in fact. Raced these at The Hardcore 24 last weekend, a fairly technical loop that got hammered by a monsoon about six hours in. Front set at 17 psi, rear was 18 (I'm 160 lbs), could have gone even lower as I never felt the rim on the rocks once. These tires were great on the rocky trails, but after the rain hit was where they really shined. There were varying types of mud throughout the course, but the tires never held any of it. I can't remember one instance of the front tire ever pushing on me, it just tracked. The rear hooked up really well too. I'm usually a fan of lighter tires, but the Bonty 29-3 has me rethinking my position on that!

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Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $50.00

Purchased At:   Towpath Bike

Similar Products Used:   Lots and lots of tires. Mostly in the 1.8" to 2.1" range, though.

Bike Setup:   Titus Racer-X.

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Submitted by tattommy a Cross Country Rider from san francisco

Date Reviewed: May 5, 2010

Strengths:    great traction
i put the 2.25 on front and the 2.0 on rear

Weaknesses:    none so far

Bottom Line:

i have tubeless ready rims so i purchased the tlr tires
they were super easy to mount
i thought the 2.0 on the rear might slip on me but no issues so far
great set up and running tubeless is such a plus with lower pressure

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Favorite Trail:   many

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $50.00

Purchased At:   roaring mouse

Similar Products Used:   wtb tires exi, weirwolf and wolverine

Bike Setup:   gary fisher superfly

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Submitted by Pynis McDermott a Cross Country Rider from Phoenix, AZ, USeh

Date Reviewed: March 17, 2010

Strengths:    Sidewalls are very tough, Low Rolling Resistance, Fast, Good on dry-loose terrain

Weaknesses:    Lack of lateral knobs, tough to be confident in hard turns, not a great tire on hard granite, knobs wear very quickly, relatively expensive

Bottom Line:

This is for the 2.3 width tire, and it was run as a rear.

I purchased this tire because I was sick of tearing sidewalls in single ply non tubeless tires, like the Maxxis Ardent. Where I mostly ride, sidewall tears are a common issue. I was looking for a good 29er rear tire, at least 2.2 width, with stout sidewalls. The 29-3 fit the profile of the sidewall specifications, so I gave it a try.

The low profile knobs are quick, but they do take getting used to on hard turns. In dry loose-pack conditions, this tire worked great. I never had a sidewall issue. This tire is definately resiliant to sharp punctures.

I didn't experience any significant weaknesses until I rode National. The 29-3 did not hook up well in technical climbing situations. The lack of knob profiles led to consistent spinning out on the granite rocks. Clearly not a good technical/aggressive tire.

Like I stated, I purchased these tires to solve annoying sidewall tears that I was experiencing before. I understand that I did push the limits of what this tire is designed for, and it has held up as far as sidewalls are concerned. The knobs wear out very quickly, especially for a tire in the $50 range. I will give 3 chillis for value due to price, and 4 chillis for overall. I am still looking for an aggressive tubeless ready tire for a 29er that is wider than a 2.2. I will likely try out the FR-3 or the 29-4 next as I believe these fit my intended uses better.

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Favorite Trail:   Black Canyon Trail

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $49.00

Purchased At:   Slippery Pig Bike Sh

Similar Products Used:   Almost every Maxxis 29er Tire, Panaracer Rampage, Bonty XDX, and Jones ACX (all tubeless, all 29er)

Bike Setup:   2008 Niner RIP 9, 4.5" of Travel, Stan's Flow Wheels w/ WTB Laserlite Hubs

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Submitted by mark60amp a Racer from Menomonee Falls, Wi, USA

Date Reviewed: November 12, 2009

Strengths:    FAST, Rolls into corners nice. Really tough for a 2.0

Weaknesses:    Bad on wet leaves and thats about it.

Bottom Line:

Almost as fast as XR1 in a tubeless ready casing. I wanted XR1's to work but numerous punctures, leaky beads and burps led me to give up. This will be my dry race tire for '10
I used the 2.0 Team Issue model.

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Favorite Trail:   Muir/Emma

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Similar Products Used:   Bonty XR1

Bike Setup:   Superfly S.S. Rigid

Reviews 1 - 12 (12 Reviews Total)

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Bontrager 29-3 29er Tire

Product Description

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