Kenda Excavator-DH Wire Bead Tire: Cornering bite, straightline speed and predictability are the hallmarks of the EC design. DH model has 2-ply casing with wire bead and either 42 durometer RSR slow-rebound compound or
Submitted by
ajknows
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, Tx
Date Reviewed: February 2, 2012
Strengths: Gription and Traction
Weaknesses: Wears a bit fast on the rears.
Bottom Line:
I thought the Cinders were the tires - wrong. These tires are secure. I can go places and do things that I could not before. Great in the loose, on the hard, on roots and the mildly wet. Best tires so far.
Similar Products Used: Hutchison Pythons, Panaracer Fire XCs, Panaracer Cinders
Bike Setup: Full Suspension
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Submitted by
DANSTARBH
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne, VIC, AUSTRALIA
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2011
Strengths: Looks Good.
Weaknesses: Caused 2 Flats in 3HRs.
Bottom Line:
Caused a flat first 10 mins of riding went flat again 3HRS later. Told LBS what happened they told me to change tyre due to poor qaulity. surprising considering the reviews here, oh well maybe it was a dud.
Submitted by
BluesHarpBiker
a Cross Country Rider
from Lafayette, CO
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2011
Strengths: Traction, traction, oh, and more traction.
Weaknesses: Noisy on pavement, rear has worn down quite a bit from riding roads to get to trails, higher rolling resistance than the XR's that came stock on my bike
Bottom Line:
I always had to slow way down on even slightly loose turns with the XR's that came stock on my bike. After switching to Excavators, my top speeds on all my favorite trails went up by about 10 mph because I hardly need to brake on turns anymore. Although they definitely have more rolling resistance than the XR's, I can still scream along on hardpack.
On roads, the rear tire was very loud starting out, although I think it just happened to hit a resonant frequency of my wheel. In any case, the rear has worn a lot faster than the front from riding to trails, which has actually seemed to work out well. At first, I could never get the rear tire to break loose, even when I wanted it to. Now that it's worn down some of the center tread, I can choose to break it loose on a turn in a controlled fashion, which is good for some of the tight switchbacks you can find in CO. The front tire has yet to slip under any conditions.
If you have problems with your tires slipping out from under you on turns, and you don't mind hearing some noise riding on pavement, buy Excavators. They'll make your dreams come true.
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Marlin Disc, Excavator 2.35 in front, Excavator 2.1 on rear, BB5's with 190mm rotor up front.
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Submitted by
Helmetless
a Weekend Warrior
from Santiago, Chile
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2011
Strengths: Reliable, great volume, it brakes pretty well, very light for what it is.
Weaknesses: Doesn't help too much on corners, thin sidewalls but who cares! its light.
Bottom Line:
I've always been using the Excavator as a rear tire and in the 1.95 DTC version. Go buy it, it has the perfect compromise between rolling resistance and traction. This tire is damn good for everything you put over it.
Used it at 40psi for climbing, and 30psi for downhill.
Submitted by
AlexPt
a Weekend Warrior
from Vic, BC
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2010
Strengths: Grip, looks (does that matter? um well no), cornering when leant right over (a la Brian). Mine are Stick-e 2.3's
OK on the front, stupidly grippy on the rear
These are seriously in the top 3 of all time rear grippy fricking awesome tires. Stick-E kids!
Agree with guy below, I'd probably go with a 2.5 Stick-E Nev up front with the El Moco Stick-e in the rear (at least in winter in B.C, Canada).
If you hate wet rocks and roots you'll love the El moco on the rear chaps n chapesses
Similar Products Used: Nev's, Minions, Excavator, Panaracer, waiting for Rubber Q's
Bike Setup: Blur LT2
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Submitted by
raygun
a Cross Country Rider
from nyc
Date Reviewed: December 8, 2010
Strengths: grip, cornering, dry to loose conditions
Weaknesses: rolling resistance, hard to set up tubeless
Bottom Line:
one of the best tires i've used on rocks and loose conditions for the REAR. nevegals on the front are still the best, but the center knob on these baby's just grab in the rear climbing over rocks, roots, etc. corning is excellent with those chunky 'H' knobs. rolling resistance isn't the best, but better than the nevegals. 2.1 DTC is recommended for AM riding and even XC racing in rough conditions. tubeless is a pain, but worth it once you can run lowers pressures. you will NOT slip climbing on these.
Submitted by
hookooekoorider
a Cross Country Rider
from East Bay, CA
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2010
Strengths: Super grippy on rock and dirt, good tread life, decent weight and rolling resistance for the amount of traction you get.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
Best tires I've owned. Grippier than the Nevegal 2.1 DTC for the rear. I can climb uphill on loose sand and rock easier with these tires. Grip well on loose dirt and on corners. I agree with the reviewer below who says the tread life is good...it's a beefier tread than the Nevegal so lasts longer. I also run the Nevegal 2.1 Stick-E up front with the Excavator 2.1 in the back. To be fair, the Excavator 2.1s are really closer to 2.2 or 2.25 when you measure them, and the extra width helps, so it's hard to compare to real 2.1s like the Fire XC Pros. Found them online for $33, but bought them at Performance b/c they price match. My value rating is based on $33 price tag.
Similar Products Used: Nevegal DTC 2.1, Nevegal Stick-E 2.1, Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1, Specialized Enduro Pro 2.2
Bike Setup: Giant NRS, RS Recon, Fox Float, Mavic 317 Disc, XT drivetrain
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Submitted by
deejaydee303
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Fe NM USA
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2010
Strengths: Great tire, handles very well. very good on turns, digs in and you can turn on a dime even in wet conditions. This tire tore up Sandia ski area. Tire is up front only and rolls well.
Weaknesses: none yet
Bottom Line:
great tire. I would highly recommended for anyone who feels like their bike is sliding out from underneath them on sharp fast turns. This tire digs in on turns and rolls fast. I still had the maxxis ignitor on the rear and the back was sliding in the wet weather the excavator up front still gripped even in a little mud.
Similar Products Used: Kenda Nevegal, Maxxis ignitor
Bike Setup: Kona Dawg sram xo, fsa wheels race face
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Submitted by
FirsTracks
a Cross Country Rider
from Anchorage, AK
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2010
Strengths: Great traction, good handling, rolls well
Weaknesses: None noted
Bottom Line:
These are the best tires I've found for the rear. The Motoraptors were very sketchy on wet roots; the Weirwolves were better in the wet and gave good rear traction when run reversed, but tended to pack up a bit if muddy, with a particular tendency to throw it in your eyes. I like the Nevegals, especially in front, but the back wore out in just 200-300 miles and lost climbing grip pretty quickly. The Excavator in back has been a nice match for a Nevegal up front, with nice predictable and reliable handling, good grip in the gnarl, and excellent climbing traction. They are really good on the tough sharp climbs, which usually have a tricky root ball at the top, working well with the VPP suspension to give the traction needed to power up and over. I've had no pinch flats with these tires running 30-32 psi, despite being an agressive 190 lb rider. I got about 1000 miles out of the DTC compound, and have just ordered a new set, staying with a Stick-E Nevegal in front. I'm going to step up from 2.1's to 2.35's, and try tubeless.
Similar Products Used: Kenda Nevegals, WTB Weirwolfs, Motoraptors
Bike Setup: Intense 5.5 EVP, SRAM X.0, American Classic wheels.
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Submitted by
mimi1885
a Weekend Warrior
from Pasadena CA
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2010
Strengths: Grip, grip, grip
Decent weight a few grams more than Nevegal
Weaknesses: A bit slow rolling
Bottom Line:
The tires feel really stable and grippy, corner really well. I have tried many different combo, 2.35f/2.1r, 2.35 F/R. It's a great front tire feel beefy full size 2.35. I converted to tubeless and the tire seems to be even better climb better.
It climb slower than the Nevegal and El Moco but the trade off seems to be worth a little extra drag. I'm using 2.35 on my AM bike and 2.1 on my XC
Similar Products Used: Nevegal, El Moco, Ignitor, Nobby Nic, SB8, ETC
Bike Setup: Ibis Mojo Duc32 I9 XTRs
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Submitted by
carabaoray
a Cross Country Rider
from Chula Vista
Date Reviewed: December 13, 2009
Strengths: DTC rubber (harder compound center, softer for outside knobs), weight is pretty low for such aggressive tread, HIGH volume allows low pressure even with tubes (28 front / 30 back), confident in cornering, great braking
Weaknesses: Doesn't track as well as panaracer fire xc pro's on off-camber terrain.
Bottom Line:
I have been testing many tires looking for a good aggressive xc solution. I liked the pannies, but their low volume had me pinch flatting often and feeling less than confident in the rough stuff. The nevegal's were better for the volume, but the rolling resistance was miserable. I had raced clydesdale sport (205lbs.) on the wtb wolverine's and they were a FAST tire with good grip, but their weakness was the front tire for cornering (washes out easily). So when I read about the excavator's having less rolling resistance I gave them a shot.
Overall, they're great, but not perfect. They corner well, break great, and roll decent, especially for the tread. I think they're faster than the nevegal's for sure, slightly quicker than the pannies, but really slow compared to wolverines or small block 8's. I also find that they don't track well on off camber tearrain. They're not horrible, just not as sure footed as pannies. A lot of this has to do with their profile. In order to make a big lugged tire roll faster, you need to have less knobs on the dirt, so this tire has a ROUND profile instead of square like the nevegal/pannie.
Other than that, I'm really enjoying this tire, especially on tight single track, loose stuff, cornering, and braking. All this without the penalty of poor rolling resistance and weight. I haven't had a single pinch flat or flat. I wouldn't race with them though. I'd use wolverine's front and back, or switch out the rear for a small block 8. Bottom line, a great all around tire, but I'm still searching for perfection...
Submitted by
Ben Niceknownya
a Weekend Warrior
from Grand Junction, CO
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2009
Strengths: Big knobs (who doesn't like those?), decent corner grip, good braking grip, sheds mud quite well
Weaknesses: Rolling resistance (go figure), tire isn't as predictable in corners as others I've tried
Bottom Line:
I'd recommend it, but I'd only run it in the front in GJ because of the rolling resistance. In the east I'd think about using it in the rear, but no necessary here.
Similar Products Used: Maxxis, Kenda, Continental, etc.
Bike Setup: SC Blur LT2
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Submitted by
larbike
a Cross Country Rider
from San Antonio, TX USA
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2009
Strengths: Good traction in dry conditions, rocks, loose dirt.
Weaknesses: Slippery when wet
Bottom Line:
I bought the 2.1 DTC versions of these tires. So far traction has been good in most conditions. I would rate the traction as about equal to the Nevegals with somewhat less rolling resistance. I was caught in a rainstorm while riding and did notice quite a bit of slip over wet roots especially on the front tire. I wonder if the stick-e versions do the same? Overall, I am satisfied with these tires
