Submitted by
feedjerald
a Cross Country Rider
from Ekaterinburg, Russia Date Reviewed: July 7, 2008
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
good all over the ground (even wet and muddy)
puncture resistable (no one during 3000 km)
Weaknesses:
not for turns and corners in a wet city or - u slide down for shure
too noisy on the pavement
Similar Products Used:
schwalbe
Bike Setup:
sram 5/7, shimano deore, marzocchi supercomp
Bottom Line:
good enough for lite xc: ground, sand, grass
but not for pavement and asphalt
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tim Cameron
a Weekend Warrior
from Ogdensburg, NY Date Reviewed: February 8, 2007
Favorite Trail:
all
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Purchased At:
Treadmill-Potsdam,NY
Strengths:
look great, nice roll on hard sufaces (pavement)
Weaknesses:
no friggin grip on corners. Good luck keeping your bike under you on fast corners.
Bike Setup:
KHS Nomad
Bottom Line:
I would'nt let my worst enemy to use these tires on a fast trail with turns, then again, chicks "dig" scars, RIGHT?
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Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Western Kentucky Date Reviewed: April 29, 2005
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$70.00
Strengths:
Thick casing makes it hard to rip out a sidewall.
Weaknesses:
Even though it has an aggressive tread design, it never really hooks up. On off-camber trail, I slide down the camber. In thick mud, I spin. On hardpack, I am slow.
Bike Setup:
Running the UST version on a Santa Cruz SuperLite
Bottom Line:
I don't like these tire and am in the market for a new set as soon as I can afford them. I was very displeased with these tires...I had hoped for better results.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Clydesdale Crusher
a Cross Country Rider
from Grants Pass, OR Date Reviewed: April 9, 2005
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Fast. REally stable in decomposed granite.
Weaknesses:
soft
Similar Products Used:
WTB Velociraptor F&R, IRC Mythos, Tioga
Bottom Line:
I've been very pleased with the good grab up the wet loose stuff and on the sides of steep gullies. The Tioga's were a joke. The velociraptors were great but felt like I was driving a tractor. These Kenda's are fast and sticky. Good tire.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steven
a Racer
from College Station, TX Date Reviewed: January 29, 2004
Favorite Trail:
A&M
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
came on my bike
Strengths:
looks cool
Weaknesses:
first time out on the trail with them, a real rocky (small rocks) trail, and when i finished, i noticed most of the tread on my rear tire came off
Similar Products Used:
Mythos XC, IRC Trailbears
Bike Setup:
Redline Monocog, Psylo SL
Bottom Line:
I dont know if I got a pair batch of tires or what, but these did not preform well at all.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jeremy Chandler
a Cross Country Rider
from Knoxville, TN Date Reviewed: November 18, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Haw Ridge /Pisgah (NC) trails
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Won in Raffle at 24 hours of snowshoe
Strengths:
Low rolling resistance fast tire hooks up well in the loose stuff climb like champs up steep or loose rocky stuff
Weaknesses:
wet=fall on your butt..alot tire compund doesn't hook up well at all in watery mud or espically on wet roots so if you live somwhere where you get alot fo rain they will look good over your fireplace or as a picture frame maybe They are espically sensitive in cornering.... There is no leeway given, they either stick or slide out so it is a very fine line of tolerance you have to get accustomed to..took me about 2 wrecks worth Performance tire that demands attention to fine detail
Similar Products Used:
michelin comp s, XLS, IRC mythos F and R
Bike Setup:
2000 GT Zaskar LE, full 02 XTR, easton carbon components mavic 517's w/ XT hub, sid SL, avid 1.9's WTB saddle cam with bike, time pedals. cane creek ergo ends
Bottom Line:
Tires have been extremely effective in dry hardpack and they have a noticeably low rolling resistance giving you high speeds quickly I love thses tires in the dry I think I will keep them around to put back on next summer when the rain subsides for a little while. As long as you use them for dry conditions they will hook you up once you get to know them. Fastest times I have ever turned out in the dry have been on these.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Woody Elliott
a Cross Country Rider
from Richmond Va Date Reviewed: October 22, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Douthat St Park
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Dirt Rag Subscription
Strengths:
Not Sure
Weaknesses:
Tread was designed in wrong direction. Casing is too weak.
Similar Products Used:
Panaracer FireXC Pro 2.1
Bike Setup:
Rocky Mountain Element Team SC . XT Disc brakes. Marzocci MRX 100 front. Fox RL rear.
Bottom Line:
I weigh 180lbs and ride/race tons. Within first week, I realized that the tread was designed backwards, lots of slipping and poor braking. I reversed the tire and now it is fine. Also now it has been only two weeks and the sidewall is starting to rip. This can't be good!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
A-1
a Weekend Warrior
from Newport News, VA Date Reviewed: July 14, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Harwoods, Lost, Lake Maury
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
-red color goes great with my bike -fast -stellar on just about any surface
These are great tires! They hook up on everything but sloppy mud. They have a really low rolling resistence and corner like a champ. I highly recommend them, especially if you can get a sweet deal on the pair from your LBS like I did. They were regularly $45 each and I got the F/R set for $60. 4 flamin' turds
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Larry
a Racer
from Brownsburg, IN Date Reviewed: April 29, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Winona Lake, Westwood, Nebo
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Traction, low rolling resistance, looks
Weaknesses:
Hard to find
Similar Products Used:
Specialized, Continental
Bike Setup:
Specialized Stumpjumper Pro used almost exclusively for racing
Bottom Line:
These are perhaps the most underrated tires around. The tire features a rough texture and the cornering and climbing traction is superb. I constantly washed out the front end using the stock Specialized tires, to the point I had lost confidence in my aggressive cornering style. These Kendas have given me back the confidence and now I’m flying through turns with the best of them. These are fast rollers too. I made the podium in the DINO season opener at Warsaw with these tires. I highly recommend them if you can find them.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Greg
a Weekend Warrior
from Wausau,WI,USA Date Reviewed: September 2, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Nine Mil Forest
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
I am a Clydesdale (6'-7" and 300lbs) and these tires should be narrow for me but they worked well on hard pack, gravel, rocks, roots, dry grass and even worked ok in sand. I ran the front at 50 PSI and the back at 55 PSI. No complants so far. Gripped very well for climbing.
Weaknesses:
Kinda hard to get on rims.
Similar Products Used:
wild griper s, maxus helter skelter
Bike Setup:
Trek 930 hard tail with mazocci bomber fork, bontrager rimes with asimetrical rear rear spoke spacing.
Bottom Line:
I like them. I don't think they will work in wet but I have wet tires on my other rims for those days.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Monument, CO Date Reviewed: April 24, 2002
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
Balanced Rock Bike & Ski
Strengths:
Looks good low rolling resistance grips well when new grips well when at low pressure
Weaknesses:
wear out quickly slippery an hard pack and loose gravel if run at more than 45 psi
Similar Products Used:
mich, panaracer,
Bottom Line:
Good tires if you like lower pressure and don't mind replacing them every 1,000 miles. A bit skinny, and don't work very well in sand.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jerico
a Cross Country Rider
from Daly City, CA USA Date Reviewed: October 9, 2001
Favorite Trail:
Dirt around Campus
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
1 set Over the phone
Strengths:
Awesome looking tires, awesome traction on dirt, and low rolling resistance (on dirt). It sometimes feel like you can go faster that you would usually would on other tires.
Weaknesses:
Slipery when wet. I'm always watching the weather to see if it's gonna rain because I don't want to use these on wet pavement. When I first received these, it seemed a little slugish for some reason on the pavement. The blue tires aren't so blue (it's slightly green), must be the retailer's fault.
Similar Products Used:
Continental Cross Country
Bike Setup:
'99 F-700 Cannondale
Bottom Line:
These are stylish tires, but with much left desired. They were a little disappointing because I was discourage to use them at first. I've always left the front tire in, but swapped the rear depending on the weather. I'm still trying to reap the rewards of theses babies.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore, MD, US Date Reviewed: July 31, 2001
Favorite Trail:
McKeldon/Avalon
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At:
Kenda Booth Jim Thorpe MTB Weekend 01'
Strengths:
Fast, easy rolling. Color options, might find a color to make your bike look better.
Weaknesses:
Requires a significant amount of air Pressure, Pinch Flats, poor handling in wet sloppy mud.
Similar Products Used:
Panaracer Smoke/Dart. (Heavy, slow, but much better in the mud)
Bike Setup:
Giant ATX 890 Alumn frame, 2000 Z-2 Atom 80 Bomber Fork, Race-Face crank, XTR Drive-train, XTR Rapid fire rear shifter, S-Ram 6.0 grip-shift front, XTR V-Brakes, Cane-Creek c-2 head (Great product), Cane-Creek Thudbuster seat-post (another Great product) and of course Me (Steve).
Bottom Line:
You will need to play around with them to find the right air-preassure. Too low, Pinch Flat City --- Too High, and forget about turning. Overall I like riding these tires 3.5/5.0. They allow me to be more agressive, and roll much faster than ever before. They are much lighter than what I've previously riden, But I'm sure they're are lighter tires out there. Do not pay allot for these, I paid $60 for a pair with 4 tubes. I wouldn't buy from the rep untill he agreed to throw in the tubes... I recomend the same deal, You just might need them. In addition the Color options played into my decision to purchase. If looks are a factor, and you like the way they look, great. As far as Riding is concerned they are fast, agressive tires that once set right, and set up with your own ideal pressure will hold you on your line, and grip deep in a turn, then allow you to fly right out and accelerate fast on a straight. Ride'em and Like'em! I Do.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from CA, USA Date Reviewed: June 27, 2001
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
NORBA expo
Strengths:
looks BOMBER reasonable weight good grip
Weaknesses:
a little small for it's weight
Similar Products Used:
IRC Mythos 1.9 Specialized Team Control Team Edition 2.0 Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1
Bike Setup:
XC/trials
Bottom Line:
I've been running it up front and while I'm not terribly pleased with the weight/size ratio: 575g/1.7" (measured casing size) I've had no problems otherwise. Bottom line? Decent traction and aestetically awesome!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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