Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Western Kentucky
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2005
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.
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.
Strengths: Fast. REally stable in decomposed granite.
Weaknesses: soft
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.
Similar Products Used: WTB Velociraptor F&R, IRC Mythos, Tioga
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steven
a Racer
from College Station, TX
Date Reviewed: January 29, 2004
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
Bottom Line:
I dont know if I got a pair batch of tires or what, but these did not preform well at all.
Submitted by
Jeremy Chandler
a Cross Country Rider
from Knoxville, TN
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2003
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
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.
Purchased At: Won in Raffle at 24 hours of snowshoe
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
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Woody Elliott
a Cross Country Rider
from Richmond Va
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2003
Strengths: Not Sure
Weaknesses: Tread was designed in wrong direction. Casing is too weak.
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!
Bike Setup: Rocky Mountain Element Team SC . XT Disc brakes. Marzocci MRX 100 front. Fox RL rear.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
A-1
a Weekend Warrior
from Newport News, VA
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2003
Strengths: -red color goes great with my bike -fast -stellar on just about any surface
Weaknesses: -not good in mud
Bottom Line:
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
Strengths: Traction, low rolling resistance, looks
Weaknesses: Hard to find
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.
Bike Setup: Specialized Stumpjumper Pro used almost exclusively for racing
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Greg
a Weekend Warrior
from Wausau,WI,USA
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2002
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.
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.
Submitted by
Jerico
a Cross Country Rider
from Daly City, CA USA
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2001
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.
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.
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore, MD, US
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2001
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.
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.
Purchased At: Kenda Booth Jim Thorpe MTB Weekend 01'
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).
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from CA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2001
Strengths: looks BOMBER reasonable weight good grip
Weaknesses: a little small for it's weight
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!
I am currently riding a Kona explosif rigid singlespeed with the Kharisma ust 2.1's. Unfortunately these tires are on their way out causing me to look for some new rubber! My eye Read More »
At the Kenda tent at SOC, I picked up a front 2.1 for $10. My plan was to run it as a rear on my xc Yeti. There are two things I hate: Taking off a working tire to replace it wi Read More »
I bought a bike with these tires on it and rode it a few times without issue except that the pressure would leak down between rides. On my last ride the bead popped off of the rim Read More »
