Trek 950 Singletrack w/ XT gruppo; Yeti ASR Carbon XTR, Cannondale Prophet w/XT gruppo
Bottom Line:
Needed a good set of MTB slicks with knobby sidewalls on my Trek 950 Singletrack for street and fire roads. These are basically a fire road tire. I have to ride 5 miles to the trail on asphalt and then ride 15 miles on gravel/dirt fire roads. These tires do it. I have 750 miles on them and they show no wear. Put my old set of Mr. Tuffy bike liners on when I installed them. I use my Nevagals on full suspension for Wildcat Canyon steeeeep winding drops and these to cruise around the fire roads. Stops slides in loose gravel on turns and in potholes.
Wish I used these instead of Schwalbe Marathons when I rode my Trek 950 1,100 miles down the Baja on pavement and loose gravel roads. Dirt is like ice on Marathons.
Would never use them on my Yeti or Prophet.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ken Shubert
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Fe, TX, USA Date Reviewed: October 11, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Suburban surfaced roads
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$17.00
Purchased At:
biketiresdirect.com
Strengths:
Inexpensive, Good on wet surface, Corners well, Nice quiet street tread.
Weaknesses:
Seems light and thin but no flats from street debris.
Similar Products Used:
None --- all others were off-road MTB tires.
Bike Setup:
'97 Specialized Hard-Rock --- stock.
Bottom Line:
600 miles of street riding with no problems. Nice and quiet and rolls easy compared to knobbies. Riding my old MTB on city streets is a pleasure now. Broken pavement, chuck-holes, and broken glass have not been a problem. A good commuter tire for the price. There are not many street tires for MTBs to choose from and the Kenda Kross is affordable.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
aa1pr
a Weekend Warrior
from aa1pr@comcast.net Date Reviewed: July 16, 2009
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
Do Not remember
Strengths:
Good for paved roads or trails, Seemed to grab on wet rocks Though.
Weaknesses:
Weak sidewall, side knobs are useless. Tire is cheaply Built
Bike Setup:
Full Suspension
Bottom Line:
I would not recommend
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
driscoli
a Cross Country Rider
from Florida Date Reviewed: June 4, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Hannah Park, Jacksonville, FL
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$19.00
Purchased At:
Griffin Cycle
Strengths:
low rolling resistance, side treads relatively grippy, cheap
Weaknesses:
none so far
Similar Products Used:
none - this is my first semi-slick tire since I'm commuting partially on roads now - I switch off these with IRC Mythos tires when I'm on the trails
Bike Setup:
Gary Fisher Marlin
all Shimano Deore
Shimano SPD pedals
Bontrager wheels
Bottom Line:
This appears to be a good cheap semi-slick now that I've started commuting more on roads and need a little less rolling resistance. They roll great and have shaved some time off my commute. They appear to grip decently in the turns but I've only been in some light mud with them, nothing more. I only have about 100 miles on them so far but part of my commute is a sharp gravel track that I've flatted on before - so far no problems. I've kept them inflated to 60-65psi for the most part. Consider these for mixed use and non-technical trails or commuting. Overall they're a good tire at the right price for my daily ride to work.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jim walker idaho
a Weekend Warrior
from Hayden, Idaho, USA Date Reviewed: July 8, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$27.00
Purchased At:
e-bay
Strengths:
Affordable, smooth ride on pavement. Stable in the gravel. Rolls easy and is much faster than knobbys.
Weaknesses:
None so far
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
Old 90's mtn bike, no suspension, 15 speed
Bottom Line:
I bought these tires for two reasons. They were cheap, and they are designed for pavement and gravel. I have rode on both surfaces and I love these tires. They roll so much easier than the knobbys that were on the bike and they feel very stable on the gravel. I'm very happy with these tires.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
todd
a Weekend Warrior
from carbondale, co, usa Date Reviewed: May 11, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Rio Grande
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Low rolling resistance. Lighter than most regular MTB tires I have used. Great as a commuter tire, used primarily on ashalt.
Weaknesses:
None so far.
Similar Products Used:
First Semi-slick tire.
Bike Setup:
99 Rockhopper Comp (special green color:)
Bottom Line:
I found these at my LBS and I am very happy with them. I converted my old hard-tail to a burley hauler on the bike path so I wanted to try a semi-slick to increase speed and reduce drag (since burley plus 2 kids adds enough drag). After just a few rides I know they are the right way to get the desired result. I have seen a 2-3 MPH increase by changing the tires and just love the way they feel on the pavement. No comment on riding on a dirt trail because there is little chance I would take these tires off-road. I liken them to a road tire because that is what they basically are in the middle of the tread. For $30 a pair I am very satisfied and hope people rate this tire base on what it should do not what they put it through by their own "bad" decision.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tony Stewart
a Cross Country Rider
from Oxford UK Date Reviewed: March 31, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$11.00
Strengths:
fantastic tread design, quiet, grips well on everything except very slippy mud
Weaknesses:
pathetic puncture performance, the bead gets shredded a lot when fixing the tyre and removing flats
Bottom Line:
these are pathetic for keeping out holes, we are talking about a new puncture every 5 days with about 30 km a day, sometimes three in three days, including at least 50% cross-country. that said for the front tyre they are really very good with a bit of tyre goo, just the back inner tube has got about 10 patches in three months. for anything off-road it makes sense to have punctur protection Kevlar etc
I was worried that the knobs on the sides would lose all traction when turning but they are designed at the right angle so that they hold really nicely but probably not as well as road tyres.
in mud they struggle a bit, and probably for making sharp turns in grass, but they inspire lots of confidence on the road and is on cross-country. The tread actually works to lengthen the footprint rather than having a round footprint which is good for resistance.
I'm putting two stars because I do 50% off road
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tjay
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose, Ca. USA Date Reviewed: July 16, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Grant Park
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$11.00
Purchased At:
Reeds
Strengths:
Quiet onroad, low resistance, actual weight is 504 grams each tire. Light tire I might say, especially for the price!
Weaknesses:
ofcourse you do not want to go use these tire on a very rocky, sandy terrain...
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
'99 TREK 930 singletrack
Bottom Line:
if only this weighs 300g :D
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
J dog
a Cross Country Rider
from Dirty Jersey, US Date Reviewed: August 9, 2006
Favorite Trail:
happy trail?
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$16.00
Purchased At:
oakland bike shop
Strengths:
low rolling resistance center with grippy side knobs, low tread wear/life. great all weather traction on paved and hardpack surfaces, good dry weather performance on virtually all surface conditions.. price
Weaknesses:
if your using these tires for what they were made for then there is no weakness..
at this price there not expensive to replace, i would give up tread life for weight savings
Similar Products Used:
kenda kwest, not as verstile and not that much faster but still a good product
Bike Setup:
04' specialized rock hopper, 06' jamis dakar, 98 trek 820
Bottom Line:
if your spending alot of time on and off road or ride hard packed surface but still need to have some cornering stability for turning in looser stuff these really work great. I ran them on my specialized rock hopper and could maintain a couple MPH higher pace on my rides that mixed streets, bike paths, rooty single track, rough/rocky jeep roads. they ont really work in mud or wet dirt trails but thats not what there meant for. the 1.75 size is a good between size to keep a good ride but still get you closer to skinny road tire performance..
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brandon
a
from Metro Detroit Date Reviewed: July 27, 2006
Favorite Trail:
any
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Traction in wet weather, traction when leaving the pavement, corners well. My 10 mile commute is about 8 miles paved, 1 mile gravel, and one mile hard packed trail. Thes tires are perfect for all of these conditions when dry and when wet. Plus I'm a heavier rider and so far I have had to problems with these tires due to my weight.
Weaknesses:
High rolling resistance, a bit heavy. I have gotten many more flats on these tires than others I have used. A tire liner is highly suggested if using these for commuting.
Bike Setup:
ATB converted to commuter with weekend offroading.
Bottom Line:
Not bad for the price paid. I have been riding them for almost 2 years now. I used to get flats but that stopped once I got liners. These tires are pretty darned good for commuting if your route is not entirely paved, they corner well in gravel and loose-over-hardpack. They are high resistance tires though, IMHO, and I can rarely rach speeds of 30mph or more, even on steep downhills.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
bob v.
a Cross Country Rider
from oregon Date Reviewed: November 15, 2005
Favorite Trail:
makenzie river
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Price Paid:
$12.00
Purchased At:
stutzmans
Strengths:
smooth center section great for commuting on the road, while side knobs hold up in gravel/ loose dirt. fast rolling better than just a slick tire.
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
Botrager revolt ST, Tioga city slicker, Kenda Kobra/kwest
Bike Setup:
hardtail, 2wheels, handlebar, shifters, brake levers, disc brakes, seat, and so- on
Bottom Line:
For a great commuter tire try the kross plus tire. It has a smooth center but also has side knobs, so you dont have to worry about running into gravel or dirt. Much better than a plain slick tire!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Curtis
a Cross Country Rider
from College Park, MD Date Reviewed: October 9, 2004
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Nashbar
Strengths:
Great for road riding because of the smooth center
Weaknesses:
Terrible for trails because of the smooth center, and they're pretty heavy
Similar Products Used:
Hutchinsons that came stock
Bike Setup:
Giant Rainier, Duke XC, DS2/Deore disc wheels
Bottom Line:
Ohhh, first review! I feel so special!
Overall these are great tires, but only if you are a commuter/road rider. I can't mark these tires down because of the poor trail abilities, because they are obviously not designed for such use. My only complaint is that they are a little heavy at 630 grams a piece, which for a weight weenie like me is a little too much. At a total of 20 bucks for a pair of tires you just can't beat it. They're super fast, they corner great, and you'll definitely get your 20 bucks worth. Just don't plan on taking these tires on hilly trails because smooth center=no climbing traction.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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