 |
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Home | Product Reviews | 29er Tire | Bontrager Jones XR 29-inch | ||||
|
|
||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Submitted by
Rolf
a Cross Country Rider
from Kyringe, Denmark
Date Reviewed: 5/11/2008 1:05:58 PM |
|
| FavoriteTrail: | all of them |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | eBay |
| Strengths: | Fast rolling, light |
| Weaknesses: | Soft compound, weak grip on the sidewalls, harsh feeling running 1.8" |
| Similar Products Tried: | ACX 2.25" |
| Bike Setup: | 17" fully frame w. Bontrager Race X Lite wheelset |
| Bottom Line: | Funny, I must be the only one in this thread who still haven't flatted or ripped these babies. IMO there are quite different issues connected to these tires. First, if value for money matters, the rear tire will die on you very quickly. Second, the subjective feeling is that they roll fast but that this (XC racing) quality comes at a great cost: They are sketchy in dry weather on roots, grass and dirt. I have experienced crashes in completely dry weather on well known paths and sections which I normally run w/o problems. I would advice against running pressure over 30 psi because the XR (in the 1.8" version) steal a large part of the shocks rebound effect, both in front and rear. 40 psi and they feel like semi massive wheel chair tires. I find myself brake locking the wheels all the time in switchbacks and downhill sections. Something that doesn't happen when I'm riding the 2.25" format. To put it another way: They make my 29'er feel a lot weaker in technical sections than it really is. But if you're going to ride a no-brainer marathon on hard pack and dry dirt I suppose they'll work just fine. |
Value Rating: 
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
Ray W
a Racer
from Puyallup
Date Reviewed: 8/28/2007 11:46:26 PM |
|
| FavoriteTrail: | Skookum Flats |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Purchased At: | came with bike |
| Strengths: | Lots of cush, suprising traction for low tread design, low weight |
| Similar Products Tried: | Kenda Klaws |
| Bike Setup: | Fisher X-Cal |
| Bottom Line: | I live in the Pacific Northwest, lots of rainy / snowy winters and wet muddy Springs. I wasn't expecting much in the way of traction given the low tread design but these things surprised me. I run them at 30 pounds they grab onto wet roots / logs and seem to dig in some how in the mud. I don't use thes in races with clay type mud, but after a few feet in that stuff everyone is riding on slicks anyway. In wet dirt these tires seem to hook up fine. They have a lot of volume especially compared to the Kendas. This allows the tread to conform to the roots and rocks for better traction. There aren't many light weight (or lighter weight) 29'er tires to choose from. I've been happy with these in all types of weather and in climbs, corners and obstacles. Reasonably priced too. |
Value Rating: 
Overall Rating: 
|
|
|
Submitted by
AB
a Weekend Warrior
from Upstate, SC
Date Reviewed: 8/22/2007 6:36:23 PM |
|
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Purchased At: | Came with Paragon |
| Strengths: | Held air |
| Weaknesses: | Thin sidewalls and seemed to roll over on the sides often |
| Similar Products Tried: | Panaracer Rampage, Kenda Nevegal, Kenda Small Block 8, Geax Saguaro, Maxxis Crossmarks |
| Bike Setup: | Came stock on Fisher Paragon |
| Bottom Line: | I didn't like these tires as they seemed to roll over on the edges too much for my liking. They also didn't seem to grip as well as other tires on the market. The sidewalls on these tires are also really thin. If you ride in rocky terrain, use caution because they cut easily. |
Value Rating:
Overall Rating: 
|
|
|
Submitted by
Nick
a Cross Country Rider
from Norwalk, IA, USA
Date Reviewed: 8/14/2007 6:12:00 AM |
|
| FavoriteTrail: | Center Trails |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Purchased At: | Bike World |
| Similar Products Tried: | WTB Exiwolf, WTB Moto Raptor, lots o' 26er tires. |
| Bike Setup: | GF XCal with Bontrager Race X Lite wheels |
| Bottom Line: | Not a great overall tire. Did not care for the way the tire folded over when cornering. Not nearly as much traction on dry trails as the Exiwolfs. The tires pack up with mud and do not shed any. Buy it if: Well don't buy it. It might be worth riding for a while if it came on your bike. Otherwise there are much better choices out there. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from JC, MO
Date Reviewed: 8/12/2007 4:51:39 PM |
|
| FavoriteTrail: | Binder |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | Route 66 |
| Strengths: | Good overall tire for most conditions, light, quick rolling |
| Weaknesses: | weak, weak, weak sidewalls. definitely not rugged enough for aggressive riders. |
| Similar Products Tried: | weirwolf, exiwolf |
| Bike Setup: | Surly KM SS fully rigid |
| Bottom Line: | I liked the tire, but I found as my skills have progressed it did not give me the handling or durability that I need on the trails that I ride. It's a very soft tire that seems to get chunks taken out of it every time I ride. |
Value Rating: 
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
Darren
a Cross Country Rider
from Highlands Ranch, CO
Date Reviewed: 6/15/2007 10:09:40 AM |
|
| FavoriteTrail: | Deer Creek Canyon |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Strengths: | Seem to have good traction, roll pretty well. |
| Weaknesses: | Punctured on first ride. Durability issues? |
| Bike Setup: | GF Caliber 29- Tires were stock. |
| Bottom Line: | Some concerns about the puncture resistance of these tires. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
Going Up
a Racer
from Santa Monica, CA
Date Reviewed: 4/21/2007 11:47:10 AM |
|
| FavoriteTrail: | anything without dog crap |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | came with bike |
| Strengths: | sticky at low pressures. Great tire for the stock price |
| Weaknesses: | RIPS very easily. I put a 2" gash in the sidewall on my second ride. The sidewalls are thinner than standard tubes! |
| Bottom Line: | They work quite well for traction butI won't be replacing them, there are too many sharp rocks to deal with, and the risk of a flat in a race is not worth the risk. I'm gonna try somethign else with thicker sidewalls. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
Bruce Brown
a Cross Country Rider
from Des Moines
Date Reviewed: 3/7/2007 4:44:51 AM |
|
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $20 |
| Purchased At: | Speedgoat.com |
| Strengths: | This review is for all the XR's. I own 3 of the front tires 2.25, 1 of the rear 2.2's and 2 of the 1.8's (a front and a rear). Good all around tire tread that rolls very well. The 1.8's are a nice choice for XC racing and or when you need to cut through the top surface mud down to something dry underneath for grip. You can run almost any combination you want to with these tires. One of my favorites is to run the larger volume front 2.25 on both the front and the rear. I also have run a 1.8 on the rear and 2.25 on the front for a race. |
| Weaknesses: | Thorns penetrate rather easily. Sidewall tears in rougher terrain with lots of rocks. |
| Similar Products Tried: | ACX's, Notos, Exi's |
| Bike Setup: | Dos, KM and Sugar |
| Bottom Line: | Hard to beat the $19.95 price I paid for each of these tires at Speedgoat. I tore the sidewall during a 50 mile race. The tear was only about 1/4" which I have repaired and been using the tire now for 18 months after the repair with no problems. The 1.8's are an excellent choice for certain races. They are low volume, but believe it or not grip like champs. I think the 2.25's are still the lightest large volume tires with the best rolling resistance available for 29"ers. All the other large volume tires weigh a lot more and don't roll as quick. Great choice for certain trails that don't have a lot of sharp rocks. I usually run a home-made slimed tube with them which takes care of any thorn issues I used to have in the past. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
Nards
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix
Date Reviewed: 1/17/2007 6:22:49 AM |
|
| FavoriteTrail: | I love dirt |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | Trek dealer |
| Strengths: | Long lasting, great grip on turns, great grip when standing (I'm talking Single Speed here), did I mention long lasting? LIGHT WEIGHT!!! 600g is sweet! |
| Similar Products Tried: | Ignitors and WTB exiwolf (freakin heavy) |
| Bike Setup: | Single speed 29er. |
| Bottom Line: | I really like them for the price. I run Stans and have had no problems at all. When the tread ran low, I just reversed the direction and got more life out of them. If I didn't stand up so much I think they would last even longer! 600g and long life is good enough for me. I'm not going to put on 800 or 900g tires and make my life harder when I can pick these up easily enough. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
tony accurso
a Weekend Warrior
from white plains ny usa
Date Reviewed: 12/26/2006 7:23:00 PM |
|
| FavoriteTrail: | the monster |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Purchased At: | speedgoat |
| Strengths: | great in all conditions |
| Weaknesses: | sidewalls rip like tissue paper |
| Similar Products Tried: | exis, karmas, ignitors, nevegals |
| Bike Setup: | lenz lev, reba,i9's xo marta setup |
| Bottom Line: | Its interesting how opinions differ dependent upon what part of the country one rides. Im in the NE, and this is my favorite tire. Its great on rocks, wet or dry, nice on technical single track, light, and rolls well. I've been trying a nevi in front and ignitor in back, but I think I'll go back to the Jones this weekend. Too bad the sidewalls rip if you so much as look at them wrong. 3 chillis for value, at 25 bucks a pop, I can live with one a month. Looses an overall chili due to rips. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
mgersib
a Racer
from Lincoln, NE
Date Reviewed: 12/24/2006 8:30:32 PM |
|
| FavoriteTrail: | Moore Fun |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Strengths: | Good traction in loose or loamy conditions, relatively light |
| Weaknesses: | Weak Kevlar/Aramid beads -- I broke a bead on one of the two tires I have |
| Similar Products Tried: | Bontrager Jones XR, Maxxis Ignitor, Kenda Karma and Nevegal, WTB Exi, Nano and MotoRaptor. |
| Bike Setup: | 2006 Salsa Dos Niner; Maverick SC32 fork; Salsa Delgado X rims; WTB hubs; XTR drivetrain; Avid disc brakes |
| Bottom Line: | A good tire that does not excel in any particular conditions, but is also not bad in any conditions. Not a good candidate for homebrew tubeless conversions though, because of fragile beads. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
jack
a Cross Country Rider
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: 12/23/2006 4:40:31 AM |
|
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | Light weight for being 2.25/2.2 fast rolling on hardpack trails. |
| Weaknesses: | wet trail conditions, slower rolling than tread pattern leads to believe |
| Bike Setup: | Raleigh XXIX with various upgrades, still rigid though |
| Bottom Line: | For my trail conditions these tires do great, much lighter than the stock Exiwolfs that came on the Raleigh and roll quicker to. They get clogged up quickly when it turns wet, but for dry hardpack to medium conditions they hook up really well. They dont roll as fast as you think given the tread pattern, but for a light weight high volume tire on my rigid ride I like them, Im running 26psi front and 28psi rear. Overall a good buy for my use and they only retail for $30 a tire at my local shop |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Prescott, AZ
Date Reviewed: 12/20/2006 6:58:21 PM |
|
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $20 |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | Straight line speed, float/cush (very supple ride for size), decent cornering. |
| Weaknesses: | Absolute crap durability, very easily ripped, flatted, and punctured. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Nano, Mutano 2.4 (26") |
| Bike Setup: | Rigid monkey SS. |
| Bottom Line: | Would be a very versitile long-distance tire if it weren't so prone to punctures. I found it to have no resistance to thorns whatsoever, pinched too easily for a given psi, and finally tore a sidewall badly on a not very sharp rock. Trash for this reason alone. Decent perhaps for a midwest rider? |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
SingleTrackSal
a Cross Country Rider
from Idaho
Date Reviewed: 12/18/2006 11:26:04 PM |
|
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Strengths: | Large volume works well in rock gardens, mounts/dismounts relatively easily |
| Weaknesses: | Rolls slow, floats in mud instead of biting... |
| Similar Products Tried: | IRC Mythos XC |
| Bottom Line: | Came stock on my '06 X-Cal. Like 'em in dry conditions, especially floating around the rock gardens. But they roll slow, and don't do as well when conditions moisten up a bit. Will try them out in Moab soon, expect they will work great there. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|