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Submitted by
Rum Runner
a Cross Country Rider
from Val-Des-Monts,Quebec,Canada
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Outback,Kanata,Ontario | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Friend | | Strengths: | Light (425g,2.0),Grips great when dry on all but roots and loose gravel. Reasonable price for a race tire. Surprised me in mud and wet sand/soil. | | Weaknesses: | Very poor on wet roots. OK on wet rocks. | | Similar Products Used: | Kenda Nevegals, Panaracer XC Fire Pro, Nokian NBX. | | Bike Setup: | 07 GT i-Drive 4.4.0, 08 Fox 100RLC, Easton EC90 XC Bar, Foam Grips(18g ea), Selle San Marco Ponza seat, Tubes Continental MTB (93g ea). | | Bottom Line: | Newbie to Racing. 5'4", 150 lbs. Bought this tire end of season last year and been racing it all this year.
This tire is a great racing tire. When its dry I am really surprised how well it hooks up. It gets pretty dicey when on wet roots. Packed forest soil corners are very grippy.
Local race is Canadian Shield on a ski hill. Lots of rocks/roots. Technical Climbs on rocks/roots.
I find this tires get AWSOME grip when I run them at around 25 psi but due to the nature of our local XC course I am finding I need to run around 35 psi for pinch flat protection when racing. At higher pressure when racing I have to concentrate on my line/momentum and keeping my butt on the seat on technical climbs.
I am a slow climber but I make a ton of time up on the downhills. I let it all hang out so they can handle it a bit rough. I am riding FS though with a decent front fork.
Raced Summer Solstice 24 hr race. Had rain at night and managed not to fall. Other riders going down all over the place, some with mud tires, so the Karmas surprised me. Also made wet STEEP sandy power climbs.
Wear has been good. I expect to get the whole season out of these tires plus two 24 hr solo rides. Knobs only showing very little wear, no lost knobs for over half a season racing/riding(say 50-60 hrs hard riding)
Bottom Line. I love this tire as a racing tire. Altho sometimes a bit squirly, if you have the confidence to keep pedaling they seemed to eventually hook up. Only time I am a bit cautious is on angled wet roots. I have ordered a second set so I have spares :) | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daffunda
a Cross Country Rider
from MI
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | lbs | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance - when ran tubeless with stans.
Pretty good grip - when ran tubeless with stans with low pressure.
Super light - 450g for 2.0.
| | Weaknesses: | Grip is nonexistent if you run with tubes with 30+ PSI.
When putting stans in, it will take a while for the tire to seal, due to thin sidewalls. But that's the tradeoff to a lighter weight. | | Similar Products Used: | Exiwolf | | Bike Setup: | Titus RX | | Bottom Line: | This is an XC tire. Run this with stans with lightweight rims. Put tubes on it, and the grip is nonexistent.
I thought about ditching this tire before I decided to stan it. Before stans, I was running 30psi. Grip sucks, bad tire, outright dangerous.
After stans, 23psi, grip is great, low rolling resistance. A really great tire.
If you're putting stans in, do it when it is new. Thin sidewalls will take a while for the stans to seal it up, and it will take quite some time for it to stop leaking air.
Rating is with tubeless stans setup. I would give this tire 1 chili if I was running with tubges. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mick Procovich
a Weekend Warrior
from Hutto, Texas, USA
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | City Park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance, surprising versatility in varying conditions, can run extremely low pressures with Stan's No Tube kit. This tire has amazing climbing ability for a general purpose looking tread pattern. | | Weaknesses: | I had the rear wash out around a reducing radius with very low pressures ~20psi. 25+ psi of air cured the wash out problem. | | Similar Products Used: | Panaracer Fire, Smokes, Darts, Hutchinson Alligators, Michelin DH soft, Onza Porcupines and other old school stuff I'm not going to list. | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Giant XtC, XT components, Rock Shox Reba Race 100mm with lock, Rocks Shox SID XC rear shock 80mm, Avid mechanical disks, Stan's No Tube kit with 26” Kenda Karma 2.2 aired to about 25-30psi. | | Bottom Line: | I currently ride trails around the Austin TX area, so mostly hard pack, rocky, some sandy and slimy creek crossings. City Park http://www.austinbike.com/mtb/citypark/index.asp
and Walnut Creek ride areas are two of my favorites although very different. No mud compared to the PA spring thaw that I was used to so I can not comment of the Kenda 2.2's in the mud.
Curt from Curt's Cyclery, Nazareth, PA (one of the few people in the world I would trust my life to) suggested this tire to me afer describing the riding conditions here in the Austin Tx area. I'd say he hit it pretty much on the money. I read a lot of negatives about this tire when used with tubes. Even though the 26" Kenda Karma 2.2 is not designed as a tubeless tire, I'd have to say the Stan's No tube kit makes this tire perform as designed. With no tubes, the paper thin Kenda sidewalls have a chance to work similar to the racing slicks on my drag car. When aired down to the 25-30 psi range, they wrinkle, grab and bite on anything they touch and still roll pretty good. On loose rocky hard pack stepped climbs like City Park Motorcycle Trail, I could feel the rocks bumping the rim through the tire and of course no flats since no tubes to pinch. I did add a bit more air after feeling the rim but the traction at that low of an air pressure was simply awesome.
This tire also handles road work pretty good too for short periods of time. After about 20 miles of road riding, you will be wishing you took your road bike out and left the mountain bike at home. This tire allows me to ride the mountain bike on the road with my wife, or jump into the off road aggressive trails with my friends.
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Submitted by
Jonathan Halliwell
a Cross Country Rider
from Wellington, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Karapoti | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Light! Works great as a tubeless tyre too. 'Big' volume tyre for a 2.0 | | Weaknesses: | A bit sketchy in loose dry surface on hardpack. | | Similar Products Used: | WTB Weirwolf, IRC Mythos, Conti Explorer & Twister Pro | | Bike Setup: | 07 Mongoose Canaan Elite, stock except for Mavic 819 tubeless wheelset and Shimano SPDs. | | Bottom Line: | I'd desribe myself as an aggressive XC rider/racer and I really like this tyre so far. Running it tubeless makes for a very light setup and has performed flawlessly so far running tubeless at about 30psi. Wear is average and it does lose some traction on dry loose surface hardpack when climbing.
I haven't used this tyre in wet conditions yet, I'd be inclined to swap to something more aggressive for Winter.
Big for a 2.0, bigger than a 2.1 Conti or Weirwolf. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick
a Cross Country Rider
from Kapiti, NZ
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | mungatuks | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Free with the bike?
Litle resistance on road
Folding bead is a breeze to remove
Lightweight | | Weaknesses: | Weak sidewalls! These do not like low pressure at all and felt like they were about to roll of the rim at anything less than 40psi. Dont inspire confidence in any conditions. Knobs are not ramped, i would expect more at this price. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Enduro, Fastrak, Crossroads | | Bike Setup: | 07 Mongoose Canaan Elite | | Bottom Line: | I have already replaced these. While there are some positives, the incredibly weak sidewalls write it off. They cannot handle remotely low pressures at all. Feel like they are gona roll off on every corner. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Myc.O Garcia
a Cross Country Rider
from Bacolod Philippines
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | tubes tae | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$8.00 | | Purchased At: | Standard bike shop owned by sally | | Strengths: | Has a very low rolling resistance... Both good on offroad and road. The stck e provides very good grips on uphill and corners.. | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Continental explorer, twister.. Wtb raptor. Specialized fast trak, Roll x, TEam master, adrenaline | | Bike Setup: | Gt i drive 3.0 | | Bottom Line: | For me these tires are the best. i used it for quite some time and i am very satisfied by its performance.. It is very indeed cheap but the quality of these tires is above its cost.. I am happy that i bought these tires and i recommend it to other fellow bikers who wants a tire that is affordable and as well quality made. For me kenda tires are the best ever.. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a Weekend Warrior
from AZ
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Seemed light and pretty fast on pavement. | | Weaknesses: | Scary on anything loose. Get some health insurance. | | Bottom Line: | These came with my new bike but I'm swapping out for the Nevegals and thorn resistant tubes from my other bike before I ride again. I'll take the extra weight over a Medivac ride. The Karma's just don't handle any angle and cornering makes you concentrate on not sliding off the trail/eating sand at speeds you don't even think about with a "normal" trail tire.
Climbing was pretty loose too. These tires don't fit my "style". What that is, I don't know but simple desert foothills riding was a bust with these. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from Riverview, FL
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Abyss | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$27.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson usa | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance, decent grip | | Weaknesses: | Weak sidewalls, | | Similar Products Used: | everything...... | | Bike Setup: | Giant trance1, Easton EC70 MX, I9 Wheels, Thomson 90mm Stem, thomson masterpiece seat post, race face gears and bash guard. | | Bottom Line: | These things are a great racing tire. They react quickly and as expected on hard pack. Sand is another story they roll straight but any variation fron straight and you can feel them washing out. As long as it is hard pack, these are the tire to go with. They are only 480g and they roll fast and are great in climbs. Just stay away from wet roots if you can. They are good in corners as long as you take the corner correctly, force the weight towards the tread not the side wall and you will be fine. Bottom line buy this if you are racing or just want to go fast. Remember this is a XC tire not a DH or FR. treat as such and it will reward you!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
brian
a Cross Country Rider
from san rafael, CA
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | light, fast, and easy to get on/off | | Weaknesses: | no grip | | Similar Products Used: | too many to name | | Bike Setup: | azonic evolution, fox f100rlc, bb7 brakes, thompson post, 117 wheelset | | Bottom Line: | this is a great racing tire, but i never have trused it in going downhill. every time i lean into a turn, or even turn, i slide out and it makes me way more cautious and slow. it is light and easy to change flats on, but i do not trust them going downhill. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
lumengrid l
a
from Dublin' Ireland
Date Reviewed: January 25, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | none | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Cyclological | | Strengths: | Really good grip in dry conditions | | Weaknesses: | Lack of grip in wet conditions,sliding on wet rocks, soft sides | | Similar Products Used: | Michelin Comp | | Bike Setup: | Commencal | | Bottom Line: | Good tires but loosing some grip in wet conditions, and Irish weather is not exactly dry one.
Amaizing grip on climbs.I used some michelins before and nokian. I will probaly look the change them for Nokian tires they are better in wet conditions.
Overal: value for price, great for summer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew Wellman
a Racer
from West Berlin Vermont USA
Date Reviewed: December 7, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | It's a secret! | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | 35 each at local shop | | Strengths: | Regarding the 2.2 fast, light and low rolling resistance and corners super wet or dry, roots or Rocks. Wears better than expected for a grippy tire. | | Weaknesses: | None, they are not free or growing on trees! | | Similar Products Used: | Smoke/Dart, velociraptors, mythos, mythos slick, all contential mtb tires, karisma, Hutchinsen python, wild grippers, and the list goes on. | | Bike Setup: | Santa cruz superlight, Fox RTL, xo, xt, dt ect. | | Bottom Line: | The biggest noticable perfomance difference from any single change on my bike. I race vet 1 xc in new england and wigh 155lbs. I use stan's with the 2.2 and run 28-30lbs. The traction is amazing up hill and at all speeds down hill. I did the pinnical challenge with these and it started to pour, the tires seemed to get better in the wet. I think that if you use hi air pressure than you might feel different. I ride at an old abondoned ski area that the FR and DH guys cut DH trails on. These trails are New England's Classic rear inches over the back wheel, techno and not meant for an xc guy. I run these same trails with the seat slapped down and I just think these tires are awsome. If don't break things very often so I don't have a problem with light weight stuff. Buy it if you want fast, grippy, low pressure, high air volume. Do buy it if you have no finess and destroy your equipement
andy | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tony
a Cross Country Rider
from Adelaide Hills, Australia
Date Reviewed: December 21, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Fast Rolling, Grips well, long lasting | | Weaknesses: | Loose Dirt | | Similar Products Used: | Lots | | Bike Setup: | Rigid Single Speed | | Bottom Line: | Have been tearing around on dirt roads with these tyres for 2 1/2 years now & they are still going. Soft compound that grips really well on hard pack & they roll realy fast. Best of all they last!!
Have been runing them tubeless with a Stans kit & no punctures yet!
If you want a good tyre for dirt & semi-road use, these are a great compromise between a slick & an agressive off road tyre! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe Schmoe
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Pinkbike | | Strengths: | Light | | Weaknesses: | No grip, unpredictable on sand | | Similar Products Used: | WTB Weirwolf | | Bike Setup: | Blur, Minute2, XO, Avid BB7, Mavic819 | | Bottom Line: | The Kenda Karmas came with the bike when I bought the entire thing used. The were really light compared to most tires out there. The tire compound felt soft but surprisingly they held up for a really long time. I usually ride on the road for about 10k to get to the trails in my area and these tires held up nicely to both road and trail. They are about on par in terms of durability for most tires in this price and performance category.
When it comes to handling, these tires are ASS. No matter how much I lean on the front and weight the outside pedal, it always seems to slide out when there's even a little bit of sand on high speed turns. As a result I find I have to brake earlier and take the corners with less speed. They handle off camber sections terribly as well. When I hit any sand patches going STRAIGHT, even staying loose and neutral on the handle bars doesn't help it's skiddish nature.
I decided to take the weight hit and put on some WTB Weirwolfs... it added over half a pound of weight to my wheels over the Karmas. My trail times have improved significantly. I can take the high speed corners MUCH faster, I do not unpredictably slide around on sand and I do not slide off the trail when there are off cambers. The only situation I find myself a bit slower on are hard pack straights or downhills.
I would NEVER buy the Karmas again even if they were weightless. I hate worrying about whether I'm going to slide out on turns.
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Submitted by
Seth
a Cross Country Rider
from Eastern MA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Fast, Low rolling resistence, Light, | | Weaknesses: | Small side lugs, Wet performance, | | Similar Products Used: | Hutchinson Scorpion, IRC Mythos, Maxxis Ranchero, Panaracer Dart, Panaracer Smoke, Panaracer Trailblaster, Specialized Team Something, Tioga Psycho K, | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Blur XT integrated Disc. | | Bottom Line: | Tires are very condition/terrain dependent. Keep in mind that a tire someone else may rate as poor you might find very good. As a technical cross country rider in New England I ride on a wide variety of conditions and terrain. These tires are fast! They roll easy and offer good grip in most cases. They'd make a great racing tire for dry and smooth conditions. When the trails get covered with roots and small rocks the tire's small side knobs don't hang well on at all. Wet weather makes things worse. I only use these tires in the dry when the trails are not overly technical. I give 3 Chilis for overall performance, but 5 for the "right" conditions. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
trail toad
a Cross Country Rider
from A2
Date Reviewed: September 12, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | highland rec. in milford. | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | ligth weight, rolls fast, | | Weaknesses: | hard pack only. | | Similar Products Used: | 20 years of mountain biking too many to list | | Bike Setup: | titus switchblade, trail durable parts. | | Bottom Line: | I had these tires on my truth and I have just taken them off my titus. They are great tires for certain conditions. I can't say they are an all around tire. Hard pack and smooth rock the grip like glue. I had no trouble on wet roots but both of the bikes are good four bar designs. so climbing and bumpy down hills were no problem. I have had no flating problems. I've ran them a yeas and a half on the titus and have had no flats. I run them on F519 rims with stans. The big problem here in southeast michigan is poor trail design. Almost every down hill ends in a corner causing the topsoil to be stripped bare from hard braking and the sand underneath to wash down and collect in the corners. And the climbs alway seem to be gravely messes or eroded nightmares. I can't change that and these tires don't handle turning in sandy corner well or gravel. I too ride poto. It's and good fast intermediate trail. The titus has no problems climbing any of the hills with these tires but as I said good deign rear ends are rare and really work on climbs. so I guess I could be running crappy tires and still go over the little roots in poto and throught the long sand with a bike with good trail geometry. But I ride the single speed at poto most of the time unless I'm doing more than three 17 mile laps out there and it has cheap irc mythos tires and seems to do fine. I just put on nevegals for the sandy corning and gravely climbs here in southeast michigan. I think the weight gain may be the only draw back since I ride 50 plus miles of single track on my long day I'll know soon. As far as I see these tires are good for what they were designed for. There not cheap so don't buy them just to see if you can ride them in loose or muddy conditions cause your waisting your money. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
The Flying Gordo
a Racer
from Houston, TX
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Memorial Park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Universal Cycles | | Strengths: | Great on hardpack, rolls fast, extremely light weight, large volume for size, no issues with flats | | Weaknesses: | Cornering and braking grip very iffy on anything other than harpack | | Similar Products Used: | Kenda Nevegal, IRC Serac, Hutchinson Python, Specialized Roll-X, Maxxis Mimo. | | Bike Setup: | 2004 Titus Racer-X 100, Fox Float 100RLC, 5th Element Air, WTB LaserDisc Lite hubs w/ Mavic 717 rims, Hope Mono Mini brakes, MaxM post and bars, Eggbeater Ti pedals, Truvativ Stylo GXP cranks, Sram X.0 shifters and rear der., XT front der., WTB Laser V Stealth Saddle | | Bottom Line: | This tire is ideal for races on hardpack. They are very light (<480g), roll very fast, and you can actually feel the Stick-E compound on hardpack. Add just as little as 1/8" of loose topping however and cornering grip and braking bite are greatly reduced. This is not the tire you want to use on sandy technical descents or courses with slightly sandy corners. The Pythons have a little better grip overall although the Karmas drift more predicatably when they do break loose. If your course includes a little loose topcoat, I would highly recommend the Nevegal or the Roll-X.
I have not had any issues with durability or flats with this tire. I think this might be a good candidate to use as a front tire and mix-and match the back with a Blue Groove or Nevegal which offer more braking bite. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
DJ
a Cross Country Rider
from Nashville
Date Reviewed: January 25, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | With Bike | | Strengths: | Light | | Weaknesses: | Corning is horrible and they don't climb or brake well | | Similar Products Used: | WTB Velociraptors, Panaracer Firerpo XC's | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Blur. All XT | | Bottom Line: | When I was second guessing myself in the corners and sliding out all the time I though sure my new full suspension should corner better than my hard tail. We'll after numerous times comparing my hardtail with Velociraptors to my full suspension with the Kenda's it was very apparent what the problem was. I bought Panaracers FirePro XC 2.1's and they roll much faster, almost impossible to slide out in the corners and will dig and dig when muddy. I do think the Kenda would be good in hard pack, but why waste your time changing tires when the Panaracers do everything right. Go with the Panaracers because they have the pinch flat protection and it works. The rocks I used to bottom out on are no longer! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
P D
a Weekend Warrior
from philippines
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$12.00 | | Purchased At: | powerbikes | | Strengths: | Easy to pedal, great grip for a conservative looking tire. | | Weaknesses: | wears fast, side wall fell apart after 1000kms of riding (leaving me stranded on top of the mountain) | | Similar Products Used: | kenda klaw, wtb motoraptor, wtb weirwolf, maxxis larsen mimo | | Bike Setup: | hard tail | | Bottom Line: | You can get a better set of tires. Go with WTB's. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cochise
a Cross Country Rider
from Arizona (Actual Mountains)
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Carr Canyon Perimeter | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | If you cut this tire into little squares you may be able to use them for patches...that is if you have the right epoxy mix. | | Weaknesses: | These tires actually cost money | | Similar Products Used: | Many....Im 30 and Ive ridden for years | | Bike Setup: | Full Suspension | | Bottom Line: | Im 220lbs, 6', and I love rocky singletrack 1 to 2 foot drops, 1 to 2 foot jumps, and rides that last over a couple of hours. I also commute with my bike and average about 50+ miles a week between rockgardens, singletrack, fireroads and street.....ahhhh the beauty of Arizona. These tires are for groomed tracks only, or maybe neighborhood streets. I average 1 flat per ride...when I'm careful. I put these in the "racers only" category as they hook up ok and are light as hell for thier size. If you respect durability, look elsewhere, which is what im doing right now! Im rating them low because I bought the puncture proof tubes with sealent and they still get flats....next theyll be selling me tires made from wal-mart plastic bags. I bet they would be just as light. I just love to watch the sealent shoot out when im 3 miles deep into a mountain....such a secure feeling. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jam
a Cross Country Rider
from sydney & UK
Date Reviewed: November 1, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Strengths: | Weight, size, good price | | Weaknesses: | Not a great all rounder, but great in the right conditions. | | Similar Products Used: | IRC Mythos | | Bike Setup: | SC Blur, XTR & SRAM | | Bottom Line: | Low weight, under the advertised 480gms. Good size profile too, 2.0 but larger than the 2.1 Continentals they replaced. Rides well on Australian conditions- dry, hardpack, loose rock etc. Probably useless in mud but that doesnt matter too much here! Change tyres in winter & these are a great buy. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Epics | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$32.00 | | Purchased At: | www.airbomb.com & www.aebike.com | | Strengths: | Pedal efficiency, hardpack. | | Weaknesses: | Tire wears quickly compared to standard 70a tires. Minor grip for the performance gain. | | Similar Products Used: | Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1, Hutchinson Python Gold 2.0,
WTB Epicwolf Race 2.1, WTB Motoraptor Race 2.14 & 2.4, Weirwolf 2.1 & 2.5, Mutanoraptor 2.1, Ritchey WCS Z.E.D. Race 2.1, Maxxis 2.0 Ranchero eXCeption. | | Bike Setup: | WTB Laserdisc Lite Wheelset with 15/17 Ritchey Spokes, 12mm Alloy Nipples, M960 XTR Cassette and Formula Pro Team Brakes. | | Bottom Line: | This is the easiest pedaling tire I have ever tried. The tire hooks up great on So.Cal hardpack condition. For moderate loose topcoats the tire performs well. This tire was made to race on So Cal hardpack trails.
The tire corners very well and climbs great except on loose conditions.
The tire was not meant to handle mud and we do not see much here.
The tire rolls incredible fast. My only grip would be braking is not good on loose downhills. There is flex in the casing but the tires claimed weight is 460g, but mine wieghed even lighter.
The casing feels almost tubeless using Maxxis flyweight tubes. I never got a pinch flat and I weigh 180lbs, 35psi front and 40psi rear.
The tires just pick up and go on hill climbs. It took a while for me to trust the corning sidewall traction on hardpack and moderate loose. They do corner well and I would recommend trying them if your terrian is like So Cal or hardpack. Great XC race tire!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JayR54
a Weekend Warrior
from Farmington Hills MI
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Lakeshore Park in Novi | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | came with new bike | | Strengths: | nice light weight | | Weaknesses: | no good in mud, sand or loose gravel conditions, esp when turning | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Blurr, F100x shock | | Bottom Line: | I bought my Blurr last November, 2003. These tires came with the bike. I quickly changed to Nokian Extreme 296 for winter riding since the Nokians needed a break-in period. As soon as the snow melted I put the Kenda Karma L3R Pro Stick-E 26 X 2.0 back on with Stan's Notubes at 40 psi. One of the other reviewers is running 30 psi but the Stan's notubes system didn't hold up when I tried 30 psi. The lighter weight compared to the Nokians was much appreciated. I rode the Potowatami trail in Pickney last Sunday and had a hard time holding a straight line in the sand. The front tire would fish-tail plowing through the sand. They put a lot of sand where there used to be mud and with these tires it was a sand trap. I had to get off and push the bike through a long level section of sand. The front tire especially would slide out on the turns. When going up the steep climbs it wouldn't take much for the back wheel to spin out. This was especially true trying to get over a step-up such as a tree root. There goes your momentum and you're off the bike walking it up the rest of the way. Mountain Bike mag gave the Panaracer Fire XC Pro a very good rating back in 2003. One of the other reviewers here liked it too. So that's what I'll try next. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
TIRE FREAK
a Cross Country Rider
from vanburen,ar
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | lady of the creek | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | bikes etc. | | Strengths: | HIGH VOLUME,LITE,PREDICTABLE CORNERING,ROLLS FAST | | Weaknesses: | THIN CASING,(LITE WEIGHT TIRE!!!) | | Similar Products Used: | SPECIALIZED DIRT CONTROL | | Bike Setup: | SANTA CRUZ SL,FOX TERRALOGIC,AVID DISC,FSA COM. ETC. | | Bottom Line: | I BUY & RIDE A LOT OF DIFFERENT TIRES.THIS TIRE IS IN MY OPINION , PROBABLY THE BEST "ALL AROUND" X/C TIRE THERE IS.I RIDE VERY DIVERSE TERRAIN&EVERY TIME THEY HAVE HOOKED UP.THEY WERE NOT INTENDED TO BE RODE FOR FREERIDE OR AT HIGH PRESSURE.I AM 170# I RIDE THE FRONT AT 32&REAR AT 42. IF YOUR AN EXPERIANCED RIDER WHO RIDES WITH MOJO & FLOW,YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED.GREAT FOR X/C RACING & RIDING. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin Rempe
a Cross Country Rider
from Loganville, GA USA
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Low overall weight, good tread spacing, good dry weather grip in most conditions that I've found | | Weaknesses: | Once you hit wet areas and mud, you're screwed. With all the rain we've had here in GA lately, these tires quickly become useless. | | Similar Products Used: | Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1 @ $25 ea. | | Bike Setup: | Haro XLS R5 w/ some upgrades | | Bottom Line: | The tire just does not have the ability to shed mud fast enough in order to keep up with the demand for traction (specifically while climbing and/or turning sharply). I spun out 8 times in 4.5 miles (GA clay and sand, mostly wet w/ some standing water at points) and probably saved myself another dozen times on this one trail alone. I'm lucky I didn't injure my right hip. I am keeping the tires in hopes that I can use them in circumstances where the trail is not as "soupy". I sacrificed weight by going to the Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1, but I gained some severe traction and cornering ability. Guess I'll have to find other ways to shave off some weight and get the bike back to 30 pounds... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JT
a Cross Country Rider
from santa cruz
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | back of nisene | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | with blur new @ ABS | | Strengths: | light weight!460g!!!! fast rolling,good climbing on dry. | | Weaknesses: | NO traction when cornering! do not lay it over on these tires!no fun going downhill. | | Similar Products Used: | fire xc pros,mythos xc,irc factory xc,wtb mutano 2.4,etc... | | Bike Setup: | sc blur,full xt,minute air 2:00 130mm fork,5-th ele shock,crank bros candy pedals,berserkr kcx saddle,thom post,easton stem/ bars,avid cable discs,new EPIC WOLF 2.1 RACE TIRES. | | Bottom Line: | good tires for a cross country race and straight pedaling, but not for any sort of down hill trail fun or cornering.very flexy carcas needed min 45psi for me(183lb+gear) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Farmington, Ct, USA
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Case Mt | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | Stan's | | Strengths: | Grippy on wet rocks roots, run at lower psi with Stan's set up | | Weaknesses: | none yet | | Similar Products Used: | Hutchinson Python UST, Alligators, Tioga Red Phoenix UST 1.9s | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Scalpel, Stan's wheels, set up weight weenie to race | | Bottom Line: | Have done several rides but today was the best test. Rainy conditions over wet slimy rocks and roots, New England technical riding. I purposely pushed these tires in attempts to get them to slip on wet rocks and roots. With slight body weighting/position changes on the bike they hooked up everytime. I cleaned a couple of sections I have not been able to ride when it has been dry, no matter what tire I was using. I cannot wait to race them. Great combo with Stan's wheels/stuff at 30 psi, I weight 175 lbs. The Stick E L3R compound works! Excellent for technical riding and racing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Adam
a Cross Country Rider
from Barnesville, Ga
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Dauset, Blankets, Camp Thunder | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | These tires are great climbers and are very light. | | Weaknesses: | They don't hold well in turns at XC race pace speeds. Because they are light they are very thin. I have had more flats with these tires than anyother I have every owned and today the back blew completely out on the sidewall for no reason I could find. | | Similar Products Used: | Tioga Phoenix, Hutchinson | | Bike Setup: | Blur SPX kit | | Bottom Line: | These are great tires for climbing however they don't hold corners well at all. They will wash out from under quickly. As stated above they are very light however this comes with a price and that is they are very thin. I have flatalmost everytine I go out at least two a week. No problems with my rims I have already checked. Last week riding with a friend who was riding the same tires we had four flats within 3 miles. No one else in our group had any problems and we were all on the same trail. today while riding I put 32 pounds of air in and started my ride got 13 miles in and all of a sudden the back tires side wall blew out while on a smooth single track. I love these tires for their weight however this is getting expensive buying tubes. Got to change to something else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ron
a Racer
from Everett, Wa
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$39.00 | | Purchased At: | Kenda | | Strengths: | Weight, Air volume | | Weaknesses: | None, for the intended usage. | | Similar Products Used: | Bontranger AC Jones, Continental Twister Pro, Continental Explorer/Escape Pro combo | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel 90 with Stans No Tube setup, 28psi front and rear. | | Bottom Line: | Great tire. Works great with Stans tubless setup with low air pressure. I have raced two X-country races this season with these tires and they hooked up in all conditions (mud, roots, loose rocks). They appear to wearing well also. No regrets so far. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alan
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver,BC,Canada
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | Notubes | | Strengths: | Rolls fast; very light; great grip in dry; corners in dry conditions fantastically. | | Weaknesses: | Fairly thin sidewalls, had branch/root puntuctures thru casing; wet condition grip is less inspiring. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Roll X Pro Race; Michelin Jet S | | Bike Setup: | xc hardtail | | Bottom Line: | Love these tires in the dry summer conditions. Amazingly fast and grippy on corners.
I don't like them in wet conditions. So far, I prefer Roll X in wet conditions. | | Value Rating: |
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$ 29.99
