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Submitted by
kiwijames
a Racer
from Lafayette, CA
Date Reviewed: July 5, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Anything in Joaquin Miller Park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came standard issue | | Strengths: | Round like rims. Folding bead. Black. Works wheel on smooth rolling XC trails. | | Weaknesses: | Traction sucks. Definitely drifts more than other tires on high speed turns. Feels sketchy on off camber descents, when the terrain changes from smooth trails to cakey adobe, rock gardens, moist roots or DG...they aren't the best. | | Similar Products Used: | WTB Velociraptors, Panaracer XC Fire Pro 127 TPI | | Bike Setup: | 08 Scott Spark 20, XTR/XT, Juicy 7, Dt Swiss wheels x455/240hubs, Fox F100RL, Ritchey WCS Carbon stem/bars, Noir, Joplin, Look Quartz | | Bottom Line: | These lasted 3 training rides before they were permanently removed. Thinking it was my new bike set-up I swapped my wheels with my trainers XC717 with Pana XC Fire Pro 127TPIs....and it was all tire on the same trails. Have since swapped the rubber around and the Kendas are on the training/back-up bike guests use. It's probably a fine tire for smooth and consistent composition trails, but for the myriad of soil/trail make ups in Nor Cal, there are better tires. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
nicholas
a Weekend Warrior
from wellington,New Zealand
Date Reviewed: July 5, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | karapoti | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | pretty grippy not heavy | | Weaknesses: | bad cornering | | Similar Products Used: | maxis high roller | | Bike Setup: | gt avalanche 2.0 08 model | | Bottom Line: | grippy but bad on fast cornering would not recommend for down hill okay for the person who likes to go slow | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Craptasticycle
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Sycamore | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Stock on Trance X2 | | Strengths: | Seems to work well in back | | Weaknesses: | Ummm - cornering, giving feedback at the limits, sand | | Similar Products Used: | Hutchinson Spider, Panaracer Fire | | Bike Setup: | Stock trance x2 | | Bottom Line: | Me NO LIKEY in front. They wash out worse than any tire I've ever had in the sand. My old spider would tell you when they were losing grip, they might slide or push in the corners but the nevegals just let go with out warninng. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mck.brad
a Cross Country Rider
from Oakville, Ontarion, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Merrit Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Internet: Blue Sky C | | Strengths: | Excellent off-road traction. | | Weaknesses: | Can't think of any. | | Similar Products Used: | WTB tires | | Bike Setup: | Giant Warp DS2: Upgraded to Avid BB7s, and 2.1 Nevegals. | | Bottom Line: | After reading the tire review in Mountain Bike Action magazine 2 years ago, where the Stick-E Nevegals won 1st place, I decided to purchase a pair. I ultimately went for the DTC as these will tend to last longer (DTC = Dual Thead Compound. Stick-E rubber on the edge knobs and harder rubber in the centre. This gives better rolling resistance on hard pack trails or road).
Folding tires are my choice now. Being able to remove the Nevegals without using tools to change tubes or tires is amazing. (If you do any racing, this is key). After 2 years of mostly weekend warrior type riding, some commuting and one official race, these have held up. No problems at all.
Considering purchasing another set when these wear out.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! You won't be sorry!! Kenda got it right with these. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rad8
a Weekend Warrior
from Yellowknife, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | north shore of frame lake | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | lbs | | Strengths: | previous review said it best, it's a great all-round tire: good climbing, good grip in all conditions, CAP-ply casing is burly, Stick-E rubber grips, and I haven't had any flat issues.
Round profile and knob design means that it's in constant contact with the ground. | | Weaknesses: | what makes it good all-round makes it not excellent for specific things, like hard cornering. | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis high roller, minion DHf/DHr, mobster and mofo. WTB Weirwolf. Tioga Yellow Kirin. | | Bike Setup: | Intense Uzzi slx (6" travel), 6" sherman, RF evolve DH cranks, Avid Juicy 7; Mavic D521 + 2.5 minion DHF front, Mavic D321 + 2.35 Nevegal Stick-E DH casing rear.
/also
Spec. BigHit, super-T, profile cranks, Hayes Mag 8", 26" Mavic D321 + 2.7" mobster front, and 24" Halo combat + 2.5" Nevegal Stick-E DH casing rear. | | Bottom Line: | This is for the Stick-E DH casing version, my wife has the folding version but I haven't ridden it yet. I used to live next to a lift-access park but moved and now only have super-technical, super-rocky trails to ride, which is still awesome.
Great all-round trail-riding tire. Sticks to rocks and firm and loose soil. Rolls faster than 3C Minion DHR but slower than a slightly worn 60a High Roller (slightly worn is the sweet spot). Climbs and brakes great in all conditions.
The round profile with two rows of side knobs result in constant contact with the ground, which makes it predictable and excellent for trail riding.
From my perspective the main weakness is hard cornering: I like to lean in, almost in line with the bike, not necessarily over the bike, and pump turns back and forth ski-mogul style. In this situation the nevegal doesn't have the real firm, rail-like feeling that a high roller has, or Weirwolf for that matter. It's been a few months of riding and with both the 26 X 2.35 and 24 X 2.5 nevegals on the rear, I'm still not totally comfortable with leaning over and pumping real hard. I guess I'm just a shoulder channel kind of rider, maybe I'll cut down the inner row of shoulder knobs...
Like the weirwolf, gravel sized material gives the nevegal trouble while cornering. Whereas the weirwolf has relatively small knobs, with the nevegal I think this is because of the twin sets of side knobs that preclude a big shoulder channel (my constant theme).
So, what makes it great and predictable for everything also makes it less than awesome for aggressive cornering. 5 chili's overall because overall it's awesome. 4 for value because even though they're generally not too expensive, I still need to keep my DH-specific tires handy. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
wvuMTBer
a Weekend Warrior
from West "by god" Virginia
Date Reviewed: June 6, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | my pleasure trail | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Good for everything. Not perfect for everything, you have to understand the difference. | | Weaknesses: | read below | | Similar Products Used: | too many | | Bike Setup: | a hairy yeti | | Bottom Line: | Reviews are always funny. You get to here people complain because most people who like the product don’t bother to tell people they like the product. Here is a list of complaints that I have read below and my answer to the posters.
The bead doesn’t seat well – this is more of a rim problem than a tire issue, ask anyone with multiple sets of rims and most will say that they work better on some than others. If a tire is really tight on a rim and doesn’t seat well try using thinner or skinnier rim tape.
They roll too slowly – tires are either fast with less traction or slow with more traction. Pick your poison. A super fast tire with gobs of traction is an oxymoron. Tires are designed for specific terrain if the Nevegal is to slow it doesn’t mean the tire sucks, it means it’s got lots of traction. You can’t have it both ways.
The sidewalls cut to easily or are to thin – how do you make a sidewall more resistant to cutting? You add more material or make it thicker. Following that line of logic it means the tire will be heavier. Then everyone on here would post “the tires are really heavy”. Buy a downhill that is constructed to withstand cuts or stop complaining.
They wear out to quickly – tires are made of rubber compounds that vary from soft to hard. Harder rubber compounds last longer but are less sticky, therefore sacrificing ride quality for durability. Softer rubber compounds are sticky and hook up well but wear out sooner, therefore sacrificing product life for performance. It’s a give and take that everyone will complain about one way or the other. You don’t have to buy sticky rubber compounds if you don’t want to.
They are too heavy – if it was any lighter, less material would be used to make the tire yielding thinner sidewalls and more cuts. Need I say more?
They pinch flat too easily – use a higher PSI. Tire construction has lees to do with pinch flats than most people think. Kenda could make the sidewall stiffer but then you would end up with a heavier tire. There is a really simple fix to pinch flatting, inflate your tires more!!!! We all hear stories of people running 30-35psi but this is greatly dependent on weight, terrain, bike setup, and riding style. If you weigh 200 pounds you probably shouldn’t run less than 40-45psi.
They puncture too easily – puncture protection is heavy and expensive. If you want tires that weigh more and cost more they are easy to find.
They don’t clear mud well – tires that clear mud well generally have larger spaces in between knobs to allow mud to fly off. Picture a tire with larger gaps between the knobs. Does it look like a tire that is fast? Mud shedding and rolling resistance go hand in hand.
Basically, this is a great tire. It works well and there is a reason it’s voted number one by magazines year after year. Also, Kenda’s warranty department handles all claims fairly and in a timely matter. I have returned a few tires for one reason or another with no problems. Also, I don’t work for Kenda but I do love their stuff. It’s frustrating to see people complain about things without seeing the big picture.
GET OFF THE INTERNET AND RIDE!!!!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sangmatt
a Cross Country Rider
from
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | they don't completely suck at anything, except for clearing mud | | Weaknesses: | they suck at clearing mud; lethargic tire | | Bike Setup: | Mojo | | Bottom Line: | I'm not sure what the hype is about these tires, or why even high end bikes come with them stock. It's not that they are horrible, there just seem to be so many faster, lighter tires, or that have better traction and actually clear mud (at least for riding XC in SE Idaho).
Slow.
Did I mention they don't clear mud well? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ian Perez
a Weekend Warrior
from Carolina, PR
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Monagas | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | They came with the bike | | Strengths: | Great looks. Good grip on dry or hardpacked terrain | | Weaknesses: | They wear out way too fast. Slow rolling. They sometimes feel like they are flat. | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight | | Bottom Line: | For the price they should last longer. Road riding is minimal and I mostly ride on weekends only and already they show extensive wear. Depending on the weight of the rider you have to play with the psi to hit the sweet spot. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jd
a Cross Country Rider
from Pitttsburgh
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Kenosha Pass | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | speedgoat | | Strengths: | grip and traction for climbing, handles tacky, loose terrain well. soft DTC provides nice feel | | Weaknesses: | expensive, high rolling resistance, a little unstable in fast corners on smooth or loose terrain due to large flexy outside knobs, and wear fast. worst of all: impossible to seat bead properly - tire has a lot of wobble. | | Similar Products Used: | Panaracer Smoke/Dart, Ritchey Z-max, Maxxis Larsen, WTB, Conti | | Bike Setup: | racer-x, SRAM, Raceface, the Thompson usuals, Time ATAC, Stan's no-tubes rims, FOX, nokon cables, HOPE mono-mini and hubs | | Bottom Line: | These tires look totally awesome and are very eye-catching. Everyone speaks highly of them but they are pricey, roll with a lot of resistance, feel much less stable than the Maxxis Larsen due to the large knobs, and I have yet to get the bead to seat properly - the front tire wobbles so much that at high speeds, the bike feels less stable. I called Speedgoat after dropping $90 for the pair to find out that they are hard to seat - you have to use soap on the bead - no luck!
The Larsens are the best tire I have ever ridden: on Stan's no-tubes rims, run them at 28-32psi and you'll ride over and climb anything more smoothly than the Nevegals. And in the mud, the Nevegals pack and carry a ton of mud. If you are skeptical, look elsewhere. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
J
a Cross Country Rider
from BC
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Great traction in all conditions | | Weaknesses: | A little heavy and slow | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized, Schwalbe. | | Bottom Line: | Ran 2.1 Nevegal Stick-E converted to tubeless for over a year - no problems! Great traction in all conditions. Changed to something faster / lighter for the summer. Will go back to Nevegal for winter and wet. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
xc, am, dh rider from noco sd
a Cross Country Rider
from san diego, ca
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | name it | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | works great when new or newer as long as youre not cornering hard, light, grips well in general xc conditions and noticeable difference when not pushing it | | Weaknesses: | washes out when cornering hard or on loose/semi loose terrain...wears out FAST in hard pack/so cal conditions...noticed after about 4 months of 3-4 times a week riding and rear tire was pretty much worthless after 6 months. ran tire at 40 psi as anything less like 35-37 resulted in flats EVERY time. great if you dont mind spending $30-55 (to replace both) every 3-4 months. xc riders(roadies on dirt) this tire is for you | | Similar Products Used: | wtb velociraptors (best by far but heavy!) kirins | | Bike Setup: | gt idrive, xt cranks, x9/xo shifters, juicy 7's, ec/ea 70 post/bars | | Bottom Line: | great if you dont mind flat/fast riding. climbs well. wears out FAST on hardpack/rock...great if you can replace them every 2-4 months...if you ride 1/2 times a week go for it! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Luke
a Weekend Warrior
from Tonbridge (Medway area)
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Any!!! | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike. | | Strengths: | Extremely good traction on soft dirt that inhabits the medway area. Works well on a mixture of other terrain as well such as gravel and hardpack. | | Weaknesses: | Poor lifespan! Used it for about 3 months now and the tread has noticably worn away (still get about 2 more months of of them though). Poor use on roads too. | | Bike Setup: | Marin Rock Springs 08 Frame; XT hubs, Rockshox Pike (coil) fork, Fox float R shock.. in other words standered set up.... | | Bottom Line: | A good tyre if you want to blast about on without the worry of sliding off into a ditch/cliff face! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin carson
a Downhiller
from davis ca
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Pacifica | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Brand new from friend | | Strengths: | lasts long... | | Weaknesses: | the traction isnt great for dh... especially hard over loose and the sidewalls are pretty weak
the nobs dont grip that well im much happier with minions
i always slip out on berms | | Similar Products Used: | i havnet gone through alot of tires | | Bike Setup: | Yeti asx. totem. juicy 7's. azonic outlaws etc... dhx 5 w/ti spring | | Bottom Line: | its an ok tire but im sure its more an all mountain tire... it doesnt have the traction you need for dh
so thats why im giving it a poor rating | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hydrogeek
a Weekend Warrior
from Portland, OR
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS Fat Tire Farm | | Strengths: | Great grip, clears mud well, run low pressures | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | WTB Moto Raptor, IRC Mythos | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Dakar XCR Expert | | Bottom Line: | These tires are amazing. I have ridden them in mud, hardpack, and rock. They do well in everything. I have made muddy climbs that I could never have done before. They also corner well with large side knobs. They are a bit expensive but worth it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryan R
a
from l
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Bike Junkie :) | | Strengths: | Great traction in a variety of conditions, Great cornering, Braking, and climbing, Very sticky tire that fits nice and snug to most wheel sets Light weight when considering tires | | Weaknesses: | Wear time; these suckers wear out quick especially if you use he Stick-E compound! PUNCTURES!! If you ride thorny areas be prepared to be doing some tube changes, Can be a little pricy | | Similar Products Used: | Too many to count but to name a few Maxxis, Panaracer, Hutchison, WTB, Intense, Specialized, Kenda, and Geax | | Bike Setup: | 06 Giant Reign 1, Custom built | | Bottom Line: | This review is for the 2.3 tires. I posted a review for the 1.9 Stick-E model a few years back. Still a great tire and even though my bike has changed my thoughts on these tires hasn't. Very versatile tire and can handle numerous types of terrain out there. Still I have two gripes about them, the first off as sticky and grippy as the "Stick-E" compound is it wears out QUICK! If you ride a lot of hard pack or road don't get the Stick-E compound. Second and this is a major one, these tires love to pick up thorns!! It's the reason why I don't use em till mid season. Around here in the spring the thorns are all over the trails. By early summer they are not too bad but if it's thorny near you consider Stans System for these. Some of my friends have converted them and it worked great on these tires. Other than that they perform well and I give em great review. For the 2.3's a better casing to avoid simple thorns would make em perfect, hey that's what Maxxis Minions are for huh? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Logan, UT
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$32.00 | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Good grip tire. Feel it carve in on edge. The tire hooks up in just about all conditions, loose, hard pack, loose over hard, sand, soft dirt, rock. Clears mud well. Nice volume tire with a comfortable ride even on a hard tail. Still looks new after 3 months. | | Weaknesses: | Don't roll really fast, but still roll better than cinders or weirwolfs. | | Similar Products Used: | Panaracer Cinders, Weirwolf, Spesh Resolutions | | Bottom Line: | Used the 2.1 as a rear tire for a few months so far. It really grips well on climbs and descents and has good lateral grip. Tends to carve rather than drift. Seems to do well in all conditions. Its a tire you can ride from early spring slop through the height of summer and into late fall since it seems to work on just about any condition. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ben Webster
a Cross Country Rider
from Diamond Bar, Ca, US
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | none in particular | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | two wheeler dealer | | Strengths: | Handles well at speed, durable on drops and over rocks, stable | | Weaknesses: | wear quick on hard pack
tire pressure will determine if you like the tire
very slow rolling, dont plan on going fast on the flats with out putting in alot of effort | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis Minion
Panaracer XC pro | | Bike Setup: | blur 4x, 08 xt shifters, rp23, nevegal up front, xc pro in back, 32 talas, ex721 laced to xt hubs, thomson seatpost and stem | | Bottom Line: | if you're going down the hill the tire is awesome. If you ride xc and want a better cornering tire at speed and thats all you are looking for, this is not for you, its too slow everywhere else, try panaracer xc pro's for all around use or maybe the small block 8 for hard pack, the new maxxis monorail is very fast and corners well and handles technical stuff with ease but not dh or am tire | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Carson
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego, CA
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Tecolote Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Arrowhead Cycles, Bishop, CA | | Strengths: | Good traction, attractive tread pattern. Handles well in mud, sand, and everything in between. | | Weaknesses: | LOTS of road noise, poor wear characteristics | | Similar Products Used: | Kenda Blue Groove | | Bike Setup: | Giant Yukon | | Bottom Line: | As far as my experience goes, this is a decenttire, especially off-road. It is a little expensive for my uses (I usually use my bike for commuting and occasional hardtrack out behind my college, so I don't need anything fancy like the kevlar bead), but overall it performs well in a wide variety of terrain, especially sand and hardtrack. It's got big blocks on the edges that help with cornering and handling off-road - a definite plus. However, if you will be riding more on pavement than anything else, skip this one. It's a big, heavy tire with horrible road manners; lots of noise and a rough ride. Also, it wears quickly relative to the Kenda Blue Grooves I also use. Within 3 months of fairly hard riding the tires were darn near worn out. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Racer
from Miami, Fl
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Markham Park | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | An excellent All-Conditions tire. Can run standard version Tubeless with Stans easily. | | Weaknesses: | Rolling Resistance. Tire pressure makes or breaks your opinion of the tire. Could be cheaper. | | Similar Products Used: | Blue Groove, Small Block 8, Bontrager Crap, IRC Serac | | Bike Setup: | '07 Fuel ex7 on ZTR Olympic/Hope Pro II tubeless setup. | | Bottom Line: | I'm running the 2.1 DTC version. I ride only XC. Mainly roots and rocks and some hardpack. THE most important thing with this tire for me is Tire pressure. I just recently put them back on after running SB8's for a few months. I'd never run them up front so I set them up at 32 PSI as I do with my SB8's. I was hating this tire for like 30 minutes of my ride. THey were bouncing me allll over the place on roots and rocks, especially on slow technical climbs, and weren't even grabbing well when I would lean hard. I was so frustrated. I started dropping the PSI and I could feel the traction increasing. So i kept dropping until I finally reached the point where I could it was like a totally different tire. Grabbing great on turns, solid traction on technical climbs, no slipping on roots. I didn't even have to go extremely low. 27 PSI is the sweet spot for me. I'm at 183lbs without riding gear. As for mud my only experience with them was in the rear and they were actually very nice. Seemed to really grab and get you out of the sticky stuff. It's been pretty dry lately so I don't have anything to say about them in the front with mud.
As for tubeless I've NEVER had a problem with it. After my initial Stans learning curve, it now takes me no longer to inflate them with a floor pump and Stans than it would with a tube. For you Stans users, here's a tip that might help. Forget what they say about putting the valve at the top. That's what makes it hard. Put the valve at the bottom, put the wheel on the floor and press down a bit so the tire flattens out a bit at the valve. Then pump fast a few times and it WILL catch. Any doubts I had of being able to do this at the trail are completely gone now. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe Blow
a Downhiller
from Vancouver
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Shore, Whistler | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Lbs | | Strengths: | Grip,ability to run extremely low pressure | | Weaknesses: | rolling resistance, durability | | Similar Products Used: | Wtb motoraptor, specialized, nokian | | Bottom Line: | Excellent grip on the local trails which are usually wet, and filled with rock armoring,skinnies,roots etc.Also,when at whistler, the tire also preforms. Pinch-flat protection is top notch to say the least. Hitting rim hard multiple times a run and still no pinch flats is a miracle to me. Also durability and rolling resistance may be a problem for some, but for most using the 2.5 it shouldn't be an issue as it is unnoticeable when going down the trail. (for stick-e compound)I personally only notice the resistance on pavement. Great overall for freeriders, and dh. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fritz Lehr
a Cross Country Rider
from Raleigh
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Beaver Dam | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bicycle | | Strengths: | Decent traction but didn't blow me away, seems to work fine on the front or rear, decent weight for a 2.1 | | Weaknesses: | Rolls a little slow, durability and tire integrity, the only tire less durable are Michelins | | Similar Products Used: | WTB Velocirapter, Specialized, Paracer Fire XC, Michelin Comp S (All tire are 2.1 since I tend to flat and damage rim with anything smaller) | | Bike Setup: | 2003 Santa Cruz Blur (Classic), Marz Marathon S, 2007 XTR Cranks, shifter, R. Derailler, XTR hubs, Mavic 317s, XT 4piston discs | | Bottom Line: | These are for the KENDA Nevagal 2.1 Stick-E tires and I usually run 35-40 psi. These tires were not as great as I had hoped. I read the reveiws in MBA and they were close. I know the 1.95s won their shootout, but I can't ride 1.95s because of the damage I get to my rims and pinch flats, so I went with 2.1s. I don't think they grip any better than anything else and rolling resistance was a little more than expected. My biggest complaint was the fact that several of the side knobs sheared off the tire. I really didn't expect that at all. I have never had a tire do that. I have had extreme wear on the side knobs, but never lost so many so fast. In 6 months the tire was done and worthless for cornering since the about 30-40% of the knobs were gone. The only tire I had more issues with were Michelin tires with sidewalls ripping and tires blowing off the rim during hard cornering. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Antonio
a Weekend Warrior
from Madrid(Spain)
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | All Mountain | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Strengths: | It grip well in any condition (2.35 Stick-e)
Lightweight | | Weaknesses: | The sidewalls are very weak.
Little resistant to pinch flats
No version tubeless | | Similar Products Used: | Sw Fat Albert 2.35
| | Bike Setup: | Norco Six One
Marzocchi Z1 Light Eta
Mavic 819 + Hope Bulp | | Bottom Line: | 2.35 Stick-e:
God tire for "all mountain". Excelent grip in all terrain but the sidewall are very weak. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sylvain Gravel
a Weekend Warrior
from Montreal, Qc, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | This tire does pretty well on hard pack, loose dirt and not-so-deep mud. Haven't had any pinch flats in a whole year of riding. | | Weaknesses: | The problems come when you need some grip while climbing in muddy conditions. Simply going through a deep mud hole will get you stopped. The tires don't really clear mud well either. It requires a lot of speed for all the mud to go flying which isn't good when riding XC. Wear is desastrous. | | Similar Products Used: | Mostly Maxxis (Larsen TT, Swampthing, Mofo DH) | | Bike Setup: | '06 Norco Six One | | Bottom Line: | These tires are often pretty good. In fact they hold up 80% of the time but when you get to those climbs where you really need the grip you will want other tires. If I compare these to the Swampthing's they fall really short of providing the grip in those crucial moments. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ivan
a Cross Country Rider
from singapore
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$55.00 | | Strengths: | grip- it grip well in any condition. i don't feel any difference between riding in wet and dry terrain. good if you live in countries which rain often making the trail muddy | | Weaknesses: | duraility- wear out fast. this might be due to its high performance
high rolling resistance- not good on pavement. its very draggy and slow.
weight- abit on the heavier side. 620g for 26x2.1
but given its performance, this is not a big issue
price- as it is not very durable, we will have to change it often. and being such a expensive tires, changing often is a pain. | | Similar Products Used: | tioga factory XC, tioga extreme XC | | Bike Setup: | GT avalanche. suntour XCR fork, deore and deore XT component. | | Bottom Line: | if you are riding in muddy condition, this is it.
i raced with it in a very muddy condtion. the tire and rim was inside the mud. i would say about 15cm deep. i did not fall. and right after the mud, its loose terrain and it still grip. if you are a weight weenie, this might be abit heavy but if you really need grip, the 100+g is worth it.
i ride it on pavement too. not very good. slow and wear out even faster. overall a good tire. grippy, average weight, not too durable, pricey. (the price that i posted is for a pair of 26x2.1 , 55usd for a pair) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jonathan
a Cross Country Rider
from Chico Ca USA
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came With Bike | | Strengths: | Great grip around corners, pretty resistant to pinch flats, good for climbing. Handles dry rock great as well as any type of dry or damp dirt. | | Weaknesses: | They wear fairly quickly from what Ive seen but its because they are a softer tire which gives them their stick on rocks etc. This coupled with the price to replace them is a bummer. | | Bike Setup: | 04 Kona Dawg Dee-lux - Vanilla 5in RLC in front, Float R 5in back, Azonic outlaw wheels, said tires. | | Bottom Line: | My next set of tires will be another set of these. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jonathan
a Cross Country Rider
from Chico Ca USA
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came With Bike | | Strengths: | Great grip around corners, pretty resistant to pinch flats, good for climbing. Handles dry rock great as well as any type of dry or damp dirt. | | Weaknesses: | They wear fairly quickly from what Ive seen but its because they are a softer tire which gives them their stick on rocks etc. This coupled with the price to replace them is a bummer. | | Bike Setup: | 04 Kona Dawg Dee-lux - Vanilla 5in RLC in front, Float R 5in back, Azonic outlaw wheels, said tires. | |
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