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Home | Product Reviews | Tire | Bontrager Big Earl | ||||
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Submitted by
Tyler
from Vermont
Date Reviewed: 5/28/2007 2:45:32 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $45 |
| Purchased At: | stock on bike |
| Strengths: | good size (compared to other brandname 2.5's), GREAT flat resistance, all-around solid tire for all-mountain use. |
| Weaknesses: | wears down quickly, but keep it off the pavement and you should be alright. Little pricey, too. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Maxxis High Rollers, WTB products. |
| Bike Setup: | all mountain / freeride. |
| Bottom Line: | Solid tire! I was reluctant to go with a Bontrager freeride tire when building the bike, but the bike techs at the shop spoke highly of them. I've been riding the same 2.5" tires for well over a year now for just about everything, including the daily commute, and I can't complain. Running these tires at low pressures provides great traction over the stunts and on the corners. And I've only had one flat in two years of riding. Get these tires with downhill tubes and let your pinch-flat worries fly away. It's come time to buy a new tire (the rear one didn't care much for all the time it had on asphalt), and after doing some research and checking out the competition (make sure to measure the tire before you buy!), I'm going to repeat-offend. a good all-purpose tire. |
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Submitted by
bob
a Weekend Warrior
from Florida
Date Reviewed: 5/14/2007 10:28:38 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | came stock on bike |
| Strengths: | Grip nice |
| Weaknesses: | Tread had no life |
| Similar Products Tried: | Just replaced rear tire w/ a Kenda Blue Groove John Tomac Series. |
| Bike Setup: | King Fisher 1 |
| Bottom Line: | Good traction, lacked on longevity. |
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Submitted by
Chad VB
a Downhiller
from Blacksburg, VA, USA
Date Reviewed: 4/30/2007 7:44:08 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Virginia Tech |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Purchased At: | Stock on bike |
| Strengths: | Sidewall strength... at 210lb i have pinch flatted the rear once. I also made a 1 inch flat spot in the rim from that same incident. I don't know what "rider" was talking about. They seem to grip well in general conditions. |
| Weaknesses: | Don't shed mud real well, they get caked up fairly quickly and if you aren't flying they won't spit the mud back off. It was only a problem when i was just riding out to the trail through some mud and came to a stop cause the tires were spinning. |
| Similar Products Tried: | WTB, Kenda Kinetics |
| Bike Setup: | Trek Session 77, sherman, azonic outlaws, other random goodies |
| Bottom Line: | Pretty good tires, they keep the tube from flatting well (much much much much better than the Kendas). I believe they are fairly expensive to buy by themselves. I probably would try something else if I was buying new tires but could see coming back to these again. Also... drop the psi a little bit on these tires. probably 3 or 4 psi less than what you think you want. Will save you a crash or two while you get them dialed in. |
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Submitted by
Ricky
a Downhiller
from Canada
Date Reviewed: 8/3/2006 11:30:49 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | blue |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | weight,cornering,fast rolling |
| Weaknesses: | durabilty |
| Similar Products Tried: | specialized enduros,irc kujos,wtb weir wolfs |
| Bike Setup: | Trek session |
| Bottom Line: | These tires have surprised me so far they have a good fast rolling patch and corner very well at moderate to high speeds.The only downside is the durabilty the center knobs seem wear down a little faster than I would like. But for the price and performance you can't go wrong |
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Submitted by
Alex Cheney
a Downhiller
from Lansing, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: 7/19/2006 9:06:57 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | A-line |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | Velocipede peddler |
| Strengths: | All around great tire good for muddy conditions as well as sand. I have the 2.5 and they roll ok on pavement for a DH tire, but all around I like them alot. |
| Weaknesses: | Well I really havent ridden on too many DH tires so I havent found any yet. |
| Similar Products Tried: | 2.35 Specialized tires off P2 |
| Bike Setup: | 05 Trek sessions with DT swiss FR2350 wheels, saint RD, E-13 bashguard. |
| Bottom Line: | I like these tires alot! I will admit I am a lite weight guy so I havent had any problems with flats. However, I rode these tires at the 2006 U.S. open at diablo freeride park in the super wet mudd and crazy rock gardens and they worked great. I have also ridden them in northern michigan in pure sand and they also do very well. Im not really a bontrager fan but I will admit I like the tires and I have herd simmular comments from fellow riders who feel the same towards bontrager. |
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Submitted by
Rider
a Weekend Warrior
from Denver
Date Reviewed: 7/11/2006 12:22:21 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Buffalo Creek |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | Mojo Wheels |
| Strengths: | Cheap |
| Weaknesses: | Pinch Flats! I rode this tire on Porcupine Loop at Moab and I got 5 flats in a 14 mile section. I rode again on a pretty smooth trail with minimal rocks/roots and got 2 pinch flats. I should have known that a tire with such flimsy sidewalls would have been this bad. Bontrager needs to step it up if they are going to market this tire to freeride/downhill riders. Do yourself a favor and feel the sidewall before you buy. I've seen thicker notebook paper. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Nothing this flimsy. Now riding Kenda Blue Groove 2.5's. Much stiffer casing/sidewall and just as sticky if not more. |
| Bike Setup: | Haro Escape 8.2 stock with Juicy 7's. |
| Bottom Line: | Not a good freeride/downhill tire. MAY be suitable for a lighter rider on a dual suspension on XC trails. |
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Submitted by
Sho
from north van, bc
Date Reviewed: 6/22/2006 12:29:33 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | 7th secret |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | BSP |
| Strengths: | it sticks to anythings. rock faces, roots, steep inclines even with my weight on the front. |
| Weaknesses: | doesn't roll very fast but i haven't ridden on anything as wide as these 2.7s. the 2.7s are the same width as the WTB TimberWolf 2.5s |
| Similar Products Tried: | nokains... |
| Bike Setup: | 05 norco rampage |
| Bottom Line: | i ride on the shore. it sticks to everthing. my brakes feel weak its got such good grip. awesome tires bottom line. its pretty cheap. i got mine on sale but i would definitely pay the full price and more. Bontrager may not be a name that first comes to mind for even second, but very very good tires. they did their research. i haven't ridden these to notice how they wear yet |
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Submitted by
seej
a Downhiller
from pupukea, hi
Date Reviewed: 6/2/2006 12:55:34 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | 20 |
| Strengths: | roll fast and sick cornering in the 2.7s |
| Similar Products Tried: | all of em |
| Bike Setup: | uzzi.66.other stuff that makes a bike roll |
| Bottom Line: | Great tires! The stigma was there for me with the bontrager name but if you are a real freerider that loves going fast between the stunts try these. I cant say they are the best, but they are pretty friggen sweet. YESSSSSS |
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Submitted by
Fernando Mongiardiono
a Downhiller
from Esquel,Chubut,Argentina
Date Reviewed: 5/24/2006 2:06:12 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | fast dh with lots of rocks |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $15 |
| Purchased At: | bikehouse |
| Strengths: | Solid laterals, gripy compound, fart for rolling in flat sections, clear mud very well. |
| Weaknesses: | Wears very fast (oviusly cuz is stiky rubber) |
| Similar Products Tried: | maxxis (too expensive), michelins(just fine), kendas(nice), tioga factory(not bad) |
| Bike Setup: | giant faith downhill setup |
| Bottom Line: | This tire is a real bang for the buck, maybe those will not perform as good a maxxis minon supertacky buy is a good sticky tire for a freerider or amateur racer on the budget, also will be a nice training tire for fast riders without a tire sponsor. |
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Submitted by
Ron
from Israel
Date Reviewed: 5/1/2006 5:10:31 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Strengths: | Low rolling res. compered to other 2.5 tires, very good cornering & grip on dry conditions. |
| Weaknesses: | fast wear - took about 6 months of 2-3 weekly rides, 20-30 KM long to wear down. hard to install on the rim if used as a tubeless tire. a bit flexy on narrow rims. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Maxxis, WTB, Hutchinson |
| Bike Setup: | SC heckler |
| Bottom Line: | very good tire, very good value for money. |
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Submitted by
Alec Pym
a Weekend Warrior
from Axminster
Date Reviewed: 4/27/2006 11:18:40 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | From the front door |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $24 |
| Purchased At: | Evans uk |
| Strengths: | Gumbi bi compund 2.4 grippy grippy grippy Good on roots rocks loose stuf ..average in mud but i dont like the wet any way Light for this size tyre about 800 grames |
| Weaknesses: | None really unlessyou like your mud. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Conti verticals, gravity, WTB weirwolfe Nokian NBX |
| Bike Setup: | On My Gemini at the Moment |
| Bottom Line: | Good tyre for the money ohhh did i say they were well cheap at Evans cycles £16.00 |
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