| |
Submitted by
AGENT_DICE
a Weekend Warrior
from SoCal
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Strengths: | Very fast rolling and low resistance | | Weaknesses: | Very super thin, feels just a tad bit thicker than a bike tube. Extremly small for a 1.95 | | Bike Setup: | 700ds Moto, thomson seatpost and stem, vuelta rims, titec pluto bar ends, fox vanilla shock | | Bottom Line: | This tire kinda scares me. It is just way too thin. I got 4 flats in a month by tumbleweed stickers, and that's just communting on asphalt and a patch of grass along the way. I really love that you can just haul ass on these tires, it is way too easy. The bad side is that you have to check your tire pressure every week, anything below 30psi and you get pinch flats. Just carry extra tubes.
It could have been made thicker. Overall it's a tire that I use as a standard when it comes to fast rolling and low resistance. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
eli
a Cross Country Rider
from los angeles,ca. / toronto, ontario
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | forgot, maybe jenson | | Strengths: | good tread design, open spacing and aggressive knobs, dual compound. excellent flat resistance and durability. | | Weaknesses: | dont know , maybe a little noisier than ide prefer but then so is the wind... | | Similar Products Used: | kenda karma | | Bike Setup: | rigid 90s lite chromo racer, all ti fittings, sun ringle rpm-american classic cross country wheelsets | | Bottom Line: | cross country and serious speedwork. the tire is not by any means a heavy duty off road mountain tire. it rules single track and dry conditions, grass and hardpack. it is a tire made to get go and it brakes well too. wicked designed knobs with good spacing and tread details. it has excellent flat resistance and i feel secure depending on them while pushing it to its edges. dual compound works. kenda rules. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Zachariah
a Cross Country Rider
from Palm Desert, CA
Date Reviewed: February 29, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Hurkey Creek Park (24hrs/Adrenalin Course) | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | Light; fast as a road slick; lack of wire bead makes mounting/dismounting easily done with bare hands; looks very sleek. With tires this light- who needs tubeless? | | Weaknesses: | Not 1.95" wide as claimed- more like 1.75" to be exact. | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis MaxxLite 310; Panaracer Cyclocross tires. | | Bike Setup: | 22lb Cannondale Optimo hardtail. | | Bottom Line: | First- let me make it perfectly clear; THESE ARE NOT ALL-MOUNTAIN, DOWNHILL, DIRT JUMP OR FREERIDE TIRES!!! They are ONLY for racing, some urban assault and light XC riding. Also, they are not as delicate, as some claim. I have ridden the lightest XC tire- Maxxis MaxxLite 310... and those tires' sidewalls feel like paper.
I have effectively removed 1.2lbs from my bike, and the difference is felt the moment you turn those cranks. It makes the bike accelerate like a missle, and coasts nearly forever now, due to Kenda's L3R technology. Don't listen to everything you read- these tires hook-up very well in dry hardpack, light sand, and some loose stuff too. Just keep the pressure between 40-50psi and these tires are very durable, anywhere you ride. If you want very light tire, with almost no rolling resistence(very quiet!), and can tolerate the cyclocross tire width....I think Kenda did a great job with this tire.
I would not suggest going Stan's NoTubes, with this tire. Although it can definitely be done- the lack of a wire sealing bead will have you checking tire pressures daily. In fact, unmounted- these tires hang like a wet towel. But are by no means flimsy. Otherwise, these tires serve my intended riding needs very well. I would buy these tires again. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stephane Moulin
a Racer
from Canada
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | tour d'nowhere | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | uber light, fast rolling, respectable traction for SS | | Weaknesses: | less than 1.95 and questionable puncture resstance | | Similar Products Used: | Revolt SS. XC dry. Michelin sprint | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Furio frame, headshock super fatty 80mm fork, LX/XT mix,Easton post, Crossland Wheels, hope mini's disks | | Bottom Line: | These tires are designed for one thing; going fast over moderate terrain. No freeriding or technical riding with these on unless you're Hans Ray on a dry day. I believe in tires to be purpuse specific. I dropped a whole pound with these along with some conti light tubes. incredible acceleration and amazing speed (low rolling resistance) Will be great for the short-track series and fire road riding and rail-to-trails. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Oakley
a Racer
from Charlotte, NC
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | On line | | Strengths: | Light. | | Weaknesses: | Don't even think about it if it rains. | | Similar Products Used: | Python airlights | | Bike Setup: | 2006 Litespeed Niota. SRAM X.0 drive train. XTR cassette and crank. FSA carbon cockpit. R-7 100mm SPV. FSA XC-300. Avid Juicy Ultimates. | | Bottom Line: | Weight is noticed immediately! I weigh 115lbs so I run a low 32 psi. I tried 28 psi, but pinch flat during a race. The low pressure hooks up on hard pack or loose over hard pack. These tires lasted a 16 race season. They are not 1.95. They measure closer to 1.75. If you can race these tires over technical terrain, you can't help but become a better rider.
The bad news is they are worthless in the rain or even in damp conditions. Damp roots are scary. These are strictly race tires!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lukas
a Downhiller
from abbotsford ,bc ,canada
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | northshore | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | THE BIKE SHOP (it sucks) | | Strengths: | Good for gripping the cement.. but really all tires should be able to do that extreamly easy.... | | Weaknesses: | Lose traction very quickly... and tred goes away very quickly, sucks for everything.. | | Bottom Line: | These tires are a waste!!! DONT BUY, you will regret buying them... and they will lose traction and tred easaly, | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gabby
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$56.00 | | Strengths: | Light-weight. grips decent when dry. 1.65". low rolling resistance as advertised. | | Weaknesses: | Constant fear of flats. extremely slippery when wet. drain covers, loose surfaces are the prime locations for skidding. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock 2.1" Mtb knobbies | | Bike Setup: | Standard Aleoca Leomano Mtb, fitted with Avid Single Digit 7 v-brakes. front and rear Shimano deraileurs. | | Bottom Line: | for the price i paid of these babies, i could have gotten slicks. but given the light-weight and low rolling resistance it's a pretty decent investment i guess. just gotta see how long it will last.
dry conditions are fine. just beware when the weather is wet. skids under hard braking, may even wash out if balance is out. heard of pinch flat risks, yet to experience them. perhaps my style of cycling isnt that aggressive. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jovan Puyo
a Cross Country Rider
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: March 23, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | La Mesa Nature Reserve | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | These babies are light. Even with stock inner tubes, they make my Shimano wheelset seem like a Mavic Crossmax. On the road, there's very minimal noise coming from these. | | Weaknesses: | No traction. These get really scary especially on the loose descents. It was my first time to experience my front tire slipping, and it's with these tires. I run them at 40 psi. Wish I could make that lower but I'm sure it'll pinch flat. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Extreme Control, Continental Cross Country, Tioga Psycho, Specialized Team Control and Team Master, Specialized Roll X, IRC Mythos. | | Bike Setup: | Hardtail cross country -- KHS Alite Team 4000 frame with a Marzocchi Z.2 Atom BAM fork, XT/XTR components. | | Bottom Line: | Want a lightweight tire, look no further. Want performance, look someplace else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
pat
a Racer
from ny
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | frankfordbike | | Strengths: | extremely fast,great traction,incredible acceleration,good wear,340 grams,climbs like a cat,what a racing tire(rear only)not for heavier riders | | Weaknesses: | not 1.95,not a front tire, | | Similar Products Used: | schwalbe fast fred | | Bike Setup: | stumpjumper | | Bottom Line: | WOW! Try this on the rear with something wider up front and you can do motor bike races! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Regam
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise, ID, USA
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | your mom | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$15.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay (used) | | Strengths: | Light, fast, awesome climbing, grippy, unbelievably maneuverable | | Weaknesses: | very thin, probably won't last long. Also tread is probably better for light bikes and light riders | | Similar Products Used: | Michelin Comp S Light, IRC Serac XC, Hutchinson Python | | Bike Setup: | Fetish D&S (23lbs). front: Kenda Klimax rear: IRC Serac XC | | Bottom Line: | Before I bought this tire I read some terrible reviews and had some people tell me it was pretty crappy so I didn't have very high hopes. After seeing how thin and small (seems smaller than 1.95) this tire is, my hopes sank even more. I have to say I was VERY surprised at the performance of this tire. It is very fast and makes steep climbs a breeze. Because it is so light it allows for much better control and maneuverability. I found myself flying through technical, rocky areas that I have always had to walk through before. This tire is also very grippy. My rear tire (the IRC Serac XC) would lock and slide all over the place but the Kenda Klimax is much harder for me to lock. If it continues to perform well I may consider replacing my back tire with one. I really can't understand where the bad reviews are coming from. The only thing I can think would cause this tire to perform badly is high pressure (I ride mine at 40) and maybe a heavy bike/rider. I weigh 160 and my bike is 23lbs so I can see where maybe if you have a heavy downhill bike or are a larger rider you might have some control issues. Also, This tire is like a rocket on the road. Smooth, fast acceleration, feels almost like slicks. On the downside, the side walls seem very thin so I don't expect this tire to last very long, It will be some awesome riding while it doese last though. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Will
a Weekend Warrior
from Canada
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | whatever goes up down sideways | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | Local shop | | Strengths: | Ultra light, as advertised the lowest mtb tire | | Weaknesses: | Not 1.9 as advertised, but more like 1.7, not designed for all round cross country riding. I suppose they may be ok for an occassional race on hard pack. Because they need such high pressure in order to avoid pinch flats they have a tendency to be unstable on anything other than smooth hard pack or road. | | Similar Products Used: | Continentals, other Kendas, Bontrager, ect. | | Bike Setup: | Self built Ti single speed softtail | | Bottom Line: | I'm a dedicated weekend cross country rider with a number of bikes. The bike that I fitted these tires on is a Ti softtail that I constructed 12 years ago, and have recently converted it to single speed. When I put these tires on with lightweight tubes, it puts the bike under 20 lbs. Because of the low weight of these tires, the decrease in rotational mass allows for tremendous acceleration. I could actually fly up hills in single speed I would normally plod up on my Cannondale Scalpel which is pretty light for a full suspension bike. The tires however don't track well over anything that is not hard and flat. They skitter around on rocks or roots and don't give a feeling of confidence. Some riders may have a use for these tires but not for all riding. Don't just be seduced by the light weight. When you first lay your hands on them they look like thick inner tubes with knobs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Reynolds
a Cross Country Rider
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: March 24, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Marin Headlands Trails | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson? | | Strengths: | Further to my last review: I've been riding these tires (front and back) for almost a year now. No more ripped sidewalls since last December, and I'm riding 90 miles per week.
I pump them up to 80psi. Good thing I ride on easy trails! | | Bottom Line: | I still like these tires, but I think I'm getting lazy. It won't be easy to go back to a 'real' MTB tire. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Preston McClelland
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | kenda sponsorship order | | Strengths: | amazing traction in dry. gives wicked confidence in turns. | | Weaknesses: | skinny. sidewalls slice on just about everything | | Similar Products Used: | hutch python, michelin xcr, kenda kozmik. | | Bike Setup: | Spec Epic | | Bottom Line: | This tire was very good to me. i didnt mind it being skinny all that much but it is a downside if you get into any mud/sand/loose stuff. the tread i thought was great for anything dry and hardpack and it stuck through the corners like glue. however riding on rocks once in a while i literally put a total of 30 slices in the sidewalls of 4 tires. put an extra 20g of sidewall rubber on them and id buy more. but i wont next season. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Reynolds
a Cross Country Rider
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | 26 | | Strengths: | Light and fast on hard packed surfaces | | Weaknesses: | The sidewalls rip easily on sharp rocks | | Bike Setup: | Klien hardtale. XT/Sid | | Bottom Line: | This tire is best for cross-country use on hard surfaces. It makes the bike feel faster. But, I'm on my 3rd 345g in 6 months. The side-walls have ripped twice on rocks. Anything else feels slow. Not a good tire for technical rides.
Really good for a quick road ride to the trailhead. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan Patterson
a Cross Country Rider
from Lilburn, GA USA
Date Reviewed: November 30, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Bull Mountain - North GA | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Front tire corners well. | | Weaknesses: | Back tire is a piece of crap. It slips on virtually everything no matter the air pressure. | | Bike Setup: | Haro V3 Hardtail | | Bottom Line: | I blogged this tire on our group forum today thinking I must have a riding technique deficiency. Nope, most everyone that has used or knows someone that has used this tire says to chunk it. I have already ordered my new tires and they are not Kenda. Nobody should buy this tire unless they are going to stay on pavement. It won't work on the tough stuff. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vinicius Franco
a Cross Country Rider
from Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Sindacta | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | E-bay | | Strengths: | light weight | | Weaknesses: | this is not a 1.95 tire | | Similar Products Used: | Karma, Mythos, Fire XC, etc | | Bike Setup: | Extralite F2, Fox F100, Notube/American Classic wheelset, Hope minis, XT shifters, XTR ders, Stylo team Crankset | | Bottom Line: | I feel ripped off. I bought a 1.95 tire but got a much smaller tire. I don´t have a tool to get an accurate measure but with a ruler they measured 1.75. But just putting them next to other 1.95 tires you can see the major difference in size.
Sure, they roll great and didn´t show any sign of wear so far (about 15 hours of riding) but because of their size the handle poorly on tech terrain and on leaning turns too. For the weightweenies: I weighed my pair and they came to 342/348 so they averaged the claimed 345g. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve Stancill
a Cross Country Rider
from Mich
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Ft.Custer | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$39.00 | | Strengths: | Wicked Fast, weight.... | | Weaknesses: | None so far. | | Bike Setup: | Jekyll 800 | | Bottom Line: | I setup the Kendas using Stans, no problems so far. These tires are very fast, you will notice how fast when you hook up on the hard pack. Not too bad in sand they cut right in. You can't complain about the nobby size, the tires do a great job at what they are supposed to do. I am pretty pleased with traction, other tires I have used with a similar tread did not corner well, the Kendas do a good job. Oh and how about the weight 345grams.... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nigel Wok
a Cross Country Rider
from Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Riverton | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Light | | Weaknesses: | Only 1.73 inches wide | | Similar Products Used: | Bontrager Jones AC | | Bike Setup: | Trek 8000, stock except for sette titanium seat, maxxis flyweight tubes | | Bottom Line: | What have I done?
I read a few reviews and I didn't believe them. Lots of people have commented on them only being 1.7 inches wide. I was sceptical. How could a tire be advertised at 1.95 inches wide and be only 1.73 inches wide?
Sadly it is true.
Cannot ride on sand.
Slippery climbing hills. Poo!
On the positive side it is a light tire and I must say there is noticeably lower rolling resistance on road. But if I wanted to go fast on the road, I would have bought a racer with slicks!
Who designed this tire? What is its purpose? I know it is meant ot be a racing tire but there aren't that many cross-country races that occur on pavement. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
scott oakley
a Cross Country Rider
from charlotte
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Lake Norman | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Lightest tire available | | Weaknesses: | skinny | | Similar Products Used: | Panaracer FirePro xc | | Bike Setup: | KHS xc904r | | Bottom Line: | I have tried WTB MotoRaptors and Panaracer FirePro's they both slipped when climbing. I bought the Kenda's for my weekly races and have never taken them off. They work in almost every condition. I'm a light rider and am able to run low pressure. This helps with the traction and handling. The only weakness I have with them is that they are terrible under rear braking. I compensate by front braking. It's worth the it, though. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Clint Ball
a Cross Country Rider
from Evergreen, CO
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | light | | Weaknesses: | weak, prone to leave you on the side ofthe trail | | Similar Products Used: | many - Panaracers, Hutchison | | Bike Setup: | Hardtail, XT build kit, Manitou Black 80/100 | | Bottom Line: | Used these tires with the idea of having a lite fast tire for my 1st XC race this year. Course is smooth and fast, not rough or rocky at all. The sidewall exploded after only 3 miles - a short and dissapoinintg day to say the least. These tires are definitely not raceworthy. After months of training, travel to the race venue, entrance fees, etc. etc. it is not worth having cheapo tires blow out on you. I wish I had read the other reviews here referencing sidewall blowout before buying the Kendas. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Malaysia
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Strengths: | Great for dry condition, not-so-rocky condition. Very light. Better traction control when taking corners. | | Weaknesses: | Performed badly on mud and wet condition as this is not a mud/wet tires. Not so good in rocky condition. The tires seems kinda small compared to other 1.95 tyres. | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis Calibos(sucks), Hutchinson Mosquito(affordable) | | Bike Setup: | Specialized rockhopper, rockshox pyslo race 2004, deore shifter, avid brakes, 2003 xtr rear derail, deore lx front derail, truvativ stylo team 2005 crankset, kenda klimax lite front tyre, panaracer trailblaster rear tyre. | | Bottom Line: | It's very light and the traction is very good on dry condition. But here in malaysia, there are many tropical forest where we can encounter wet condition most of the time. So, this tyre isnt that suitable for it's condition. If the trail is dry and not rocky, it performs almost perfect. As for price issue, it is kinda expensive here in malaysia and im not sure how long this tyre would started to wear out. All in all, it's a great tyre! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Evan Plews
a Racer
from Dallas, Oregon, USA
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Waldo Lake | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | The lightest raceable tire. Great with NoTubes. Excellent traction in firmer conditions. Unbelievably fast! | | Weaknesses: | Narrow and not as good if it is rocky or slick. | | Similar Products Used: | Everything. | | Bike Setup: | Bianchi Super Grizzily with Spinner fork; Sunrace/XTR drivetrain; Magura brakes; SDG I-beam seat/post, Syntace bar/stem; Kenda tires; Crank Bros pedals. | | Bottom Line: | My not-so-secret performance enhancer for certain courses. Low weight and rolling resistance will make you faster. Like any thing HOT handle these with care! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Micky
a Weekend Warrior
from Cainta, Rizal, Philippines
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Strengths: | Extremely light. Low rotational weight. Pedals efficiently | | Weaknesses: | Too skinny for trailbike use. Not durable at all. Maybe that's why it's cheap! | | Similar Products Used: | Specailized Ground Control, Continental Explorer | | Bike Setup: | Tires were mated to an XT Wheelset with Avid mecahnical disc brakes. Treated with Slime for puncture-resistance. Marzocchi MX Pro 100mm fork on a Specialized Stumpjumper Pro with Fox triad shock. | | Bottom Line: | It was a great entry point to tubeless tires. Looked great and felt fast and light. Other than that, performance was just so-so. While it pedaled well and it rolls fast, uphill and downhill traction was poor. These tires are NOT for trailbike use. Afte only a few rides, the rear tire developed blisters. The casing or ply must have separated from the rubber so that it developed air pockets. Serves me right for going cheap. These tires are not in the level of my favorite Contis. This tire is for racers only who ride relatively smoother courses and who can change tires often. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a Cross Country Rider
from Charleston, WV
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | internet | | Strengths: | Light, roll fast, mount's with Stan's easily. | | Weaknesses: | Thin sidewall, mediocre grip, pinch flat easily. | | Similar Products Used: | a lot of tires, recently Panaracer Fire XC pro (great tire), WTB Velociraptors, IRC mythos and Trail Bear. | | Bike Setup: | Turner XCE, Fox Talas, Fox Vanilly RC, King, Avid Mechanicals, SRAM drive train (outstanding compared to Shimano), Race Face crankset, etc.... | | Bottom Line: | Thought I would save some rotational weight and these tires. These things looked skinny on my bike and I was skeptical if they would hold up. They didn't. First ride pinch flatted the rear in less that twenty miles. Replaced tube and got out of forest. Installed Stan's on these and took a second ride. Everything went OK, climbed great in dry conditions, handled dry singletrack admirably but when I hit a patch of sand in a curve on a fast fireroad I was all over the place. Really scary considering that I never even noticed this on my Panaracer Fire XC's. Decided to order another pair of tires right then. Waiting for the new set of tires to come in I decided to take the Klimax's out for their final ride. Climbing a fairly smoothe singletrack section I heard what sounded like a .22 rifle fire. Sidewall blew out and sprayed Stan's all over the place. Tried to patch the wall, installed a tube and started to ride backe out. Bang, the tube blew out the the patch in the sidewall. 4 mile walk out. Bottom line, maybe if you race you should try these but if you just want to trail ride stay away. The risk of bodily damage from their unpredictability in sand and mud is not worth it. Also, you should carry two spare tubes a sidewall patch kt and a pump if you ride these. Where is weight savings in that. Don't even think about Stan's in the front tire on one of these. If my front tire blew on a fast downhill instead of a climb it could have been much worse that a walk out of the woods.
Value rating - 1 they were expensive
Overall rating - 2 they do get you up the hill faster. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robb
a Cross Country Rider
from Wi
Date Reviewed: April 5, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$33.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | Extreme light weight | | Weaknesses: | comfort | | Similar Products Used: | irc mythos, bontrager Jones, etc | | Bike Setup: | 02 Trek Fuel 90 w/manitou elite 100mm travel up front, some carbon and titanium here and there | | Bottom Line: | Ok, for starters im 195 lbs and consider myself an above average technical rider. Ive yet to flatten either front of back over a full year of riding. I run them at 50psi front and back, set it and forget it. The full supsension probably has something to do the fact that i havent had one flat.
I raced 4 times in 03, these tires did what i expected. Mostly hardpack Wisconsin trails with some rocky sections. Traction was sufficient and i only went down once (mud hole in front of a wood bridge, after the mud stuck to tires i thought the wood bridge was an ice rink) Saved 660grams with tubes = 1.5 lbs of rotating weight off the bike which can be felt on acceleration and climbing. I used the tires the whole season of trail riding and aforementioned races and they are pretty worn out. If you want to cut around 1.5 lbs off your bike(depending on your current tire setup, i had bontrager Jones 640grams each) throw on these tires with light weight tubes for under 100.00 total.
NOTE: I threw these tires on my new race bike a Trek STP which only has 1 inch rear travel and "80 mm" front judy race suspension. These tires were noticably rough and uncomfortable for any endurance trail riding. Im gonna try the schwalbe racing ralphs on my STP ill keep u posted!
For those who race or just want to keep up to thier buddies on fast trails I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. I dont do big jumps and drops so i cant comment on that. Lastly, these tires are not very wide, i measured 1.75 inches max width of knobs and probably 1.65 at casing. When racing there are times that the trail leads out to black top or cement to head in direction of another trail, on extreme hardpack and asphalt its EASY to maintain 20 mph with these tires... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Capt Phun
a Racer
from NJ (yuck)
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$38.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | Light weight, low rolling resistance | | Weaknesses: | again, not 1.95, more like 1.70, thin and prone to pinch flats | | Similar Products Used: | schawble, wtb's, irc, maxxis, god how much $$$ have i spent on tires?? | | Bike Setup: | superlight weight weenied to 23 pounds | | Bottom Line: | Ok...upon using the tires till the thread was gone here is my follow-up. If you are racing on a hard-pack terrain, and I mean hard-park with not much loose gravel these tires are as light as they get and amazingly fast with low rolling resistance. If you are not riding on hardpack I'd try a different tire. These tires would also be good on a fresh trail, soft loam soil that is completely, wait let me say that again, COMPLETELY free of protruding rocks and roots.
here are my reasons for this:
I weigh 150 in full race gear. I tried running these tires in many conditions, from hard park, to rock free soft loam soils, to muddy rocky rooty trails.
In the hardpack or loam soils I ran them high pressure since I didn't need much traction in terms of biting into the soil. I would run them about 50psi front, 58 rear. High right? Well the reason is this. On rocks, mud, roots, these tires are too narrow, no way in hell are they 1.95. more like 1.75, 1.8 at best. So there is not much room for the tire to compress and give a little suspension like a wider tire will.
These tires on rocky rooty terrain simply are terrible in my opinion. I tried running them at 35 psi like I do 2.0 tires on rocks and roots, but since these tires are so light, and hence made of thin rubber I was getting pinch flats. And since I race, pinch flats are a big no no since you will never win a race if you flat out on the course. So that was my first trun off. The only way to run them in rocks and roots is at 55psi range, but at that pressure the tires are so hard, they tend to deflect off rocks instead on compressing and giving you traction. Also on the course (i was pre-riding) there is a 2 foot to down slope ledge, well even at 50 psi the rear snake bit and hence another flat. :(
Not sure how the terrain is where you are riding, but honestly I race and we all have to start somewhere ( I won my Beginner series the first year I raced). I would be very very cautious about using these tires in a race just because of the fact that I had three flats over one summer of use, while with my other tires I had yet to flat. Though now I do run tubeless on my race bike so flats are pretty much non-existant.
So my advice, try them if you want and if your conditions are up to it. At 160 poundsyou can try them at 45 psi to start, but you may see that you may have to increase the psi, and at that point what are you really gaining? When the tires compresses that is when you get your traction. This tire compressed on a climb is only about 1.95 wide if that, not much room to bite into the ground. There are other tires out there that I would rather use. Check out the schwable racing ralph or fast fred, both like, only a little heavier but so much more reliable.
One of the main reasons I won my class is no flats, no mechanicals, while some stronger riders had flats or mechanical problems.
I tool on all my bikes so I like to have them set up and race ready reliable.
Another option you may seriously want to consider is upgrading your rims to a lighter rim/hub combo to shed some weight and get better bearing efficiency.
You said you were interested in 517's, so you run rim brakes. if you are happy with them then ok, but I can't stress disc brakes enough. At this point, my personal opion is rim brakes are just not worth the hassle and their stopping power is a joke compared to discs. I can bomb down a hill faster with more confidence knowing that the discs will slow me down so much better than rim brakes, especially if its wet, muddy or snowy.
So in conclusion...this is my opinion only, someone else may give you the exact opposite review, but as a racer I think avoiding flats is priority number one. hard to win a race when you are changing out a tube.
These tires are light and fast, but I do not have the confidence to race on them unless it was a good hard park or a loam based soil free of rocks roots and drops. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
scarface
a Racer
from groveland ma usa
Date Reviewed: February 13, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | none | | Weaknesses: | too flimsy | | Similar Products Used: | panaracer, continental, hutchinson, michelin | | Bike Setup: | gt idrive team, psylo, xtr, hayes | | Bottom Line: | after a little more that 1 hour on the trail, the sidewall split and had to trash the tire. i weigh 130 lbs. with all the abuse your tires take, more weight means more rubber. go for ultra lightweight elsewhere on your bike. especially if you ride techinical terrain. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Captain Phun
a Racer
from Lake Hiawatha, NJ USA
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$38.00 | | Strengths: | Extemely |
|
$ 45.00
