Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Royal Oak, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: 10/16/2007 11:12:18 PM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Tree Farm |
| Duration Product Used: |
1 Year |
| Strengths: |
Better than a knobby. Okay rain control. |
| Weaknesses: |
Many. This is not a great tire, but I got it free, and it works. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Serfas Drifter |
| Bike Setup: |
stock Trek 4100, with drop bars. |
| Bottom Line: |
Put them up to 75-80psi. The sidewall says 65, but that's liability lawyers.
At that pressure, these do a pretty good slick impersonation. I've kept them instead of getting a narrower tire because they would be smaller in diameter, and I need gear ratio.
Get Serfas Drifters instead. they are pound for pound the best 26" road tire on the market. Good for short distance commuting, but buy a road bike instead if you're really hauling. |
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Submitted by
Drew
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: 10/9/2007 8:25:01 PM
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| Duration Product Used: |
Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: |
$30 |
| Purchased At: |
Local bike shop |
| Strengths: |
Great comfort tire. Seeming low rolling resistance. Extremely quiet tire. Great puncture resistance. |
| Weaknesses: |
May have good grip but makes you feel unattached to the road. Felt like I was riding on air and make me feel uncomfortable at speed. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Various tires, from WTB, Panaracer, Micheline, Bontrager, and IRC.
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| Bike Setup: |
Gary Fisher Marlin with LX wheelset and full LX drivetrain |
| Bottom Line: |
Good tire for a comfort or slow speed riding but at higher speeds it makes one fell disconnected from from the road. Made me feel like I was on air almost and like there was a lack of grip. The bottom line is that these are a comfort tire not meant to be pushed to it's limits by any means. Still giving it 5 chilis though cause for the right person it is a great tire. |
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Submitted by
Keith Snyder
a Cross Country Rider
from Rego Park, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: 8/17/2007 12:03:56 PM
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| Duration Product Used: |
Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: |
35 each |
| Strengths: |
Puncture resistant, high-quality |
| Weaknesses: |
Slow and heavy on pavement |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Other Hardcase tires, Continental slicks |
| Bike Setup: |
Dahon Matrix |
| Bottom Line: |
It's worth noting, if you found these reviews on Google, that this is a MTBR site. The people calling these tires "fast" are mountain bikers who are used to knobbies.
I use this bike to commute 25 miles/day in New York City. I have Hardcases on my other bikes and like them--but on the street, compared to other street tires, these are slow and heavy with high rolling resistance. I'm sorry I let the local bike shop sell them to me while I wasn't thinking; he must have needed to clear out his inventory. If you spend a lot of time on pavement, these tires don't make a lot of sense. I'll be selling them on Craigslist and buying the Satellite Elite Hardcases instead.
If you're used to gravel and hate your knobbies, you'll think these are great. If you're used to pavement and just want to add puncture resistance, get ready to hate your tires.
I'm giving them 5 chilies because FOR THE RIGHT PERSON, they're great, high-quality tires. If you're an urban commuter, you're not the right person. |
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Submitted by
simon
a Cross Country Rider
from newbury, uk
Date Reviewed: 11/2/2006 9:39:04 AM
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| Duration Product Used: |
6 months |
| Price Paid: |
$10 |
| Purchased At: |
Pedal On, Tadley, UK |
| Strengths: |
Bought these tyres for commuting to work which is a mixture of road and gravel tracks in particular I wanted something that was puncture resistant as flints are a big problem. They are great on the road, period. They're fine on gravel tracks and offer really good puncture resistance when they're new. They also work quite well off road so long as its dry. Cheaper than other alternaitives. |
| Weaknesses: |
These tyres are heavy. They have reinforced side walls to stop pinch punctures but who would run a semi-slick tyre at pressures low enough to get pinch punctures? Another weakness is off road the side knobs aren't that aggressive and traction when turning in to a corner isn't as good as some other tyres. The gravel tracks are a tyre killer and these tyres despite their extra weight last no longer than the Hutchinsons. After about six months the tiny little flints will have cut up the tyres so much that you start get lots of punctures - time to bin them and get a new pair. In this respect these tyres are just as good/bad as any other reinforced semi-slick.
Obviously, tyres such as this are pretty hopeless off-road in the wet, but they're not designed for that. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Hutchinson Acrobat. |
| Bike Setup: |
Giant NRS. Rock Shox Reba forks, Shimano XT driveline. Two sets of Bontrager race disc lite wheels, one with semi-slicks for commuting, one with knobblies for off road fun. |
| Bottom Line: |
Great grip on road wet or dry (will pull stoppies with ease), fast and no tyre noise. Cheaper than the Hutchinsons, but the extra weight does not translate to longer life on gravel tracks. There's nothing wrong with these tyres but there are better performing ones out there. |
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Submitted by
George F
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa, Canada
Date Reviewed: 3/1/2005 10:27:03 AM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Sunview |
| Duration Product Used: |
1 Year |
| Price Paid: |
$45 |
| Purchased At: |
The Cyclery |
| Strengths: |
** REVIEW FOR THE HARDCASE TIRE ** 26 X 1.5
VERY VERY fast! No rolling resistance at all or "pavement hum". Amazingly good grip on road doing sharp turns. My bud (Dan) wanted to try them out cause he didn’t think they would hook up - he was very impressed. We had the bike riding sideways and doing crazy sharp turns and she stuck to the road! Does well doing light off road to. I ride with confidence knowing I have triple protection. Don't let the name "Comfort" fool you, these tires rock! I LOVE EM and highly recommend these. |
| Weaknesses: |
NONE |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Bontrager Revolt Super X |
| Bike Setup: |
Marin Novato Triple Butted 7005 Aluminum Edge Tubed Frame, Mavic Crossrides, Bontrager Comfort K Hardcase Tires, Rock Shocks Jett 2, Kore Elite XC Comp Handlebars, Kore lite 3 Stem, Avid Arch Rival V-Brakes, Avid Speed Dial SD 2.0L Brake Levers, TruVativ 5D Crank, WTB Momentum Comp ST Headset, WTB Rocket V Saddle, Sette 7 APX seat post, Shimano XT Derailleurs, Cateye Wireless 7 computer, Profile briefs bar Ends, BLT mini-Doppler Light. |
| Bottom Line: |
GET THESE TIRES! if you want FAST, LIGHT, and DURRABLE tires! Best tires ever, even than the Bontrager Revolt Super X's. Much much faster, same hook up off road in my opinion. Also has the Triple Protection (Kevlar Durabelt provides a 58% increase in puncture resistance, Anti-pinch design is twice as resistant to pinch flats as a standard tire without this feature; also protects rim from damage.
Bead-to-bead abrasion-resistant woven Exo Casing is 16% more resistant to flats from sidewall cuts). SWEET!
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Submitted by
Robert Austin
a Weekend Warrior
from London, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: 9/15/2002 3:02:23 PM
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| Duration Product Used: |
6 months |
| Strengths: |
don't by these! |
| Weaknesses: |
These tires are treacherous on pavement. I learned the hard way. I have been riding for 30+ years and never had this happen before. On bare pavement I made a quick turn but not exceptionally so and the tires just let go dumping me on the pavement. On analyzing the wipe out I noticed how the knobby treads on the sides of the tire are spaced well apart and rather tall and flexible. If you lean in a turn and ride on these nobs, you abruptly lose traction. I have ridden other knobby treaded tires on the street without having this problem. It is the abrupt transition from smooth tread to wobbly nobs that makes these tires unsafe. I cut all the nobs off these tires after the crash. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
full knobby tires, slick tires, you name it |
| Bike Setup: |
Comfort bike. Trek Navigator |
| Bottom Line: |
don't buy these unless you like road rash! |
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