[mbikertim]

Hi all!

I have a Mavic Crossmax XL UST disc wheelset and am currently using Panaracer Fire XC Pro UST 2.1 tires. I've been happy with these tires but they will need to be replaced soon.

I am contemplating buying the Kenda Tomac Blue Groove UST 2.1 for both front and rear application and there are no reviews online. Has anyone used this tire? My riding is New England rock, mud, mild drops (3 ft. and under) epic rides (4 + hours). Basically, trailriding, with no qualms toward climbing anything to get to the good singletrack.

I've heard the sticky compound works well for grabbing corners/turns but how well do they roll? Hold air (without sealant!)? Difficulty in mounting? Durability? Wear? Etc. I'd prefer to not go bigger than 2.1 if possible. I'm not sure if I need 2.3, etc. Any opinions will be appreciated. Thank in advance for your help.

Ride On,
Tim

 

[02sedona]

I just purchased the front tire 2.35 2ply sticky-e and I wish I had saved my money for a lap dance or something else that I would have enjoyed more. I tried it in wet, dry, rocks, sand, and never felt really confident with this tire, it would wash out going into corners. I tried different pressures as low as 25 psi and never hooked up like I wanted to. my 2 cents

 

[BigBlue]

I currently have the Kenda Blue Groove UST 2.1 on my bike (both front and rear). I have noticed that sometimes the rear tire seems as if it slips out from under me. I've read in this forum and in some reviews that the Blue Groove as a front tire combined with the Kenda Nevegal as the rear tire is a great combination. My Nevegal UST 2.1 arrived today and I will be mounting it onto my rear rim tonight and give it a try tomorrow (if the rain holds off). I hope it works out. . .

 

[borregokid]

I have ran the Blue Groove and dont see much difference compared to the Python. The big difference I think I paid $44 for the Blue Groove and I found UST Pythons for $17. If you do go with Kenda UST make sure you dont put anything in except Stans and even that might cause problems. Kenda does not recommend sealants. I totally ruined two tires.

 

[bikerx40]

FYI. Just so you know, all of the Kenda UST's are not the Stick-E compound or the DTC compound. It's a single compound that is not anything special to write home about. With that being said, I'm running a Nevegal UST 2.1 and it's okay, but it is a really slow rolling tire.

 

[mbikertim]

Thanks / Kenda Tire Question related

Thanks to everyone who responded!

Hey Big Blue, can you let me know how the Blue Groove/Nevagal setup works out for you after you ride it for a bit? I'm probably going to keep riding my Panaracer Fire XC 2.1 UST's for now. They seem to hook up well in the turns and roll reasonably well. I was just wondering if there was something better out there for my type of riding.

Ride more, work less,
Tim

 

[sungchang]

I've read in this forum and in some reviews that the Blue Groove as a front tire combined with the Kenda Nevegal as the rear tire is a great combination.

I was running Panaracer Fire XC Pros, then switched to Blue Groove (front) and Nevegal (rear) and I am loving this combination. Panaracer was great but except in wet/muddy situations. The BG/Nevegal combo seems to be better combination that works on all types of terrain, and I would highly recommend this combination. I have never put BG in rear, so I am not sure how it will be, but I noticed that Nevegal seems to have better bite and works really well in the rear.

 

[icegeek]

FYI. Just so you know, all of the Kenda UST's are not the Stick-E compound or the DTC compound. It's a single compound that is not anything special to write home about. With that being said, I'm running a Nevegal UST 2.1 and it's okay, but it is a really slow rolling tire.

Aside from this, the only other thing that keeps me from running the 2.1UST's is that they're 0.4 too small.

 

[pedaler845]

I bought my Blue Groove 2.1 UST from Johnny T @ Mt. snow last fall. Its been my rear tire, all-mountain dualie with the max xl's too. It's decent durablity wise and on hard pack/ rocky stuff, not so good in the wet tho. It looks slightly burlier than a fire x/c tread pattern.

 

[pedaler845]

One more thing, it mounts on/off w/o levers nicely.

 

[Freshies]

I've been riding UST BG front and Nevegal rear for quite some time now. The BG front is great. It has good traction. I've put almost 600 miles on it, and it's holding up fine--no broken knobs, no flats. I'd highly recommend it.

The Nevegal rear, on the other hand, is not so great. It wears down FAST and rolls slowly. It also seems that once the knobs wear down a few mm (when you lose the ridges in the knobs themselves), it has horrible traction.

I'm trying a new rear tire now based on recs I've seen here--a Schwalbe Nobby Nic UST. Even though it's a 2.25, it seems to be the same size as the BG UST 2.1 up front. I can't really say too much about the Nic yet as I've only put ~60 miles on it...seems okay so far. Better traction than my worn Nevegal...

 

[pedaler845]

Freshies Did ya try the BG for a rear tire? It rolls pretty well and lasts a little longer than the nevegal I think. I've heard good things about a Gazzaloddi "G".