Commuting - Walmart 27" tires any good?

My vintage bike's tires are toast as of this afternoon ride and I really want to ride this bike to work tommorow. :( I'm just wondering if Walmart's 27" tires is good enough. If not, I'll just order from Nashbar and use my hybrid/roady mutant for tomorrows ride.
Any opinions?

I use them with tire liners, they work fine. I bought them a while back when they were around 8$ a piece, and now I think they are around 15$ a piece. Not really worth the new price.

I got a tire today from Wallymart. The brand is DuPont, and it is expensive, $14 each. I guess now that they've driven everyone out of business, they can increase the price.

Longs Drugs has 27" tires for $7 a piece. Best deal I found

Thanks for the input folks!
I just ordered a pair of Vittoria's from Nashbar. $28 total, but I have to wait a week. Oh well.
I just thought its better to patronize outfits that support our beloved forum.

I got a tire today from Wallymart. The brand is DuPont, and it is expensive, $14 each. I guess now that they've driven everyone out of business, they can increase the price.

Are they made with Kevlar? Does that explain the price jump?

I bought a couple of those tires not too long ago and couldn't get them on the rims to save my life. Not sure why not, but the tires were folded in a box as opposed to being unfolded like they were back in the good old days.

$15 is expensive? My LBS charged me $40 each for a pair of Bontrager 700c Race Lite 32s, and that was WITH my "good customer discount" (I bought my bike there). I would have normally ordered them online, my LBS charges through the nose for any accessory (typically 200% list price) but I needed tires that day.

KMart still has Kendas for $8.00 US....I have them on 2 bikes with liners, good tires...

Not ot threadjack here but anyone use the Wallyworld Bell tires in the 26" size? I've seen them and thier price I think is ~$15 CDN I think. They do have lots of tread patterns to pick from. I don't remember but I think they said they have kevlar on the tires. The tires are folded which I liked. Saves space and easier carrying as a spare to keep on the cheap for a spare.

I got a tire today from Wallymart. The brand is DuPont, and it is expensive, $14 each. I guess now that they've driven everyone out of business, they can increase the price.

I guess I've really been getting screwed then - contently paying three to four times that for a tire. ??? ;)

I usually pick up some cheap Kenda tires from CanadianTire that I imagine are in the same quality range as what you'd find at a department store.... The current set is going bald after about 1500Km, which is not bad for something that cost me ~ $11 CDN each.

Yes...Kendas are generally the cheapies...$6-11...

You are not necessarily getting screwed if you pay more, there are differences in quality.

Oh and we're talking 27" not 700's...:)

Not ot threadjack here but anyone use the Wallyworld Bell tires in the 26" size? I've seen them and thier price I think is ~$15 CDN I think. They do have lots of tread patterns to pick from. I don't remember but I think they said they have kevlar on the tires. The tires are folded which I liked. Saves space and easier carrying as a spare to keep on the cheap for a spare.

I got a set of Bell branded Kevlar tires in 27" for one of my bikes and they are working out OK. They were about the same price.

Thanks for the input folks!
I just ordered a pair of Vittoria's from Nashbar. $28 total, but I have to wait a week. Oh well.
I just thought its better to patronize outfits that support our beloved forum.

Did you click on the link provided for the Forum??

Those tires sound good...

In exchange for Wallymart's destruction of the local mom&pop stores and some bigger stores was low prices. That was the implicit deal between Wallymart and local communities. Wallymart was advocating they could bring rock bottom prices for the benefit of consumer, eventhough they've drove almost everyone out of business. The theory is basically that everyone will have a higher standard of living because of cheap prices at Wallymart even if people are making less than they did before Wallymart bulldozed into town. Thus, I don't like it when we're not getting rock bottom prices. Besides, a $15 cheap tire is overpriced for a never heard of brand.



$15 is expensive? My LBS charged me $40 each for a pair of Bontrager 700c Race Lite 32s, and that was WITH my "good customer discount" (I bought my bike there). I would have normally ordered them online, my LBS charges through the nose for any accessory (typically 200% list price) but I needed tires that day.

I've got the Bell Streetster 32-630s (I hate sizing schemes other than ISO) on my bike, and they seem to work fine. Kevlar belt and bead. They were a pain to put on, but not hard to take off, until I had done it a few times, but I understand that that's just kevlar bead tires for you.

I'd avoid their tubes, however. :eek:

Oh, and a few weeks ago, I noticed that Meijer had el cheapo wire bead 32-630 tires for $6 or 7.

Did you click on the link provided for the Forum??



yes.

Are they made with Kevlar? Does that explain the price jump?
There folding Kevlar puncture resistant tires. If you put them on a scale you find they weigh considerably more than "standard" 27 X 1 1/4 tires. If you're trying to keep the weight down on your bike don’t buy them. If you want tires, which resist flats and don’t mind the added weight these are the tires you want. As for price, try purchasing any foldable tire for what Wal-mart sells these for.

I bought a couple of those tires not too long ago and couldn't get them on the rims to save my life. Not sure why not, but the tires were folded in a box as opposed to being unfolded like they were back in the good old days.
Kevlar is used instead of steel cable in the bead so they will not stretch at all. You may need help getting them on. Have someone pinch the beads together and hold them in the channel centered in the rim opposite the side where the last bit of bead needs to go over the rim.

I found that sliding them up gradually, using tire levers to help, and various stuff helped me get the last bit of bead over before they loosened up some (due to removing and reinstalling the tire a few times.)

Thus, I don't like it when we're not getting rock bottom prices. Besides, a $15 cheap tire is overpriced for a never heard of brand.

Hey, I'm with you. I'll go out of my way to spend more anywhere but W*M. The only time I spend money there is if someone gives me or one of the kids a gift certificate (ah, gift certificates. All the thoughtlessness of money but not as good). Next time I get anywhere NEAR needing new tires, I'm ordering a pair on sale somewhere.

$15 is expensive? My LBS charged me $40 each for a pair of Bontrager 700c Race Lite 32s, and that was WITH my "good customer discount" (I bought my bike there). I would have normally ordered them online, my LBS charges through the nose for any accessory (typically 200% list price) but I needed tires that day.

No kidding. I have Continental GP4000s on my LOOK and I can get them for $50/ea. less a 10% "good customer" discount.

I can get them on and off the rims of my Ksyrium ES wheels without the use of tire levers and I've never had a problem with them. I haven't flatted in months and I've put thousands of miles on them.

For people who have kevlar tires, do yall still carry a tire repair kit and a 15mm wrench? I would love to leave these things behind

Definitely.

/me has had two flats so far on kevlar tires. Not the fault of the tires, I think - just the fault of abuse on one tube and a crappy tube on the other.

Of course, both weren't patchable... :mad: At least I wasn't commuting or anything when they happened. (They actually happened overnight, two separate occasions...)

I'd still go kevlar belted, at least (I think I want to go wire bead next time, though.) It'll at least reduce flats.

And, if you regularly ride near multiple bike shops, it might be OK to go without a tire repair kit. I don't.

For people who have kevlar tires, do yall still carry a tire repair kit and a 15mm wrench? I would love to leave these things behind
Their puncture resistant, not puncture proof. You also have a tube inside the tire than can develop a leak even if nothing gets through the tire.
Wal-mart has Bell Airtight brand tubes costing more than normal tubes. These tubes feature rubber three times the thickness of standard tubes. They consequently weight three times more. I use them on my touring bike currently fitted with Panaracer CTX 737 700c X 37 tires. They have been under two other pairs of tires over the last two years and no flats encountered. They do not need airing up every morning and I can do an entire tour of up to two weeks and not add air the entire time. It takes about a month for them to lose 5 lbs. so there well worth the added weight in my opinion (for touring). I would still take a patch kit, extra tube, and tools as there nothing worse than walking a bike, especially when your days away from home or a bike shop.

Their puncture resistant, not puncture proof. You also have a tube inside the tire than can develop a leak even if nothing gets through the tire.
Wal-mart has Bell Airtight brand tubes costing more than normal tubes. These tubes feature rubber three times the thickness of standard tubes. They consequently weight three times more. I use them on my touring bike currently fitted with Panaracer CTX 737 700c X 37 tires. They have been under two other pairs of tires over the last two years and no flats encountered. They do not need airing up every morning and I can do an entire tour of up to two weeks and not add air the entire time. It takes about a month for them to lose 5 lbs. so there well worth the added weight in my opinion (for touring). I would still take a patch kit, extra tube, and tools as there nothing worse than walking a bike, especially when your days away from home or a bike shop.

' think I'm getting those too. Thanks!

schwalbe is better... but more costly.

KMart still has Kendas for $8.00 US....I have them on 2 bikes with liners, good tires...

I always had a heck of a time getting Kendas to mount correctly on the rim. Once they were mounted they were good for a couple of thousand miles. But its not a brand I equate with quality. Though if I'm poor at the moment(as I often have been) I'll buy them.

I bought the 27" Bell tires from Wallmart and put them on. As I was pumping, at about 75 PSI, I watched the bead peel off the rim. The tube bulged out for about 1 second before it blew. Dust and debris flew, and my ears were ringing. Thinking I messed I tried again, very carefully, with the same result. After this I inspected the bead and found an area were the lip that catches the rim wasn't raised as much as the rest of the tire. I eventually got the tires to seat by pumping them up 10psi at a time and leting them sit for a while. I never did ride on them much since I completely disassembled the bike and am now in the process of painting and making somthing (1x9 maybe) out of it.

I always had a heck of a time getting Kendas to mount correctly on the rim. Once they were mounted they were good for a couple of thousand miles. But its not a brand I equate with quality. Though if I'm poor at the moment(as I often have been) I'll buy them.

I've never really had a hard time with mounting Kendas - although I generally use these cheap tires, so maybe I just don't know any better. I find them a little stiff and impossible to mount without a couple of sturdy levers, however. I wouldn't equate them with quality either.

Since the local Canadian Tire sells Kendas for $11 and the local LBS sells a better quality tire for $14, I'm gonna spend the extra $3 a wheel and see how they compare...