kenda tires
 

Has anyone used these Kenda K161 KrossCyclo Tires for commuting? How did they hold up? How did they handle?

I was also thinking about some light touring on them tell me what you think.

I currently have the 161s on my nishiki which I use for light tours so far and some commuting.

The good: The 27 x 1-3/8" ride very skinny, but when inflated at 65psi they are surprisingly smooth even on corners, more so than the ritchey speedmax cross I have on my regular commuter. no flats yet. have had it in 10 miles of 1/2"-1" snow and still liked them. I also take a few short cuts here and there that would not be possible with road tires.

The bad: after 400-500 miles of mostly unloaded riding the back tires have about two thirds of the tread the fronts do. I'm guessing that with a tire rotation the set may go 1,200-1,500 miles.

The not so ugly: at 15 bucks a tire I can live with the wear, but the longest "tour" I have planned for the summer is the 230 mi KATY trail. Most of the time I overnight with a very light (20-30lbs) of gear.

YMMV, I'm a bit heavy at 185lbs, if you are lighter you could get more out of the tire. I see it as a good value tire and easy to find locally in the 27" range, but wouldn't use it for serious touring.

"Tires for commuting? light touring"

I think that there are probably tires out there that would serve you better for the purpose that you state. According to Kenda, these are budget Cyclocross tires for someone who "may want to try out cyclocross". With this in mind, this tire probably has no puncture protection, and it likely has a softer compound than you'd want for commuting and touring. As JD pointed out, in an optimal world you may get 1500 miles out of this tire. The last 200-400 miles are likely to be plagued by flat tires especially if there is no puncture protection belt. A good "Entry Level" touring commuting tire will run you between $30-$40 bucks, will last you at least 4000-6000 miles and will provide you with a more reliable ride day in and day out. We make a variety of tires in this category as do pertty much all of the main bicycle tire manufacturers. If you value your time, spending a little more up front will actually provide you with better long-term value. That's my two cents.

gb

I'll see your 2 cents and raise you two...

My only two flats in 2000 miles of riding in 2011 both came on my Kenda Cyclocross tires that were stock on my bike. I would strongly suggest something with flat protection - I hate fixing flats, especially so in the wintertime in the dark. I put up with the horrid rolling resistance of my Conti Security tires in order to avoid the flat thing. Your tradeoff is a bit more cost per mile - higher initial cost ($40 per tire or so) but many more miles. Many, many more trouble-free miles.

Well while were on the subject, anyone want to comment on the Schwalbe green guards? I have been eyeing them as my replacement for the 161s after the last snow here, and that will be at about the 1,000 mile mark.

If you run green guards what kind of rim are they on, 27s can be a bit tricky with some tires. I have the original weinnman.

For the record, Green Guard is the puncture protection belt that is built into the Schwalbe Marathon tires. It's called Green Guard because it's green in color and also because it is partially made of recycled rubber material. This tire has an MSRP of around $40. The Marathon tires should easily be good for 4-6k miles and will last most people 6-8K. They're not the lightest tire in the world but a great commuter/touring tire with a very effective puncture protection belt.

Here's my experience (both good and bad):

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ted?highlight=

I run 622- 37mm tires on 19 mm rims (inner diameter). They work fine, apart from problems with rear tyre that was replaced for no cost. Good puncture protection, heavy (slower to spin up to speed), but decent rolling, decent grip (but have ridden gripier tyres).

I'm not familiar with the Kenda tires in question, but given that I commute and race CX, I'll weigh in with my opinion.

I wouldn't use any CX tire for commuting. CX tires are designed around the run conditions for 'cross; lower pressures and wanting to maximize traction, which means using softer compounds that wear quicker on hard surfaces like concrete or asphalt. I've got 4 pairs of tires that I used this season and 1 is completely worn down on the center of the tread, to the point of the center knobbies being barely 1mm long. Those tires are the ones that I used for a couple rides with a 20mi r/t commute on asphalt to the trailhead, and that is what caused the destructive wear to them; I think throughout the entire season I put 160 - 175 miles on those tires before they were toast. (those tires are Clement PDX Crusade 33mm)
I also wore through a pair of 38mm WTB All-Terrains that stood up to about 500 miles between pavement and trail use.

My experience is slightly different, as I ride MTB for everything. But I haven't run ANY Kenda tire on ANY bike I've had since 2004. Reason: they wear out too quickly. But, I have to qualify that -- the tires I have now, Michelin (Country Dry 2.15 for 3-season riding) and DMR (Redshift 2.25 for winter foulness), are the only ones I've ever had that lasted more than a year. Until '09, I was averaging 5000+ miles per year, about 3000 since, so that may have a LITTLE to do with it. BUT -- each of these tire sets are the only ones I've run DURING those three years! The DMR's will last at least another winter beyond this one, and the Michelins are gonna roll again this spring.

Get Michelins.

Hmm, those tires might be good... if your commute is through grass fields and dirt. On pavement, knobby stuff will wear you (and itself) out faster than you'd expect.

That said, I did almost all of last year's touring and commuting on a set of Kenda Kwick 700x30 because they were cheap and I wanted to try the biggest tires I could on the Bianchi. I lived (obviously), but they were a lot nicer after the tread started to wear down.

- Scott