Schwalbe Big Apple HS 338 Fatty Bicycle Tire (28x2.35, Allround Wire Beaded, Reflex) Review

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(More customer reviews)Bike Setup:
Specialized 21" Rockhopper 29er
Summary:
Excellent road tire for commuting on a mountain bike.
I purchased the 29 X 2.35 size. Although the size 28 X 2.35 is on the sidewall of the Big Apples, they are physically larger than the 29 X 2.00 MTB tires that came on my bike. These are huge tires! There is minimal clearance between the tire and my front fork. The tire actually makes contact with the fork if I corner too hard. I run them at 65 psi and on pavement these are a dream compared to the sluggish offroad tires that I'm use to. My bike is so much faster and more efficient for across town travel. The Big Apples are definitely heavier than those whimpy looking skinny road tires, but I'm a heavier(235lb.)guy as well. The bulk of these tires will turn most people away but, the bulk is what I was after. They look and feel awesome. They hang in the turns well even with the infrequent and slight rub on the fork, which really isn't enough contact to affect speed or performance from what I can tell. The wide sidewalls absorb some of the bumps and vibrations of the road which is nice.
Strengths:
-Durable; I've only put around 500 miles on my Big Apples but, I've been pretty crule to them. Curbs, pot-holes, dirt trails, broken glass, just a variety of terrain that any other "road" tire would piss themselves over. No problems so far.
-Looks; These massive "road" tires look sweet on a mountain bike. They give my bike a cross functional utilitarian look.

Weaknesses:
Tread pattern performs poorly off road. (Only a weakness is you intend to off road much. I spend 95% of the time riding on pavement. So a road tire makes more sense than a MTB tire.)


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*PAIR OF TIRES * KENDA MAXX (K-850) Knobby 26" x 1.95" Wire Bead Red/Black. Review

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(More customer reviews)My son thinks these tire are very cool and they were within his own budget. Made his day.

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Kenda Kross Plus Front/Rear Slick XC Tire, 26 x 1.95", Pair Of Tires Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought a pair from my local bike shop for just a few bucks more. Didn't want to wait for shipping...Oh, well. Great tire for a hybrid or commuter type bike. Also great if you want to turn your mountain bike into a more "commuter friendly" bike. The lower rolling resistance will mean increased speeds. Of course, you will lose the ability to go purely "off-road". But, the tire wasn't intended for that. You can cut through the park on grass or packed down earth & still feel secure. Although the tire doesn't state directional mounting - I would still mount them so that the 'sipes' (arrow shaped grooves) rotate forward. That way, any water can be channeled away from the center of the tire, instead of under the tire. So far, no problems with flats, despite the fact I live in the city with lots of broken glass, nails, etc.

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Michelin Country Dry2 Wire Bead Mountain Bike Tire Review

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(More customer reviews)Not the best for any one type of road condition, but the best balance between different conditions. The only problem is that they wear quickly, but they are very cheap compared to many other tires. Also, they wear quickly because they have excellent traction which is what I would rather have. Bottom line is, I highly recommend these tires if you're looking for an all purpose tire. I also highly recommend the seller, BikeSomeWhere who had a great price and fast shipping.

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Kenda K53 Wire Bead Bicycle Tire, Gumwall, 26-Inch x 1.75-Inch Review

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(More customer reviews)Nice road bike tire. Stores other then officia bicycle stores are no longer carrying the 26 or 27 inch tires as they used to. Now they carry the tires scrunched-up in a little box for $13.00 - $15.00. These Kenda tires arrived in large boxes with the tires barely packed out of shape. They went on the rims with no tools whatsoever and appear to be a great tire for the price. Nice refelective side walls and a nice rain-groove pattern as well.

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Kenda K53 Wire Bead Bicycle Tire, Gumwall, 26-Inch x 2.125-Inch Review

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(More customer reviews)I love these tires, you get the best of both worlds. With the the solid centerline you get a smooth ride on pavement and with the knobbies on both sides you are able to safely ride off road.

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Kenda K908 Pathfinder Wire Bead Bicycle Tire, Blackwall, 26-Inch x 1.95-Inch Review

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(More customer reviews)Nice tire for the money with a compromise tread that lets me ride trails or veer onto the grass to miss snowbirds or panhandlers on the path or the street. Installed on a set of double-wall rims on a vintage ('92) Rockhopper. Note that this tire is 'drive-specific,' and requires some attention on mounting (e.g., 'Drive -->'). BTW, mounting was a snap with only a pair of Park Tool TL-1s - not bad at all for a wire-bead tire!
We'll see how it holds up - but I like the 65-psi max rating - nice for less rolling resistance when fighting cagers in an urban setting!

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Kenda Kross Plus Wire Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a big fan of semi-slicks; done right, they can handle all but the worst gnarl, and they roll faster and with less noise too.
Having run through my supply of Kenda Kwicks, and with Kenda not making the Kwick any longer, I gave the Kross a try.
The key to a semi-slick is how the slick section is constructed. The idea is that the "slick" part - and only the "slick" part - contacts hard pavement, and then as the surface gets softer, progressively more of the tire is engaged.
The Kwick did this very well, featuring a variety of low-profile knobs and bars across the "slick" portion that contributed very little in the way of rolling resistance or vibration, but helped handle the transition from hard pack to all-out soft (where the big side lugs engage)
The Kross instead concentrates on road performance. The "road rib" has serrated edges that presumably dig in on intermediate surfaces, but the main part of the contact patch is entirely smooth.
This, in practice, makes for a nice and fast road-going tire, and it does passably well in very soft stuff. But on intermediate surfaces, like most singletrack, this tire is a slithery mess. It locks up under braking, it spins loose on climbs, and it times, it requires Shakira levels of body English to keep the bike under you.
As a road tire, it is very good - I did 160 km on it one weekend with a smooth and secure ride. As a road with a little trail - just fine. But as a singletrack tire... it's just OK. Unlike a full slick, you can get away with some trail use, but be prepared to slither a bit.

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Sunlite Bicycle Bungie Cargo Net, Black Review

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(More customer reviews)This product is a net made out of 1/4" bungee cord, with four hooks. The hooks are rubber coated, so they don't scratch, and they have flared tip covers so they won't snag fabrics.
The whole assembly weighs just under 4 ounces, and it collapses to about the size of a medium size vitamin bottle, so it's easy to carry everywhere in a backpack without taking up too much room.
This net is absolutely ideal for carrying groceries using your mountain bike rack. After trying it with a grocery sack that was half full and seeing that it holds the sack absolutely rock steady, I was ready to put it to the ultimate test. I used it to return from the grocery store about 2 miles away carrying one large doubled (one inside the other) paper grocery sack that was filled right to the top with very heavy items. It held 3 half gallons of milk, two 4 lb steak packages, and two large frozen vegetable packages - 25 lbs worth of food. I put the grocery bag on the mountain rack that is mounted above the rear tire. The net went over it easily without crushing anything, but held it securely upright over every bump. The groceries never budged. After using it for a year, however, sometimes, a grocery bag will tip. The net will hold it in place, so nothing will fall out, but be prepared to stop and remount the thing. It seems to happen about one out of twenty uses.
Should you get this or panniers? (Panniers are bags or soft sided baskets that hook over the sides of your mountain bike rack) With this, everything sits in the center of the bike, perfectly balanced, and it doesn't interfere with pedaling like panniers sometimes do. And face it, the price is right - it's a real bargain, even with the shipping charges, and I received it in 3 days from Bike World USA. Coupled with a large backpack that I use to hold another grocery bag worth of lighter items, I've stopped using my car for grocery shopping in the city of San Francisco.
However, if I think about it in advance, I tend to use panniers over this net. I don't have the one in twenty tipping problems with panniers and they are a bit easier and faster to get on and off. The benefit to this cargo net is twofold, however: it's a low price starting point to seeing if you want to start shopping with your bike. But more importantly, you can keep it handy in the back of your backpack all the time. With panniers, you have to plan ahead and carry them around. It has saved my behind on more than one occasion, either because I was out without panniers, I ran out of room in the panniers, or I just needed to take a jacket off and strap it to the bike. So even if you end up using panniers like I did, this won't be a wasted purchase. I still use my cargo net all the time. I carry it with me everywhere and if I lost it, I'd buy another one.
UPDATE 3/28/11: After 2.5 years, I lost one of the hooks. If you pull hard enough the wrong way, they'll come off and somehow I must have done that and I couldn't find it. And true to my word, I ordered another one the next day. Can't live without it.

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Avenir Streetster Tires (Black, 26 - Inches x 1.5 - Inches) Review

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(More customer reviews)Aloha from Molokai. I bought three of the Avenir Streetster tires for an up coming Trans America crossing. I was on a budget, and these tires prosmised dependable service, so I took a chance. I trained with these tires for two months prior to my trip, and put a little over a thousand miles on them. During my three month bike tour, I only had one flat, and never experienced any problems, even on some stretches of gravel and dirt roads. After more than 5,000 miles of riding, the tires still look almost new. These are in my opinion, the best street tires for the money.

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Kenda K838 Slick Wire Bead Bicycle Tire, Blackwall, 26-Inch x 1.95-Inch Review

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(More customer reviews)My mountain bike needed new tires, the old ones were dry and cracked, and one had blown out through the sidewall. I decided that since I seldom ride in mud or on very loose surfaces, a smoother tread would allow me to ride along with lower effort and/or greater speed. Smooth tires on urban bicycles are nothing new, the Tioga City Slicker has been around for years, and probably serves as an inspiration for many other similar tires. I ordered the Kenda K838 based on the favorable reviews, and am very pleased. I ordered four tires, to upgrade two bicycles. They came in a box which was probably twice as large as it needed to be. As everyone else has mentioned, they are blackwall, not gumwalls as illustrated. Mounting the tires was no problem at all. I used a plastic tire lever to remove the old tires from the rims, and just popped the Kenda's on with my fingers, no tools needed. I inflated them to 60 psi and went for a ride.
The tread design and profile are based on combined features from successful motorcycle tires. The tread pattern is very similar to that seen on the Bridgestone Spitfire, with directional grooves to channel water to the outside edge of the tread surface. This gives low rolling resistance and complete silence....no humming or howling knobs on pavement. Constant pedaling is not necessary, as the low rolling resistance means one can pedal a bit, then coast or glide a long distance.
They don't accelerate quite as easily as some narrower, lighter tires, say 700 x 28, but they do very well for a tire nearly 2 inches wide, and offer vastly better load capability, rim protection, flat resistance and a superior ride over irregularities. Bumps feel considerably "dampened", and the tires "float" undeflected over gravel patches instead of knifing in or skating around as a narrow tire might.
Their triangular profile is based on designs used on Dunlop TT100 motorcycle tires and others. This means that when viewed from the front, the tire doesn't look "circular" round, but has a "rounded triangle" shape. When riding straight, the narrow "point" of the triangle contacts the road, giving a lower resistance. As the bike banks over for turns, the broad "flank" of the triangle gradually spreads across the road, giving a broader contact area and better grip.
Owners of mountain bikes which are used more often on pavement and hard-packed dirt or gravel will probably enjoy these. They seem to be very well made and a good choice for their intended purpose.


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