I received the package of stuff from Evan Byrne today and it included a 24" DX wheelset with a new 24x2.6 Kenda Kinetics tire. I thought that a good test for this new wheel would be to take it out to the Toboggan hill north of town.
The snow was a bit soft and wet as it was supper warm today and almost reached 0˚C. I did a few runs down the hill with my 26x3 Duro setup and had no trouble with most of the hill. Approximately 10% slip and 90% grip.
I swapped out the wheel to the DX wheelset and was disappointed to find that the cranks rubbed on the frame, but not bad enough to stop me from riding it. I played around with it a bit on the flat before heading up the hill. It was noticeably lighter feeling than my 26" setup and I was feeling pretty good about the new wheel but when I started to go down the slope I immediately lost my grip and slid about 2 meters, got half a pedal in and slid another meter before falling off the back. I got on and tried again, this repeated itself all the way down the hill. I did more sliding than riding down the hill and the difference in grip between my 26" Duro and the 24" Kenda was very surprising. Both wheelsets had Alex DX32 rims and 150/152mm cranks and about 22 PSI.
My question is: is it simply the difference between a 24 and a 26" wheel that caused the loss in grip or does the Kenda tire really just suck in snow compared to a Duro?
Both tires are actually fairly close to the same width on the DX32 rims. Using a square and a book (I don’t have a caliper) and measuring from casing to casing I got measurements of 66mm for the 26x3 Duro and 62mm for the 24x2.6 Kenda. Thats 2.60" for the duro and 2.44" for the Kenda. Wouldn’t it be nice if tires were actually the size they said
Has anyone out there switched from a 2.6" Kenda to a Duro or Gazz and if they have what differences did you notice?
I forgot to mention that the Kenda has the “Stick-E” compound so is fairly soft rubber.
The tread is a bit tighter on the Kenda so perhaps the snow is packing in the tread, I will have to give the wheel another shot when it is colder out again.
I’ve done a lot of hard muni riding on a stock DX wheel with the Kinetic tire. Haven’t ridden very much at all on my Duro, mostly because it’s too heavy and I hate the extra weight.
I’ve never had any problems with snow riding on the Kinetics, but then again I haven’t really ridden the Duro in the snow…
Do you have much difference in tire pressure between the two?
I just received two Intense 24x3" tires and put one on the DX wheelset. I went out to the same hill I tried the Kenda on and it was definitely better but still not nearly as nice as my 26. Maybe I will stud up this one and see how much that helps.
I have used the Gazz and Duro in the 26x3" sizes. I am new to the 24" MUni so I have only tried the Kenda and the Intense.
No I have not tried the Arrow Wide Bite but it looks like a decent tire.
I went with the Intense because it was on sale and has a nice open patern with large blocks. (and your 24x3" comparison thread)
Comparing it to the Kenda it is taller, wider, has deeper lugs, harder compound (better wear, worse grip) has a squarer profile, deeper lugs, has stiffer side-walls, and weighs a little bit more.
Compared to the 26x3" Duro and Gazz it has a more open tread and larger blocks than either, the Lugs are taller than the Duro (not sure about the Gazz as mine is a little worn) It has a more squared profile than the Duro (never compared to Gazz) and is slightly wider but not as tall. Sidewall stiffness in order from stiff to flimsy would be Duro, Intense, Gazz.
That’s about all I can comment on since most of my experience is on 26" tires and this is a 24.
Maybe I would have liked the Kenda better if I did not start off by riding it down slippery snow covered hills, but that is one of the things that I like to do so my tire should be able to do it
I actually already have the Arrow. It’s a bit wider than the Kenda (66 vs. 63 mm on my DX), taller, stiffer sidewalls, heavier, and a rounder profile.
I’ve only been on one 9.5 mile ride w/ it, but I noticed that it was slower to accelerate (I think from both the weight and the “taller gearing”), a bit faster, rolls over bumps better, more composure on drops, easier to pedal @ moderate to fast speeds, more stable/harder to turn at fast speeds, and more unstable in loose dirt and mud.
Maybee I still need to get used to it, but so far I preffer the 2.6" Kenda, mainly for the greater stability and the “shorter gearing”.
