24x3 Felt Berm Master Tire

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Price: $30 US
Spec’s: Casing, 30 tpi
Rubber: 55 durometer
Weight: ?

A while back I read on a post about this tire and found one at my local bike shop. I bought one to try it out and I have really been enjoying it. It’s got good bounce, and handles low pressure very well. It does an alright job of shedding dirt/mud and so isn’t a bad all around tire, but it would be better for dry conditions. The round profile handles road crown well, and it handles well in really rounded out trails. This tire is easier to turn than other tires I have had, but it is probably not as sticky either. The sidewalls are nice and heavy so the tire has good support.

This is really just a preliminary write-up. I’ll post more after I put some more distance on the tire.

3

Any updates? I’ve been looking forward to more info on how this tire performs/ holds up under fairly frequent riding.

4

Lately I’ve been riding my 29’er a lot, but the MUni has been out a few more times since the last write up. Not much new to report, but so far my initial feelings are unchanged. Here’s a little update:

The tire is generally great. It’s fast rolling, and smooth. I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to ride it in soft stuff, but the one good ride I had leads me to think that it will fair pretty well, but a bit less sure footing than a DH tire.

I really like how maneuverable it is. It’s super easy to turn, and it holds well when I’m digging in to a corner.

After I have had more time on the tire I will write more, but for now it is a lot of fun.

5

awesome, thanks!

6

Update

I still can’t speak too much about the wet performance of this tire, but for dry, and super dry single track it is a solid performer, and is wearing like iron. This tire has incredible float. I was on a trail today that had a bunch of beachy sections that had stopped some mountain bikes. This tire floated over the sand and made it through without skipping a beat.

It seems to have good grip when I’m going uphill into small rock gardens. The tire holds on and helps me pull up and over obstacles that I would have thrown me.

I still find it a nice tire with more pressure for road as well. It might be a good cross tire for Muni/road. If I could only afford a Guni.

8

do you know whether there is a 26" x3" version of this tire :thinking:

jogi

9

I just looked at the Felt website, and it looks like the 26" version is only 2.125".

I don’t know what current tires are available in 26x3, but I’m sure someone is making one.

10

That tire looks cool for XC riding, It doesn’t look like a 3". I dont know if I like it or not:p it looks like a strange tire.

11

I’ll put calipers on it, but it’s definately a big tire, and about the same size as my Intense 24x3. It does have a lower profile tread, and so I would imagine that it’s a little smaller.

12

It measures 2.9" across the knobbies. The tread is .15", or about 5/32". I don’t have my Intense mounted right now, but I suspect that this Felt tire has a bit more volume, with less tread.

I should mention that this is on a stock Onza rim which is fairly narrow by modern standards.

14

I’ve been riding MUni a lot the past couple of weeks, and I am liking this tire more and more. It is very dry in Colorado, so again I can’t speak to the wet performance. On dry, loose and hard pack this tire is a great performer. I suspect it would be the perfect tire in Moab. Great through the loose sandy sections and grippy on the slickrock.

I hope to get a wider rim soon which should help me running lower pressure w/o folding the tire. The sidewall on this tire is as stiff and heavy as my Intense DH tire. So I’m sure that the wider rim will bring the tire (and me) up to a new level of performance.

15

Thanks for keeping this thread updated, Jerry. I’ll be getting my first muni soon and am planning on swapping the Duro Leopard out for a Berm Master immediately. I’m thinking it’ll make the transition to a 3" tire easier for me and that I’ll save the Leopard for Winter riding.

17

I got my MUni and Berm Master this week and after getting the unused Duro off the rim (which took me about 20 minutes) I was able to weigh them. I came up with 3lbs 8oz for the Duro and 2lbs 12oz for the Berm Master.

Over the past few days I’ve done a little bit of riding on pavement, grass, sandy fire roads, and packed trails. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it rides on pavement - it rides smoothly and turns easily. It also handles loose sandy sections of the fire roads I’ve been riding very easily.

18

I’m interested in how the sidewalls compare.

19

I didn’t make a point of comparing the sidewalls, but my impression while unmounting one and mounting the other was that the walls on the Duro seemed a little heavier and stiffer.

20

conclusion

I think I’m ready to give my last post regarding this tire. I recently switched back to the Intense DH tire, and I’m offering a comparison and final verdict.

Sidewall:
the Berm Master’s sidewalls are a little softer, but still pretty stout. I had problems with folding the tire at low pressure, but that was resolved when I switched to a wider rim.
conclusion: Although softer, it has good sidewall support.

Road Handling:
The Berm Master has a great cross terrain tread. If you are planning on riding this tire entirely off road, and on trail I would suggest getting the Intense DH.
conclusion: If your going to do mixed riding between paved road, fire road, and single track the Berm Master is a nice choice. The Intense is more work to turn on pavement, but shines on the trail.

Mud:
The Intense DH sheds mud better than the Berm Master; however, it also picks up more. In the few times that I was able to ride in mud I didn’t have many problems with the tire losing traction, but I will say that the Intense has far better traction when the ground turns to soup.

conclusion: Intense wins for traction and shedding.

Grip
There is no doubt that the Intense is a stickier tire. The surprise is that the Berm Master does as well as it does holding on to precarious edges of rock, narrowly averting UPD’s. This is certainly not what the tire was intended for, and yet it will surprise you.

conclusion: You get what you pay for, but for the money the Berm Master is better than you’d think.

Recommendation:
For the hard core off road only MUni there is little reason to entertain this tire. In almost every way the Intense DH performs better off road; although, in some cases only by a little.

For a new MUni rider looking for a tire that gives easier handling, and handles pavement like a fat freestyle tire this is a great choice. It offers good bounce to learn hopping, and wears well on the street. It is fast when inflated to 40psi, and forgiving when you run it at 15psi.

I might also recommend this tire for a rider who likes MUni, but only has one uni that needs to double as a “townie.” It’s nice to have a tire that can go across campus one day, and be perfectly at home on a trail the next.

I just learned that Felt dropped the price to $25.00US. Not bad.

21

Great summary, Jerry. Thus far the Berm Master is the only 24x3 I’ve ever ridden on but my experience matches what you’ve stated. In addition to using it to gain MUni experience I ride mine on pavement learning to hop and practice other skills. I’ve run it between 20 and 30 psi (currently closer to 20) and on a 42mm Nimbus rim haven’t experienced any sidewall folding.

I think this tire would be best for someone looking to ride a mix of street and trails on one tire and who wants more dirt traction than something like a Hookworm can provide and better on-road performance than a full knobby trail tire. So yeah, I guess this post is just a long “ditto”.

22

I really like the tire a lot. I plan on putting it on my wifes Schwinn after she get’s more comfortable on her uni. It may just be the perfect beginer MUni tire, and again it’s probably the best tire for cross terrain.

I’ll be interested in hearing more reflections on the tire as you put more miles on yours.

23

After almost 8 months of riding with the Berm Master it is still going strong. The knobs on the side of the tire that is down when the pedals are in my favored hopping position are starting to show some wear. I’m thinking about rotating my cranks.

I never did switch to to Duro over the winter and found the Berm Master did fine in snow and icy conditions. The few times I felt the tire slip were when riding on smooth ice (duh) and once or twice on really slick mud slopes. It continues to be a great tire for me.

24

I just wish they had a 26x2.7 version. It really is a great tire. I only had problems with it folding on a narrower rim. The 42mm rim is solid with my Berm Master.