I bought an Arrow Wide Bite 24X3 tire almost two years ago when my original Duro was approaching baldness. I kept riding the Duro even though it was bald. (An even baldness because I rotate the cranks every couple of months.) The Duro has continued to work well even though it was totally smooth. All of my friends have been poking fun at me for my slick tire!
Well yesterday about 2 kilometers into the 7 km ride one of my friends noticed a tack stuck in the tire. He was going to pull it out but I stopped him. I finished the ride no problem and the tire was still totally inflated. After reaching home I pulled the tack out and the tire went flat. My first Muni flat in over 3 years of hard frequent riding! I decided to put on the Arrow!
Both the Arrow and the Durrow measure 2.75 in width. The Arrow is flatter more like a Gozzaloddi. The 3" means that it is that diameter when being ridden.
(I confirmed it with the owner of Arrow Racing.) I have a feeling that the traction for climbing on scree debris is going to better at the cost of maneuverability. I will update this thread after a few rides.
By the way I have a Kenda Klaw on my KH29. Recently I tried out a friends Qu-Ax 29 with a Kenda Karma and I could not believe the difference in handling. The Karma is so more maneuverable and nimble. A real pleasure to ride on after the Klaw. I guess about the only cool thing about the Klaw is it’s name!
I have done a few short rides on the Arrow Wide Bite. Nothing too aggressive. On Friday I will have a good aggressive ride. It handles very similar to the Duro.
A tad bid harder to turn and maneuver but better on skinnies. Not by a huge amount. I would definitely suggest this tire to any MUni riders. I would consider it very on par with the Duro.
I wanted to post some pictures of the new tire. I will report back on Friday after a good aggressive ride.
I’m looking forward to your review, I’ve got my eye on these tires and may buy some depending on your comments.
If you can compare it to the Gazz 24x3 that would be great as well, since that’s the only 24" Muni tire I’ve ever ridden with.
I like a tire with plenty of bounce and good on skinnies; I don’t care so much about turning since I usually do a hop-turn with the Gazz if it doesn’t turn as much as I need.
I’m a big fan of the Duro tire, not that I’ve tried other 3" tires (I really disliked the Kenda Kinetics 2.5 or what ever width it was) but just for the fact that it works so well for me that I don’t want to fix what ain’t broken.
It’s always great to hear about other options though just incase a tire become unavailable.
Well Today I gave my new Arrow Wide Bite a good hard workout and I must say that I am pleased. I don’t know if the differences felt are more related to the tire being new or to the difference in brand. Actually I would not be surprised if the same factory produces the Arrow and the Duro for the 24X3 text of the side of the tire is the exact same font although a different size.
The volume is identical.
The springiness of the tire when hopping is identical and I was just as easily clearing the same heights when hopping up boulders as with the Duro.
Climbing scree strewn hills is easier.
The grip is ammazing! When pecking up slanted rock faces the tire stuck firmly and I was able to do bigger, longer, higher jumps without side slip than on the Duro. Once again I don’t know if I should attribute this to the new tread or the difference in brand.
Maneuverability was a tad more difficult. The studs stick into the mud and dirt giving more friction.
The new tire requires slightly more muscle power to propel it because of the studs sticking to the ground so much more firmly.
Skinnies are much easier now.
In all it is a toss up between the Duro and Arrow. I would just purchase the cheaper of the two. I am pretty sure that I would be just as pleased with a brand new Duro. I bought my Arrow at Universal Cycles.
Check out Arrow’s site it is nicely designed and very informative!
I have been riding my Arrow Wide Bite for a while now.
Here is some more feedback.
Kris Holm once told me that the best way to get more traction is by putting the tires on backwards. I have since been doing this. A few weeks ago I tried a friends Muni with a Duro tire and was surprised at how much easier it was to pedal. Everything else was the same. So I switched my Wide Bite around so that it is in the Manufacturer’s suggested direction. I have a slight loss in traction going up scree strewn hills but the thing rolls so much easier now.
Attached are two pictures of the difference in thread pattern. I must say that the Arrow has more rubber in contact with the ground. You can see how the knobs ae so much more masive. Also there are knobs sloser to the sides of the tire and the profile is so much flatter. Much more like a Gazz.
I would like to hear from others if they have tried this tire and what they think.
I have been using Arrow Racing WideBite 24x3.0 on my mountain unicycle since a long time and they are great to ride on. That’s only suspension on a unicycle so you run them wide with about 18 pounds of pressure.
Is that the version being reviewed in this thread? I’m looking to replace the orginal Duro Leopard Wildlife on my KH 24 and the WB sounds like a good alternative. It looks like the DH version is about twice the price. I mostly ride single track at lower tire pressures and weigh about 170 lbs.
the Rubber in the Slow react is softer and therefore you will get a much better bite when riding on flat rocks or on skinnies. I love pecking up steep rock faces and the slow react would be perfect for this, also much more bite when riding on telephne pole type skinnies. However it does wear faster.
I am very happy with my Wide Bites. I would They are pretty comparable to Duro though.
Duro has a little more manueverability and Arrow has a little bit more bite.
