Not too long ago I ordered a Monty 2.7" tire from www.expressivebikes.com, expecting it to be the 2.7" Monty trials tire. What I got however, was the monty eagle claw, but I guess that’s ok, seeing as how I now have a Monty Eagle Claw.
So, here’s my review.
Tire: Monty Eagle Claw - 2.6" X 19"
Dealer: Expressivebikes
Cost: AU$50 (plus $7 postage)
Rim: Qu-Ax 45mm(?)
When I first used it, it seemed unusually round and not very good for riding rails on, but this was only before I wore down the tread a bit and got used to how it felt.
The rubber is the same compound as the Maxxis CC or a slightly softer one so it’s has more grip. The tread pattern is roughly the same as the CC, but it looks cooler, and there’s more of it because it’s wider. The sidewalls are much thicker than the CC so pinchflats would not occur as they regularly would. I’m running mine at a much lower psi than I would normally would so I can get a lot more bounce out of it (but I’m also using a 19X3" motobike tube so it won’t pinhcflat)
I’ve been riding it for about 2 weeks now, and have put about 30-35 hours on it. So far the tread has worn down very little, pretty much what you’d expect from any tire.
It is very stable and after some average use is as grippy as you would probably want.
It’s definitely a good upgrade from the CC, unless you either don’t like the CC or really love it and would never change it for anything else.
Postage was great, I ordered it late Wednesday night and it was here Friday morning before i woke up (about 11:30am). I emailed Tim Mullaly a few times and he usually replied within a few hours.
This is the email I got from Tim with info on the tire:
All in all I’d say it is definitely worth the extra $20 and would recommend it to anyone who was looking into upgrading their current trials tire or replacing an old one.
Hope that helps, if you have any questions feel free to ask.
-Keven