This past year I was looking for a tire for my bike that would be just as fast as the semi slicks i was used to using for Adventure Racing, but wou
ld give me more grip for the trails in the Mountain Bike races that I was starting to enjoy. I origanally was interested in the Maxxis Crossmark because it looked like it was low profile and fast but had a good amount of tread. I was hearing mixed reviews about it’s performance though, and bumped into a friend of a friend who was riding on this great new tire from Kenda called the Small Block 8. He told me how it was very low profile like the Crossmark, but had more knobs spaced closer together which gave it a little better grip as well as being faster. To top it off it was also lighter than the Crossmark, and as you all know rotating weight is huge. I decided that I would get a 1.95 for the back and a 2.1 for the front for a good mix of speed and grip. After my first ride I was hooked. The tire allowed me to stick to the trail and gave me confidence to go faster in situations than I usually would with my average bike handling skills. The only problem I have had with these tires is that they can pack up with mud. The closely spaced Knobs don’t allow the mud to shed, as I found out at the Keen Adventure Sport Games last Fall when my rear tire wouldn’t move because of all the mud. But I should have known that, and I didn’t realize how tacky the mud in Collingwood was. I stuck to everything!
The Small Block Eight has a centre tread made from Kenda’s L3R Pro compound that is a little harder for longer life, and their STICK-E compound on the cornering knobs for the great cornering control. So if you are looking for a new set of tires for XC mountain bike races or Adventure Races order up a pair of these, I know you will not be dissapointed.
Use this coupon in store or use the code inline.
