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Kenda Flintridge Pro 700 x 40c gravel bike tyres


Chris NewbyFraser

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Posted

I fitted these tyres to my Specialized Axis Elite rims, to be ready for the Fast One mtb race today. It was a mission to get the rims to seal for tubeless. Turns out that Specialized tubeless road rims are not very easy to set up (much muttering in the US about the brands poor record). My LBS advised I remove the standard Specialized tubeless rim tape and use duct tape. Did this and the tyres sealed, but only with explosive air input from bombs. They would not seal up with a floor pump. After messing about with the standard rim and the tape, I eventually used four bombs. Not cool Specialized!

 

The tyres settled fairly evenly on the rims. I used Sunlight soap water to get a good fit. After a short ride they sealed up and held air nicely overnight.

 

Come race day I dropped pressure to 35lbs rear and 30 front. Kenda say not to go lower than 30 but I think on a Free State gravel road I will take another 5lbs out.

The Fast One course involved a mix of rough to smooth single and jeep track, quite a bit of sharp rock and a bit of tar in the beginning for the start rush.

Being heavier than the Specialized Trigger Pro 38's, the bike did feel sluggish until it hit the rough stuff, when the strong and bulky tyres came into their own. They absorbed multiple rock strikes(some really hard), sailed through medium sand and simple railed tight corners. I felt completely confident on the tyres and will use them on any rough gravel event. For a pure gravel road with a good surface(like the Berg100), I would rather use lighter, faster tyres.

Posted

Nice review

 

I fitted my Kendas on an American Classic tubeless Cx wheelset.  Easy as pie!!  Use and floor pump with zero issues.

 

Ran them in the Karoo at around 2.3 Bar (35 odd psi??) which I thought was a bit hard, but I was doing a mix of gravel and tar.  Tyres are heavy, not sure what the Trigger Pro's weigh. BTW I have a set of those - to be trialled later.

 

I was also 100% confident on the Kendas.

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