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Kenda Small block eight Thanx 4 the advice!


Clint Adams

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Is the kenda small Block 8 tires good tires?

 

I heard a lot of guys talk about these tires and just want to know if its worth  spending a bit more money on a set of these!

 

Where i ride @ Stellenbosch mountain the gravel is very dry and loose so i need to know if this tire will work well!

I weigh about 95-100KG's

 

Any advice

please

clintadam2010-04-30 02:14:44

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Hey Clint,

 

 

 

I have a SB8 as a rear tyre. In the dry it climbs like a mountain goat! Which is great for the PMB area where I do all my riding. As a front I can not comment - not been there but I am hesitant to use it as a front; it just doesn't have the bite needed to steer with in my opinion.

 

 

 

So you ride in loose over hard-pack conditions. It will not be a bad option I would say. If it will be able to get through the gravel it will stick like mad to the hard stuff! I will not hesitate to buy another SB8 when my one wears out.

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I have them back and front on my bike.

 

 

 

So far so good, but truth be told I have'nt spent so much time on the bike, as its new.

 

 

 

They are fast rolling, thats for sure. I think the issure will come in when its wet and there are rocks etc. There, traction would be an issue.

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I liked my nevegals when I was riding in stellenbosch. But the sb8 has better rolling resistance.

 

I would suggets nevegal up front and sb8 at the rear if you'd like to try Kenda

 

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Zula; I love my SB8 on rocks. All those little lugs deform to the shape of the rock and stick! They do better on ricks than my monorail which I have up front.

 

I did Karkloof on Tuesday and had a lot of rock on the single track and I was all smiles.

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Zula; I love my SB8 on rocks. All those little lugs deform to the shape of the rock and stick! They do better on ricks than my monorail which I have up front.

 

I did Karkloof on Tuesday and had a lot of rock on the single track and I was all smiles.

 

 

 

Thats awesome!!

 

 

 

Are you running them tubeless?? I have tubeless rims, but have'nt had the time to try seal them off. They are not the UST version.

 

 

 

My concern is that the sidewall is extremely thin.

 

 

 

Whats you experience?

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Zula I am running a non UST SB8 as tubeless on the rear of my trail bike...have had no issues whatsoever and ride them quite flat. Great tire for the back, used it during an extremely wet W2W race in November last year and didn't have spinning / grip issues.

 

I do however have something a bit grippier / higher volume on the front but for the Cape Summer I would use them both sides without reservation.
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I run them tubeless. I use the non-UST tyre, the DTC version. Sealing than bad boy was another story! So many pinholes on the sidewalls that I am wondering whether I have any Stan's left smiley2.gif Look, I don't have any of that sharp edge shale around here, only dolorite, stumps and leaf litter. But then I'm also not worried as I am a real light weight, 64kg with my hydration pack and fully kitted out.

 

 

 

Relating to XTC1's comment; I ride my SB8 at 26psi on my full sus and have not had one problem - touch wood. Interesting comment XTC1, I'm most excited that you had a decent experience with them in the wet at W2W. From some of my experiences here, they clear quickly if and when they do pack with mud a bit.

 

 

 

On a side note, even at my weight I am starting to notice wear from my occasional ride on tar to get to my local trail (maybe 25km max on tar as a total) and I have only put about 200km on the tyre. Hope that makes sense ...

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@ Clint - Stellenbosch is about to get much wetter - going into the winter period!!

 

Rather go for the tried and tested cross marks....they will be best suitable for you & the conditions yopu'll find on the mountain thsi winter. Bonus is, summertime they will still be great!!

 
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@ Tavis82 & XTC1

 

 

 

I want to try and convert them prob next week to tubeless. Not used to this whole tubes and tyre liners thing :)

 

 

 

Im a heavier ride than 64kg, more like 90kg for me, but the thing I love about them is there rolling resistance. Sure in really wet conditions I think I would suffer a bit, but highveld winter is generally dry so it should in theory be the perfect winter tyre.

 

 

 

Also, I have reservations about the conti mountain king, as they dont look like they roll so well on harder surfaces. Lastly I want to try the sb8's as a tubeless, before going to drop R1200 on some new tyres.

 

 

 

I have always loved the looked of the sb8's

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Zula I am 90 on a thin day and that's without enough provisions to feed the WWF Road Show for a week and 3 liters in my Mule so I doubt you'll have any issues.

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Zula I am 90 on a thin day and that's without enough provisions to feed the WWF Road Show for a week?and 3 liters in my Mule so I doubt you'll have any issues.

 

 

 

HAHAHAHA classic :)

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