Should I buy new tyres for my Son's bike?

Darra8

Hi Guys,

I have just been to Llandegla today with my 11 year old Son and did the blue route which he managed without getting off once. The trail looked very slippery in places, but he kept it together. He bought himself a new Giant boulder in the Summer and we go off MTBing as much as we can. I have a selection of tyres for my bikes for Winter and Summer riding, but he just has the cheap kenda's that came with the bike.

We don't go that fast, but I am worried that I should get him a good set of all round rubber to lesson the possibility of him sliding off. Am I being a little OTT? should I just leave the tyres that came with the bike on?

What do you think?

Cheers,

Steve

fourcrossjohn

in my experiences kenda can be a tad unpredicatable, my opinion is change the tyre to something such as a maxxis advantage or ardents, down the cheaper side of the scale but some of the best

RealMan

Could just let him use a pair of yours, see if he likes them more. He might not even notice a difference.

Hercule Q

high rollers, the most predicable tyre i've ever used

dsmiff

No you are not being OTT, weigh the tyres - bet they will be around 1kg each. In which case get him some decent folding tyres no more than 600g, this will improve his climbing as well. Not really sure on what is the best tyre around llandegla espically just the blue - but a lighter tyre will improve his riding loads.

BurtonM

I advise some maxxis high rollers. They are unbeliavbly reliable and havent had any bother at all. They offer excellent grip aswell.

Darra8

RealMan wrote:

Could just let him use a pair of yours, see if he likes them more. He might not even notice a difference.

I don't really have anything suitable for Winter riding as they are now fitted to my other bikes.

I do have a pair of Bonty jones XR's, but they came on my trek fuel 5.5 so don't suppose they are up to much. CRC have a good deal on Conti mountain kings at the moment at £10 each for the 2.4's. I have just put a pair on my rigid, but not had enough time with them to know if they are any good yet...CRC reviews are good tho!

Anonymous

If you're riding the blue route at llandegla, then at 11 years old, he is highly unlikely to reach the limits of traction on any tyre.

Darra8

yeehaamcgee wrote:

If you're riding the blue route at llandegla, then at 11 years old, he is highly unlikely to reach the limits of traction on any tyre.

That's why I thought I might be being a little OTT, but on the other hand a sh!t tyre is a sh!t tyre at any speed...right?

Anonymous

a shit tyre is only shit if you notice it not giving enough grip. If it's gripping, it's fine.
No need to put Goodyear eagle F1s on a 1litre polo, for example.

lawl

yeehaamcgee wrote:

a shoot tyre is only shoot if you notice it not giving enough grip. If it's gripping, it's fine.
No need to put Goodyear eagle F1s on a 1litre polo, for example.

Why not?

Anonymous

seriously? you're kidding, right?

Northwind

yeehaamcgee wrote:

a shoot tyre is only shoot if you notice it not giving enough grip. If it's gripping, it's fine.

Until it stops

OEM tyres tend to be a bit ropey, even when they're a good brand or even model they're often not as good as the ones you can buy aftermarket, Kenda's wire beads frinstance are heavy and nothing like as grippy as their folding models- the OEM nevegals are OK at best. Same with Continental, the OEM spec Mountain Kings are frankly rubbish compared to the real thing, and even they're not all that good.

Personally I reckon tyres are worth the investment, a good tyre can keep you upright, and it can keep you riding where a bad tyre would have you walking. Also, people say "With this level of skill you won't outride the tyre", I'll say flat out that's total rubbish, the more skill you have the less need for a good tyre you have, if you're learning or pushing your limits it's much more likely you'll make a mistake that calls for the extra grip.

Anonymous

yeah, but is a kid riding a blue route at a trail centre likely to need more grip?

dsmiff

Whether he is riding red blue or green get him some light tyres and he'll soon be ripping your legs off.

Swapped my kids tyres and it took almost 2-3 mins off the climb at Llandegla doesn't sound much, but when your riding with someone means your not constantly dropping back, boosted his confidence, best thing we ever invested in.

He started on the blue a couple of years back (we still occasionally do it if he's riding with his younger brother, it great fun!!), now he is riding well under 1hr 30 mins for all the red and blacks with no stopping and he loves it.

We ride bontrager Mud-X around 550g, he used the high roller xc but struggled a bit with grip on the rear when pedalling up steep wet climbs (and the logs), going to try Nevagal's next!.

Darra8

dsmiff wrote:

Whether he is riding red blue or green get him some light tyres and he'll soon be ripping your legs off.

Swapped my kids tyres and it took almost 2-3 mins off the climb at Llandegla doesn't sound much, but when your riding with someone means your not constantly dropping back, boosted his confidence, best thing we ever invested in.

He started on the blue a couple of years back (we still occasionally do it if he's riding with his younger brother, it great fun!!), now he is riding well under 1hr 30 mins for all the red and blacks with no stopping and he loves it.

We ride bontrager Mud-X around 550g, he used the high roller xc but struggled a bit with grip on the rear when pedalling up steep wet climbs (and the logs), going to try Nevagal's next!.

What's the Mud X like as an all round tyre? as I have a spare set of those I was keeping for the really muddy local trails.

He uses, like most kids of his age, his bike for just p!ssing around with his mates too, so need it to be good on tarmac too.

Northwind

yeehaamcgee wrote:

yeah, but is a kid riding a blue route at a trail centre likely to need more grip?

Yeah, quite possibly, if they lose focus and ride off the surface... Or if they get carried away and try and carry too much speed. Which I reckon is easier done on a blue than on a red...