Kenda KWest Tyres - Thoughts?

meanredspider
meanredspider Posts: 12,337
edited June 2016 in Commuting chat
A colleague is doing a C2C ride on a hybrid and was asking my opinion on tyres. She has these Kenda tyres on that I've never heard of so I'm loathe to suggest swapping them. They seem to sell at around the £15-17 mark which, in my experience, is in the "plausibly OK" range. Anybody any views on them?
ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH

Comments

  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    A colleague is doing a C2C ride on a hybrid and was asking my opinion on tyres. She has these Kenda tyres on that I've never heard of so I'm loathe to suggest swapping them. They seem to sell at around the £15-17 mark which, in my experience, is in the "plausibly OK" range. Anybody any views on them?

    Kenda seem to do ok OEM tyres had kenda stuff on my CX and SS roadie in both cases the tyres where tough as old boots though somewhat stiff ride, and mildly slower than posher tyres that I replaced them with.

    the other question is what sort of rider is your colleague?
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    I'm not sure how to answer that question. They are doing 60-70 miles a day if that gives some idea of their capability and their total journey (further than just C2C) is expected to take 7 days. So speed probably isn't the factor and the current tyres are 32c
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • Be aware that there are Kwests with and without puncture protection.

    The ones without are diabolical and only good for puncture repair practice!
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,743
    I was just thinking puncture protection was going to be more of a consideration by the sound of it. Never tried the tyres so can't comment I'm afraid.
  • rhodrich
    rhodrich Posts: 867
    For what it's worth, I've recently been commuting on my by Dawes 'Chevron' that's fitted with 27" wheels. As a stop gap measure to replace the original perished tyres, I fitted the wheels with Continental Top Touring tyres that I seem to remember purchasing back in 1995, long before puncture protection belts were all the rage.

    In 2800 miles of commuting in London, I've had 3 punctures on these tyres, all on the back tyre. One of these was a snakebite puncture caused by a pothole. The other was a huge drywall screw that would have gone through anything, and the final one was a flint.

    This average of about 1 puncture per 1000 miles is no different from my other fixed gear bike, which has Schwalbe Durano's on it. I don't think that puncture protection belts really make that much of a difference, until you move onto heavy duty tyres like Schwalbe Marathons, which weigh a ton, and are quite unpleasant to ride on.

    I'm sure the Kenda Kwests will be fine.
    1938 Hobbs Tandem
    1956 Carlton Flyer Path/Track
    1960 Mercian Superlight Track
    1974 Pete Luxton Path/Track*
    1980 Harry Hall
    1986 Dawes Galaxy
    1988 Jack Taylor Tourer
    1988 Pearson
    1989 Condor
    1993 Dawes Hybrid
    2016 Ridley Helium SL
    *Currently on this
  • drlodge
    drlodge Posts: 4,826
    I read this as Kanye West tyres and thought pile of cr@p!
    WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
    Find me on Strava
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    She's only had one puncture to date (though I don't know how many miles she's done on them - though she's commuting about 20 miles per day)
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH