Kenda Bicycle Tire Reviews
Having a good set of tires is very important, whether you're cycling daily or once every week. Tires are the only part of your bike that is in contact with the ground and will make a very big difference when cycling. Ensuring that they remain in good shape will determine how comfortable or uncomfortable your ride will be.
Technological advancements have made it possible for manufacturers to design tires for specific terrains and conditions. There are specific tires for mountain bikes, road bikes, and cruisers.
Kenda is a major tire manufacturer who’ve refined their tire making process for the past 50 years. If you’re looking for Kenda tires for your bike, then read on to find out more about these tires.
Kenda Bicycle Tires
Kenda produces bicycle tires that are at a different level of performance across different categories. Kenda uses a design philosophy that ensures the tires are safe and reliable to perform under the toughest of conditions.
When you purchase a Kenda tire, you’ll find the carcass indicating the specific tire use. Whether you’re looking for tires for your trail or endure bike, Kenda has everything for you.
Kenda Casings
The Advanced Trail Casing (ATC) from Kenda features a lightweight construction alongside a Continental ProTection carcass. The lightweight carcass is at the expense of protection against pinch flats.
This means that the ATC isn’t ideal for heavy cyclists. The Kenda ATC features a sidewall with protective layers and a center knob that ensures you won’t puncture or cut the tread.
Compared to the ATC, the Advanced Enduro Casing (AEC) comes with studier and weightier insertions. The AEC has a Vector Shield, which is the protective lining found beneath the tire’s tread and sidewall.
The protective lining provides up to three times of protection against puncture than that found in ATC. You can use this carcass on your Enduro bike due to the impressive pinch flat protection.
The Advanced Gravity Casing (AGC) provides the least protection against pinch flats, but it’s also the lightest of the three carcasses. The AGC is difficult to puncture and supports the most weight out of the other two carcasses making it ideal for heavy downhill riders.
By adding a 20mm wide Apex into the bead surrounding the tire, the AEC is capable of providing the additional protection.
Kenda’s Rubber Compounds
It may be difficult to comprehend the abbreviations you'll find on the Kenda catalog. The two rubber compounds used by Kenda to make their tires are the RSR Dual Layer (RSRDL) and the Enduro Dual Tread Compound (EN-DTC).
RSR Dual Layer
The RSRDL provides a maximum tire grip when rolling downhill. It's common practice for many dual-compound tires to use the softest rubber to make the center knobs and shoulder and harder material to make the tire's base harder.
While the RSRDL is relatively hard, it provides sufficient traction and precision whether you’re riding in dry or wet conditions. You can choose this tire compound at the front of your Enduro bike if you’re going to climb hills a lot.
EN-DTC
The EN-DTC compound from Kenda comes with a dual-compound construction. The center tread on this tire compound is hard while the shoulder knobs are soft. This compound has an excellent rolling resistance but still provides sufficient braking grip with reduced risk of wearing out quickly.
Whether you’re riding on tarmac or off-road biking, this compound provides maximum traction. However, riding under wet conditions reveals a huge difference between these two Kenda compounds.
Kenda Tire Tread Patterns
Kenda tires have three different tread patterns, the Hellkat Pro, Helldiver, and the Nevegal 2.
Hellkat Pro
The Hellkat Pro features a very aggressive tread pattern design. The knobs have gaps between themselves to give the tires a self-cleaning property whenever you're stuck in the mud.
In off-camber sections, the shoulder knobs have a square shape to provide enough traction. The center knobs are massive to provide excellent braking traction; however, this comes at the expense of resistance to rolling.
While the Hellkat Pro features several transition knobs, you’ll get a predictable and consistent feel if you lean it over. This type of tread is ideal for your Enduro bike’s front wheels. You’ll need a lot of power to climb if you place tires with this type of treads on the rear wheels.
Helldiver
If you experience too much resistance when riding with the Hellkat, then the Helldiver will provide the solution. The tire is slightly slick and features very few center knobs that reduce the rolling resistance. However, this slightly slick tire, as is the case with many other similar tires, provides little braking trucking in wet conditions.
You shouldn’t place use Kenda tires with this type of tread on the front wheels. You’ll find a wide variety of options for casing and compounds with the 27.5-inch model. The 29-inch model only comes with the ATC casing, which is rather thin.
Nevegal 2
Kenda tires with this type of tread are the in-between for the Hellkat Pro and the Helldiver tread patterns. They feature rather short knobs that minimize the weight and resistance when rolling giving you a better feel of the ground you’re riding on.
This model also features many transition knobs and allows the rider to drift without the possibility of losing control.
Similar to the Helldiver, and unlike the Hellkat Pro, the Nevegal 2 is ideal for your Enduro bike’s rear wheels. You can also place it on the front or rear of your Trail bike. However, Nevegal 2 doesn't have a self-cleaning feature that makes it easier for it to become clogged when riding in muddy conditions.
Verdict
Kenda bicycle tires come with a wide variety of features that make them ideal for both Enduro and Trail bikes. Made from different types of carcasses, rubber compounds, and coming with different tread patterns, Kenda tires provide great performance. Whether you’re riding on or off the road in dry or muddy conditions, you’ll find a Kenda tire for you.