David in PA

Hello everyone,

I have a Bacchetta Strada (a high-racer bent) and would like to upgrade its tires. They are 650 x 1.25. (My current tires are Kenda Koncepts) I am looking for a better gripping tire, and one that is less prone to punctures. The tire should of course be fast and have minimal rolling resistance, but at the same time I'm willing to sacrifice some performance in order to get better gripping, stronger tires.

I heard that Kenda Kwest might be the way to go. Would this tire satisfy my needs? Or would you recommend another tire?

Thanks,
David in FL

bobbycorno

In general, the euro tire brands (Michelin, Conti, Schwalbe, Vittoria, etc) are more highly regarded than Kenda. Their products are generally more expensive as well. It's not so much that higher price = higher quality, but that it costs more to make a higher quality product. Another way to put it: you don't always get what you pay for, but you ALWAYS pay for what you get.

Anyway, I've used Michelin Axial Pro/Pro Race/Pro2 Race tires for many years on my df, and absolutely love them - fast, smooth ride, good cornering and reasonably durable. Can't stand Conti GP's - harsh ride, fragile sidewalls, bizarre cornering behavior. I'm running 26x1.10 (28-559) Stelvios on my new bent, and so far am very impressed. Only a couple hundred miles on 'em, but so far, they remind me a lot of Michelins. And they were only $35 each at biketiresdirect.com.

As with everything, YMMV.

Scott P
Bend, OR

aikigreg

+1 on the kendas being crap, and the michelin pro race 2's being very reliable.

Shaman

If Schwalbe is on your list, check out their own tire ratings in 4 catagories. You can pick your best fit based on their huge lineup: www.schwalbetires.com

Ric

David,
If you are in fact in Florida my recommendation would be to go see Mark Powers at Power on Cycles in Plant City. https://store.valueweb.com/servlet/poweron/StoreFront He sells the Bacchetta Line, tell him what your looking for and he can provide you a good tire at a good price. If you're looking to buy a 650 you're going to almost have to buy it from a recumbent shop. If I had to buy a 650 for my Strada I'd buy Schwalbe Stelvio 650x23c JMO.

David in PA

Hello,

Thanks everyone for the comments and advice; I appreciate it.

I took Ric's and bobbycorno's advice and ordered the Schwalbe Stevios from calhouncycle.com. They cost $46.97 apiece. I tried biketiresdirect.com, hoping to pay $35 apiece as bobbycorno suggested, but unfortunately my size was not in-stock. By the way, Hostelshoppe.com charges a full $54 for each tire, and their shipping charge is $4 more than calhouncycle.

Honestly, I love my Bacchetta Strada, but I wish they provided better stock tires than the Kenda Koncepts. I've experienced far too many punctures, and they seem to fail to hold the road well. I went down hard three weeks ago on wet pavement, going less than 7 mph, while turning. Of course, the wet road contributed to the fall, but for a moment even at the low speed it felt as if I was riding on ice due to the tires. By the way, I had to replace the entire derailleur as a result of the accident.

Finally, I will take Ric's recommendation and visit Power on Cycles in Plant City, Florida as soon as I can.

Thanks,

David in FL

BlazingPedals

Speaking of Schwalbe and paying for what you get, I consider Stelvios = crap. No quality control, so you may get a good one... or not. I personally went through 6 of them before I learned my lesson; 1 was 559 and 5 were 406; and not a single one of them wore out before the carcass failed. I've had the fabric in the carcass pull apart, leaving a zig-zag contact strip, I've had the rubber peel off the tire in strips, and I've had bulges in the sidewalls. One nice crash was caused by cornering and having the rubbber in the shoulder come off the rest of the tire. It seems they last longer if you don't pump them up to full pressure, but of course that leaves you susceptible to pinch flats.

I've still got one on my V-Rex, but the 'Rex gets a lot lower mileage, so it may be another year or two before I really know how this one wears. Also, it's 451 instead of 406, so it may have been built in a different plant for all I know.

Ric

I've heard that kind of thing happening with some other people and I'm not disagreeing with you but as for myself, I've had a set of Stelvios on my Catrike Speed since 2005 and have no problems with them except for the occasional flat tire.
The big problem that I see with running the 650 for me is its availability and the lack of choices in size and manufacturers. I've seen it time and time again where people have to drive a hundred or more miles to get to a recumbent shop to find tires or something they need, so unless you like to order from places like Hostel and such and pay there price plus shipping your choice maybe greatly limited.

BlazingPedals

Maybe 650C Stelvios are made in a different place and they're all OK... but there are a lot of newbs cruising around this forum, and they should be aware that Stelvios are racing tires. You can expect racing tires to be light, fast, and to not last. And if by chance they do last, you're ahead of the game. For the average non-racer, there are better tires out there.

I didn't know that Kenda Koncept came in 32x571! You sure that's not a 32x559?

charly17201

I'm new to bents, and I'll readily admit that I got in at the bottom end of the 'scale' with an ActionBent Jet Stream II. But, I knew going in what I was getting.... and that I'd be upgrading components along the way.

The bike came stock with Kendra Kwest (26 x 1.25 and 20x1.25), and I'm trying to find better tires after only a week. They roll okay as long as you don't go soft on the air pressure, but I don't like the amount of sideways flex to them, as I am commuting and have to carry a fairly heavy load (for commuting). I work outdoors and have to carry enough clothes for that on top of food, snacks, drinks, bike tools, etc. Basically, I'm just about doubling the bike weight of 32 pounds before I get on it with my 155 pounds.



I'd appreciate any input on my tires too.

Dchiefransom

The Bachetta site says the Strada has 650 X 23 tires. Continental makes their Ultra Gatorskin in 650 X 23. On my road bikes I've always liked the Ultra Gatorskins.

charly17201, I like the Specialized Nimbus Armadillo tire on the rear of my Stratus. It's a 26 X 1.5, but rolls along nicely. Tough tire for punctures, as well. I just put a Schwalbe Marathon Plus in a 406 X 1.35on the front, but haven't ridden that tire yet. If Specialized ever makes a Nimbus Armadillo in 406, I'll be buying out the first year of manufacture.

aikigreg

I've been contemplating getting conti gatorskins instead of the pro race 2s this time around.

I've never had any problem with stelvios (and I have several) but for my aero I want something fairly bombproof without sacrificing any rolling resistance.

lowracer1

I've also had bad experiences with some stelvio's. mainly sidewall issues. they are fast, but in my experience not reliable when it really counts.

richking1953

I have conti gatorskins on my strada. They work great

airxxxwolf

My tire of choice would be Continental Grand Prix 4000 650cX23c.....too bad the 650c version of this tire doesn`t come in a 25c size like the 700c version. The wider tire gives a noticeably better ride without sacrificing speed.

Don

David in PA

Thanks again to everyone with your comments, suggestions, etc. As mentioned, I already ordered the Schwalbe Stelvios, and they're in the mail to me, so I'll just stick with them and hope for the best. After the Kenda Kwests, anything has gotta be an improvement. By the way, yes, I did give the wrong size for the tires: it should have been 650 x 23C.

David in FL

bentcruiser

While I have had only three flats on my Kenda Kwests in 4,600 miles, I can tell you they are not what I would call a performance tire. I find them to be great for my riding needs. But I am not interested in performance. Instead, I like to tour self-supported and do club rides. I have no need for speed.

It might be important to note that of all the tire companies out there, only a handful actually produce their own tires. The handful make a lot of tires for a lot of different companies. Kenda along with others is one of the major players in this.

If you are looking for a good performance tire with good gripping and flat protection, try the Schwalbe Kojaks or Schwalbe Marathon Racers.