Wow, a cheap winter tire
12-16-22, 03:30 PM
#1
Must be symmetrical
Thread Starter
Wow, a cheap winter tire
I recently bought a pair of Kujo Ken B 26x2.3" tires, which actually measure a bit less than the advertised 58mm (55mm on my wide Araya winter crud rims). To be perfectly honest, I bought them because I wanted a big, BMX type tire that wasn't a Maxxis DTH or Schwalbe BillyBonkers for a build photo shoot, so completely for the looks. I assumed the ride would be about as good as the $12 each tire cost.
But my kid just managed to cut a 1 inch slit in his Schwalbe "flat proof" whatevers after the last freeze, probably on the ice, so I put them on his bike as a stop gap.
Not only do they look amazing, but it turns out that they ride super in the ice and snow. We just had a serious black ice freeze followed by sub freezing snow. Sure, on pure ice they would be ineffective--but in this case, only metal studs make a difference. But, I swapped his tires, took the bike for a spin, and I was very impressed. I am not a tire snob, but I do care about handling. Not everything has to be jan Heine supple, but I don't tolerate rock-hard tires.
The Kujos were very good. Full traction by acceleration and braking in snow, slush, and snow covered ice. And I locked out the wheels and even the slide was controlled. I attribute this to the deep omni-directional checker board tread. yeah, the advertised weight per tire is 1.3kg or something (I think this is an overestimate, the tires are probably 1kg light
).
Are there better winter tires? Sure. I have a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus studded tires and these provide a lot of confidence on the local ice rink. But these cost nearly $50 a piece, if I remember. The Kujo Ken B 2.3 were under $12 each. And at least 80% as good. Are they durable? Who knows? But even if they last only two winters, that's fine. I just bought 2 more pairs, so I am set for four years, and all for less then the cost of one Schwalbe.
But my kid just managed to cut a 1 inch slit in his Schwalbe "flat proof" whatevers after the last freeze, probably on the ice, so I put them on his bike as a stop gap.
Not only do they look amazing, but it turns out that they ride super in the ice and snow. We just had a serious black ice freeze followed by sub freezing snow. Sure, on pure ice they would be ineffective--but in this case, only metal studs make a difference. But, I swapped his tires, took the bike for a spin, and I was very impressed. I am not a tire snob, but I do care about handling. Not everything has to be jan Heine supple, but I don't tolerate rock-hard tires.
The Kujos were very good. Full traction by acceleration and braking in snow, slush, and snow covered ice. And I locked out the wheels and even the slide was controlled. I attribute this to the deep omni-directional checker board tread. yeah, the advertised weight per tire is 1.3kg or something (I think this is an overestimate, the tires are probably 1kg light
).Are there better winter tires? Sure. I have a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus studded tires and these provide a lot of confidence on the local ice rink. But these cost nearly $50 a piece, if I remember. The Kujo Ken B 2.3 were under $12 each. And at least 80% as good. Are they durable? Who knows? But even if they last only two winters, that's fine. I just bought 2 more pairs, so I am set for four years, and all for less then the cost of one Schwalbe.
Last edited by Frkl; 12-17-22 at 01:29 AM.
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12-18-22, 08:27 AM
#2
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pics or it didn't happen 
looks like a Maxxis Holy Roller, which I had a lot of fun on. was good on paved bike trails w/ the family & also hard dirt trails
looks like a Maxxis Holy Roller, which I had a lot of fun on. was good on paved bike trails w/ the family & also hard dirt trails
Last edited by rumrunn6; 12-18-22 at 08:45 AM.
