Kenda finally went pop...

[z0mb13e]

The front factory fitted Kenda on my Whisper went pop (well more like a loud bang - made an innocent pedestrian jump) after 3350 miles.

Again, as with the original Kenda on the rear (which went pop at 150 miles) the side wall gave out on this one too.

Still - not too bad all things considered. The previous set of tyres on my normal bike lasted less than 50 miles between them (Continental Top Contact).

I found this offer for two Marathon Plus tyres and tubes for £45.99 plus free postage. So now I will have a spare on hand rather than having to hunt around for one.

 

[Mike63]

Hi...can I use Marathon plus 26 x 1.75 to replace my 26 x 1.50 tyres ?
....can I use the 26 x 1.50 tube ?....or a 1.75 tube ?

thanks....Mike

 

[z0mb13e]

I should think so. I think the rim on my Whisper is 26 x 1.5 and the Marathon is 26 x 1.75. I think the Kenda was 26 x 1.95 though I could be wrong.

Inner tubes usually fit a range of tyre widths like 26 x 1.5 - 2.0

 

[Mussels]

I bust several Kenda tyres like that on the rear but didn't have them on the front long enough to bust them there.
I'm happy to say that the 2010 Kenda tyres are far better and I have covered over 2000 miles on them so far with no sign of the bead failing.

 

[jbond]

After years of thinking that narrow tyres were faster, I've finally seen the light after reading the Schwalbe PDF on tyres. I'd now strongly recommend going for the widest tyres you can fit given your rim and clearance. http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/shopdata/files/TechInfo2-GB.pdf
On typical 26" MTB rims and MTB frame you should be able to fit 50-559 tyres (~2.0") with no problem.

For road and occasional off road forays, I'd recommend the Marathon Plus Tour in the biggest size that will fit and at the rated max pressure. They roll well and have enough grip off road not to be too slithery without that feeling of running off the tread during on road cornering that you get with off road knobblies.

 

[Mussels]

After years of thinking that narrow tyres were faster, I've finally seen the light after reading the Schwalbe PDF on tyres. I'd now strongly recommend going for the widest tyres you can fit given your rim and clearance. http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/shopdata/files/TechInfo2-GB.pdf
On typical 26" MTB rims and MTB frame you should be able to fit 50-559 tyres (~2.0") with no problem.

For road and occasional off road forays, I'd recommend the Marathon Plus Tour in the biggest size that will fit and at the rated max pressure. They roll well and have enough grip off road not to be too slithery without that feeling of running off the tread during on road cornering that you get with off road knobblies.

I've read that article and I've tried lots of different tyres, the on road benefit of wider tyres is running them at a lower and more comfortable pressure. If you fit Big Apples and run them at max pressure then there's little benefit over running narrow tyres at higher pressure.
Also modern rims tend to be very narrow and weaker ones may have a problem with balloon tyres.