I bought these tires earlier this year, looking for an "every surface" tire. Something akin to a BFGoodrich Long Trail T/A Tour: something that is streetable and civil on the road, yet aggressive enough to do light trail duty. I have found that in this tire and here is my review on it that I posted on another website.
This is a very good compromise tire. I bought a pair to ride mostly pavement/hardpack trails, but I live in the Sandhills of NC, so do encounter some deeper sand every now and again, though usually not intentionally. I'm a typical weekend rider, though do try and get out 3-4 times during the week as well. I ride mostly for exercise and enjoyment, never in competition.
Pavement: these tires run very smooth and soft (I weigh 230# and keep these inflated to 50#), though the tread does tend to "sing" on very smooth asphalt. Even inflated higher than other tires, these have a softer ride. These are the first tires I've used that have a thin "skinwall" sidewall, and I think that makes a big difference in the ride. They have a slightly "soft" feeling during hard cornering that brings a touch of uneasiness, though it's certainly not as bad as having true knobbies on the bike and trying to corner on asphalt.
Trail: these do pretty well for being a compromise tire. They're probably not as durable (as far as stick/rut/rock resistance) as a good all terrain tire, but they're not designed to be, and hardcore riders aren't (or shouldn't be) looking at these anyway. They dig through an inch of sand pretty well, and stay well planted on fire roads and gravel trails. They have a nice wide and oversized profile (nominal size: 26" x 2.00") that seems to do very well on all surfaces.
For the weekend or everyday mountain/comfort bike rider looking for one tire that has 80% of the performance you need on varied surfaces, these are a good choice. The low price ($20 each at LBS) is icing on the cake.
Feel good about your purchase, too, because they are branded with Bontrager's "ECO" label, which denotes that 15% of the rubber is made from sustainable or recycled stock. They also note that the tread lasts 50% longer than conventional tread.
This is a very good compromise tire. I bought a pair to ride mostly pavement/hardpack trails, but I live in the Sandhills of NC, so do encounter some deeper sand every now and again, though usually not intentionally. I'm a typical weekend rider, though do try and get out 3-4 times during the week as well. I ride mostly for exercise and enjoyment, never in competition.
Pavement: these tires run very smooth and soft (I weigh 230# and keep these inflated to 50#), though the tread does tend to "sing" on very smooth asphalt. Even inflated higher than other tires, these have a softer ride. These are the first tires I've used that have a thin "skinwall" sidewall, and I think that makes a big difference in the ride. They have a slightly "soft" feeling during hard cornering that brings a touch of uneasiness, though it's certainly not as bad as having true knobbies on the bike and trying to corner on asphalt.
Trail: these do pretty well for being a compromise tire. They're probably not as durable (as far as stick/rut/rock resistance) as a good all terrain tire, but they're not designed to be, and hardcore riders aren't (or shouldn't be) looking at these anyway. They dig through an inch of sand pretty well, and stay well planted on fire roads and gravel trails. They have a nice wide and oversized profile (nominal size: 26" x 2.00") that seems to do very well on all surfaces.
For the weekend or everyday mountain/comfort bike rider looking for one tire that has 80% of the performance you need on varied surfaces, these are a good choice. The low price ($20 each at LBS) is icing on the cake.
Feel good about your purchase, too, because they are branded with Bontrager's "ECO" label, which denotes that 15% of the rubber is made from sustainable or recycled stock. They also note that the tread lasts 50% longer than conventional tread.
