Expected that rear tire swings out in glop?

[Avg_Joe]

On 26x4 Kenda Juggernaut tires (OEM on my Rad Rover): I've been through lite/shallow mud, and now snow/slush/glop. I noticed that the rear wheel likes to swing out sideways in this stuff - either to find traction or until the side lugs have something to bite into.

The front doesn't do this, even though it seems to have lighter load/less contact patch on it than the rear. My tires are approaching 500mi and the center nubs have about 2mm remaining. I'm wondering if this is just a characteristic of the fat tire, or if a different tread pattern would "dig" more trying to find traction?

(Disclaimer: My only frame of reference is running all-terrain and mud-terrains on 4x4's, which tend to dig versus slide- at least the MT's did.)

 

[Avg_Joe]

To answer my own question: the Kenda Juggernauts are a mediocre tire, at best. Not great on pavement, not great on trails. Not sure what purpose they serve.

Anyway, I went with some cheap-o Innova tires (http://www.innovatires.com/tire.php?xPA=LV-1003) and they are surprisingly good. Onroad, they roll so much better than the Juggernauts. Noise level is about the same. It feels like I gained a gear or PAS level, they truly roll that much better.

However, offroad/trails is where they really shine. Where the Juggernauts kind of got pushed around on soft ground, these Innova tires dig in and bite. Hard. I am very pleased with their traction and how they work on trails.

It seems to me the more directional tread pattern is responsible for both the lower rolling resistance and the offroad bite. The center tread is spaced much closer than the Kenda's, so they just kind of hum along. The knobs off-center and toward the sidewall are very pronounced, and angled such that they bite like crazy on soft ground, mud, and the like. And the tread is deep!

Net: The Kendas are like balloons getting pushed around on trails. The Innovas just dig and bite and don't get pushed, even running lower psi than the Kendas.

 

[Rickman1]

Which model of Innova tires do you have and where did you find them? I have Innova 26x2.8 's on one of my bikes but cannot find a source for them. They look like street tires and they work quite well. The bike company I bought the bike from doesn't have any in stock to buy.

 

[Avg_Joe]

Which model of Innova tires do you have and where did you find them? I have Innova 26x2.8 's on one of my bikes but cannot find a source for them. They look like street tires and they work quite well. The bike company I bought the bike from doesn't have any in stock to buy.

I have the tires I linked above, the LV-1003. They actually have a Goodyear label on them, and I bought them from Fleet Farm in the midwest. I saw a bunch on ebay as well.

 

[Catalyzt]

Tire swaps make SUCH a difference. Switched from WTB Riddler 2.4s to Maxxis Ikons tubeless 2.2s and yes-- it was like gaining power assistance in most (but not all) situations, though in my case a smaller difference, maybe 20%. Rolling resistance is so much better, I dropped two pounds of weight, and maximum downhill speed (on local hills) increased from 38 MPH to 41 MPH.

For me, I was in the opposite situation-- I was willing to accept a slight decrease in traction on dirt in return for a reduction in weight, lower rolling resistance, and a slight increase in range. It's a subtle difference, but the back end does break away a bit more easily, though here, it's on the sandy, silty, dry stuff-- and, of course, the difference is most evident at higher PSI. Once I'm down to 30 PSI or so, the decrease in dirt traction is barely noticeable. My location is unusual-- I sometimes ride 15 miles of asphalt (some of it really eroded and closed to motor traffic) to get to 20 miles of trail, so I need a compromise that lets me minimize motor usage and maximize range on pavement, but is also good for moderate to advanced trails.

I am lazy, and usually fill my tires to about 50 PSI, letting them drift down to about 30 over a few weeks before refilling them. I filled them up to 50 last night and took an easy-to-moderate trail near my house, and noticed a very minor decrease in traction on sand. It was good practice for me, but I think it did impact range negatively on this particular trail because there was so much sand. I dropped from 5 bars to 4 bars about a mile sooner than I expected.

 

[Gordon71]

On 26x4 Kenda Juggernaut tires (OEM on my Rad Rover): I've been through lite/shallow mud, and now snow/slush/glop. I noticed that the rear wheel likes to swing out sideways in this stuff - either to find traction or until the side lugs have something to bite into.

The front doesn't do this, even though it seems to have lighter load/less contact patch on it than the rear. My tires are approaching 500mi and the center nubs have about 2mm remaining. I'm wondering if this is just a characteristic of the fat tire, or if a different tread pattern would "dig" more trying to find traction?

(Disclaimer: My only frame of reference is running all-terrain and mud-terrains on 4x4's, which tend to dig versus slide- at least the MT's did.)

That's too bad. Not had any problems with riding my 2020 Rover. Tires have about 3300 miles on them. Rear ones pretty worn down. I'll probably swap then out this coming winter and maybe sooner. They're pretty noisy on pavement but that doesn't bother me much.