Kenda

K161 KrossCyclo Tire 27 x 1-3/8

I got these tires to put on a very old road bike, and use mostly on the dirt roads. I took them out a couple of times so far, and they provide excellent traction on dirt, loose gravel, and grass. I would like to try them out on cyclocross course next.

For the money, there can't be anything better for a purpose built tire. A new set of these helped along a daily driver build of mine. It's an old 80's Ross 12 Speed 27" tire road bike. I swapped the drop bars for a straight bar I had kicking around. I put a set of new brake levers for the straight bar. Added these tires to turn the old girl into a credible trail/lightish/gone fishing bike. I put the front tire in the "correct" orientation and am running the rear reversed for extra grip is the muddy bits. I'm lovin it!

These tires ROCK! On dry pavement they have low rolling resistance and feel faster than my summer slicks. I rode these all winter last year without a flat. I only need to buy another tire because a brake failure wore the sidewall down and I had a blowout. Completely my fault. These handle snow like a boss. As any thin tire, these will have issues with deep snow, but for riding shoulders and snowy bike paths, these work great. Ice is a completely different animal. Never ridden a tire yet that won't slide on ice. I think it takes proper ice tires with studs to accomplish such a daring task. I still have a scar on my elbow from sliding across a bike path... the one day I didn't wear leather...

I got these tires in hopes of using my 1974 Schwinn Le Tour for some gravel grinder events. In the end I ended up just getting a cyclocross frame and building it up. Anyways, I'll start by saying that these tires are pretty impressive on an old road bike. They obviously roll slower than street slicks but it's not terrible. My main complaint is that these are NOT 27 x 1 3/8. They're about 27 x 1 1/8 (29mm). These are a little to skinny to think about using for any serious gravel events (but a 40 year old road bike probably isn't the best option either). They are great for dirt paths and crushed stone trails though. I even used them a little in light snow over the winter and was pretty impressed by the traction I got from them. I've got about 120 miles on mine so far and they're holding up well. All in all, I'm very happy with these tires. If you have 27" wheels and want a fast tire for some light trails, this is your answer and at a great price.