Kenda Small Block 8 Bicycle Tire?
I was recommended by a friend to replace my current bicycle tires with a Kenda Small Block 8 tire. I ride on hard packed trails and Greenway trails for the most part and his is the tire he recommended.
On Kenda's site they list two tires.....one is a wire, and the other is a folding tire. The wire tire is much lighter and I want to know the difference as I want to make sure the wire tire will perform as I expect it to.
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed. Is the Kenda Small Block 8 a good tire?
Our Answer
Bobby....we appreciate you asking us our opinion. I think you might be reading the weights wrong as a wire tire is almost always heavier than the equivalent folding tire. Double check that.
As for the quality of the Kenda Small Block 8 tire....it is a great all around tire and we are big fans of the Kenda mountain bike tire lineup. The types of riding that you list are pretty much exactly what the Kenda is designed to do so yes I would say that it is a great tire and it should work very well for your application.
Check out the deals below, maybe you can save yourself some money.
 Kenda Small Block 8 26” 195 Mountain Bike Road Tire FREE TUBE  US $26.99
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 NEW Kenda Small Block Eight MTB Tire 26x195 Mountain Bike Folding Clincher US $14.10
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 Lightly Used Kenda Small Block Eight Folding Bead 50 60 Dual Compound 26 X 210 US $17.99
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 KENDA SMALL BLOCK 8 26 x 21 TOMAC 213000 MOUNTAIN BIKE TIRE MTB TYRE K1047 WIRE US $26.00
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 Kenda Small Block Eight Mountain Bike Tyre 26x210 US $35.51
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 Kenda Small Block 8 tires 700 x 32c cyclocross great condition US $26.00
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Tags: Kenda
January 15th, 2009 at 4:27 am
They’ll both perform equally well….I’m surprised that the wire bead is lighter than the folding bead, are you sure you didn’t get that mixed up? It’s almost always the opposite, given the same tire.
Wire beads are easier to handle when putting it on or taking it off, and they’re more durable if you do a lot of tire changes. Their biggest disadvantage is weight.
Folding beads are necessary for tubeless (and “ghetto tubeless”) setups, and besides being lighter they have the advantage of seating in the rim bead a little tighter….handy if you ever really ding up a rim on a ride (less likely to pop loose). They also fold up neatly for storage if you take extra tires with you to a race or on vacation.
It’s a great tire….you should also check out the Maxxis Larsen time trial tire. Very similar, and I’m a bit happier with Maxxis over Kenda in the overall picture….either one is good though.
January 16th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I read your question and was confused. Wire beads are always heavier. But you are right – the listed ones are lighter… well you are sorta right. Please look at the tire SIZE on the chart. The wires are 20″ and 24″ while the folding are 26″ and larger. Hope that helps you out.