Stick-E Rubber

[jsb2dc]

Anyone out there running Stick-E rubber tires? What are your impressions? What are they like in colder conditions?

[Jisch]

I don't have cold weather experience yet. I have the 2.35 Kenda Nevegals. Prior to this I was running 2.3 Tioga Factory DHs. If you run Tiogas at 25 or 30 psi the traction is amazing, probably on par or better than the Kendas. However at that low pressure they can be a bit squirrely in fast corners. I put up with the crap cornering because the traction was soooooo good.

My new bike came with Maxxis Minions and suddenly I found I had traction AND cornering - cool! The sidewall on the rear tire wore out (in only 2 months) so I put the Kenda on there, its pretty amazing. Its a lot lighter than the Maxxis, the traction is better and it corners awesome. I've only had it on for about 3 or 4 weeks and I can already see wear. I don't think I'll still be running it when the winter comes around because it will be worn out. I suppose that's the price you pay for traction.

If my wear trajectory is correct, I'm not sure I'll get another one, I can't afford/won't buy a new tire every 6 weeks.

Incidentally I'm running it with Stans and a ghetto tubeless set up. I've seen a lot of bickering about this tubeless stuff. The only advantage I see is not getting any flats. I haven't had a flat since I went tubeless - which makes it worthwhile to me.

John

[mdc]

I am running the same system as Jisch-Nevegal's and a ghetto Stans system. I also have had no flats with this system and agree that the traction is awsome but the Stickee rubber is fast wearing ( I get about 1 year out of these tires). The soft rubber also makes for slooooow pedaling. I just ordered a set of Kenda Small Block 2.35 DTC's which I hope to have up and running ina week or so, hopefully they will be a nice comprimise between traction and wear...

[edge]

funny you ask. i've been running the same sticke kenda kinetics 2.6 f tire for years. it looks like a sponge. just bought a new one today for 15 from kenda direct on line. i love this tire for slimy rocky trails. it's only like 820 grams as well which is great for a huge 2.6

[edge]

oh yeah. they're great in the cold as well. stick like glue. i run spiders in the late spring & summer cause they're lighter and have a faster compound

[steve_b]

Jisch - Kenda has had posted on their website that they don't endorse using sealant's like Stan's. They have had problems with the sealant "eating" the tires. Some people have problems using sealant, some do not. Regardless, I think your estimate of them wearing out in 6 weeks, will not be true. I run them on the front and rear, and ride places with lots of exposed rock, and they have held up all season. Maybe you got a bad tire?

http://www.kendausa.com/bicycle/technology.html

[Jisch]

Yeah, I read the stories (after I had already "Stan'sed" the tire) about the sealant eating away at the tires. There's a thread on MTBR about it - I think its in the All Mountain forum. Seems that its a mixed bag, some people have run them with Stans for a long time with no issues others have had issues after 6 months or so.

I hope my rear tire lasts as long as yours are lasting! I was just projecting life of the tire based on some rounding of the knobs after only a short time. The Tiogas wore quickly too.

This past weekend both The Hare and I picked up thorns in our tires. This is the first time I've ever gotten a thorn (to my knowledge) in CT. We spent a lot of time getting the thorn out of The Hare's tire so he could mount the next tube. Mine - I rotated the hole to the bottom and its still holding air. No problem. I don't think there is any other advantage to Stans other than the lack of pinch flats (though that's a pretty big advantage in my mind).

I'll keep an eye out for bubbles in the rubber and keep you guys posted.

John

[mdc]

I'm on my third set of Stanatized Kendas and have never had a problem- maybe I have just been lucky (maybe Kenda started an urban legend so they won't lose out on tube sales???).

[SteveC]

:confused: maybe thi is a Stupid Question......what is a 'ghetto' Stan's setup? Is that using the conversion kit, or a homemade version.?? I guess my question is, do we really need to pay the 50 clams for the kit?
I already run tubeless on my schmancy UST wheelset, but I'm thinking of my backup/commuter wheels, kid's bikes, etc....
FWIW, I have run my UST without sealant for 3 months without any issues. The sealant has more to do with sealing thorn holes and stuff, and doesnt play any part in sealing up the bead. That's what I use windex for, which also makes it much easier to thumb the tire onto the rim. Once the tire is seated and inflated, only imperfections in the interface will allow air to escape.
Thats my unedumacated scientamific explamatation.;) ......
But, like I said, I'm interested in the 3rd world setup........
SC

[mdc]

Ahh the ghetto setup. Basically a non UST rim and non UST tire converted to tubeless with a Stans rubber rim strip and sealant. By using a soap and water mixture you can get the tire to hold air, add some sealant and (hopefully) it will hold air. The rubber rim strip will actually adhere to the tire making a tubular type tire. The seal is strong enough that I have torn the bead from my tire before breaking the rim strip/tire conncetion....

[Jisch]

I used a 20" BMX tube split open the long way instead of a Stans strip. And I didn't use soap and water. Maybe I got something wrong here, but I just mounted the tires over the flayed tube, dumped 3 scoops of sealant and and started pumping with my floor pump.

I've read that you have to use an air compressor to get the bead to pop. I had some air leakage, but putting a little pressure on the leaking spot with my hand I was able to get the bead to pop using just my floor pump. Since I don't have an air compressor, I really didn't have a back up plan if this didn't work (maybe head down to the local gas station?).

I had some burping of air on the Maxxis Minion when it was back there, but none since I put the Kenda on. I really think I got a bad Minion though, the sidewalls gave out (i.e. were threadbare) after only a month of riding. No amount of Stans could repair the rip that developed.

In any event, I did check out the Stan's site before doing it with the Kendas, they list these tires as acceptable. Their main decision point seems to be around how strong the bead is though, not on the rubber compound.

John

[mdc]

wow that is ghetto...


LOL

[Jisch]

Cased a landing off a two foot drop at lunch time today and burped air out of the Kenda. I landed kind of sideways on a rock. Not much air came out - maybe 3 or 4 strokes with the pump, but its the first time that's happened.

John

[jsb2dc]

I'm glad that someone asked the question about the 'ghetto' set-up. Why the BMX tube and not a MTB tube? Does it have to do with fitting tightly around the rim?

[Jisch]

I really don't know why a 20" tube is used instead of a mtb tube, its just what I read somewhere in cyberspace... Probably the hardest part of doing the conversion is stretching the tube over the rim before you cut it. Due to the talc in the tube, it slips and slides and twists like mad.

When you get it on the rim, its pretty dang tight. I thought there would be issues with the tube sliding away as I tried to mount the tire, but that was not the case.

Lunch time ride (but not the burping incident):
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/Jisch/DSC00338IP.jpg

John

[jsb2dc]

I put a 2.35 Nevegal on the rear and a 2.35 Blue Groove on the front last week. I was wondering about other's impressions because the rolling resistance seemed to be a lot more than what I was used to (2.4 Motoraptors previously). We'll see how they hold up over time. Hopefully I won't have a lot of sidewall issues.

The grip has been awesome, especially in the rain (I went out last Saturday during the storm) where I was able to ride my normal lines and the ride was much more fun than a rain ride usually is. I'm not totally sold on the tires in dry conditions though. Maybe once I get used to the kind of dead feel that they have and how much harder they are to get moving. How long did it take you to get used to them?

Did you have to change your damping settings on your fork (or shock)? I had to speed up the rebound on my fork so I wouldn't get stopped or slowed down by stuff as much.

[mdc]

Neveglas are sloooooow. I loved the traction up hills, cornering and on slick roots, but man they always felt slow. I just switched my Nevegals for a set on 2.35 Kenda Small Blocks and there is a HUGE difference. Way faster, smoother and it feels as if the bikes suspensions works better since it is a bigger tire than my old 2.1's (small hits are absorbed by the tire not the suspension). Sidewalls have never been an issue with my Kendas. I've ridden them at Nam and other rocky areas with no problems....

[Jisch]

How is the traction on those Small Blocks?

John

[mdc]

so far so good. I really won't be able to get a true feel until the leaves are off the trail. I am hoping to get out and rake trails on Sunday, so I'll let you know. My only concern is that with all of the small knobs the tires will pack up with mud, but I rode the day after all the rain and had no problems what so ever. The other thing that is different with them is that the side profile is much taller than what I am used to so I am running the PSI a touch higher (35ish) otherwise they were "folding" in corners at speed. Currently I am very pleased with these tires, but time will tell.

[jsb2dc]

My only concern is that with all of the small knobs the tires will pack up with mud, but I rode the day after all the rain and had no problems what so ever.

BIKE magazine said that they packed up and were worthless in mud. Other than that they really liked them.

BTW Jisch, nice picture. How'd you put that together?

[Jisch]

BTW Jisch, nice picture. How'd you put that together?

First you have to take three pictures in sequence, don't move the camera. Select the best picture to use as your base. Cut the rider out of the other two pictures and paste them into the base picture, lining them up of course.

You can see in that picture that my camera lightened up the first picture, so you can see where the background is not consistent with the base picture.

John

[SteveC]

I gotta try that bmx tube setup. that is truly 'ghetto'! ...the worst part is that my kid will be wondering where his tube went......
SC