Tires are continuing to grow in size, but nowhere is that more evident than the Plus size tire trend. Well, fans of the girthy tires will be happy to see that not only Maxis, but even CST are rolling out new sizes from 27+ to 29+. Maxxis is even taking large casings a step further with their new ‘Wide Trail’ designation which should be perfect for those gargantuan 35mm rims that seem to be popping up everywhere.
Add in wider tires and more tubeless options from companies like Panaracer and Kenda, and you have an exciting round up of rubber for gravel, road, Plus, fat, and everything in between…
Maxxis has been really busy this year from what we saw at Eurobike and the Taipei Show, and they brought us even more at Interbike having developed two new 27.5 Plus tires in a 2.8″ width. The Ikon+ will offer a faster, more competitive tire while the new much more aggressive Rekon+ will be suited for even the gnarliest of back country riding.
Maxxis also has developed a “Wide Trail” series of tires to add to the current offerings. Wide Trail tires are designed around the new crop of rims with 35mm+ internal width. These have a slightly redesigned sidewall and tread spacing so that the tire fits better on the rim while the side knobs sit in a more ideal position. Otherwise, you end up with a tire whose sidewalls are too rounded causing the tire to “squirm”, reducing the cornering ability.
The Wide Trail Series will include the DHF in 2.5″, DHR II in 2.4″, and the Shorty in 2.5″.
Also new is the Maxx Ice 700x40c. This studded tire is just what the doctor ordered for those dedicated enough to ride in even the worst of winter conditions.
CST
Maxxis’ more affordable sibling, CST, brought a lot of high quality, moderately priced tires to the show. Starting off with their fat offerings, the CST Rolly Polly comes in 26 x 4.8 and the Megatane comes in 26 x 4.0.
There BFT gets even bigger with the 3 inch wide casing. The bigger BFT’s will come in both 27.5+ and 29er+ wheel sizes.
Rounding out the mountain bike tires, CST has a line of Tubeless Ready tires with the Patrol, Jackrabbit, and B-Fast.
For the road, CST now offers a more supple 170 tpi with the CITO, and surprisingly, they now have a tubular offering called Stradale.
CST even has their own ready for ice tires, the Studmuffin in 700 x 35c and Studmuffin MT in 26 x 2.1″.
PANARACER
We saw Panaracer recently with their Gravel King in 23, 26 and 28mm offerings, but now they have a cobble ready 32mm. Though considered a gravel tire, the Gravel King (left) shines on pavement when the tough gets going with reinforced sidewall and puncture protection.
In bigger news, Panaracer now has the Gravel King SK (right). The Gravel King SK comes in 32 and 40mm offerings and is their first release of a tubeless ready tire in this category. They did tell us at the Taipei Show this year that they have been working hard to find something that would work, regarding the lack of road tubeless standards.
KENDA
Kenda also had a new version of their studded winter tire, now offering the Klondike in a 27.5 x 2.0 wire bead version:
Long standing as one of Kenda’s lightest tires, the XC-only Kozmik Lite II Pro will now come in tubeless-ready SCT and Tubeless Race casings. The latter takes their SCT bead and pairs it with a standard casing, which saves about 70-125g depending on tire and size.
The rubber is a single compound and it’ll come in a 29×2.2 in January. A 27.5 will follow later.
In other news, Kenda’s new cyclocross tires are through production and should start shipping in October, and the Havok will get an ECC (e-bike specific) casing in the near future. Check out the rest of Kenda’s new tires for 2016 in our Eurobike coverage here.
