Serfas KREST tire

[The Llama]

Mounting/1st Impressions

Well, I just got one of these to try in the 29er version. They are made in both 26 and 29 with 2.1 being the only size available. Layout is very similar to Kenda's Nevagal but the tread is a little smaller knobs with a bit closer spacing.

It's a wire bead tire, meaning it's a bit stronger hold to the rim but a bit heavier. somewhere around 880. the Size seems OK for a 2.1, maybe a bit small but still way bigger than the Conti Mtn King's 2.2. Actually the size is perfect for my VooDoo canzo 29er as the MTN king 2.2's seem a bit small but the 2.4 as well as the Kenda 2.2 nevagals rub the chain stay a bit. Mounting was easy. Didn't even need a tire iron but it was nice and tight.

The price is right at under $30 bucks shipped if you look around the web a bit.

One thing it has is Serfas's "Integrated Flat Protection System" which adds a layer inbetween two layers of rubber to help stop thorns and such.



Their write up on it.    http://www.serfas.com/fpsintro.asp

From just tooling around in my dirt driveway the tire feels good. has good traction in the wet lawn. there isn't the heavy "knob hum" as there is with the Nevagal's, at least not as much.

More to come after I give it a few good trail runs

[The Llama]

First Ride....

Well I went out to Bluff Point and over the tracks to Haley Farm. I got to say I was kinda impressed with the tire. I have a nevegal up front and Nevagals on the K2 (26") I kinda rode a section of trail and went back, traded bikes and rode the same trail again to see if there was a noticeable difference. Now one bike is 29 and one is 26 so some of the ride performance goes up or down depending on tire size.

Now we've had a pretty heavy amount of rain overnight and thought the trails weren't "muddy" they were damp.  In general the tires preformed about equal. But I did ride up a section of pretty long steep(ish) hill with lots of wet roots. The Nevagals seemed to "side step" just about every one of them making the climb rather difficult and a few spots I just spun and ended up stopping. With the Krest on the back I only slide/spun once. It did stop me but again, only once along the whole hill. Now remember that I'm running a 29er Krest over the 26 Nevagals so take it with a grain of salt.

I did a quite a bit of fire road riding also, some a good speed.  I did notice that the Nevagals seemed to start sliding out a bit earlier than the Krest, especially on those light "greasy" mud areas.

On the negative side they did pack up mud faster than the "gal's" but cleared pretty quickly once on dry terrain.

Again, I got to say I'm pretty impressed so far.

[The Llama]

well, final Impression....

Nice tire, good traction, puncture protection seems to work (no thorns inside at all!!) Pretty light roll resistance.

Biggest down side I can see is the weight, they are heavy.  If you are a weight weenie don't even bother. they are only about 80 grams more than the Nevagals and I think they are a tad better in most ways... price being a big one. 

Think they would be a great All Mtn tire... not sure how they'd work but add the stan's to them and get rid of the tubes and the weight issue goes away....

7 out of 10... maybe even an 8 because of price!

[Cycle Snack]

First ride on a set today.  They were grippy for sure but the slush in my neck of the woods wasn't the ideal test bed.  Hopping for drying weather, soon!