Choosing Tires for the Mindoro Trip: A Date with the Kendas



The trip is at least five days long. That's five long grueling days if I chose the wrong bike tire. What I need is a pair that has a low rolling resistance on highways but can still cut it when there's no more road available.

I currently have three pairs of tires with me: the Kenda Nevegal, the Kenda King of Traction, and the Continental Avenue. The Nevegal is an excellent cross country tire. I'm sure it can take me to the ups and downs of Mindoro's rough roads, but these will definitely stick like road tar when we're pedaling on the asphalt. The Kenda King of Traction are mud-specific tires. Ride them on the road and the knobs in the middle gets erased. As for the Continental Avenues, they're great slicks tires, but I'll be all over the trail with these. Plus, they've been with me for almost a decade so I think I should retire them.

Later, I have a date with the bike shop to get the tires for the trip. I researched online and came up with a handful of finalists. Since they're easy to find, these are all Kendas: the Small Block Eight, the Short Tracker, the Klimax Lite, and the new Slant Six.

I honestly don't know which pair I'd end up with but I'm leaning towards the Short Tracker and the Slant Six. I guess I'll see later.

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