Customer Reviews

Kenda John Tomac Signature Series Nevegal Mountain Bike Tire

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These tires had been recommended to me by a couple friends, but obviously you have to try before you really know for yourself. This is my take on these tires after a month and a half of riding them. Your mileage may vary.

My Riding Style:
I do mostly xc with a little bit of all mountain thrown in. It's a hobby and my sport of choice, but I don't race and I'm definitely not professional (in other words, take this with a grain of salt). I ride a Gary Fisher Mamba 29er with a couple upgrades. The Nevegal's that I bought are 29x2.2.

The Good:
- I can corner better than I've ever been able to on a 29er.
- I feel more comfortable going through loose sand and dirt. There's one particular hill I ride that's extremely steep and covered in a few inches of loose dirt and sand. Made it much farther up before spinning out. (I think if I had chosen a better line, I might have not spun out at all.)
- Traction on most surfaces that I rode on (packed dirt, loose dirt, rocks, road, and gravel) was much higher.
- Due to the above, I was able to go faster through some areas of trail.
- Rolling over small objects was about the same, possible a little smoother
- Rolling over larger roots/rocks was about the same, possibly a little better

The bad:
- Rolling resistance is much higher than I had thought, but it doesn't stop you dead. This simply means you have to work a little harder. There are probably much better rollers out there.
- No, really, the rolling resistance is there. Don't buy if you're not willing to expend a little more effort.

Summary:
These tires seem great, but are more of a workout than I'm used to. Since I want to get in better shape, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I wouldn't race on these, but if you're looking for traction, you can't go wrong. Since I've only had these for a month and a half, I can't comment on whether they break down easy. Everything is fine so far, though.

I'm a big fan of both the DTC and the Stick-E Nevagals. Avoid the UST tubeless...they feel like you are dragging an anchor behind you! The UST doesn't roll very good at all. The DTC and the Stick-E have never let me down! I ride singletrack, tubes at about 36 lbs, and never pinch flat or slide out! I don't do any extreme downhill...and I ride 2.35's on the front and 2.1's on back. Currently I have the Stick-E on the front and the DTC on the rear. Nice setup!

This is by far the best tire i have tried so far. It has lots of grip and works particularly well in loose rocky conditions here in the southwest. It is also very predictable and solid in corners.

I bought this tire to replace the Small Block 8 that came with my bike because I was spinning out frequently on steep climbs. I have not had any such problems with this tire. It grips well on climbs up loose surfaces as well as up rock faces. I have much better control through sandy patches as well. Very happy with the tire and would buy it again. It does offer higher rolling resistance, so probably not great for hard packed surfaces like clay, etc.

I've use these on my "trail bikes", both in 26" and 29". I've tried them in both DTC and straight Stick-E and I'm pretty happy with them for the conditions I ride. First, I ride the colorado front range, generally very little street use except for occasionally getting from point A to B. Rolling resistance means little to me since I ride loose, rocky trails. I ride downhill as well, but have never tried them in that capacity.

If you want to save weight and don't ride streets at all, the Stick-E 2.1 is a good option. They hook up well, especially cornering. Any pavement will tear them up fast though. In the 26" size I personally think the sweet spot is the 2.35" in DTC. I can run lower pressure and to be honest they run small and the 2.1 is really more like a 2.0 and the 2.35 like a 2.2". I don't think there is much advantage of the sticky rubber in the center and the DTC lasts a lot longer, especially if any pavement is involved. They are sticky on the outside where I find it pays off most (cornering) anyway. Lastly, there is only a 50g difference (per tire) between the 2.1 stick-e and 2.35 DTC. Thats less than 1/4 lb total.

On the 29"x2.2", I personally think the 2.2 is a bit too small but my 29er is rigid so I prefer a little more volume. A full suspension bike likely works better with the 2.2".

I don't run any UST tires, instead I convert the 26" with Stans (I use tubes on the 29er) The nevegal works very well that way. I've run several sets and never had any issues with the bead or casing. Much lighter than UST that way, plus thorns aren't as much of an issue. Overall, for dry, loose conditions they are great. I've ridden a lot of tires that can't hold a corner and these do very well. Plus, they are 20-50% less than a lot of the competition. In the 26" size I have yet to find a tire that works better for me. I wish they had a little more selection for 29".

After shopping around at the LBS and online etailers I found the Nevegals at Amazon for the best price with shipping. Received the tires in the expected time frame.

Upon initial inspection the tires seemed very soft (thin walls?) and pliable. This must be attributed to the DTC compound of the tire. I typically ride tubeless but installed them with tubes to break them in first. My first ride with them was an XC trail ride of about 12 miles. The Nevegals are superb at grip and cornering. They have a good rolling resistance so you don't feel like you're pedaling through peanut butter with them.

My second ride with the Nevegals wasn't so fun. I rode a trail that had a few large thorns on it and I picked up a thorn on my first lap and had to change a tube (rear tire). Called this a fluke and kept riding. On the second lap I had another thorn and had to change another tube (front tire). Not sure if it was a bad luck day or if the DTC compound is too thin to resist punctures from thorns. Air pressure was about 35 psi.

Tired of changing tubes, I recently converted the Nevegals to tubeless using Stan's and rim strips. The tires seated easily but it has been a project getting them to seal completely. They keep losing air in a short time.

Even if I have to revert to using a slime tube, the tires are still a good product for the price. Well suited for any terrain of choice.

What a tyre! Changed out my stock small blocks kendras for these bad boys. These tyres handle everything! With my local trail soaked from all the rain we've gotten, my stock tires couldn't handle it. I would get stuck and slip all over the place. With these new tyres, I'm unstoppable in mud or wet areas. I may go with small blocks in rear, but for now I'm sticking with front and back. Couldn't be happier. They are slow on road however. My mile ride to trail is slower.

Love these tires. Lots of grip for corners and climbing. Can run very low air for even more grip. Will not roll as fast though when you do.

These Tomacs changed my whole outlook on mountain biking. They're too rough for the road, but off road they provide great traction on any terrain. I ride them on rock, hard-pack, sand, dirt, grass, mud. They climb great going up and provide confident grip coming back down.

The Nevegal is my choice for front tires for all mountain/ general trail/ technical trail use. I like the dtc version because it feels lighter and quicker than the stick-e. I have nothing but good to say for these, and they are currently on four of my bikes.