PhotoCredit : Jimmy Lewis' Dirt Bike Test
Well, it took a while to get one of these bad boys on my bike but I did and here is what I think.
The Kenda Equilibrium is a hybrid between a trials tire and a traditional knobby tire. It is intended to compete with the Golden Tyre Gummi and other super sticky Euro tires.
The first thing I noticed when I mounted this tire is how stinking soft the carcass and knobs are. It is much softer than any other tire I have ever personally used. That makes for an easy mounting job even on my Mousse Bib on my 19" rim. I paired the Eq up with my favorite front tire of all time, the Bridgestone M59 and headed up to Rico and the Calico trail.
That area is filled with everything from dark black soil with roots to scree fields for miles so it wasgood test for the tire. After a full day up there I was very impressed with the traction that the Eq provided. It hooked up everywhere really. The only place it lacked was in some deeper mud but I don't know what would have done well there.
So after that I took it to our local Uncompahgre Plateau for some higher speed ripping and some night riding to see how it would do when pushing it harder in the turns and trying to keep up with my pro level employee Mick Holloway.
I was super impressed with the tire for the whole ride. I could charge hard into and out of turns without it wanting to step out and it held back well when hard on the rear brake. Over all I really like this tire but here is the rub.
This is what it looks like after two rides. It probably has about 100 miles on it and it is wearing really fast. I can say that it is still hooking up pretty well considering its shape but I don't see this being a great everyday average tire.
The cost is good, at $83 per tire it is way less than the $150 Golden Tyre and holds up about the same. In my opinion this is a very good race tire for Endurocross, or hard enduro style events where traction is key and you don't care too much about how long it lasts. Click on the pics above for the videos of the two rides this tire went on. Or click below for the videos and watch what I put the tire through. We stock the 18" version at the shop so if you need a great race tire with boat loads of traction, come on by or give us a call at 970-240-2197