Went for my first proper technical ride on 2.1 SB8s at the weekend and from a grip perpsective thought they were great.

However, suffered two pinch flats on the rear (despite the fact that they were pumped up to 40psi) and so am looking at getting something bigger.

I am looking at getting some 2.3 SB8s but was wondering whether the Larsens would be better , i.e. how do they compare from a volume perspective.

Cheers

Hmmm. I’m on the verge of ordering a SB8 for my front wheel but deliberating between 1.95 and 2.1. Do they come up big or small for the stated size? Previous Kenda’s I’ve owned seem to be on the large side. (will be on a XC717 btw)

40PSI is the minimum recommended by Kenda on their webside for that tyre. Try more air to avoid the pinching?

2.35 larsens aren’t fast. the 1.9 looks awesome but very narrow. its a shame when they upscaled it they made the knobs bigger instead of adding more small ones.

stick with sb8s

The 2.1s seemed like a good size tyre, hence why i thought I could get away with them, as usually run 2.3s. But hadnt realised that the minimum recommended psi for the 2.1 SB8 was so high.

Running them on Flows and I’m sure it states on the rim that the maximum psi for a 2.0 tyre is 40.

Dont usually run my tyres above about 35psi, so 40psi felt way too hard for me. Hence why I need a bigger tyre for my riding style (or lack of it).

Wanna sell me your 2.1’s then? 🙂

The reason I want to try them is that I love the 35x700c’s on my cx. Fast, grippy & lightweight. They’re run at 70-80psi though…

Unfortunately not for sale, as I have swapped them across to another bike. 🙄

Just checked the Kenda website and the 2.35 is showing a minimum psi of 40psi too. 😥

However, they dont state psi for any other tyres, e.g. Nebvegal. Seems a bit odd.

No worries!

That table on their website isn’t very complete – they haven’t quoted threads per inch for most of them either. 40-65psi does sound a lot for a 26″ MTB tyre though, doesn’t it?

I’m wondering if there’s anything written on the sidewalls of my Blue Grooves / Nevegals at home… They might be recommending OTT pressures on those too. I use about 30psi on my huge 2.35 Blue Groove which seems ideal up front on a rigid bike (I just fancy something faster at the moment).

not recommended, but ive got a pair of nevegals that came off my gt avalanche pumped up to 90psi on the commuter. i think youll be ok pumping them up a little over 40 🙂

Given that the sidewalls of the SB8s seem to be made from tissue paper, I can understand why there is a minimum PSI of 40.

That aside, I am pleased with them in terms of speed/grip on the dry trails that we have down south at the moment.

I’m running a 2.35 SB8 on the back just now. It comes up big like you’d expect for a Kenda. Great tyre.

I’m running a 2.35 larsen on the back, loads of volume to it, rolls pretty well, but as someone else had said, shame the knobs aren’t smaller. However, once it’s worn down a bit, it soon speeds up.

I’m running a 2.1 SB8 on my Pitch, it’s awesome – tubeless on Flows at around 30-35psi, no punctures etc to date and it’s had a few hacks around locally (New Forest) a few days at Lordswood (local DH’ish / lumpy stuff) and more than a few runs at Cwmcarn incl freeride park etc.

Also runnng a 1.9 SB8 on an Epic S-works, again low’ish PSI (30-35) on Arch rims. No problems with PSI, grip, burping etc and really loving it.

2.1 obviously comes up bigger – about the same volume as the (old) mountain king it replaced (2.2) and the 1.9 looked a bit scaryily thin when I put it on but it’s fine – just forget it and attack everything!!!

I didn’t like the way the SB8 braked on the front, and they were surprisingly draggy on tarmac. Good on the rear though.