Kenda H-Factor 2.35 TiresKenda's pro-signature 'Legends' tire series has generated some top performing rubber. I was riding with Hans Rey a while back when he asked me if I had ever tried his tire designs. Well, now I have. The H-Factor is designed for AM/trail riding, to excel on the slippery hard-pack and rocky surfaces found in Hans Rey's Laguna Beach neighborhood, and throughout the Southwest. The crown tread is shaved down low and angled on the leading edges like the Nevegal so the tire will roll fast on hard surfaces. The outside edging blocks, however, are a huge row of teeth, intended to dig through the slippery top layer and bite into the hard soil below. The H-Factor also features a two-component tread, with a harder, 60-durometer (Shore A) compound on the top for long wear and fast rolling, while the edging blocks are Kenda's soft, 50-durometer Stick-E rubber. The casing of the folding models like ours is a supple, 120 threads per inch. H-factor tires are available in 2.1, 2.2 (x 29) and 2.35-inch casings with folding beads and and in a super-duty DH wire-bead, 2-ply option in 2.35 and 2.5-inch sizes. Our 2.35-inch test tires weighed close enough to Kenda's projected weight of 802 grams that we thought the 'H' styled tread blocks were for 'honesty.' H-factor tires run around $50 USD.
Kenda Tires  |
| Lined up in a formidable row, the H-Factor's Stick-E rubber edging blocks dominate the tire's profile. The center tread is set quite low and those blocks are also ramped. Hans Rey's all-mountain tire is listed as a 2.35, but measures closer to 2.4 inches. |
 | On the trail, the 2.35 H-Factor tires ride roughly compared to other large-volume tires and they are hyper-sensitive to pressure settings. Reducing the air pressure down close to 20psi returned the best results - a surprisingly fast-rolling tire on smooth dirt, with a very secure feel on off-camber sections and at speed around corners, although you must commit to a significant lean. Climbing traction is good at low pressures - but if you run 'em hard, the tread will slip around on gravelly climbs. Braking traction, however, is abundant at nearly all useful tire pressures. On paved roads, H-Factor tires feel pretty slow. My guess is that they develop a considerable amount of wind resistance paddling all that air with the tire's wide profile and big side knobs. If you run tubeless, you are in for a wrestling match. I tried to mount my H-Factor tires to both UST and converted wheels without luck. Hans runs them tubeless, though, so it is possible. H-Factor tires are heavier than I like, and the edgy tread design suits a more aggressive riding style, but they deliver lots of grip on Southern California soil and that's worth a heck of a lot. - RC |
Giro Xen GlovesGiro's medium-duty glove has some notable features. One is a section of two-millimeter-thick shock absorbing material on the outer palm area that wraps around to protect where the hand contacts the collar of clamp-on grips. Wrap-around fingertips at the index and ring fingers are a nice touch and tacky strips are applied on the inside of those same fingers to aid in wet-weather braking. A three-panel Clarino palm keeps the close-fitting glove stretchy and comfortable in all directions. There is just enough sonic-welded plastic armor on the glove's outer panels to ward off brush strikes and not so much that the glove feels like it belongs on a post-apocalyptic movie character. A small, but aggressive hook-and-loop closure keeps the wrist snug and the fingers tucked into the tips. Xen gloves come in seven color combinations and in small, medium, large and XL. sizes. Expect to pay around $39 USD.
Giro |
| Giro's Xen glove strikes the middle ground between an old-school armored Moto glove and the now-popular, lightweight, unprotected types. |
| Giro hit the mark with the Xen glove, It feels beautifully comfortable and manages to deflect brush and bashes effectively. It ventilates well enough to use for Summer trail riding and its dexterity rates at the top of any glove we have tried on. Lacking, is a patch on the index finger to pet your phone with, but really? No holes yet, but the palms are quite thin, so while the jury is out on longevity, so far, so good. Nice glove. - RC |
SixSixOne EVO D30 KneesSoft-cup knee guards used to be low-tech items, but not since SixSixOne released the 2012 EVO knees. The magic element is D30, a special plastic material molded into shape and layered into the knee cup. The unique compound remains pliable until it receives a high-energy impact - which causes the material to become momentarily rigid and dissipate the energy. I whacked my EVO-protected knees with a hammer, gently at first, to witness the effectiveness of the material and it seemed like plausible protection. The new EVO features a single, elastic hook-and-loop retention strap above the knee and depends upon the guard's preformed semi-bent shape and its stretch Kordura construction to maintain comfort while pedaling. The business end of the knee cup is protected from sharp objects and abrasion with heavy, Kevlar fabric and there is side padding in key areas in case you spider or whack your legs against the frame. Sizes are small, medium, large and X-large - and black is the only colorway. Retail is $89.95 USD.
SixSixOne  |
| Those who live in their pads will appreciate the comfort of SixSixOne's new EVO knees. The outer side of the well-sculpted knee cups is reinforced with DuPont Kevlar material. A look at the back of the EVO guard reveals its molded, D30 knee cup which becomes rigid upon impact. |
| My initial impression of the EVO knee was that it was a bit bulky. I had become used to the feel of an articulating plastic knee and shin protector, so the feel was slightly foreign. After wearing the EVO knees all day, on and off the bike, my story changed. There is no chafing inside the cup area and, while the fact that any technical fabric part that is closely wrapped around your leg will feel warm, the EVO's designer minimized the discomfort to a very livable level. Typically, I'll only pad up for Northwest technical stuff, riding park or a big bike day with friends, but the extra measure of comfort the EVOs provide is encouraging me to wear protection for technical trail rides as well. I wonder how soon SixSixOne will have a whole EVO D30 kit available? The less is more revolution continues. - RC |
