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Kenda Equilibrium Hybrid Trials/Enduro Tire

Has anyone tried one of these guys yet?

https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/...s-&-Enduro-Hybrid-Tire?term=kenda+equilibrium

I'd been eyeing them for awhile, but they were out of stock everywhere for a long time. I finally got one ordered today. Should be here Monday.

I'm pretty excited to try it out, I have read nothing but good reviews on it. And huge bonus it comes in a 19" rim size!!!!

I have(had) one in a 19 inch on my 450 sxf. I destroyed it in 140 miles in Cloudcroft. I run the Tubliss system and the knobs were ripping away from the carcass and it caused an immediate loss of air. It would still work OK if I put a tube back in. It worked good for the two days I ran it.

In defense of the tire, Cloudcroft is the hardest place on tires of anywhere I ride, even worse than the rocks in Colorado. On top of that, I am really hard on tires, because I am big and heavy, and the 450 sxf is hard on tires too.

A Pirelli MT43 will do everything a Kenda Equilibrium will. The one thing, and I did not get to test it, is how it works in sloppy wet conditions. The MT43 does not do well there, and honestly the Kenda has gotten mixed reviews in the wet. I wish I could have tested the Kenda in the wet because if it worked good, that would make me buy another.

You will like it, but it is FAR from a miracle tire, I promise you. It also has a VERY soft sidewall and running it at low pressure (to get the best hook up) makes it feel mushy in fast corners, or while on the back wheel. I HATE that feeling.

If the Pirelli MT43 was available in a 19 inch, I would choose it over the Kenda in dry conditions. It is cool that Kenda decided to do a 19 in the Equilibrium.
 
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Yeah I am a very average riders and most of what I ride is slow speed stuff. And so far what I have seen (Emma Long & Hidden Falls) don't seem to be to hard on tires. At least compared to the Northern NV desert. That place ate tires!!! But higher speeds with lots of wheel spin on rock will do that.

I'm still running tubes and hoping to run around 10-12 psi. Hope that won't be an issue with the softer sidewall. I'll get it mounted up and a couple rides on it and post a review with some pictures on here.

Being on 19" rim its about my only option for a "trials" tire. If it doesn't work out I will go to the Maxxis Desert IT that seems to be popular around here.
 
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Yeah I am a very average riders and most of what I ride is slow speed stuff. And so far what I have seen (Emma Long & Hidden Falls) don't seem to be to hard on tires. At least compared to the Northern NV desert. That place ate tires!!! But higher speeds with lots of wheel spin on rock will do that.

I'm still running tubes and hoping to run around 10-12 psi. Hope that won't be an issue with the softer sidewall. I'll get it mounted up and a couple rides on it and post a review with some pictures on here.

Being on 19" rim its about my only option for a "trials" tire. If it doesn't work out I will go to the Maxxis Desert IT that seems to be popular around here.

The Kenda should be ideal for Emma Long. It will grab great on those rock ledges. 10-12 will be fine with that tire. You only feel the squirm at higher speeds, which you don't have at Emma Long, and really low pressures that the Tubliss system allows you to run--6 or 7 psi. I think you will like it. I did too, it just didn't work too great with the Tubliss for me.
 
thought I would post up some post action thoughts.

I've had it mounted for awhile no, not as many rides on it as I would like but thats just life.

The traction and performance is fantastic!!! My first ride with it was at Emma Long after some light rain. With a tiny bit of water running down the trail in places. It did awesome. Traction on slick rocks and roots was impressive. The knobbies are SUPER soft, you can grab the entire knob and give it a 1/4 turn.

The forward edge of the tire has wore pretty quick, quicker than I would like. But we will see how it does after the initial wear. I've probably got 50-60 miles on it so far, and have actually purposely tried harder to beat on the tire, just to see. I'll post up some pics later of where it is now.

As a weekend warrior rider, who is an average rider I love it performance wise. If it last a year I would put another one on. I get to ride 1-3 times a month at Emma and HF. So a year of riding for me is less than some, more than others.
 
Well I got some pics for you. I have maybe 100 miles give or take.

While the tire shows more wear than I would like, it is still performing very well. I had it out at HF for 3 days last weekend, and even after some rain it still hooked up and got me up anything I pointed the bike at. However it has a hole lot less knobby than it did new.

I don't ride enough to go through many tires, and don't have a ton of experience with others, but this is by far the fastest wearing tire I've ever had on a bike.

Here are some pics of it new:
D3AA38B7-9C2C-417E-99EF-D8209C5B33D7_zpstlm4x6nf.jpg


ABC29649-C772-465C-8587-8140B4031796_zps5b5sjwod.jpg


61E495A3-247E-4B8A-A2E2-BAF2314337A9_zpsstbafman.jpg


And with approx. 100 miles or so. All riding done at Emma or HF:
5E4AB457-0C6B-4C61-A00C-E84B8B89D921_zps7b5xgyyj.jpg


53B9916A-6836-4DAD-BD24-F65ECA71F037_zps8r3gyuka.jpg


606B204C-AE1C-40EC-AFFD-0F16601ED811_zpsks7oxk2v.jpg


2962383B-FAB0-4808-BC31-D7C1370F485E_zpsqirmc0x9.jpg
 
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