Kenda unveils new MTB casings and compounds
The overall goal was lighter weight tires with the characteristics of a downhill tire.
Kenda Tire continues the revision of its tire line with the release of two new mountain bike tire casings and compounds, and the debut of a streamlined icon system. Here’s a rundown.
AGC – Advanced Gravity Casing
The AGC casing boasts improved tread puncture/sidewall cut resistance and comparatively low weight for a downhill tire. “We knew protection would be a major concern in the gravity world,” explained Kenda. “So starting at the bead we used a taller than average 20mm apex to stiffen the sidewall and reduce the chance of tire pinch or burping. From there the engineering team worked hand in hand with UR Team to develop and utilize a new single ply sheet of aramid fibers called Kenda Vector Shield.”
This protection casing is laid up in three sheets under the sub-tread completely encompassing the vitals of the tire. This provides cut and puncture resistance while also weighing less than standard downhill casings. It comes in at a svelte 1180 grams for 27.5.
ATC – Advanced Trail Casing
The goal here was a lighter weight trail tire with similar performance characteristics to a downhill tire. The result is a trail tire that with good protection, low weight, and durability. Kenda’s engineering department took what they learned in the development of the AGC casing and worked alongside pro racers Mick Hannah and Kevin Aiello to design and field test Advanced Trail Casing.
It starts with their KSCT sidewall casing technology, which has proven tough and reliable in tubeless set ups. The casing is then topped off with a new sub-tread breaker, proprietary to Kenda, called K-Armor. This lightweight shield works by using a sheet of fibers that have greater adhesion to rubber bonding compared to standard aramid fibers. This allows for a tighter weave and less rubber needed in the construction process, hence greater resistance to punctures and lower weight than when using traditional aramid construction.
RSR Dual Layer Rubber
A new rubber compound was in order for Kenda’s new AGC tire lineup. They opted to build from their existing Race Stick-E Rubber compound and created a dual-layer tread rubber with the softer revised RSR compound on top and with a stiffer SRC compound underneath.
This enables the rubber to provide better performance, as the stiff bottom SRC layer serves as a hard foundation for the softer RSR layer to push against. The result is a compound that provides better control and lasts longer than the previous version.
EN-DTC Dual Tread Rubber
Finally, Kenda saw there was a need for a more capable trail rubber compound that could meet the demands that riders put on today’s technologically advanced bikes. Found on their ATC line of tires is the new EN-DTC compound, a dual phase rubber designed around the rigors of abusive riding.
Kenda’s latest dual-tread rubber compound features a lower rolling resistance value than previous tread patterns. And the new compound showed less wear and held knob edges longer than competitors’ tires, claims Kenda. With Shore A values lower than the original DTC, the EN-DTC provides a more responsive ride, letting the knobs do all of the control and braking work.
Learn more at bicycle.kendatire.com.
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