Side knobs, straight line braking, price$

little slow,

My experience is with:

26x2.5" stickee tread,
front tire (32 psi with tubes)
stumpy FSR comp
So-Cal hard pack and sand

So look, Kenda offers these and many of its tires in multiple configurations so its not fair to bash something without first stating what it is, and where and how you use it. (not to mention tire pressure, tube/less, bike setup, skill, the variables go on and on) This tire exceeds expectations in hard pack, it sticks like glue to a dry beaten path and does very well through the loose sandy stuff that could cause predictable wash out. I find the value of this tire to be very good considering you can pick them up for $25 on sale much of the time. Its a bit slow rolling, but what do I expect from a 2.5" tire, its absolutely worth it for me as the confidence it gives when coming down vs its efficiency going up is a no brainer, something about looking at all that wide tread just makes me feel like bombing that much harder... I cannot speak for its mud shedding ability, or performance in wet conditions.

Good grip in rock gardens, even in the rain.

High rolling resistance.

Both tyres wear well, even on asphalt. Never had a flat. Running DH tubes at 30 PSI.

Loving the grip! Rode rock gardens in the rain, all day, not one slip. However, I've only been riding since 2008, so do not push bike to it's limits.

Not sure if Mr. Tomac himself ran his Nevegal reversed? Have read that it climbs better, the bike came this way. However this is not a bike for ascents so may well swap back, but why mess with success?

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N/A

Amazing, predictable traction.

Not the fastest tire around, stick-e wears pretty quick.

I'm not sure what the people that are ripping on this tire are doing but this tire has amazing grip on loose socal dirt. The only thing I can think of is the air pressure is off, I'm 195 and run the front at about 32 psi and have NEVER had a blowout. I ran the Nev in the back and had a blowout with 35 psi that caused a bad wreck but never the front. Only other option, and not going to be liked, is that you don't know how to ride. I don't even know what to say about people running that tire in the rear or complaining about it's performance on asphalt. I tend to stay off MTBR because it's become a haven for weekend warriors and rookies(nothing wrong with either but maybe your experience isn't what it should be)but I had to comment on this one. GREAT tire, on par with minion, high roller, Nev and Chunder. 4 chilis just because of wear.

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Nev, Schwalbe, Specialized.

Better than no tire at all.

Worst tire I ever rode.
Heavy for single ply. V slow rolling. Poor traction. Fastest wear I ever saw.
2.5 is more like a 2.3. I do have a 2.3 that is bigger than my 2.5 Blue Groove.

This is for the 2.5" Stick-E folding. The worst traction of any tire I have tried for dry Rocky Mountains trails. Esp in the loose over hard. And on rocks. Just useless.
Super-fast wear as it is super soft and spends all its time sliding or spinning. Tried it front and rear. No good. Tried airing up. Airing down.
So many better tires. If I had to ride this tire all the time, I would give up biking. Just no fun.

Makes whole bike vibrate when riding to trailhead and speed is reduced in all conditions. I thought that this must mean great traction, but somehow it doesn't.
Desperate to find something this tire was good at, I even tried it in snow. No good in snow either!
Felt kinda ripped off. And I feel guilty that this will end up in the garbage for nothing. I could sell it, but then I'd feel guilty about ripping someone off. I could give it away, but I'd feel guilty about ruining someone's fun and them throwing it in a lake. Maybe the auto people can recycle it.

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Intense FRO, Intruder. WTB Dissent.

Traction on side trail slopes unmatched by any other tire tread.Control on trails sloped as much as 60 degrees is excellant.Great tire for serious off-roading-hands down.

Friction city on pavement,takes powerful leg power in high gear.Too much tire surface on flat surfaces but performs good in light snow or wet road conditions.

For serious off-roading with excellant control,the Kenda blue groove(and Nevegal) are excellant choices.

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Specialized Stump Jumper.

very gripy, round..so you can corner better, the stick-E tire is exactly what the name implies...it is very stick-e!!

a bit heavy

people told me that the side wall was paper thin...that is true on the tires that are smaller than 2.5...if you buy the john tomac 2.5 downhill tire, the side wall is thick

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kenda nevegal

Major grip in mud and slick rocks, roots and features. Don't have to worry about weight transfer when climbing out of the saddle; there's so much grip traction is virtually never lost.

Major weight, very high rolling resistance, very thin sidewall.

Guys at the local shop recommended as their winter tire for the area (Seattle); "we all run this." Well, it works as advertised but the trade-offs are major.

Weight, big tread and soft compound carry an obvious penalty and I pretty much already expected.

What I didn't expect were the extremely thin sidewalls. Even at max PSI the tire is unstable at higher speeds, and all speeds when it comes to cornering. It's also very squishy which is a major power suck; like pedaling in sand or silt.

I only recommended for continuous and pervasive slick and muddy conditions, only if you can accept/suffer the considerable power drain and only if your area's trails are durable enough for wet riding. Even in the always-wet-for-six-months area such as Seattle, I think this is too much tire.

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None - first big knob tire.

The only thing I can say good for these tires is they last a good amount of time.

Everything else. No traction braking, pedaling, cornering.

Do not waste your money on this tire. I have tried just about everything so I do not feel like I just wasted my money. I have tried high and low tire pressures nothing works. I currently am running this as my front tire and bottom line there is just no confidence in the traction. Forget using this tire on mud. I would have better luck with it on ice. If the trail has just the right amount of moisture in the dirt you can fly with these. But lets face it how many trails are the kind of dirt with the same amount of moisture from start to finish. I think I will find a set of Maxxis Minions to switch out with these. I gave it 3 chilis for value because they have lasted a long time.

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Maxxis Minion

tough, fat, grippy

heavy

I have the 2.5s so these are pretty tough and very grippy. I run about 32psi for all the rocks and drops at my favorite trail. We have rock gardens galore and several 3+ foot drops. The Blue Grooves have held up very well. I've had very few flats. They grip well and have handled very well in the rough. One of the better tires I've used.

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Nevegal

very good traction,doesn't get clogged with mud easy, and are pretty cheap plus the look really cool

doesn't roll on pavement very well

its a very good tire for a good price. I've had two of them in the front and plan on buying the same one next.