The Kenda Klondike tire is a durable grippy winter commuting tire that stands the test of time. I have run these on two different winter commuter bikes, logged over an estimated 1,000 miles in 5 years, and have never wiped out while running these tires. I am not endorsed by Kenda or was otherwise compensated to write this review. I purchased these tires at an end of year party a local bike shop was having before I knew much about commuting or bike tires in general.
I first purchased these back in 2014 and have used them every winter since. My average commute is 15 miles one way and I have easily put on more than a thousand miles on these tires. I have not tried using other studded tires to compare these to, but have a pair of Continental Nordic Spike tires to try and will update this review later.
Durability
Only recently have I notice some checking on the sidewall of the tires. I keep these bikes in the garage which is insulated but not heated and is mostly outdoors during the day. The checking worries me a bit as I know it means they are nearing the end of life but feel it’s not bad enough yet to warrant new tires for next season.
As for losing studs, I have not noticed any. My grip today feels the same as when I first mounted them. This is very significant as nearly all of my riding on these tires has been on asphalt and chip seal which tend to pluck the studs right out. To me this speaks to the quality of lamination in the tire building process. Kenda seems to have figured this out. It is also a good sign that the same model tires are available on their website in 3 different widths. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Why Studded Tires?
What I have found with winter commuting in the Twin Cities for the past 5 years is that some of the most dangerous times for ice are during the freeze and thaw cycles. Up here, we typically have ample room on the shoulders of roads and well-salted streets however, the curbs have large piles of snow that melt and ice over the shoulders during the night. It is there and at intersections, that you want studded tires to keep you upright.
Studded bike tires are not something to go cheap on. I tried to stud my own tires once using a pop rivet tool and duct tape. The three hour event went great until I mounted the finished wheels onto the bike. They nicked my chainstays so bad that I could not use them. On top of it, the grip was enormous and I would not have wanted to use them on anything but a frozen lake. Commercially studded tires are the best way to go as they have a proven way of laminating the stud into the rubber to keep them intact as much as possible and are easier to fit to your particular bike. They also are able to use carbide studs which wear down way less than aluminum would.
The two main concerns with studded tires would be the width of the tire and the spike/tread pattern. Remember the stated width of the tire also depends on your rim width so you are probably best off reading up on reviews to see what the actual mounted measurement is before purchasing a tire.
Your front tire will keep you from going down. Your rear tire will give you traction on snow packed trails or sidewalks especially going up hill. Nothing is more annoying than standing up out of the saddle to grind your way up a hill to just have your back tire spin out. Well, other than turning that corner and finding your front wheel slip out from under you. So, when commuting in winter I figure you can either have speed or safety and I choose safety.
As for tread pattern there are heavily lugged tires and those with near smooth city style treads. If you are looking specifically for commuting I would recommend a tread pattern that allows for minimal contact patch down the center of the tire to aid in rolling but offers enough grip to corner and climb properly. Some tires boast throwing the snow or mud out of the tire and yet I have heard from car tire manufacturers that having snow on snow pack offers grip in snowy conditions.
The Kenda Klondike
The Kenda Klondike model I have is the 700x35, 100 stud wire bead model. They can take up to 85 PSI, which I really like since most all of my commuting is on paved streets. I want to preserve as much speed as possible so these are a good match for my bikes. I have used them on a drop bar cyclocross bike and my current flat-bar road commuter. The 35mm tire width is fairly skinny for studded tires and it will cut through loose pack snow. If the snow is wet and greasy, the high psi and narrow tires do not perform as well and you are better off on the street or in the car tire path. However, I feel if the conditions are such, nothing but a fat-tire bike will float across that kind of snow.
As for the tread pattern, it seems less aggressive than the Continental Ice Spike and Nokian tires but
Only recently have I notice some checking on the sidewall of the tires. I keep these bikes in the garage which is insulated but not heated and is mostly outdoors during the day. The checking worries me a bit as I know it means they are nearing the end of life but feel it’s not bad enough yet to warrant new tires for next season.
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| Kenda Klondike sidewall checking |
As for losing studs, I have not noticed any. My grip today feels the same as when I first mounted them. This is very significant as nearly all of my riding on these tires has been on asphalt and chip seal which tend to pluck the studs right out. To me this speaks to the quality of lamination in the tire building process. Kenda seems to have figured this out. It is also a good sign that the same model tires are available on their website in 3 different widths. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Why Studded Tires?
What I have found with winter commuting in the Twin Cities for the past 5 years is that some of the most dangerous times for ice are during the freeze and thaw cycles. Up here, we typically have ample room on the shoulders of roads and well-salted streets however, the curbs have large piles of snow that melt and ice over the shoulders during the night. It is there and at intersections, that you want studded tires to keep you upright.
Studded bike tires are not something to go cheap on. I tried to stud my own tires once using a pop rivet tool and duct tape. The three hour event went great until I mounted the finished wheels onto the bike. They nicked my chainstays so bad that I could not use them. On top of it, the grip was enormous and I would not have wanted to use them on anything but a frozen lake. Commercially studded tires are the best way to go as they have a proven way of laminating the stud into the rubber to keep them intact as much as possible and are easier to fit to your particular bike. They also are able to use carbide studs which wear down way less than aluminum would.
The two main concerns with studded tires would be the width of the tire and the spike/tread pattern. Remember the stated width of the tire also depends on your rim width so you are probably best off reading up on reviews to see what the actual mounted measurement is before purchasing a tire.
Your front tire will keep you from going down. Your rear tire will give you traction on snow packed trails or sidewalks especially going up hill. Nothing is more annoying than standing up out of the saddle to grind your way up a hill to just have your back tire spin out. Well, other than turning that corner and finding your front wheel slip out from under you. So, when commuting in winter I figure you can either have speed or safety and I choose safety.
As for tread pattern there are heavily lugged tires and those with near smooth city style treads. If you are looking specifically for commuting I would recommend a tread pattern that allows for minimal contact patch down the center of the tire to aid in rolling but offers enough grip to corner and climb properly. Some tires boast throwing the snow or mud out of the tire and yet I have heard from car tire manufacturers that having snow on snow pack offers grip in snowy conditions.
The Kenda Klondike
The Kenda Klondike model I have is the 700x35, 100 stud wire bead model. They can take up to 85 PSI, which I really like since most all of my commuting is on paved streets. I want to preserve as much speed as possible so these are a good match for my bikes. I have used them on a drop bar cyclocross bike and my current flat-bar road commuter. The 35mm tire width is fairly skinny for studded tires and it will cut through loose pack snow. If the snow is wet and greasy, the high psi and narrow tires do not perform as well and you are better off on the street or in the car tire path. However, I feel if the conditions are such, nothing but a fat-tire bike will float across that kind of snow.
As for the tread pattern, it seems less aggressive than the Continental Ice Spike and Nokian tires but
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| Continental Nordic Spike |
not as smooth as the Schwalbe Marathon tires. This leads to some snow pack continuing on the tire through rotation but I have not had grip issues unless like I said above, the snow is really greasy. The Continentals have a more aggressive lug pattern with no spikes down the center contact patch. I expect these may offer more rolling distance but am concerned about losing grip. I’ll be testing these out in the coming weeks and update this post.
When to buy?
End of season sales are good times to look for studded tires. Some stores or sites will have 50% a second tire or even a buy one get one. These are good investments if you are committed to biking outdoors in colder weather and have safety on the top of your mind. The price may scare you at first but remember that they last a long time and have the proper rubber compound and lamination to perform under extreme conditions.
Update: 3/28 - Not long after publishing this blog post, I switched to the Continental Ice Spikes and as luck would have it, the spring melt started. So I didn't get enough miles on these to provide an accurate side by side type comparison to the Kenda's. So the review will have to wait until next December.
When to buy?
End of season sales are good times to look for studded tires. Some stores or sites will have 50% a second tire or even a buy one get one. These are good investments if you are committed to biking outdoors in colder weather and have safety on the top of your mind. The price may scare you at first but remember that they last a long time and have the proper rubber compound and lamination to perform under extreme conditions.
Update: 3/28 - Not long after publishing this blog post, I switched to the Continental Ice Spikes and as luck would have it, the spring melt started. So I didn't get enough miles on these to provide an accurate side by side type comparison to the Kenda's. So the review will have to wait until next December.
Great write up! I run these as well on my Zurigo for my winter 200K's. Love them!
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