Kenda K.O.T The K.O.T, which is an acronym for 'King of Traction', has been designed to excel in extremely soft or muddy conditions, making use of a tread pattern that is far more aggressive than a standard all around tire. While the cornering knobs are among the tallest that we've ever seen, the tire's central section features lower lugs that should retain decent rolling speed when it counts. A harder rubber compound has also been used for the same reason, as well as keeping the tall side lugs from becoming overly flexible. The K.O.T can be had in 1.8'', 2.1'' and 2.35" sizes, as well as in either wire or folding bead versions. The 2.35" folding option that is reviewed here uses Kenda's DLR (
Dual Layer Rubber) compound, weighed 782 grams on our scale and retails for $53 USD.
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Kenda's K.O.T uses tall side lugs and an open pattern to excel in muddy or soft trail conditions.
Kenda K.O.T details:
- Intended use: soft conditions/mud
- Width: 1.8'', 2.1'', 2.35'' (measured at 2.4'')
- 120 TPI (threads per inch)
- Weight: 747 grams (claimed), 782 grams (actual)
- MSRP: $53 USD |
Kenda's K.O.T looks nothing like a standard mountain bike tire. Its most prominent feature are the extremely aggressive cornering lugs that are almost comically huge when compared to the rest of the tread. Angled out slightly from the casing, these cone shaped lugs depend on a huge base, further supported with an even wider foundation, in an effort to have them penetrate the ground instead of folding over.
The center section of the K.O.T consists of smaller diameter knobs, all of a lower height than the cornering lugs, laid out across the crown of the tire, making for a very open layout that should clear the stickiest of mud quite well. The result of the massive cornering knobs and relatively minimal center tread is a tire that looks similar to a cut down mud spike that you'd be likely to see at a muddy downhill race. The top of each and every knob features sipes that add more biting edges and allow the face of the knobs to flex and hold better.
Kenda constructs the K.O.T with two different rubber compounds: a soft 42a on the outside of every knob that offers a slow rebound rate - ideal for wet roots and rocks - and a much stiffer 65a underneath that adds support to each lug. The harder compound underneath should also prevent entire knobs from being ripped off, a sometimes common trait of tires that use a combination of tall knobs and soft compounds.
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| Smaller diameter knobs span the crown of the tire (top, left), while massive cornering lugs give the K.O.T and very square profile (top, right) |
Our folding bead K.O.Ts installed quite easily, seating correctly without requiring excessive pressure to do so. Surprisingly, the K.O.T actually measured slightly wider than claimed, with our calipers showing a width of 2.4" at the widest point of the tread when fitten to our Specialized Roval Traverse EL wheelset (
26mm outer rim width, 22mm inner). We spent time with the tires inflated as low as 22psi and as high has 35psi, with the best results coming with them in the low to mid 30s. This pressure, which is slightly higher than we expected them to perform at, lets the serious looking tread layout do all the work. If the conditions are right, meaning muddy and slippery trails, going from a standard tire to the K.O.T is an eye opening experience. When running it on the back of my trail bike there were countless times when I easily powered up steep pitches that had my riding partners, with their all around rubber choices, walking behind me. I was actually a bit surprised at the climbing traction that the K.O.T has on tap given the tire's less aggressive center section, but it soon became clear that the flat, square top profile was also engaging the tire's burly cornering lugs, even though I was dead upright. The result was velcro-like climbing traction in the slop, with the pointy, stiff lugs biting hard to keep me moving forward.
Despite the square profile, the K.O.T doesn't have that always scary on/off feel when leaning over in the slop (
although it is a different story in the dry). The flat top profile, created by the massive side lugs, results in a prominent cornering edge that literally cuts through the nastiest of mud instead of floating on the surface. In the worst conditions, where an all around tire simply becomes a rudder and the goal is just to stay up, the K.O.T offers a degree of predictability that allows you to actually choose a line and hold it. As expected, the tread pattern clears mud exceptionally well, throwing up a rooster tail of slop as it cleans itself while spinning.
Braking traction in the mud is also impressive, with the tire's large footprint doing all it can to slow you down. Extremely hard packed and slippery ground saw the tire break free easier when on the binders, with the tall cornering lugs flexing instead of penetrating into the hard ground. The sensation was a sudden loss of traction. But then again, there aren't too many options out there that can perform in those circumstances.
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| The K.O.T's square profile creates a biting edge that cuts through the slop to find traction. |
It shouldn't really come as a surprise that a mud specific tire performs well in the mud, but it's how the K.O.T handles intermediate, drying conditions that had us really impressed. Rolling speed over dry ground isn't nearly as bad as you would expect from looking at the tire's design, largely due to its low center section that resembles a cut down spike. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the K.O.T carries speed as well as many all around designs, but clearly not at the same level as a tire designed solely for dry conditions. Hard cornering in the dry revealed an on/off feel, but that shouldn't come as a surprise given the K.O.T's extremely square profile. With that said, cornering traction is there as long as the ground isn't rock hard.
Issues: The K.O.T offers some serious performance advantages in the right environment, but like many things that are so condition specific, it also has a few major drawbacks. Wet woodwork or roots can be downright frightening, with the tire skating across their surfaces, despite Kenda's claims that the softer 42a outer rubber of the DLR compound helps during those times. While we understand the compromise that needs to be made to have the tire perform well in soft dirt and mud, its performance on wood had us treading very carefully for our liking.
The tire's square profile also make for an extremely on/off feel when on hardpack. This could be dealt with when the tire was run solely out back, but it really emphasized the fact that the K.O.T doesn't perform well when mounted up front. In fact, we wouldn't recommend using a K.O.T up front regardless of how muddy the trails are. Doing so results in surprisingly bad handling, with the sensation of the bike wanting to low-side instantly when leaned past a certain point.
It also needs to be said that the K.O.T will leave more trail damage in its wake than a traditional tire. Given that you are looking to install it for riding in the mud, this may not be an issue for your local trails. Areas with more sensitive trail environments are not an ideal location to use the K.O.T.
Pinkbike's take: | Kenda's K.O.T allows you to ride in muddy conditions with a surprising amount of control, but such performance does come at a cost. It likely isn't the best choice if your trails are covered in roots, and is so condition specific that it's hard for us to recommend using it unless you have a serious wet riding season like we do in British Columbia. We also need to stress that the K.O.T should be ruled out for use up front - this is a rear tire only. But there is no denying that the K.O.T offers an advantage in the mud that a standard tire can't even come close to approaching. Riders who have fitted a K.O.T to the back of their bike will certainly have an advantage in the slop compared to their riding partners who are using standard tires.- Mike levy |
