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Rubena 29er tyres


hawkeye's picture

By hawkeye - Posted on 18 September 2014

I've had the chance to play with some Rubena tyres over the last few months on the 29er.

My thoughts here:
http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/09/rubena-kratos...

For the racer boys, I'd add that they perhaps don't roll quite as fast as a Rocket Ron + Racing Ralph combo, but if you're after a robust set of training tyres that give good grip and wear, they're a good buy.

Disclosure: the tyres and sealant were provided at no charge for the purpose of the review.

[Mod. moved to MTB Gear]

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Scottboy's picture

Hey hawkeye I was running the scyllias for a while then got a kratos for the front as recommended will not ride that Tyre on dirt again as it washed out at the last race for me making me crash head first into a tree . Two weeks earlier on another set of tyes and riding thru that section quicker with the same conditions and tyre pressures I didnt have any problems . My 2 bobs on the tyres .

hawkeye's picture

I run 24 & 28psi (front and rear respectively) @80kgs. Was the Kratos the Greyline version?

The trail at Kinross today was covered in pine needles and other litter, loose in places, and I thought the tyres performed very well. No slips.

radar36's picture

I've been running the Rubena pair on my carbon race wheels around Perth. I found that they are almost impossible to fit on my rim, though I suspect that is more the fact that the rim is larger diameter rather than the Rubena being smaller. Some rather frustrating hours (yes hours!) to finally get them fitted up while at the campsite prior to the Karri Cup!

I did find they roll well and corner well, though a little apprehensive about the width. They do present a little like a pizza cutter, but due to the side wall suppleness I do agree that they corner more like a wider wheel.

Unfortunately though I only got a rather short life from the Scylla. I went over a rock (not my preferred choice of line if I wasn't blinded by the sun at the exact moment I tried to turn for the bend in the trail) at a very sedate pace around Kalamunda, Perth (which is a rather rocky area) and the Scylla literally popped while running 27psi. I split the casing in the middle of 2 of the knobs just to one side of the centreline of the tyre. The split was approx 3mm long and the sealant just wouldn't seal it up. Due to the difficulty of fitting the tyre on, I found it almost impossible to remove and put a tube in so I had to make the 3km walk back to the carpark.

Back to Schwalbe for me.

hawkeye's picture

Interesting! Was it the Rubena sealant you were using?

Re: fit, that sounds strange to me. Not doubting your findings.

I have Schwalbe rubber as well, only a few rides old when I pulled them off to fit the Rubena rubber for the review.

I found them about the same in terms of ease of fitment on my Stans Crest rims. Rubena was maybe *slightly* tighter to fit, but no dramas to get on or off, and as mentioned they sealed with a track pump. Deflated, I could unseat them with thumb pressure if needed. Not enough difference with my samples to warrant a comment in the review. Hard to say why you found such a dramatic difference?

I think the Schwalbes do roll slightly better. They're being kept aside for races on the carbon wheelset I'll be building up.

The Rubenas will stay on the Crests as a training tyre as I'm satisfied with the grip and my feeling at this stage is they will wear much better.

Anyway, time will tell soon enough Smiling

Thanks for sharing your story.

Scottboy's picture

I usually run aroud the 25-28psi on my kratos but its not the grey line version I've used rubena in the scylla and didnt fault them while riding except they wear quickly i swapped it out becaue i tore a sidewall at Appin but the rear was over 1yr old so it was bound to happen soon .

hawkeye's picture

Pressure's in the ballpark, although I wouldn't be keen on going above 26psi on the front myself.

Like the Nobby Nic I found the Kratos was affected by which way around it was mounted. I have found them to be much better if they are put on the opposite way to the arrow on the sidewall. On my 26er the single compound version wasn't that good until I reversed it.

Perhaps I should have made more of that point in the review.

I think the softer grey compound on the shoulders helps cornering grip. On the single compound 26er tyres the bike moved around a bit, but I find these feel quite planted.

Scottboy's picture

I thought about doing that as ive done it on the rear with other tyres but not so much with the front as i didn't want to get a straight line effect where the tyre tends to pull in one direction riding thru different conditions .

hawkeye's picture

I found I stopped noticing that tramlining effect pretty quickly. It more noticeable on the Nobby Nics at slow speed on steeply off camber rocks, but with the bike upright a slight weight shift dealt with it. You just kind of ... adapt. I don't think its as obvious with the Kratos, but you might have a different view.

My take is that I'm happy to live with a little bit of movement with the bike upright but not a sudden unexpected loss of grip on the front when cranked over cornering hard.

Maybe try it out? I can understand though after being dumped on your shoulder it would take awhile to trust the tyre again.

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