A nerdy bike parts post
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I just got a couple 29×3.0 Surly Knards. They’re big, fat, and fast.
They work fine set up tubeless on a Stan’s Flow:
The bead popped on easier than most tires. I’ve tried to get the tire to roll off and burp, but so far no luck. Ideal riding pressure for me (at 150 pounds) seems like it’s about 10 psi in the front, and 15 psi in the back.
I tested some really low pressure, and at 6 psi, I did get the tire to fold over but the bead still held tight. So I’m pretty confident in the Knard on a Flow, even though it’s a little bit of an undersized rim.
But at some point I still plan on building up a set of wheels with Velocity Blunt 35s to spread the tire out a little more.
I was a torn between the 27 tpi and 120 tpi Knard, but I finally decided to go for the 27 tpi tires. I’ve never liked the way a 120tpi tire rode- they’re just too light, too floppy, and usually last less than three rides before I slice them in half on a rock.
The 120tpi Knards only weigh 850 grams (for reference, my all around favorite tire, the WTB Bronson, is about the same weight in a 29×2.2). Since the Knard is such a huge tire, the casing on the 120tpi tire has to be super thin to be so light.
My 27 tpi Knards weigh about 1200 grams, which is more reasonable. The construction feels close to a solid trail tire like the Maxxis Ardent.
I put a Knard in my Reba RLT Ti, and it wasn’t even close to working:
The tires are just way too tall. Here’s one next to a Bronson, both tires are on a Flow:
And as for the Krampus these things are going on? It bites:
Dirt Cruise 