Rad Mini Step thru Tires... CST 3 in, K-Rad 3.3 in or Krusade 4 in?

[SKOpa]

Hello Gang

Newbie here.  Patiently waiting... sigh... for our two Rad Mini Step Thru bikes to arrive.
Am concerned about the lack of tread on the stock CST 20x3 tires.  Was looking at purchasing the Krusade 20x4 tires, but never seem to be in stock.

Anyone running the K-Rad 20x3.3 tires, which are in stock?  How are they for grip on Grass, gravel and sand?

I live out in the country and will be dealing with compact/loose gravel and the occasional sand.

Did all the research, then found out after the order that the new bikes are shipping with the CST Bike Boat Tires.

Or should I chill and wait to see how the CSTs handle?

ah, decisions decisions

[Jman]

I have the K Rads on my Rad Mini ST, I prefer them over the stock street tires the Mini came with.   I ride on pavement, dirt and packed gravel with no issues.  I would be careful riding in loose gravel with any tire.  The K Rads seem to be a good all around tire. Just make sure you put some flat protection in them before you ride(liners and sealant).

[JimInPT]

Or should I chill and wait to see how the CSTs handle?

There ya go!  I got my Mini StepThru in March and had similar concerns, but I'm liking the Big Boats very much after about 160 miles to date and no longer think about swapping them out.  They are quiet and turn/handle very well on paved surfaces and are no doubt more power-efficient than the knobby Kenda variations.   I used to think the Kendas were replaced by the CSTs because Rad was having trouble getting the Kendas, but now I think it was for those reasons I just mentioned; I bet they were getting feedback about noise and handling on pavement.

I also ride on packed dirt and gravel trails all the time, the occasional muddy trail in the shade after a rain and the BBs perform very well although I'm more cautious when I see a muddy spot coming up.  Haven't taken them onto the beach yet (I really don't want to toss a mist of sand into the gearing - beach riding isn't that important to me), but if you do a lot of that you may prefer knobbies - I'm expecting she'll be a handful on loose sand with the BBs.  I also typically don't ride on wet pavement because it's just messier and I can wait for it to dry, so can't comment on their performance in the wet.  They seem quite rugged and claim to be puncture-resistant, but I Slimed 'em anyway.      I don't ride on really mean thorns, sharp rocks or broken glass, but we have a lot of thorny berry branches on/around the trails and so far no problems holding 30 psi for a week or two before I top them up with another 1 or 2 psi.  I do carry a toolkit and ordered a couple spare tubes that I don't carry with me - the best price in that hard-to-find size was direct from Rad after I searched around.

We'll see how they do over the long term, but for now I wouldn't be surprised if I eventually replace them with the same CST Big Boats when they wear out, rather than Kendas.  For my area and usual riding, they're great.

So I'd chill out on that particular worry and fixate on why you don't have the Minis NOW instead.  It's a FedEx conspiracy, no doubt, but back in March I was expecting 4-6 weeks and it only took 5 days for mine to arrive.  That sounds great, and it pretty much is, but I planned for the longer wait because I was in the middle of moving so she just sat in her box for a month anyway. 

[SKOpa]

 

Thanks Gents.

I'll wait till I have a chance to ride the bike with the CST BBs.  I can always change at a later date when I wear my first set out.

Jeez what a looooong wait for my bikes, ordered them back in mid March...

[JimInPT]

Let us know what you eventually decide; you've got two opposite points of view so far. 

Shouldn't be too much longer for you to wait; just 2-3 weeks ago they were projecting mid-Sept deliveries, but now it's end of July, so either there were cancellations or the supply channel has improved.  Hang in there.

[vudude]

The CST 20x3 tires work fine on every surface as long as there is NO H2O involved. If you encounter rain Slow Down!

[Tony]

Can the Kenda Krusade 4 inch tires fit in place of the 3 inch Big boats or are the rims a bit narrow?  The rims  look to be about 70 to 80 mm wide

[cmalberto]

I bought the Kenda 3.3s from Rad - night and day difference from the stock, probably gonna kill someone tires. Great on grass - ok on sand - H2O doesn't seem to bother either. Well worth the upgrade.

[Mark Messer]

Wanted the 4in Kendra on my new mini st2 for the soft sand,  email back from Rad said they didn't know when they would be back in stock.
  I  went with the so called mongoose on Amazon for $37 with there 4 in tubes.  Tires fit on the existing rims, could be a bit more aggressive for soft sand but imo is a good cross for street and beach, much better then stock tires. We will see how they last.

[Albert George]

I was told by a professional bike racer that the best tires on cement or asphalt are tires known as slicks with little to no tread.

They allow more rubber to touch the path surface, but they are no good on sand or grass because they get no traction on these surfaces.

Knobby tires have less than 50% of the tire surface making contact as opposed to slicks.
Take note that Tour de France bike tires are slicks for this reason.

Also motorcycles have slick tires for the same reason that they have more road contact.

[cmalberto]

I bought the Krad 3.3 from Rad. I had the same concerns from using the stock street tires...very squirrely on wet grass. Problems solved - these things ride great now.
--Mickey