I think they reflected the owners' intents. It seemed like the Chupas and Knards were for fashion sake. The folx who rode dirt often quickly replaced them for something with grip and durability and the ones who kept em more often than not had a glorified bar bike. 29x3 wheels do roll up and down curbs nicely after all. Trek went after weight at the expense of everything else a tire is supposed to do, which as we know isn't gonna provide the best user experience. If you can't trust your tires to go, corner, and stop the rest of the bike is essentially meaningless.
March 9, 2022, 10:01 a.m. - JT
I think they reflected the owners' intents. It seemed like the Chupas and Knards were for fashion sake. The folx who rode dirt often quickly replaced them for something with grip and durability and the ones who kept em more often than not had a glorified bar bike. 29x3 wheels do roll up and down curbs nicely after all. Trek went after weight at the expense of everything else a tire is supposed to do, which as we know isn't gonna provide the best user experience. If you can't trust your tires to go, corner, and stop the rest of the bike is essentially meaningless.