KENDA K40 Street Tire, 27 x 1-3/8 Wire Gum Wall

These tires will dry rot even in ideal conditions and in my case, blew right off the rim with 70psi. Stay away.

After maybe 800 or 900 miles, rear tire showed cord failure in 4 or 5 places. See middle picture. Replaced the rear tire, did a couple 21 mile rides and... cord break! See first picture of the tire I replace yesterday! Third picture is my last remaining new tire. There is a line down the inside center of the tread that looks like a score line in the tread, and that is where the cord fails. I ride a lot of bumpy sidewalk and dirt roads with a lot of 50 to 100 mile rides, so I'd hate to call the sag wagon from 40 miles away! Front tire has ridden everywhere the rear tire has and appears to be holding up well. Neither tire wore the tread down very much except at the bulges, which were blowouts waiting to happen. Also, tire claims to be 1-3/8 wide, marked as ISO 630-37(???) but is about 33 mm wide on my rims (just barely over 1-1/4").

I bought a pair of these to replace 20-year-old tires on a bike I seldom ride. These things are far from thorn-proof. The rear tire has been punctured 3 times in only a few hundred miles. Unacceptably, when a thorn or anything else punctures this tire, the fabric of the tire begins to unravel! Yep! I had to patch the inside of the tire to keep it operational, but upon the 3rd puncture the unraveling was more widespread, the patch did not hold, and the inner tube actually bubbled through the hole, which spread open like a nasty hernia as I began to inflate the tire!!!I actually can't believe this took place. I don't live in a thorny area, and in comparison, most of my other tires have gone for decades without needing repair. And none have ever unraveled due to a puncture.I put the 20-year old tire (which I should have tossed but somehow did not) back on the wheel so I could ride it again.Steer clear. I would take an ancient, crumbling tire over this piece of crap any day!Also, it says on the tires that they are rated for 85 pounds but this isn't true. The other tire blew when inflated to the max. Fortunately the inner tube was patch-able and the tire was only slightly damaged around the edges, so I was able to continue to use both, albeit at 65 PSI.

Good 27" tires are hard to find and these Kenda K40 tires beat my expectations. They replaced a pair of Schwalbe Marathons that I really liked but unfortunately twice popped a bead off of my straight-walled rims. In their defense, I had been forewarned that the Marathons were a little loose on the rims, something I was looking for in case I needed to make an on-road repair, but that that made them ill-suited for straight-walled rims and by gosh, they were right. Now, back to the Kendas.The Kenda K40s installed easily - a tight fit but manageable with tire irons. They inflated easily and seated promptly. The sidewalls are even all around; the center bead stays centered all around. They ride smoothly and grip decently on corners. There is a lot of flash left on the tires from manufacturing that will eventually wear off but until then, or unless I pare it off, looks a bit shabby.

I bought a pair of these to fit on an old "English racer" from the 70's. I wanted the widest tire I could fit on those narrow rims, and this was the widest I found in a 27" tire. Where we are now is near the beach, so there is plenty of sand to bog down in; the wider the tire the longer you can keep pedaling. Also, a fatter tire makes a bit more comfortable ride. These tires installed easily and were no trouble. I like the natural coloring of the sidewalls, too. Because we have had problems with sand spurs sticking in the tire and causing flats, I installed a tire liner in each of these for protection. I have two more identical bikes to renovate, and I'll be getting two more sets of these tires to do the job. I recommend these tires for function and price.

THE SELLER SENT TWO NEW TIRES, I GUESS AFTER READING THIS REVIEW, BECAUSE I WAS PREPARED TO JUST EAT THE COST OF A NEW TIRE. NOW THAT'S A SELLER WHO IS TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS. MOST SELLERS WOULDN'T EVEN NOTICE. THE FOLLOWING IS THE ORIGINAL REVIEW: I've used KENDA and the AVENIR clone w/Kevlar for my 3 Japanese bike boomers and I like them. Nothing available today replicateS the nice original Panasonics that were branded Schwinn, Raleigh, Miyata, ect, but these tires are fine even though they miss an opportunity to mold the original tire pattern. These seem to be the original but vary enough to alert the knowledgeable rider. The originals also had a center ridge that rose a full 1/8" above the main casing unlike these whose rise is hardly noticeable. That high center ridge on two properly inflated tires is what provided that feel you remember but can never experience, at least until somebody provides a tire with the original tread pattern.There's a right way and a wrong way to fold a wire-bead tire before shipping. This merchant obviously tried, but failed on one of the tires. The wire bead is bent to the point of failure making that tire unsafe to use. I'll be throwing it away and buying another...form a different seller. NOW I'LL CHOOSE THIS SELLER OVER OTHERS EVEN WHEN THE PRICE IS HIGHER...I HOPE YOU WILL, TOO.

This is a good solid gumwall tire-The 1 3/8 size is just a tad bigger than the traditional 1 1/4 gumwall- and it's a competitive price even with shipping you probably won't beat locally.I'm using mine for a bit more rubber on the back of a bike with motor- otherwise it's a nice size for someone heavier or a great commuter tire, for a bike with baskets For more serious road riding, you can get 27" tires in 1 1/4"(32mm) , 1 1/8" (28mm) and even 1 inch widths (25.4mm)-The smaller the width, the faster the roll, but also the faster the wear. A wider width gives a little higher profile and more rim protection.This Kenda is a good traditional tire at a great price!

These tires really didn't last long, I bike to work everyday and they only lasted one season (March - November). I ended up getting a more expensive tire designed for "urban" riding which has worked better for me.