# Kona Ute Knobbies



## mtb143 (Aug 26, 2007)

I want to throw some knobbies onto my Ute to make it more woodsy-able (daily commute is 12+km of singletrack and fireroads, usually on MTB, but I want to do more on the Ute).

Problem is that knobbies seem to come in cyclocross sizes (skinny) and 29er MTB sizes (wide), and not much in the middle. I'm leaning towards WTB Nanoraptors in 2.1. Ute came with 1.75" stock tires.

So the question is, have others successfully thrown 2"+ wide tires onto a Ute?


----------



## farley (Feb 17, 2004)

*Bontrager 29-3?*

I noticed a Gary Fisher 29er at my LBS the other day that had some really skinny looking knobbies on it. I think they were the Bontrager 29-3, which is listed on the Bontrager website as being available in a 2.00 size. At a glance, though, these looked like 1.8's. They might make a decent in-betweener.


----------



## pimpbot (Dec 31, 2003)

*Kenda Karmas...*



mtb143 said:


> I want to throw some knobbies onto my Ute to make it more woodsy-able (daily commute is 12+km of singletrack and fireroads, usually on MTB, but I want to do more on the Ute).
> 
> Problem is that knobbies seem to come in cyclocross sizes (skinny) and 29er MTB sizes (wide), and not much in the middle. I'm leaning towards WTB Nanoraptors in 2.1. Ute came with 1.75" stock tires.
> 
> So the question is, have others successfully thrown 2"+ wide tires onto a Ute?


... come in a 1.9" size for 29ers. They roll really well in 26er size. Karmas were my favorite raceday tire when I rode kiddy wheels.


----------



## mtb143 (Aug 26, 2007)

So I ended up going with the WTB NanoRaptors in 2.1, and am very pleased with their performance. Wife and I did a short 200 mile bike tour through southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the Ute did great with these tires on paved roads, dirt roads, and singletrack. The tread is on the shallow side, so great for low rolling resistance and drier conditions, but I'm not sure how well they'd do in mud. The Kenda Karmas might be a better choice when things start to get sloppy later in the year, or maybe a full mud tire, like the Bontrager Mud-X's, which are the best I've found for my full-sus rig.


----------



## mtb143 (Aug 26, 2007)

Update: I switched the Nanoraptors for Bontrager Mud-X 29x2.0's a few months ago when the rain and mud started. A note for anyone else interested in throwing knobbies on their Ute: the Mud-X's fit just fine in the fork and frame, however they do highlight a design limitation: the chainline is just barely wide enough that using little ring up front and large cog in the rear will cause the chain to rub on the tire. So without adjusting the chianline, even wider tires won't work - at least not in super low granny mode.


----------



## lancelot (May 24, 2006)

Great to know what tires can fit. I am seriously considering buying a Ute and would love to take it on some light offroad trail on my commute. How do you like yours in the dirt? I was also thinking of doing the Big Dummy but I think it is a bit overkill for my needs.


----------



## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

If you want something with tread, but not a 29er MTB tire you could try these:

http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/marathon_extreme


----------



## mtb143 (Aug 26, 2007)

lancelot said:


> Great to know what tires can fit. I am seriously considering buying a Ute and would love to take it on some light offroad trail on my commute. How do you like yours in the dirt? I was also thinking of doing the Big Dummy but I think it is a bit overkill for my needs.


I love my Ute both on pavement and on dirt. The Mud-X's have turned out to be excellent all-around tires, and I'm running them on my FS 26er as well. The extra volume adds some nice cush over the stock skinnies on the Ute, and the knobblies let me go anywhere that I dare take the Ute, and in any conditions short of snow/ice.

Back when I got the Ute I felt like I was compromising by not getting a Big Dummy, but given how I actually use the Ute, I am super happy that I got it instead. Most of the time I carry fairly small/light loads that only fill up one of the small Ute panniers, and a BD would be way overkill. On those occasions when I have some serious hauling, the Ute has taken it all. I have yet to try to put more on it than it can handle. The wife and I have done fully self-supported touring on a pair of Ute's with success as well.

I have only good things to say about the Ute. It's a great deal, and it's a practical, utilitarian car-lite enabler.


----------

