TL;DR - The Kenda Klever RT tires have great traction, but I'm ditching them (and returning to S/T Maxx) once they wear out.
Flat spots.
I really wanted to love the new Kenda Klever RT tires that I picked up and mounted to some 1st gen Sequoia Double 5-spoke wheels, but after six months and 7,500 miles, I can't say that I'm thrilled. If I had to make a call right now, I'd probably swap back to my previous wheel/tire setup.
Before getting into my impressions after six months, be sure to check out my First Impressions - Sequioa Wheels and Kenda Klever RT.
A good-looking tire.
So, what else have I discovered? Unfortunately, only "bad" things. Really, they aren't all that bad, but they aren't the blow-me-away greatness that I was hoping for.
- After sitting overnight in cold weather and when aired down (usually to about 16psi), the Klevers tend to develop a flat spot on the tire. Rolling down the road in the morning is then a bump-bump-bump experience in the morning. Eventually, after rolling and warming up for a bit, the flat spots work themselves out, but they weren't something that I ever experienced with the S/T Maxx.
- They are already getting noisier on the highway. I don't notice this at speeds below about 60mph, but when I'm going 70mph there's a constant vibration-hum that almost feels like the lugs hitting the pavement as they spin. I'm not sure that others would even notice, but for some reason - maybe because it never happened previously - I do.
- They are heavy, and that additional weight is not playing nicely with my 5th gear swap. This is totally my fault for putting in the higher 5th gear, but doing that is just one more reason to not run this (heavier) wheel+tire setup.
I plan to have another update in approximately 18 months (a two-year review), which I expect to be near the lifetime of the tires, unless something dramatic happens in the meantime.
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