mbw
Full Access Member
I am still trying to figure out why KO2's have such a following around here. I just had a conversation with a tire guy that sells _both_ KO2 and Goodyear Adventures. My Silent Armours (which are the old version of the adventures) have only worn about 20% since I got them and have like 30k miles on them at least.
He said that the K02 are 20% heavier, don't have full wrap kevlar sidewalls (the faux mud tire sidewall blocks don't really do a huge amount to protect the true integrity of the tire, especially when you air down and the lower part of the sidewall bulges out). They are a softer compound and will wear much faster. They may end up being slightly better in the cold weather because of the soft compound, but he says folks (in Iowa) are getting a lot less milage out of KO2s than the goodyears. Both have the mountain snowflake rating, but don't differ a huge amount in terms of reviews on snow/ice.
So.. just putting that out there. I was seriously thinking of going with some KO2 on my other wheels, but 1. my goodyears are hardly wearing at all and 2. the tire shop guys at this place are really sharp, not like most I run into... I feel like I can trust what they are saying.
So if the goodyears are quite, tough, wear like iron and lighter... I'm trying to figure out why I would go with KO2. I will admit I have seen some great KO2 reviews and people do seem to like them. I assume they are both really great tires. I think maybe marketing is playing a part in this though since KO2 looked good to me but the tire guy is saying I should stick with the goodyears. He had both on the showroom floor and even said KO2 make themselves look really good in that setting, but the real use of the tires says otherwise.
He said that the K02 are 20% heavier, don't have full wrap kevlar sidewalls (the faux mud tire sidewall blocks don't really do a huge amount to protect the true integrity of the tire, especially when you air down and the lower part of the sidewall bulges out). They are a softer compound and will wear much faster. They may end up being slightly better in the cold weather because of the soft compound, but he says folks (in Iowa) are getting a lot less milage out of KO2s than the goodyears. Both have the mountain snowflake rating, but don't differ a huge amount in terms of reviews on snow/ice.
So.. just putting that out there. I was seriously thinking of going with some KO2 on my other wheels, but 1. my goodyears are hardly wearing at all and 2. the tire shop guys at this place are really sharp, not like most I run into... I feel like I can trust what they are saying.
So if the goodyears are quite, tough, wear like iron and lighter... I'm trying to figure out why I would go with KO2. I will admit I have seen some great KO2 reviews and people do seem to like them. I assume they are both really great tires. I think maybe marketing is playing a part in this though since KO2 looked good to me but the tire guy is saying I should stick with the goodyears. He had both on the showroom floor and even said KO2 make themselves look really good in that setting, but the real use of the tires says otherwise.