Geax Saguaro 29 X 2.20 Tires: First Impressions
February 24th, 2007 by Guitar Ted
I have gotten some of these Geax Saguaro tires to try out for a short period of time. These are Geax’s first entry into the 29″er tire market. They look to be a fast rolling pattern with rows of rectangular and squarish knobs arranged in a chevron pattern across the face of the tires carcass. The central knobs are all tied together by rubber reinforcements making the center of the tread a continuous section that should roll really fast on hard pack. The samples I have weighed an average of 660 grams, and mounted easily.
Once aired up, the casing looks flattish in the central two thirds of the tread with the outer edges falling away at an angle suggesting that these will be tires that will like getting “pitched” into corners rather than rolled over onto the edge knobs. We’ll see once the trails clear up. One slightly disappointing factor was the overall width, which appears to be more of a 2″ width than the stated 2.2″ width. I’ll be measuring these with a digital calipers soon. The other odd thing was the stated low pressure limit of 37psi, which alot of guys run under with other tires. Way under that psi rating!
Look for more on this tire in the coming weeks as trail conditions begin to improve here.
What is RSS?
Get our articles in your inbox:
dude, seriously, ride them!
There’s a lot more to them than you can measure with digital calipers; the carcass is v supple and they’re comfy enough to race for 24hrs without wishing for anything wider…even with over 35psi in them
they are fast rolling over rock and hardpack but don’t clog easily in stodgy mud (though it is possible to fill them - they’re not dedicated mud tyres afterall) and don’t slide as much as you might expect in real wet conditions
i’ve ridden/raced them for well over 500 miles in the UK winter and don’t recall ever worrying about how i was going to approach the next corner because of the position of the blocks on the carcass, they seem nicely balanced at any angle i’ve managed to get to so far.
but it is fun to throw the bike into corners and really “hang” on the edge of the grip!
dave: Thanks for that comment. I would love to take you up on the riding, but we are in the middle of an ice/snow storm at the moment! Half an inch of ice so far that’s supposed to be covered with 6-10 inches of snow!
That said, I did get one ride in the mud on them. Sandy, soupier stuff, and it came out quite well. It’ll be a bit before things clear out again though. I will take your comments into consideration when I do finally get to riding these again.
YAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!
I’ve got about 200mi on mine over the past couple of weeks- a couple of rides in Albuquerque, and 165mi at 24HiTOP in Tucson, AZ. This is a decent, fast-rolling rear XC tire. Surprisingly OK in what little mud I could find, and predictable on hardpack, sand, and gravel. I tried it up front first, but found the front end washing out earlier than with the ExiWolf, Specialized FastTrax, or old Bonti that I’ve used. Better, though, than the Maxxis Ignitor. I raced with it on the rear (ExiWolf 2.3 on the front) and it flies and hooks up well enough for singlespeeding. More volume than the Schwalbe Albert or Bonti, on par with the Fast Trax, and a bit smaller than the ExiWolf. Seems sturdier (though heavier) than the Specialized, and comparable in price, which is nice. A good, fast combination that still steers well would be the Geax out back and Specialized in the front… So: good out back, not so good up front, and certainly fast.
mbc: Thanks for that comment. I look forwards to getting mine out on some real dirt soon.
Dave must be the only person in the UK with them
A dodgy importing deal means on-one will only be selling them as OEM on their bikes
No-where else seems to be selling them
no wonder 29ers are so popular over here in the UK, no fast tires available so the wheels feel slow
apologies to “on-one” for the dodgy comment above.
For info the tyres can be got through any good bike shop that deals with the importer “Upgrade”
Brant passed me the details, the importer responded to the email and my LBS were able to order them in
however I think they were the last two pairs for the moment….