Editor’s Note: Grannygear has tested the Geax AKA on SoCal trails and files this report on his impressions here for you. You can read my test/review on the AKA here, here, and finally, here. Now on to Grannygear’s impressions of the Geax AKA…
Geax AKA Tires: SoCal Review: by Grannygear:
When Guitar Ted found out I was getting a set of Geax AKAs to try out, he was pretty sure that I would like them and was eagerly anticipating my thoughts. He was right…I do like them a lot and this is why.
First off, I mounted them onto the Giant XTC 29er 1 with the Easton EA-90 XCs hoops, a narrower and lighter wheelset then the Havens I had test mounted them on during the Tubeless Tire Re-do article. The 19mm inner rim width of the EA90s can make a narrow tire even stingier with its tread patch. The last few sets of tires on the XTC1 have been pretty slim tires, so when I saw the AKAs on there, it was like, “AHHHHH….THAT is much better!” Besides mounting on the UST Easton rims like every tubeless tire should mount on EVERY rim, that being a slightly difficult install, a great seal to the rim/bead combo, and a very solid *POP-PING* when they seated over the UST bead seat, the AKAs showed a very round and plump profile covered with lots of sharp edged, tiny knobs. Sweetness.
I set the air pressure at 30psi as a start, but after a bit of trail time, I stopped and dropped that a few pounds. Why? Well, because I could, and that is important. Here is why. On the skinnys I had been running as tires before these AKAs, I really could not drop the pressure much as there simply was not enough tire volume to risk it on the rocks. But with a fatter tire, and these are still not huge tires, you gain some wiggle room to shed some air and live to tell about it. The casing on the TNT version of the AKAs I have is pretty stiff compared to some other rubber and gives the impression of a tough-ish sidewall.
On the trail I found the AKAs to roll like crazy and they are very smooth on hard surfaces. They sound like a ‘zipper’ when all the tiny triangular knobs are working on a hard corner or gripping on a climb. With the air pressure closer to 25PSI, I really enjoyed the smoother ride that they gave to the XTC1 hardtail. They allowed higher cornering speeds and greater control through the rocks, increasing my confidence and fun factor. Are wider tires really faster? Yes. Yes they are, if they allow you to maintain higher speeds with grace and comfort.
So what about other areas of performance? I already said they roll well on hard surfaces. Over sand, they float quite nicely. I got them just a bit wet, but we have no mud right now. I doubt they would be all that effective in muddy soil as they do not give you much knob separation or penetration. I found two areas that they are so-so performers. One is when climbing out of a parallel rut where sometimes the rear tire will slide down into it…not a lot of aggressive side knobs to grab there. They don’t break away suddenly, but rather feel like a cheese grater going “brrrrrriiipppp” as they search for traction. On very loose, rocky surfaces, the rear can spin easily when you are standing and climbing and as a front tire, they can get a bit iffy on loose and fast turns. They are not an AM tire and if the ground is very rubbly or chopped up, maybe a different tire is in order. On pure sandstone they were fine as the small knobs and round profile never squirmed or felt vague.
Still and all, as an XC application they are a super tire on the hard packed, sandy covered clay in So Cal and I bet they would be a great performer on loamy soil as well. I have heard rumors that they are not very long wearing and that may be true as those are some tiny knobs. I have not had enough time on them to say either way and I have a lot of tires to test right now, so that may not be something I get a chance to discover for some time.
However, with the super snug fit on the UST rims, the nice casing, the overall smooth and stable manners and the higher volume I give them a big thumbs up (but if you have a Stan’s rim or a Stan’s BST design rim that others use…fuggit about it…the TNT versions will not fit). Guitar Ted nailed that one. I liked the AKAs right away and still do.
Next are the Saguaros which will be mounted on the FSR Project Long Legs and then on to some Bonty tires and the new tubeless ready Schwalbe Rocket Rons. So many tires, so little time!
Note: Geax submitted these tires for test/review at no charge. We are not paid, nor bribed for this review. We strive to give our honest opinions and thoughts throughout this post.
How wide are they please?
Good report! Is the tread “directional”? Seems that it would be very different if the knobs were facing the other way…..
When you guys do a tire report, would it be possible to mount them up “ghetto tubeless”? Tubeless rims work well with tubeless tires, no surprise. “Non-tubeless tires work well tubeless with non-tubeless rims”, now that is a story!
@Swiftrider…yes, sorry, I forgot that. I will update ASAP.
@Yogi…I do not recall if there were directional arrows, but I will check. If there are, I typically follow that suggestion. If there are not, this is the direction I would have used them anyway. As far as the non-tubeless combo, I am done with that line of work. After using these newer tubeless ready types of tires on a rim like the UST Havens, Stans (if they fit), and even the Rovals, I am never going backwards to an ‘iffy’ set-up again.
grannygear
I ran these ( non tnt) on both arch & 355s. Sealed up with a floor pump, held air well, tough side walls. I am riding in AZ. I can see how they might do well elsewhere, but do not recommend them for the rocks. First, the rear wore out in apron 300 miles (about 10 rides). Second, forget about anything with rocks and off camber. That zipper song gets annoying quickly when it means yet another dismount. Third, to get any traction the pressure had to be around 24 lbs. With this many rocks, the rims took too much of a beating, and I am in the sub 150 lb weight class. I didnt like the front cornering, but the trails can be a bit loose here. Very predictable, but not enough to bail you out when it gets loose. It should be noted, that I expected cornering limitations, so am not going to beat them up too much on that one. Ultimately went back to the crossmark, and am glad to have them back. Really wanted to like these, especially after the GG review.
I’ve had a set of these on and off of my 26″ bike since they first became available. Loved them at first and now have a love hate relationship with my tires. I would say the transition in edge to edge while cornering is outstanding and I have yet to ride a faster feeling tire. The only issue that I’ve ever had with these is that when the dirt here in the upper midwest turns to that cement like hardpack they get very wormy feeling on the front when pushed at all. Which I didn’t have an issue with on the 2.1′s so my thought is that it is only when I went to the fatter tire. I sort of expect them to wear a bit faster with the smaller knob size and they are really an awesome tire in many conditions. I’ll have to give them a roll on the 29′er.
@all…they are directional and I am running them accordingly. They measure 2.18″ wide knob to knob on the relatively narrow (19mm internal) EA-90 XCs. I imagine they would get to 2.2″ on a wider rim.
grannygear
So looks like for the High Desert terrain we have here these are probably not the tire for me. Where I ride on a normal basis we have very varying terrain, everything from rubbly type stuff, off camber rocky turns, loose and deep soil, and loose over hardpack. For some of the conditions on a few of the loops these would be fine but I think that ultimately they would end up not being confidence inspiring and thus they would not do well. One thing that caught my eye was that GG/GT said they slipped when going on a rocky/loose climb (which we have a lot of here) if that is true then these would fail on me consistently. I currently have a pair of WTB Moto Raptors and while they grip in just about everything, the few loose climbs I have and occasionally need to get out of the saddle for they will even break loose.
Oh well, looked like a great tire and was excited to try some GEAX tires but doesnt look like they have anything for me right now.
@Greg…look at the Geax Saquaros instead. Superior overall grip and they still roll well. They still are not a stand-out tire on climbing out of ruts, but I have had them on the FSR now for a few rides and they have surpassed my expectations.
Honestly, although I have not tried all the tires out there, the best front tire I have used for all around conditions like you mention is the Specialized Purgatory 2.2. As a rear tire it has a lot of drive but is slightly slow on very smooth surfaces.
grannygear
How do these compare to the maxxis ikons? I need a new racy rear
@RC: Hopefully I’ll know soon. I am trying to get together a tire shoot out for later this summer.
Used these tires in a variety of locations on a road trip (Sedona, Moab, Fruita, Gooseberry Mesa). Great traction on the slick rock, no issues climbing up anything, and they held their own over the looser stuff. I ran them about 30 PSI tubeless, but the rear wore super fast. It was down to nothing by the end of that trip which was 10 rides. I’m not particularly heavy (175 lbs) or heavy handed on the rear brake. Used another one on the rear in SoCal and got a few more miles out of it. Good tire, but maybe just for race day…
@TNorwood. I did some riding at Moab and Gooseberry Mesa on my WFO, and my observation is that those two riding areas flat out eat up and wear out tires like no other place I’ve ever ridden. It flat out destroyed a perfectly good rear Rampage, 6 days of riding in those two sandstone areas. So…. it may not be the tires fault, it may be the area that you ride in that is a killer of all tires.
Been running the seguaros for almost a year, and love how fast they roll, and how they have hooked up in the central texas over-dryed fluff over hardpack. needless to say, they are looking pretty worn lately. I like their beefy sidewalls, as I have the 2.2 tires and only run 25-30 psi with tubes. I prefer this extra little cush on my hard tail.
Any recommendations for a good tire for loose (sandy soil) over hardpack to hardpack? Im crossing my fingers for some rain in the next few months, but don’t want to run the aspens or crossmarks most of my friends run (never liked that tire at low pressure). This next set will be going onto a set of blunt SL rims, set up tubeless.
@droptop: Well, if you like Saguaros, I think Gatos would be even better, but they are a heavier tire as well. Still, I am amazed at how these tires grip in loose over hard. Gotta run the psi waaaay down there though for good grip.
Another contender might be the Bonty 29-4, or perhaps for an even lighter tire, the Rocket Ron.
has anyone seen/tried the tioga psychogenius? Tire looks interesting, but I will probably stick with GEAX for now- been having really good luck. Might buy a gato for up front, but I will be racing these (in mens collegiate C, so weight isn’t the only factor).
How do the bonty 29-4′s feel at low pressure (20-28 psi?). The rocket rons wear pretty fast on the rocky trails around me.
@droptop: The 29-4′s feel great at “lower” pressures like that. (For example, I go over 200lbs and run my 29-4′s at those pressures)
The Gato should be run in the teens psi to get them to come alive. (TNT version) Geax tires are pretty long wearing too.
In this article, you fuggit about it on Stan’s. Well, I have a pair of Stan’s and found ou thtat tire are very hard to get on there. I love the rims though. I put a pair af navengals on the stans…no easy feat, bu thtey are there. I am worried about getting a flat on the trail. So, before the season gets into full swing, I want to put the Navengals on my WTB rims and put anpother pair of tires on my stan’s. Any suggestions to what I can easily fix on the trail if need be?
BTW…I was thinking the AKAs until your Stan’s comment.
What about IKONs?
Thanks for any help.
@LuVn29n: Any non-UST spec bead tire should be a go on a Stan’s rim. So, no Geax, no Michelin, and no Hutchinsons, but you should be golden with about anything else.
Oh! And no WTB TCS tires either. I almost forgot that.
I just bought a set of these and installed them on a pair of American Classic wheels. I echo Grannygear’s comment about the snug fit once on the rim, and giving the thumbs up. Wicked strong and beefy!