Slated as a hard-pack and dry-condition gravel tyre, we’ve just had a set of Kenda Alluvium Pro tyres roll in the door of Flow HQ. The Alluvium features a fast-rolling centre tread and Kenda’s creatively named GCT casing, which stands for Gravel Casing Technology.
The GCT casing is said to improve tubeless conversion, sidewall reinforcement and puncture protection. The Alluvium feature a 120TPI casing and come in 40mm and 45mm widths for 700c wheels and 45mm width for 650b.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had Kenda tyres on test at Flow HQ. When building up Jono’s new Open U.P. we thought we’d put their Alluvium Pro 700x40c tyre to the test. With a combination of road riding and gravel rides on the cards, the Alluvium seemed like a fitting choice for the U.P. build.
Fitting the tyres to our Reserve Gravel 25 wheelset went smoothly. After a few of the tight tyres we’ve recently had on test, the slightly looser fit was a welcome change, and we set them tubeless with no leaks. This should make for a much speedier change (and significantly less cursing) should a tube need to be thrown in on a ride.
Since receiving the tyres, we’ve managed to put just over 500km onto them between road, gravel and some singletrack. We’ve found the tread pattern to be predictable and fast-rolling across conditions. When leaning the Alluvium’s over into offroad corners, the chunky side knobs helped confidence, particularly in loose conditions.
That said, there is a noticeable transition between the smaller profile centre knobs to the larger side knobs that takes some getting used to with high-speed road cornering.
We’ve seen minimal wear to the tread after these KM’s although we’ve definitely found its limits in some muddy conditions where braking traction becomes quite slippery. The tightly packed centre strip doesn’t cope well with the mucky conditions, and for wet-weather singletrack riding, we’d be keen to test out Kenda’s Booster Pro tyre as we feel they’d be much better suited.
So far the Alluvium have survived rocky singletrack and miles of gravel roads, however they did succumb to a large shard of glass picked up on the mean streets of inner Melbourne. Fortunately the hole sealed up lickty-split and we were able to carry on pedalling.
We have a feeling that the large chunk of glass would have brought about the demise of many comparable tyres, and we’re relieved it sealed up without issue. Beyond that, the casing and sidewalls are free from cuts and tears.
At $74.99, the Alluvium Pro tyres are reasonably priced and provide a quality option for road and dry-condition gravel riding.
