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EB17: Terrene adds affordable studded Cake Eater fat bike tire, Onza takes Gwin to enduro

Terrene Cake Eater mid-fat bike tire
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As a pared down option to their Wazia fat bike tire, the new Terrene Cake Eater is designed to be a faster rolling, lighter weight option for all conditions. The center knobs are lower profile, keeping it quick in the straightaways, but get zigzag siping for improved multi-surface traction.

Terrene Cake Eater mid-fat bike tire

To add more all-season capability, the transition, intermediate and side cornering knobs all have stud pockets.

Terrene Cake Eater fat bike tire

Adding to the versatility are various price options, including a pre-studded model for just $150. With most studded tires coming in at or over $200, the new Cake Eater will offer a standard casing version equipped with new aluminum/tungsten flat tipped studs for $150. Or, get the upgraded tire with their 60tpi Tough casing without studs for $120, or with their premium triple-point tungsten carbide studs for $200. All in 26×4.0 and 26×4.6 sizes.

They’ll follow it up with a Cake Eater Light 120tpi casing model in 26×2.4 with studs ($200) or without ($120), as well as a 27.5×2.8 size with studs ($160) or without ($80). Both use the premium studs, which have a lower height for reduced rolling resistance.

Terrene McFly Tough 275 plus mountain bike tire

The McFly 2.8 “plus” tires that launched this summer are finally shipping in both 27.5″ and 29er options.

ONZA AQUILA TAKES GWIN EDITION ENDURO-ING

onza aquila aaron gwin tubeless ready folding bead enduro mountain bike tire

Officially introduced last year as a concept and going on sale this July, the Aaron Gwin Signature edition Aquila downhill tire was only available in a 27.5 wire bead DH casing option, with two rubber compounds to choose from. Now, Onza is adding 29er sizes and folding bead enduro/all-mountain constructions.

onza aquila aaron gwin tubeless ready folding bead enduro mountain bike tire

All models will stick with the 2.4″ width, but you’ll be able to pick from 27.5 or 29er. The new enduro versions get their tubeless-ready 60tpi FRC (free ride) casing with a folding Kevlar bead and RC2 65a/55a dual rubber compound. Available late this year or early next.

On other products, they’ll offer their REC (reinforced electro casing) build for e-bikes, which gets a whopping 5 layers combining Aramid and 60tpi nylon casings. And their Ibex and Canis tread patterns, which serve the XC to all-mountain categories, will get a new 27.5 x 2.85 width.

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Beat_the_trail
Beat_the_trail
6 years ago

How come my General Altimax Artics were $96 each, or $120 studded, and a dang MTB tire is $200 with studs. Seems extremely disproportionate.

Collin S
Collin S
6 years ago
Reply to  Beat_the_trail

“But they are affordable”

Part of it is markets of scale. They’ll sell maybe a few thousand of these tires, where they’ll sell a few million car tires. I completely agree that the price is insane. Look at road tires, some of them are 80-150 each, and its a thick belt with zero tread.

ElectricBUGaloo
ElectricBUGaloo
6 years ago
Reply to  Beat_the_trail

I agree the price is higher than I’d ever be willing to pay but the explanation is probably one of three thigns. First, the low volume of production means you have tooling expenses that are higher per unit. IE: If you have to cover the same fixed costs over 1 million units vs 1000 units. Second, if the market is at $200, you should try to capture as much profit as you can which means not selling it for $10 over cost. Third, if it goes on a bike you can expect +50% to the price.

Tim @ Terrene Tires
Tim @ Terrene Tires
6 years ago

Thanks for the comments guys – this is a really common point of discussion, with the high price of bicycle tires.

Low Volume is definately one of the reasons for higher cost in bicycle tires, but there are a few other variables that I feel are more important.

First and foremost, with a human-powered vehicle, we desire low weights in our bikes so that they are enjoyable to ride. So, most tires are of a pretty high-end construction for bicycles, when considered against all tires on all vehicles out there. For instance, a car tire that is being referred to typically has a wire bead and heavy, thick casing. These are required for automobiles, but also easier to make. So to compare a car tire to a bike tire, you need to compare that $100 car tire to a $16 repair-level bicycle tire. As we go up to folding beads with higher-end materials, and use lighter laminates on the casing in order to save weight, all of that typically requires more labor to get right, has a higher reject rate, and requires more expensive materials to achieve. So, when comparing a high-end bicycle tire using Kevlar beads, 120tpi nylon casings, and super-thin laminates of rubber on the sidewalls, you are comparing technologies that are not even present on passenger cars, but more present at the upper ends of motorsports. Like I said above, the only real comparison from a car tire would be a heavy, bulky, low-end wire bead bicycle tire.

This is actually a personal interest of mine, so then we can venture into talking about higher-end automotive tires, lets say like the Goodyear MTR Kevlar – a high-end off road tire in the $250-$300 each range. This tire uses steel beads, single compound rubber, steel belts, and kevlar sidewall reinforcements. So, if you want to compare that to a bicycle tire, its most direct equivelant would be a mid-range reinforced touring tire, probably around the $40-$60 range.

And then to start to try and find an automotive tire that is technologically the same as a high-end bike tire, well in reality, thats really hard. If we start to talk about high-end racing tires, this is where they will start to get into very fine manipulation of compound like bicycle tires, maybe using higher-end materials in the construction to increase strength and reduce weight. And tires like this are in the $500-$2000+ range.

So, the real reasons bicycle tires are so expensive is because it is actually what we, as consumers, desire. There are tires out there that can operate just fine on a bicycle for $15. But as enthusiasts, we know there is a point where we feel comfortable spending some extra dollars to get extra enjoyment from our hobby. At Terrene, we operate in the higher end of this, and yes, we know our tires are expensive in the big picture. There are $30 fat bike tires out there, but the market has shown that most enthusiasts prefer a tire in the $100+ range because of the technological advantages that it has over the $30 one.

Marc L
6 years ago

Tim FTW.

greg
greg
6 years ago

Any chance of a 29plus studded tire coming soon ? thanks!

bruto
bruto
6 years ago
Reply to  greg

at $100 or less

bruto
bruto
6 years ago

And what about them studs? More jewelry/iphone than cheap consumable as well?
How much more does a triple-point or XL concave stud cost to make, compared to a regular pointy one (like Schwalbe’s)

loved da bikes
loved da bikes
6 years ago

Good Response

AngryBikeWrench
6 years ago

So happy Tim was able to put forth such a thoughtful answer to this kind-of ridiculous argument.

Kevin
Kevin
6 years ago

Great response, Tim.

Do you think the Cake Eater would be a good option for groomed Duluth trails this winter? I had my mind set on Wazias, but I’m all for faster rolling and a little less weight. I’m leaning towards the 4.6 120tpi version for my Voytek. As a comparison, is the difference in the 2 tires as drastic as let’s say a Flow/Dunder combo to a Dillinger?

Greg Matyas
6 years ago

Great response Tim. So many bitch about price of everything because they see some really half assed product coming direct from China for $19.99. All quality product costs money. Profits in the bike (and retail industry in general) are just barely enough to justify the trouble.
Support those companies doing the development, not the knock off’s dumping product on the market. I’m stoked to try out the studded Cake Eaters!

Nicholas Carman
6 years ago

Thanks for the perspective Tim! The front side and the back side of the industry show two faces for sure, it is cool to hear from someone that knows both sides. And when you refer to the $16 tire you are right, this is an essential component of bicycle tire sales in America and around the world, but it isn’t what I would want to ride on a performance road or mountain bike, or for ultimate durability on a touring bike. I choose to buy $55-225 bicycle tires for a reason, and as an “enthusiast” I don’t usually price shop for tires because I know that tires are such an essential component of the ride experience, so I buy what i like. That said, the marginal compromise to reach a $150 studded fatbike tire is welcomed in Alaska, as more and more riders are getting out on fatbikes that cost a little over $1000. Nice to finally see the McFly out in the real world.

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