Chaoyang Hornet 2.25 tubeless ready

[Chris NewbyFraser]

Bought this tyre because of the price and it seemed like a good long distance tread for my general riding.

Fitted onto the Giant sx2 front rim easily but it took some hard pumping with a floor pump, lots of Sunlight soap and manipulation to seat it with an air seal, and it needed high pressure for the beads to seat properly.

 

I then left the wheel for a week and checked it for loss of air - minimal. It matched an equally new Crossmark 1 on air retention.

 

On my first rides I tested it on harsh rock and general hardpack with some loose over hard and it performed well. Rolling is good on tar and roll noise is not very high. Cornering on tar is excellent. So far so good. 

 

After 2 months I have had no punctures and air retention (without topping up with sealant) remains very good (2lbs in a week at a pressure of 20lbs = 10%). Wear is non-existing - even the manufacturing rubber spikes held on far past the norm.

 

Last Saturday I rode the FedGroup Redhill ride at Avianto. Lots of sharp rock and loose over hard. Now, I fancy my skill in singletrack but was forced to back off as the tyre seemed to lose traction in turns. On one nice tight but nicely radius'd turn with mild off-camber the tyre lost grip completely at slow speed (15kph?) and I planted my face in burnt veld ash.

 

Thinking about this, I have concluded that the cause of this sketchy grip in sandy surfaces is due in part to the very tightly packed tyres knobs which are too close to allow grip and possibly the side knobs do not have a nice soft grippy material. Their website provide no durometer values nor do they say if it is a single or dual compound.

 

In summary, I would say it is good value for a slower recreational rider. Lower price, long life and reliable. But I would not use it on the front again and will revert to Spez Ground Control. The Hornet will go on the back once the Crossmark is worn.

[Ruru]

Thanks. This was helpful.

[Dirkitech]

Your diligent assessment and review is appreciated Chris

[dasilvarsa]

Try 18 psi 1.3 bar A few psi can make a big diff

Also check your gauge is accurate

Dont use front brakes on corners

Edited November 6, 2018 by dasilvarsa

[Chris NewbyFraser]

In response to Dasilvarsa, I normally run the front at 17psi and the back at 20 although on the plump CST Patrol 2.2 I go even lower.I gave up using the Hornet tyre on the old 19mm front rim I was using at the time, until recently when I put it on to a 25mm rim on the rear. This immediately improved the contact shape of the tyre and improved the ride quality. Sadly, its cornering ability on steeper off-camber corners is still poor. It breaks loose without warning and slides out until more grippy surfaces are reached. Even the Crossmark 1 is far better in this situation. I must conclude, as I did before, that the tightly clustered/over-lapping side and mid-knobs do not leave enougn space to hook up on sketchy surfaces.

[Chris NewbyFraser]

This tyre is in the rubbish bin. I rode the Trailseeker yesterday. Got a 'snake bite' at 4km. It was a mild hit. I saw the rock edge and felt safe hitting it at 16kph while out of the saddle. Pressure was 20psi. The tyre got two snake bite splits but the rim does not show any impact mark. It took 15 min to succesfully plug and seal it. Having checked it over, my assumption is that the tyre relies on thick rubber and the carcass canvas. I could not see any form of reinforcing so whatever is in there is miniscule.

 

No more Chaoyangs will go on my bike.

[Straight Line]

The Afrikaans saying "Goedkoop is duurkoop",  is underlined by the English version "The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of a cheap price".

Tyre choice is critical if strength, reliability, and performance is needed.  If not, buy the cheapies but bear in mind that there will be more downtime and replacing them more often means not much saved in the long run.

[eddy]

The Afrikaans saying "Goedkoop is duurkoop",

 

Ek weet ek is besig om pedanties te wees, maar die idioom is "goedkoop koop is duur koop".

[Barend de Arend]

The Afrikaans saying "Goedkoop is duurkoop",  is underlined by the English version "The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of a cheap price".

Tyre choice is critical if strength, reliability, and performance is needed.  If not, buy the cheapies but bear in mind that there will be more downtime and replacing them more often means not much saved in the long run.

 

In Italian it's translated as "I'm too poor to buy cheap shoes."