Consistent, Grippy and Fast

By: Joe Mackey

REVIEWED

• Tire: Kenda Booster Pro

• Type: 120 TPI Tubeless Ready

• Size: 700x40

• Price: $65

• Weight: 495 grams

• Also available in 700x33 & 700x37

Kenda is a company that always fills me with nostalgia. The Nevegal and Small Block Eight are iconic tires to me, they were the first tire I put on my first real mountain bike and the first tire I sold at my first bike shop job. Kenda was the gold standard at the time, Tomac approved and ridden. While several other players have surfaced in the tire market, Kenda is still producing quality tires. The Booster Pro is one of their newest iterations with a focus on the emerging gravel market.

The Booster Pro has a directional tread pattern with tightly spaced knobs. There’s very little room between the center, transition and shoulder knobs creating a consistent pattern and more importantly consistent traction. Kenda uses a new Race Compound for added grip in dry and loose conditions. Along with the new compound Kenda uses their GCT sidewall for added flat protection. Kenda offers the Booster without the GCT protection to save some weight but nothing is slower than walking your bike from a torn sidewall, so I always opt for the stronger casing. While you can get the Booster in 29-inch versions for your mountain bike, the gravel versions are only offered in 700c with 33, 37 and 40mm widths. Retail price for my set of tires is set at $65. 

Mounting up the Boosters on my wheels was about as easy as tire installations can go. The bead wasn’t too tight and settled into the rim at about 20psi. The width of the Booster measured as advertised at 40-millimeters at its widest point. After a couple months of riding the tires stretched to about 42mm which I would say is reasonable. My tire pressures varied but I spent a majority of my time in the mid to low 30’s. You could consider that a tad high, but I usually run slightly higher pressures to prevent pinch flats. Southern California isn’t known for having tacky dirt by any means but the Booster is about one of the grippiest tires I’ve ridden on my local gravel routes. The new race compound was extremely consistent and provided consistent grip at different tire pressures. Hitting steep pitches and punchy climbs the Boosters refused to break loose. 

The Boosters are one of the faster tires I’ve used on a gravel bike. Hitting long descents the tires held a line confidently and stayed connected to the dirt when transitioning into corners. The knob spacing was really noticed going in and out of corners. The shoulder knobs and sidewalls were well supported and didn’t fold or squirm when being pushed hard in corners.

While these are some of the best all-around gravel tires I’ve ridden, they did show some feathering on the knobs pretty early on. A large part of this is due to the softer compound, which I would take over less traction any day. All that to say, if you’re shopping for the highest mileage tire possible, this probably won’t be the best option. Overall the Booster Pro is a solid all-rounder with confident traction and support that I would run on just about any style of gravel. 

🖊 Joe Mackey | follow