Hey All, I ventured out to Foxboro, MA this morning despite the
blowing snow to try out the new Hakka WXC 300 Nokians.
They have 300 studs, aluminum retainers with tungsten carbide grippers (the part that
hits the ice), Kevlar bead, 65 tpi high puncture resistance, and they weigh only 695
grams. (This is not much more than a Velociraptor). The size is 26x 2.1 although I could
swear they seem narrower than that.
Mounting was easy. I went with the same orientation for both the front and back and ran
the full 43 psi tire pressure that the box recommended. After a two hour ride on roads and
trails, I would give them a "thumbs up".
They handled deep snow, ice, and everything in between very well. They were absolutely
flawless on ice. Only in the brown "mashed potato" snow were they a bit
squirrelly, but there was not much to grip. On bare pavement they were noisy and felt slow,
but needless to say that is not what they were designed for. In the few instances where I
had the choice between bare pavement and snow along the side of the road, I chose the snow
for a smoother, quieter ride.
The best thing about the Hakka's is that my bike does not feel like a heavy slug with
them on the bike! These tires are going to be winners for Nokian.
Home of the Winter Cyclist
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