Kenda K760 Trakmaster II: Long Term Review

I've run the Kenda Trakmaster II on my 2024 Voge 300 Rally, the bike I also use for grading lanes for Holloway, on a mixture of road riding and UK green laning.

If I had to describe the Trakmaster in one sentence, it would be: it's an off-road tyre that happens to be road legal. And I mean that as a compliment.

If your priority is getting off the tarmac and finding out what a trail actually looks like after a week of rain, the Trakmaster makes a lot of sense. If your priority is carving up B-roads on the way there, considerably less so.

Off-road performance

This is where the Trakmaster earns its keep. The tread is aggressive, with large, widely spaced blocks that give it plenty of bite on loose surfaces. On gravel, dirt, grass and dry trails, it feels exactly like the sort of tyre you want underneath you.

There's a lot of confidence from the rear in particular. You can get on the throttle and let the tyre work rather than constantly worrying about spinning it up. On loose climbs and rougher trails, the ability of the tread to dig into the surface is immediately noticeable.

It also copes well when the surface starts becoming unpredictable. Loose gravel over hardpack, stones, grass over mud, ruts and similar typical green-lane conditions are exactly where this tyre feels at home.

It's not a competition enduro tyre, and I wouldn't pretend it is. But for recreational trail riding, it's a very capable bit of rubber.

Mud

Mud is another strong point. The open tread gives the tyre a reasonable chance of clearing itself rather than immediately becoming a slick. It's particularly good when you need to maintain momentum through soft sections.

Of course, there are limits. Get into really deep, wet British clay and eventually anything short of a proper mud/enduro tyre is going to struggle. But compared with a road-biased adventure tyre, the difference is substantial.

This is one of those tyres where you can look at a muddy lane and think "I'll give it a go", rather than "I'm probably going to regret this."

Gravel and loose terrain

Excellent. This is probably the surface where I like the Trakmaster most. The bike can move around underneath you without feeling unpredictable, and the tread gives you something to work with.

There's a certain amount of squirm from the blocks, particularly when you're pushing harder, but that's part of the character of an aggressive knobbly. Once you get used to it, you start trusting the tyre. And that's what I want from an off-road tyre.

But then you get back onto the road…

And the compromises become very obvious. The Trakmaster isn't terrible on the road. You can ride it perfectly well. But it isn't particularly pleasant compared with a more road-biased adventure tyre.

It's noisier. There's more vibration. The steering doesn't feel as precise. And the tyre doesn't give you the same confidence when you're leaning into a fast road corner. The difference is particularly noticeable if you've just come off something like a Michelin Anakee Wild. The Trakmaster feels like a knobbly tyre. Because it is one.

Wet roads are where I'd be particularly cautious. It isn't that the tyre suddenly becomes dangerous, but you've got to remember what you're riding on. Smooth inputs and sensible speeds make much more sense than trying to ride it like a sports-tourer. I've never felt the need to baby it on ordinary roads, but I wouldn't choose it specifically for road riding.

Road noise

If you're used to road tyres, you'll notice it. There's a constant hum from the tread, and at higher speeds it becomes increasingly obvious. Again, I don't really regard this as a fault. It's the trade-off for having a tyre with a much more aggressive tread pattern. You're essentially choosing where you want the performance. Kenda has chosen to put it in the dirt.

Longevity

This is probably the biggest downside for me. On my Voge, with mixed road and trail use, I'm getting roughly 1,500–2,000 miles from them. That's obviously not brilliant mileage.

But the important thing is that a significant proportion of those miles are on tarmac, which is basically the enemy of an aggressive knobbly tyre. The more road riding you do, the less attractive the Trakmaster becomes from a cost-per-mile perspective.

If you're predominantly off-road, however, the relatively short lifespan is easier to justify. You're getting the performance you bought the tyre for. And I'd much rather have an aggressive tyre that wears relatively quickly than one that lasts forever but isn't particularly good at the job.

What other riders think

My experience is broadly consistent with what I've found from other riders who actually use the Trakmaster. The general consensus is that it is a very effective budget off-road tyre, particularly for gravel, dirt, trails and less-than-perfect surfaces, with the obvious compromise being road manners.

That's really the story of the Trakmaster. People who buy it expecting a 50/50 adventure tyre tend to be disappointed. People who buy it because they want a cheap, aggressive trail tyre tend to be much happier. And I fall firmly into the second group.

Would I buy them again?

Yes, but I'd buy them for a particular type of riding. If I knew I was going to spend a weekend concentrating on green lanes, particularly if the weather had been wet and muddy, I'd happily fit Trakmasters. If I was planning a 500-mile road trip with a bit of gravel thrown in, I wouldn't.

That's the key. The Trakmaster isn't trying to be everything. It's an off-road-first tyre. And as an off-road-first tyre, I think it's very good.

Score by surface

The Tyre Finder's own desk-researched score for this tyre lands within a few tenths of every one of these, for what that's worth, see the full spec breakdown.