Cool, I’m game to try em.
Any thoughts on how they are vs Challenge Gravel Grinder? Supple? Rolls fast? Good grip?
Is there anything else in the market that you’d consider if cost is no object?
Y’know every time I troll here for tubeless tire advice I’m always hoping you’ll chime in. Your guidance has always been on point. Thanks.
Not the tread you’re looking for but IRC Bokens are so good. As long as you’re not riding in mud there isn’t a better tire in that size way ATMO.
Edit:
But I haven’t ridden gravel grinders and really want to know.
Boken is REAL good. I’m running them on a bike now. Anecdotal evidence suggests they are the fastest 650bois out there. BUT not really a tire with tread.
I’ve always thought the RH approach is to use the highest tpi casing possible because the rubber just isn’t going to be as good as what Maxxis/Vittoria/etc are doing. Makes for a good ride and decent speed. The Maxxis approach seems to be sorting out speed with compound and tread first and then using a tougher, more reliable casing. The latter approach seems to give up a bit on pure ride quality, but if compared to what is happening on the 25-32mm front, it makes for faster tires.
Beyond that, Maxxis (and Vittoria) actually understand what tire knobs and siping do.
The Terreno dry is a great example. Literally Vittoria’s first “gravel” tire and it’s essentially perfect. The tread design is brilliant and the construction is equally good.
Maxxis is leaning on a bit older tread design, but they often take the “if it ain’t broke…” approach, and for good reason. Their history of tread design speaks for itself.
I have yet to ride the 650b rambler, but I did ride the 700x40 ones. They did what they were supposed to do.
I can vouch for this.
@halbritt Heath what was wrong with your Challenge tires?
I just go by Bicycle Rolling Resistance test results when selecting tires, I know it is not necessarily realistic but it is the only consistent set of data available. According to them the Terrano Dry is pretty poor in the RR department at 27 watts (vs 19 watts for the Strada Bianca). Of course it doesn’t account for numerous other factors in real-world riding.
Oh I have to say I am very satisfied with my Thunderbutts, they are actually better than the RH I had on there before. I was expecting them to be crappy because I’m always suspicious of tires with tread but they ride nice and smooth and I can even make it up dirt hills now
Nothing. I’m dithering on a bunch of bikes each with multiple wheel sets. Currently, the CAAD10 is wearing Challenge Strada Pro in 30mm which just barely fit and I love them. Running 'em at 50/55PSI f/r at just around 88kg. The CAAD10 also has a set of “climbing wheels” with Veloflex Corsa Evo 27mm. They are also great, very fast. great rubber, and have the best tread coverage of any of the fancy tubeless tires I’ve tried. I 'spect that’ll help with flats and such. The only downside is they don’t make any bigger sizes, but they’re good enough that I’ll run 'em until they wear out and probably throw a set of the Strada Pro on there.
On the “gravel” bike i.e the old Poprad rim brake guy, I’ve run Runny Barlow Pass, reasonably fast, fairly supple, but otherwise meh. I ran a set of G-One Speed, which I talked about up thread. They’re okay in terms of speed, but the rubber ain’t great and they take more pressure than they oughta to handle properly. More recently I’m running the Vittoria Terreno Dry in 700c x 38mm with the special casing. They’re awesome, at least as fast as any other 38mm tire I’ve run with great tread and rubber.
Now I’m dithering on a friend’s bike who wants 650b something and I’m trying to steer him away from Runny Ass. I also have a new Chinesium carbon gravel bike I’m putting together. 700c wheelset is on the boat headed my way and I have the hubs for the 650b wheel set, gonna order rims soon. Not sure what to run there. Probably I’ll swap the Vittorias over to the 700c wheelset and switch to Strada Biancha after I wear 'em out? Might run the Terreno Dry on the 650b or some kinda faster rolling MTB tire.
is anyone else here vain enough to pick gravel tires based on their sidewall color or is it just me?
in other news just picked up a set of Pirelli Gravel H tires in 700 x 40. will report back once the wheelset is built.
Sir, this is Tarck.
Tubeless tape is just poly strapping tape?
yeah most is tensilized polypropylene strapping tape. tesa 4289 or so is literally stan’s
Scotch 8896 if you want blue
Green powder coating masking tape works well too. Same plastic but the adhesive doesn’t leave a residue.
Anyone know where to find Tesa 4289 or 3M 8896 in 21mm width? I can find 19 (3/4") and 25 (1") on ebay, but had to resort to some genuine Stans for a couple i19 rims recently.
ive always gone a few mm wider than internal width. curved rim bed and all that
Yeah. 21-22mm works great for a 19mm rim. 25 seemed way too wide when I tried it - the tape was half way up the sides of the rim, which made it it hard to get the tape tightly adhered to the rim bed.
Supposedly it’s possible to cut into a wider roll to end up with a narrower strip of tape. I’m not sure my hand is steady enough to do it consistently, but I may give that a try.
i think squirrel set up a jig but basically mount a razor blade X mm up from your work surface and spin to win. let the table have the steady hands for you
Squirrel is a treasure.
Squirrel is an engineer 
An engineer with an abiding sense of matchy-match!
