How are the sidewalls? On mtb tires, I find S-works to have very fragile sidewalls.
Really a rhetorical question though, we all know the TB is the gravel tire of the gods.
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I havenāt really had to think about them which I think means theyāre decent? Some of the tracks and trails Iāve ridden are pretty gnarly and the tyres havenāt caused me any issues thus far.
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I recently bought a new road bike with 40 mm tyre clearance (Roubaix SL8) and Iād like to start venturing off-road, which I havenāt done before. I have just one wheelset for now. Thereās a lot of forest roads in various conditions near me. Would the bikeās 32 mm road tyres (on wide internal rims) and latex inner tubes be sufficient to start exploring or is the puncture risk too big?
Totally sufficient if youāre careful about picking good lines and not slamming into things.
If you like it, try some wider, knobbier (ignore the RH hype), tubeless tires which will let you run lower pressure for a comfier ride and better traction while still having less risk of flats.
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32mm is sufficient to ride relatively tame gravel / forest roadsā¦.but if it pretty chunky or technical, youāll need to be careful.
It wasnāt long ago that people were weighing 38ās vs. 40ās for Unbound and even 35ās were considered for tamer gravel like SBT.
Iāve ridding my roads bike w/ 23ās and even a TT bike on our gravel trails (multi-use trails that are very smooth hardpack with kitty-litter surface). Just gotta be aware of the limitations.
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How is the rambler front reaver rear combo?
I am comfortable going on category 1 gravel surface with the 30 mm Pirelli P Zero Race TLR - 32 mm WAM - on my 2019 Specialized Venge. I do not have kahunas big enough ride that bike on anything beyond cat 1 gravel.
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Iāve run Ramblers before and they are a perfectly good tire. Iād say the new Shwalbes with the new casing/compounds are both faster rolling and grippier at the same time.
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Well John Karrasch has just tested the RH Orcale Ridge on cat 2 gravel, I wonāt post the full results but it was the 5th slowest tyre heās testedā¦
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I ran the new Reaver HYPR-X 45s for a couple of months. I was quite happy with their grip in the loose-over-hardpack that is common in my area, and didnāt ever feel like I needed more traction on the front end, even though Iām generally a fan of mixed-tread setups. I was pretty happy with them until a got a 3 Dynaplug-sized gash in conditions that werenāt particularly threatening. I used it as an excuse to move to my current 45mm Schwalbe Pro RS/RX combo. The Schwalbes are heavier, but they seem to roll faster. The RS grip isnāt as good as the Reaver on the rear (expected), but its manageable. The RX on the front is really good. Iām a big fan of Tufo Thundero/Swampero 44s on my bike, in my local conditions, but the Schwalbes are right there (except for weight).
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The Thunderos right up there. Enough so that I canāt really justify switching to RX Pros, which is wonderful news for my wallet.
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As per a previous post, TBās are the tire of the gods. RH is the tire of the devil (although they have a godlike marketing department).
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Iād call it a rabbit-hole pseudo-science department.
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Yeah. The 1W difference is probably within the margin of error in the testing protocol, and pretty inconsequential in the real world. If youāre happy with the Thunderos for your conditions, it makes sense to stick with them.
Yes, was just discussing with an actual scientist the margin of error in these tests.
Based on peopleās experience, how would you rank the puncture protection of the Thundero, Caracal, TB and G One RX Pro?
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I rode the Thunderos for almost a year with no issue, but our gravel is pretty tame. But I would feel perfectly comfortable running them in chunky stuff.
I have been running TBās since April and again, no issues which includes several rides in NW Arkansas on some pretty chunky gravel. I know they are supposed to be prone to flats, but so far so good for me.
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Thundero HDs here with no punctures over the Traka 200 or The Gralloch.
Note I donāt know what impact the HD part of the tyre has on the rolling resistance.
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