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| Crushing leaves with Elwood |
I just got a set of some new tires from another new tire brand named Terrene Tires. While you may not have have heard about this company you likely know one of the guys behind it. (Read about that HERE) These are tires being reviewed on RidingGravel.com, by the way.
Anyway, I have tested a ton of tires before going back to 2006. Add in all the tires I have mounted and dismounted in my 17 years plus of wrenching on bikes and you could say that I have a pretty good handle on what a good bicycle tire is. I bring this up becuase of all the tires I have personally handled, these Terrene Elwoods are the most luxurious feeling tires I have touched. They just feel awesome in the hand. Soft and smooth. Almost not like rubber at all.
I know that may sound weird, but I was just struck by this when first touched them. Now I am finding out how they ride and so far..... Well, you'll have to wait for my first post on Riding Gravel for that take. I won't spoil it here. I will say that these are of the 650B X 47 size, which I find to be a nice compromise between weight, width, and diameter. Well, for a gravel road rig, I find that to be a good thing. You can also bomb some double and single track with such a set up, so it could make for some interesting route choices you wouldn't otherwise choose to ride.
That said, I sure hope Terrene comes out with a 700 X 2.0"-2,1" version of the Elwood. It would make a killer tire for a Fargo!
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| Rocky Mountain Suzy-Q: Ya know.....because Halloween is coming! |
A year or so ago Trek came out with their 27.5" sized fat bike wheels on some models of Farleys. Were they daft, or were they on to something? I know a guy that has one of those bikes and he pretty much parked his normal mtb bike for the 27.5 X 4 wheeled Farley fat bike. He claimed it was far more fun and capable.
Well, Trek was the only game in town then and they were the only ones making tires under the Bontrager label. That's okay because they are good tires, but was this just a Trek thing? Now it seems that maybe it isn't, and more of this sort of rig will be showing up in the future.
Rocky Mountain is the next brand to utilize this fat bike wheel size and they got Maxxis to provide the tires. You can bet other factories are working on 27.5" fat bike models too. I bet we'll be seeing such beasts coming out in the future. It makes sense for those folks wanting to use these fatter tires all year long, and maybe even as a bike packing platform.
The registration process continues as the Rookie class for T.I.v13 is sending in their cards to potentially have a lottery for the chance to ride in T.I.v13. So far, as of yesterday's mail, there were 26 entrants so far and with just over a week to go, it still will be touch and go on whether we'll see enough entries for a lottery. Today's haul and Saturday's deliveries will probably determine whether or not we'll get over the 55 rider limit on the Rookie Class field. Stay tuned on that front.....
I'm still doing some work on the course. I have a workaround for one section of pavement. As for the first 40-ish miles, I am still contemplating an exact route, but I do have an idea for what to do. Yes......there will be a B Level Maintenance road in the first section. Why not? It isn't a "real" Trans Iowa without some dirt and mud thrown in, right?
Okay, have a great weekend and get outside and enjoy yourselves on a bicycle!
2 comments:
What do you see as the advantage of 27.5x4 vs the "traditional" 26x4–5?
@bwe: Trek claims that the contact patch of the 27.5" X 4" tire is a different shape and floats better than that of a 26" X 4" tire. I also believe that the slight diameter advantage of 27.5" X 4" comes at no weight penalty.
Of course, I have not tried the bikes myself, but if these advantages hold true, then I can see why riders would want to buy in to this wheel size vs traditional fat bike 26" based wheels.
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