Last week was "New Tire Week" here and I had a triple post day on Wednesday. I don't think that has happened since the Trans Iowa days of the late 00's.
Anyway, if you missed the Delium Tire introduction, you can find that HERE.
In this post I will cover installation, initial widths observed, and I will end on my initial ride impressions for each tire. Throughout all of my experiences so far, the one thing I keep remembering is that these tires cost $49.99 each. Most gravel tires these days are at a suggested retail of 10 to 30 dollars (and higher) a piece more than this. That matters. Keep this in mind as I go along.
Installation Impressions:
Expectations for how tires will set up tubeless have changed over the last several years. Especially so since my earliest forays into setting up 29"er tires tubeless in 2007. Now we have systems, better manufacturing tolerances, and better designs in tires and rims. (Hookless rims notwithstanding) That said, not every experience setting up tires tubeless is going to go well.
Such was the case with the Delium tires in this review. I have identified the issues that made it so that the only way these tires will mount correctly on a rim is with an air compressor. First off, the casings feel 'plasticky' and are not very compliant. This might be due to the quality of rubber Delium used here and it probably has a lot to do with the sidewall protection layer as well. Today's best puncture protection layers are almost as compliant as the non-puncture protected casings have been. So it stands to reason that a less expensive design, materials, or both that may affect the mounting experience were employed here.
AllRounder 700 X 43mm:
After mounting this tire to my Shimano GRX wheels I mounted those wheels to my Black Mountain Cycles MCD and went for an initial test ride. I aired up these tires to about 35psi. which allowed for a bit of 'sag' in the casings. I thought that these tires looked too narrow to be 43mm wide and with their rather rounded profile they looked like a fat road racer tire.
That said, they ended up measuring out at just a tic under 43mm at 42.98mm, So, given that this measurement was taken right after the initial mounting, I think it is safe to assume that the AllRounder is what it is marked as far as width goes.
The tires are very quiet, which was interesting. I also could not get away from the nagging sensation that these tires felt 'draggy', like a brake pad was laying against a rotor. But maybe this was just a first impression thing. I've learned that many times you will come away from something with an entirely different outlook if you try it a few times rather than just once. I also noted that this tire rode very smoothly.
On to the roll-down tests. The AllRounder came up in the lower half of "average" on the pavement section. On the gravel section it came up just a bit worse with a below average result. I will revisit this after a bit for several reasons, but one being that my test track has taken on some rain of late making the gravel portion a bit soft. With the more rounded casing of the AllRounder, this caused the tire to cut in more than roll over. So, look for this test to be done again in the next update.
Speed-X 700 X 40mm:
The very same experience setting up the tires was had with the Speed-X as I had with the AllRounder. Get an air compressor and these tires come onto the rim as they should. This isn't ideal for many folks, and it isn't what I would expect in 2024. These days it is something of a miss if your tubeless tire doesn't mount with a standard floor pump. That's my take, at any rate.
The Speed-X showed a flatter profile than the AllRounder and it looked like a 40mm tire as well. I ended up with a slightly wider tire than marked at 41+mm wide. However; I am using a Blunt SS rim from Velocity which is 26+mm wide internally, so that is affecting the outcome on the tire width as well.
The roll down test was slightly below average on the paved portion of the course and at the lower end of the average range on the gravel portion of the test. Ride quality was exactly as it was with the AllRounder - Very smooth, but I did not notice that annoying 'draggy' feeling as I had with the AllRounder.
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| Note how the tread design grabs little things? |
So Far...
Again, these are budget-friendly retail priced tires and I do not believe you are going to get premium materials and design in a bicycle tire without the tires costing a lot more than $49.99 each. That said, I have, as mentioned in the opener post, tested similarly priced tires with a similar intention from American Classic. So, I will draw my comparisons from those tires.
The Good:
Both tires were really smooth and quiet riding tires. Perhaps the unique Dual Zone casing construction Delium is using has merit. The way the tires mounted I wouldn't have suspected that they would be anything other than harsh feeling. That turned out not to be the case at all.
Both tires come out at advertised width, which is refreshing to see. This was better than the competition's tires I tested. I will continue to monitor the width to see if the casings stretch any and I will report back in my next update.
Air retention seems to be at least 'normal' for tubeless tires. I will revisit this also in an upcoming post.
The Not-So-Good:
Mounting these is not happening without an air compressor. I doubt that even those fancy floor pumps with a tubeless mounting blast could handle these tires, as it took a few seconds of high pressure air to get these to behave. Even a high-flow tubeless valve didn't help. The Delium tires are some of the most difficult tires to mount tubeless I have come across recently.
These tires don't have the greatest initial roll-down results. That may change with some miles put in on them. So, stay tuned for a possible change here.
That 'draggy' feeling of the AllRounder was not fun. I hope that this changes as the tire breaks in.
Stay tuned for an update in a few weeks....
IMO tires (and tire pressure) can really make or break a bike. I’m not going to sweat an extra $50 per tire to make my $3000+ bike faster, more comfortable and have better traction, all while having decent puncture resistance. Having lower cost options is great if they at least perform well in all aspects. But I’m not compromising any category to save a few bucks. Personally I want the best tires (for my use) that I can get.
ReplyDelete@Nooge - That is a completely valid and understandable viewpoint. I don't think these tires are really intended for a buyer like you though.
ReplyDeleteThis probably - in my opinion - is a tire brand aimed at those who are upgrading entry level gravel bikes, which use wire bead tires, to their first foldable, tubeless tires. That scenario makes more sense for these tires.
It is why I am stressing how much these tires cost and how that should be viewed against what you are getting from those tires. Not how they compare to tires costing a lot more money, which, I think we all can agree, SHOULD be better tires than these are. But there are reasons people spend a lot or a little, and in some cases, it is a budgetary thing. In those cases, saving $50.00 and still getting decent tires for the amount that they can afford makes it worth sweating those details.