It's About The Tires

Schwalbe G One 29 X 2.25" - Going on the Fargo Gen 1

And Now, The Gravel Worlds Tire Choice!

Tires, tires, and more tires. The last thing to go on your wheels and the first thing that touches the surface of whatever you are riding on. Yes.....tires are important. I have tried hundreds of different tires, and while most are good, not many are great. I suppose this is why we keep searching for that "one" tire that will be "magic", whatever that might mean. I think that changes almost daily.

Anyway.......speaking of "one", I have chosen to try these new, poofy Schwalbe G One Allround tires for the Fargo Gen I bike. They are, of course, tubeless, and they are wider than anything I've had on this bike since......, I think I tried the 27.5 X 2.8" WTB tires on there but they were juuuust too big. And too small a diameter too. Anyway, big, floaty tires are going to be a good choice at Gravel Worlds because (a) I am big and need a bigger tire there, and (b), their gravel is looser and sandier than ours is here.

Wheels will be prepped and then tires will get mounted and tested out this weekend. I think I'll be using some wheels that might come as a bit of a surprise to some of you out there. Stay tuned for that....

Some Extraterrestrials will have a limited edition grey sidewall. Image courtesy of Surly

Surly Does Tubeless (Finally)

Okay, with that "exciting" news out of the way, (HA!), I have fund out just today that Surly have finally made their tire line tubeless. What'd that take? Only about five years too long, but at least they have done it. Yes folks- their entire folding bead tire line up is available tubeless now. You may find certain models "missing", and I would surmise that these have been discontinued. I had to wonder when I saw several e-commerce sites dumping certain Surly tire models at close out pricing a couple of months ago. I figured something was up and now we know. Those closed out tire models are the ones that aren't being carried over, so check out that link to find out if your favorite Surly tire model still exists.

They have the Knard 41's in tubeless now and a 42mm Extraterrestrial in tubeless as well. Both 700c, of course, but 650B variants also exist. I always liked that Knard 41mm tire but I always thought right along with that thought that this tire never should have existed non-tubeless. It was a big miss on Surly's part to not get that tire under more riders. Now? Pfft! There's a million other garvel tires these days. Getting that "foot in the door" opportunity has passed Surly by. But that said- you should try the Knard 41. 

And of all the tires to keep around, they kept the Nate? Weird. Anyway..... Another tire that always should have been tubeless- the 29" X 3" Knard. 'Bout time on that too. Ditto on Bud and Lou. Good job Surly! Hopefully not too late to matter.

Bigger EMP's:

Earlier this year I tried out some 700 X 38mm Donnelly EMP tires on my Black Mountain Cycles "Orange Crush" #49. In fact, I just rode on those tires again last Saturday, and don't ya know- I was wishing for wider ones? Well, wish granted. Donnelly announced a new choice in sizes for the EMP at 700 X 45mm and 650 B X 47mm.

Donnelly EMP tire

These tires are a bit more aggressively treaded than say, a Gravel King SK, or a Riddler for sure, so if you are not into that, look elsewhere, but if you run a lot of dirt roads, or if you get off on sketchier terrain often, give these a look. The 700 X 45mm size makes these a viable "MTB-Lite" sort of tire, I think.

Kind of like a WTB Nano 40, in that regard, which reminds me, I've seen a lot of bikes with Nano 40's lately, and not OEM stock ones either. Weird! The Nano 40 was one of the, if not the first tubeless ready gravel specific tire, and many folks still dig it, but as you know, you are only as good as anything else if you have the latest design in tires. Nano 40's look slow and too knobby to many, but hey! It's good to see folks still digging them and they are just fine on gravel. Especially looser, rockier stuff.

So, there is a bit of "tire news" for y'all. I know I generally keep "newsy" stuff back for Fridays, but this is specific to tires and I am sure I'll find something to jabber about Friday anyway. In fact, I already have two things waiting for Friday anyway.

As always- Thank you for stopping by today!

It's About The Tires

Schwalbe G One 29 X 2.25" - Going on the Fargo Gen 1

And Now, The Gravel Worlds Tire Choice!

Tires, tires, and more tires. The last thing to go on your wheels and the first thing that touches the surface of whatever you are riding on. Yes.....tires are important. I have tried hundreds of different tires, and while most are good, not many are great. I suppose this is why we keep searching for that "one" tire that will be "magic", whatever that might mean. I think that changes almost daily.

Anyway.......speaking of "one", I have chosen to try these new, poofy Schwalbe G One Allround tires for the Fargo Gen I bike. They are, of course, tubeless, and they are wider than anything I've had on this bike since......, I think I tried the 27.5 X 2.8" WTB tires on there but they were juuuust too big. And too small a diameter too. Anyway, big, floaty tires are going to be a good choice at Gravel Worlds because (a) I am big and need a bigger tire there, and (b), their gravel is looser and sandier than ours is here.

Wheels will be prepped and then tires will get mounted and tested out this weekend. I think I'll be using some wheels that might come as a bit of a surprise to some of you out there. Stay tuned for that....

Some Extraterrestrials will have a limited edition grey sidewall. Image courtesy of Surly

Surly Does Tubeless (Finally)

Okay, with that "exciting" news out of the way, (HA!), I have fund out just today that Surly have finally made their tire line tubeless. What'd that take? Only about five years too long, but at least they have done it. Yes folks- their entire folding bead tire line up is available tubeless now. You may find certain models "missing", and I would surmise that these have been discontinued. I had to wonder when I saw several e-commerce sites dumping certain Surly tire models at close out pricing a couple of months ago. I figured something was up and now we know. Those closed out tire models are the ones that aren't being carried over, so check out that link to find out if your favorite Surly tire model still exists.

They have the Knard 41's in tubeless now and a 42mm Extraterrestrial in tubeless as well. Both 700c, of course, but 650B variants also exist. I always liked that Knard 41mm tire but I always thought right along with that thought that this tire never should have existed non-tubeless. It was a big miss on Surly's part to not get that tire under more riders. Now? Pfft! There's a million other garvel tires these days. Getting that "foot in the door" opportunity has passed Surly by. But that said- you should try the Knard 41. 

And of all the tires to keep around, they kept the Nate? Weird. Anyway..... Another tire that always should have been tubeless- the 29" X 3" Knard. 'Bout time on that too. Ditto on Bud and Lou. Good job Surly! Hopefully not too late to matter.

Bigger EMP's:

Earlier this year I tried out some 700 X 38mm Donnelly EMP tires on my Black Mountain Cycles "Orange Crush" #49. In fact, I just rode on those tires again last Saturday, and don't ya know- I was wishing for wider ones? Well, wish granted. Donnelly announced a new choice in sizes for the EMP at 700 X 45mm and 650 B X 47mm.

Donnelly EMP tire

These tires are a bit more aggressively treaded than say, a Gravel King SK, or a Riddler for sure, so if you are not into that, look elsewhere, but if you run a lot of dirt roads, or if you get off on sketchier terrain often, give these a look. The 700 X 45mm size makes these a viable "MTB-Lite" sort of tire, I think.

Kind of like a WTB Nano 40, in that regard, which reminds me, I've seen a lot of bikes with Nano 40's lately, and not OEM stock ones either. Weird! The Nano 40 was one of the, if not the first tubeless ready gravel specific tire, and many folks still dig it, but as you know, you are only as good as anything else if you have the latest design in tires. Nano 40's look slow and too knobby to many, but hey! It's good to see folks still digging them and they are just fine on gravel. Especially looser, rockier stuff.

So, there is a bit of "tire news" for y'all. I know I generally keep "newsy" stuff back for Fridays, but this is specific to tires and I am sure I'll find something to jabber about Friday anyway. In fact, I already have two things waiting for Friday anyway.

As always- Thank you for stopping by today!

Friday News And Views

Mail bag

Trans Iowa v10: Today one lucky Trans Iowa vet will get the last spot on the roster for Veterans and that part of the Trans Iowa v10 story will have been told. All that will be left to do is to bring on board 41 more Rookies and Trans Iowa v10's roster will be full.

So far it has turned out to be a solid, stacked field. I hear rumors of some Rookies waiting in the wings that may prove to be the "next Sattler or Wince" in next Spring's Trans Iowa. I've heard of plans to break the 24 hour barrier, and I've heard plans for a fixed gear attempt. I even heard that Ira Ryan was thinking about coming back to run Trans Iowa! One thing that is a common denominator- almost everyone is saying this is the catalyst to getting fit over the Winter months.

Keep in mind that Vets and Finisher registration is closed.  Rookie cards will be accepted starting Monday, November 18th until we fill up the remaining 41 spots on the T.I.v10 roster. I predict it will fill up in two days.

Generally speaking, the registration runs its course and then there is that quiet period up until about March when I get out to start doing course recon to verify cues. However; this year there is a little something extra I am involved with. I'd like to take a few lines here to talk about it again....

See this documentary at the T.I.clinic.

Trans Iowa Clinic: This is a unique opportunity for veterans and rookies of Trans Iowa alike to get into the brains of a few Trans Iowa riders that have finished Trans Iowa and know what they are talking about. By the way- you do not have to be registered to ride in Trans Iowa to attend! Maybe you'll be looking to do Dirty Kanza, or the Royal 162, or the Alexander, or maybe even Tour Divide someday. Cool! Come on down to Des Moines on December 7th at 5:30pm and visit us at Tacopocalypse located at 621 Des Moines Street, Des Moines 50309. We'll have food available to purchase, a viewing of "300 Miles of Gravel", and a bag of goodies from Hammer Nutrition to take home. 

We will have a Q&A session where you will be able to ask our small panel of experts questions and see bicycles set up for Trans Iowa. Ask gear questions, nutrition questions, strategy questions, or just come to hang out. It'll all be done in a fun, laid back atmosphere. Expect to spend about 3-3.5 hours with us.

Again, this happens at 5:30pm on December 7th at Tacopocalypse in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Admission is free, but we ask that you RSVP and a spot will be reserved for you. Space is limited to 50 folks, so don't hesitate to e-mail your intention to attend at g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 

New Fat Bike Event: The fat bike racing scene keeps growing at a pace that I find pretty amazing. Here's one that just popped onto the scene and sounds like it will be a pretty cool event. It's called the "RiddleBox Fat Bike Race".  They will have two distances available and all bikes are welcome that can do off roading, but anything skinnier than 3.8" will be put into a different category. 

It's being put on by Two Wheeler Dealer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They seem to be big fat bike proponents and the event seems like it will have the vibe and feel of Triple D over in Dubuque. Might be worth checking out for you fat bikers here in the Mid-West and it looks like a fun way to start out the Winter riding season. Me? Well, it is the day before my lovely bride's birthday, and I hadn't ought to mess with that! 

Knard Time

Planning a Weekend Ride: Saturday will be a day when many will be "Jingle Crossing", or doing something more constructive with their lives, but I think I'll be out doing some more ride time with the Knard 41's and those Mavic Drift Winter shoes. 

They are talking rain, so maybe I ought to toss on the fenders. Maybe I'll get around to that here, but I also have that little SKS strap on rear mud guard that most likely will be the way I go. Why? Because I have a lot going on and not a lot of time to fiddle with Allen head screws and plastic fenders. 

Or maybe I'll just chose to trundle the Green Belt, but I understand that the bow hunters are out looking for deer, so maybe that is not an advisable path to pursue. Not that I would be in danger from any malicious hunters, because they are not that way here, but an accident? More likely when you have guys out there with compound bows and razor sharp arrow points. If I wait until it is dark, it is game on, so maybe if the fat bike wins out, the ride will be in the dark.  

Well, that's it for this Friday! Have a great weekend and ride those bicycles folks!

Friday News And Views

Mail bag

Trans Iowa v10: Today one lucky Trans Iowa vet will get the last spot on the roster for Veterans and that part of the Trans Iowa v10 story will have been told. All that will be left to do is to bring on board 41 more Rookies and Trans Iowa v10's roster will be full.

So far it has turned out to be a solid, stacked field. I hear rumors of some Rookies waiting in the wings that may prove to be the "next Sattler or Wince" in next Spring's Trans Iowa. I've heard of plans to break the 24 hour barrier, and I've heard plans for a fixed gear attempt. I even heard that Ira Ryan was thinking about coming back to run Trans Iowa! One thing that is a common denominator- almost everyone is saying this is the catalyst to getting fit over the Winter months.

Keep in mind that Vets and Finisher registration is closed.  Rookie cards will be accepted starting Monday, November 18th until we fill up the remaining 41 spots on the T.I.v10 roster. I predict it will fill up in two days.

Generally speaking, the registration runs its course and then there is that quiet period up until about March when I get out to start doing course recon to verify cues. However; this year there is a little something extra I am involved with. I'd like to take a few lines here to talk about it again....

See this documentary at the T.I.clinic.

Trans Iowa Clinic: This is a unique opportunity for veterans and rookies of Trans Iowa alike to get into the brains of a few Trans Iowa riders that have finished Trans Iowa and know what they are talking about. By the way- you do not have to be registered to ride in Trans Iowa to attend! Maybe you'll be looking to do Dirty Kanza, or the Royal 162, or the Alexander, or maybe even Tour Divide someday. Cool! Come on down to Des Moines on December 7th at 5:30pm and visit us at Tacopocalypse located at 621 Des Moines Street, Des Moines 50309. We'll have food available to purchase, a viewing of "300 Miles of Gravel", and a bag of goodies from Hammer Nutrition to take home. 

We will have a Q&A session where you will be able to ask our small panel of experts questions and see bicycles set up for Trans Iowa. Ask gear questions, nutrition questions, strategy questions, or just come to hang out. It'll all be done in a fun, laid back atmosphere. Expect to spend about 3-3.5 hours with us.

Again, this happens at 5:30pm on December 7th at Tacopocalypse in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Admission is free, but we ask that you RSVP and a spot will be reserved for you. Space is limited to 50 folks, so don't hesitate to e-mail your intention to attend at g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 

New Fat Bike Event: The fat bike racing scene keeps growing at a pace that I find pretty amazing. Here's one that just popped onto the scene and sounds like it will be a pretty cool event. It's called the "RiddleBox Fat Bike Race".  They will have two distances available and all bikes are welcome that can do off roading, but anything skinnier than 3.8" will be put into a different category. 

It's being put on by Two Wheeler Dealer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They seem to be big fat bike proponents and the event seems like it will have the vibe and feel of Triple D over in Dubuque. Might be worth checking out for you fat bikers here in the Mid-West and it looks like a fun way to start out the Winter riding season. Me? Well, it is the day before my lovely bride's birthday, and I hadn't ought to mess with that! 

Knard Time

Planning a Weekend Ride: Saturday will be a day when many will be "Jingle Crossing", or doing something more constructive with their lives, but I think I'll be out doing some more ride time with the Knard 41's and those Mavic Drift Winter shoes. 

They are talking rain, so maybe I ought to toss on the fenders. Maybe I'll get around to that here, but I also have that little SKS strap on rear mud guard that most likely will be the way I go. Why? Because I have a lot going on and not a lot of time to fiddle with Allen head screws and plastic fenders. 

Or maybe I'll just chose to trundle the Green Belt, but I understand that the bow hunters are out looking for deer, so maybe that is not an advisable path to pursue. Not that I would be in danger from any malicious hunters, because they are not that way here, but an accident? More likely when you have guys out there with compound bows and razor sharp arrow points. If I wait until it is dark, it is game on, so maybe if the fat bike wins out, the ride will be in the dark.  

Well, that's it for this Friday! Have a great weekend and ride those bicycles folks!

Surly & Tired Part 3

Okay, I posted a review of these tires on Gravel Grinder News that you can check out by clicking the link, but here are a few "extra" observations on these interesting tires.

I had someone ask about whether or not I would/have run these tubeless. See, here's the thing about tubeless tires that are not really tubeless- you are pushing a product to do something it was not designed to do. 

First of all, I have done exactly this, I have run a non-tubeless tire tubeless. I have friends that do this all the time. It is not at all uncommon. However; there are more than a few cautions and one should not extenuate the difficulties and risks involved here. In other words- you'd better be damn sure you know what you are getting yourself into and how to do it. That takes experience. I feel that I've gained a lot of exactly that in the several years I have been messing with this now.

So, back to the Knard 41's. I took a good long look at them when I got them. They are made by Innova Tire. Okay, that may or may not mean anything to you, but that raises a red flag in my mind for reasons I won't get into here. Let's just say it isn't a plus for going tubeless and leave it at that for now. Secondly, the Knard 41's were a loose fit on the supposedly tubeless ready HED Ardennes + rims. Looser than anything I've yet installed on those rims. Strike two......

Finally, I just don't feel that running tubeless tires under 45mm is worth it from my perspective. I set up some 35's once as tubeless. It was merely a slightly better feel than with tubes. However; it was a complete pain to get the tires set up tubeless and the smaller volume of the tires meant that tubeless maintenance happened sooner than later. That all equals a lot of time invested for not a lot of gain- again, my opinion only there. I don't have flatting issues with tubes, nor do I feel the rolling resistance or ride feel is that detrimental with a 40mm tire with a tube installed.

Obviously that isn't going to be everyone's opinion, but I still feel that the Knard 41's are a bad candidate for tubeless conversion. There are other tires I would try first for that, but one other thing stops me there. I just do not want another tubeless tire set up to look after now. I have more tubeless set ups around here than I can take care of as it is. Adding another would be simply madness for me. I only do a tubeless set up now where it makes a big difference. As in big, 29"er mountain biking tires.

Well, so much for that. Tubed gravel road tires. Easy. Quick to repair. Roll along just fine. I'm good with tubes in those Knard 41's then, and I will not go try and ruin it all by going tubeless. Nosiree! The Knard 41's do really well with tubes too. I think they roll loose gravel and dirt great as I have them set up. A fine tire there, but not a tubeless tire. Not for me!

Surly & Tired Part 3

Okay, I posted a review of these tires on Gravel Grinder News that you can check out by clicking the link, but here are a few "extra" observations on these interesting tires.

I had someone ask about whether or not I would/have run these tubeless. See, here's the thing about tubeless tires that are not really tubeless- you are pushing a product to do something it was not designed to do. 

First of all, I have done exactly this, I have run a non-tubeless tire tubeless. I have friends that do this all the time. It is not at all uncommon. However; there are more than a few cautions and one should not extenuate the difficulties and risks involved here. In other words- you'd better be damn sure you know what you are getting yourself into and how to do it. That takes experience. I feel that I've gained a lot of exactly that in the several years I have been messing with this now.

So, back to the Knard 41's. I took a good long look at them when I got them. They are made by Innova Tire. Okay, that may or may not mean anything to you, but that raises a red flag in my mind for reasons I won't get into here. Let's just say it isn't a plus for going tubeless and leave it at that for now. Secondly, the Knard 41's were a loose fit on the supposedly tubeless ready HED Ardennes + rims. Looser than anything I've yet installed on those rims. Strike two......

Finally, I just don't feel that running tubeless tires under 45mm is worth it from my perspective. I set up some 35's once as tubeless. It was merely a slightly better feel than with tubes. However; it was a complete pain to get the tires set up tubeless and the smaller volume of the tires meant that tubeless maintenance happened sooner than later. That all equals a lot of time invested for not a lot of gain- again, my opinion only there. I don't have flatting issues with tubes, nor do I feel the rolling resistance or ride feel is that detrimental with a 40mm tire with a tube installed.

Obviously that isn't going to be everyone's opinion, but I still feel that the Knard 41's are a bad candidate for tubeless conversion. There are other tires I would try first for that, but one other thing stops me there. I just do not want another tubeless tire set up to look after now. I have more tubeless set ups around here than I can take care of as it is. Adding another would be simply madness for me. I only do a tubeless set up now where it makes a big difference. As in big, 29"er mountain biking tires.

Well, so much for that. Tubed gravel road tires. Easy. Quick to repair. Roll along just fine. I'm good with tubes in those Knard 41's then, and I will not go try and ruin it all by going tubeless. Nosiree! The Knard 41's do really well with tubes too. I think they roll loose gravel and dirt great as I have them set up. A fine tire there, but not a tubeless tire. Not for me!

Surly & Tired Part 2

Taking the long way home....

I have had a chance to ride the Surly Knard 41's some and it's been interesting so far. The first ride was anyway! I generally will take a newer tire in this size range and use a 40psi baseline as a starting point. Some tires do better at slightly higher pressures, some do better at slightly lower pressures, but 40psi is where I start out riding at.

Okay, no problem, right? I get up one morning last week, set the pressures while I am in a bit of a hurry to get out the door to work, and then I am on my way. The day is clear and cool, and the winds are out of the Northwest. Precisely the main direction of travel I take going to work. Besides this, it is mostly uphill as well.

Okay, so intially I have some rougher grass and dirt to traverse, then I get down to some bike path for a bit, then onto a really badly busted up road which gets better as you go along until it is "normal" pavement. I am thinking as I go along that these tires are stiff or something. I felt like I was dragging an anchor. But, I cautioned myself by reminding myself that I was riding uphill into a headwind. It's best not to get too judgmental in these conditions, I thought, and so I pushed onward, but it just felt bad. Sluggish and slow, but the rear tire didn't look overly squatty, as if I'd missed on the air pressures. Hmmm...maybe these need more than 40psi then?

Camouflaged single track.

Well.........they certainly needed more than 20psi! Somehow I blew it and misread my gauge at home and missed the pressure by 20psi. No wonder they felt draggy! Okay, so for the ride home, I double checked that I had 40psi in there, and then I set off for the long way home.

Now.......that's waaaaay better! More like what I was expecting now. The Knard 41's felt very "Clement-ish", if that makes any sense to folks out there. They even make a sing-songy noise on pavement like the MSO's do. Maybe a bit different, but similar.

I decide to hit some single track and see what the Knards might do. Well, on the leafy, dry single track they flew along just as fast as if I had put 2.1"ers on the Orange Crush. With the higher pressure, I could distinctly see a "center ridge" of knobs that was a tiny bit higher than the low "U" shaped profile which made for a faster feel and good grip in corners. Hey.....they are still skinny tires, so don't expect a Velcro-like grip, but for what they are, they rip along in the dirt well enough.

No gravel yet. No "real" gravel, anyway, but that's coming soon.

Surly & Tired Part 2

Taking the long way home....

I have had a chance to ride the Surly Knard 41's some and it's been interesting so far. The first ride was anyway! I generally will take a newer tire in this size range and use a 40psi baseline as a starting point. Some tires do better at slightly higher pressures, some do better at slightly lower pressures, but 40psi is where I start out riding at.

Okay, no problem, right? I get up one morning last week, set the pressures while I am in a bit of a hurry to get out the door to work, and then I am on my way. The day is clear and cool, and the winds are out of the Northwest. Precisely the main direction of travel I take going to work. Besides this, it is mostly uphill as well.

Okay, so intially I have some rougher grass and dirt to traverse, then I get down to some bike path for a bit, then onto a really badly busted up road which gets better as you go along until it is "normal" pavement. I am thinking as I go along that these tires are stiff or something. I felt like I was dragging an anchor. But, I cautioned myself by reminding myself that I was riding uphill into a headwind. It's best not to get too judgmental in these conditions, I thought, and so I pushed onward, but it just felt bad. Sluggish and slow, but the rear tire didn't look overly squatty, as if I'd missed on the air pressures. Hmmm...maybe these need more than 40psi then?

Camouflaged single track.

Well.........they certainly needed more than 20psi! Somehow I blew it and misread my gauge at home and missed the pressure by 20psi. No wonder they felt draggy! Okay, so for the ride home, I double checked that I had 40psi in there, and then I set off for the long way home.

Now.......that's waaaaay better! More like what I was expecting now. The Knard 41's felt very "Clement-ish", if that makes any sense to folks out there. They even make a sing-songy noise on pavement like the MSO's do. Maybe a bit different, but similar.

I decide to hit some single track and see what the Knards might do. Well, on the leafy, dry single track they flew along just as fast as if I had put 2.1"ers on the Orange Crush. With the higher pressure, I could distinctly see a "center ridge" of knobs that was a tiny bit higher than the low "U" shaped profile which made for a faster feel and good grip in corners. Hey.....they are still skinny tires, so don't expect a Velcro-like grip, but for what they are, they rip along in the dirt well enough.

No gravel yet. No "real" gravel, anyway, but that's coming soon.