More Tire Talk

The most recent Guitar Ted Podcast was about tires.

About a week ago, I wrote up a mini-series about tires and the questions folks have about them which end up, generally speaking, in a discussion that looks a whole lot like a discussion about religion. 

The tire theme is a VERY popular subject on the podcast I do, on Riding Gravel, and almost anywhere that there are more than two people in a forum online. I guess tires matter to y'all, and so I keep talking about them and writing about them here and elsewhere. 

In the latest "Guitar Ted Podcast" episode, I mention in the podcast that "air pressure is the most misunderstood thing about tires." I mentioned this in my mini-series briefly by saying the following:

"Tire pressures are another easy to understand difference here. But these settings should always change with weight, terrain concerns, and with regard to the weather conditions. Tire pressures are "set and forget' for many riders, but this is an oversimplification and those folks are cheating themselves of the best results that they could have. But then again, if you don't care......"

I made a mistake in that quote by saying simply that "Tire pressures are another easy to understand difference here." when I should have said "....easy to understand once you examine the reasons why." The thing is, most riders don't think about this, so they misunderstand, or maybe more accurately, are ignorant to, the differences tire pressure can make for a rider. 

In other words, you should carry a gauge and a pump for reasons of changing tire pressures more than you should for flat repairs. I said it on the podcast, but think about any motorsport: They make micro-adjustments to tire pressures all the time to effect various performance outcomes. We cyclists even practice this with our 'more sensitive to air pressure changes' tires such as fat bike tires or "plus sized" tires. (If you aren't doing pressures adjustments with fat bike tires, YOU NEED TO!) 

A tire's construction should inform tire pressure choices.

Not only should you be experimenting with tire pressures, you should also understand that how a tire is made should inform which tire pressures you should use. 

For instance, a tire that is simply a folding bead tire with no extra puncture protection belts or that is not tubeless can be run at a higher pressure and have a certain performance outcome. Now, switch that tire out for a puncture protected tire that is tubeless ready. What should you do? 

If you understand that puncture protection belts and that tubeless construction techniques make a tire sidewall stiffer, then you might understand why a lower pressure than you used with the first tire will help you reach the same/similar performance outcomes of that first tire. 

This can be illustrated by a tire I used when testing 29"er products from GEAX, (now Vittoria). I had run one of these tires which was not puncture protected and was used at about 28psi. When I got a hold of the armored tire in the same size and model, I had to lower my tire pressure into the upper teens to realize similar riding characteristics to the previous tire. 

Now, that is obviously an extreme example, but it illustrates that choosing an air pressure to run tires at arbitrarily and loosely based on the flawed maxim that "higher pressures roll better", is bad thinking. It is a mistake that many riders still make. 

Now, you may be thinking, "Okay Ted, but your examples are all for MTB and fat bike tires which you say are more sensitive to air pressures. What about gravel tires?" 

Even gravel tires, like this 40mm IRC Boken, are sensitive to air pressure changes.

Gravel tires respond to changes in air pressures also. The difference is that the amount of change is more to effect a change than it is with high air volume tires. 

So, for instance, my 'plus sized' Teravail 29" X 2.8" Coronado tires can be noticeably different in ride feel when changing from 18psi to 20psi. You can feel a BIG difference. Now, changing a gravel tire's pressure by 2 psi makes no discernible difference, but it makes a difference. If you want a discernible difference, you'll likely have to change the pressure by at least 5psi. So, I like to say that your "window" of hitting it right for what you are looking for is wider with a gravel tire than it is with a fatter, plus sized tire, or even a fat bike tire, where going 1psi either way is noticeable in terms of ride performance in snow or mud. 

Okay, so tire construction will help you choose tire pressures, and making changes in air pressures experimentally will help me dial in a "right" pressure for me and my riding style. But when you arrive at :The Pressure", you're done, right? 

Wrong!

 Conditions also will dictate what pressures you should be running. Are the roads you are going to be riding fairly clear of loose gravel and hard, or are these roads littered with fresh gravel? You need to adjust pressures accordingly. I mean, obviously, if you don't care, you can ride whatever pressures you want. This advice is for anyone wanting to arrive at the best performing tire and best ride feel that they can get. 

So, think about all that and see if it makes sense to you to try different air pressures or not. The bottom line? Just ride. You are better off riding your bike, no matter what the air pressures are, than not riding and over-thinking the minutiae of tire pressures. 

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

More Tire Talk

The most recent Guitar Ted Podcast was about tires.

About a week ago, I wrote up a mini-series about tires and the questions folks have about them which end up, generally speaking, in a discussion that looks a whole lot like a discussion about religion. 

The tire theme is a VERY popular subject on the podcast I do, on Riding Gravel, and almost anywhere that there are more than two people in a forum online. I guess tires matter to y'all, and so I keep talking about them and writing about them here and elsewhere. 

In the latest "Guitar Ted Podcast" episode, I mention in the podcast that "air pressure is the most misunderstood thing about tires." I mentioned this in my mini-series briefly by saying the following:

"Tire pressures are another easy to understand difference here. But these settings should always change with weight, terrain concerns, and with regard to the weather conditions. Tire pressures are "set and forget' for many riders, but this is an oversimplification and those folks are cheating themselves of the best results that they could have. But then again, if you don't care......"

I made a mistake in that quote by saying simply that "Tire pressures are another easy to understand difference here." when I should have said "....easy to understand once you examine the reasons why." The thing is, most riders don't think about this, so they misunderstand, or maybe more accurately, are ignorant to, the differences tire pressure can make for a rider. 

In other words, you should carry a gauge and a pump for reasons of changing tire pressures more than you should for flat repairs. I said it on the podcast, but think about any motorsport: They make micro-adjustments to tire pressures all the time to effect various performance outcomes. We cyclists even practice this with our 'more sensitive to air pressure changes' tires such as fat bike tires or "plus sized" tires. (If you aren't doing pressures adjustments with fat bike tires, YOU NEED TO!) 

A tire's construction should inform tire pressure choices.

Not only should you be experimenting with tire pressures, you should also understand that how a tire is made should inform which tire pressures you should use. 

For instance, a tire that is simply a folding bead tire with no extra puncture protection belts or that is not tubeless can be run at a higher pressure and have a certain performance outcome. Now, switch that tire out for a puncture protected tire that is tubeless ready. What should you do? 

If you understand that puncture protection belts and that tubeless construction techniques make a tire sidewall stiffer, then you might understand why a lower pressure than you used with the first tire will help you reach the same/similar performance outcomes of that first tire. 

This can be illustrated by a tire I used when testing 29"er products from GEAX, (now Vittoria). I had run one of these tires which was not puncture protected and was used at about 28psi. When I got a hold of the armored tire in the same size and model, I had to lower my tire pressure into the upper teens to realize similar riding characteristics to the previous tire. 

Now, that is obviously an extreme example, but it illustrates that choosing an air pressure to run tires at arbitrarily and loosely based on the flawed maxim that "higher pressures roll better", is bad thinking. It is a mistake that many riders still make. 

Now, you may be thinking, "Okay Ted, but your examples are all for MTB and fat bike tires which you say are more sensitive to air pressures. What about gravel tires?" 

Even gravel tires, like this 40mm IRC Boken, are sensitive to air pressure changes.

Gravel tires respond to changes in air pressures also. The difference is that the amount of change is more to effect a change than it is with high air volume tires. 

So, for instance, my 'plus sized' Teravail 29" X 2.8" Coronado tires can be noticeably different in ride feel when changing from 18psi to 20psi. You can feel a BIG difference. Now, changing a gravel tire's pressure by 2 psi makes no discernible difference, but it makes a difference. If you want a discernible difference, you'll likely have to change the pressure by at least 5psi. So, I like to say that your "window" of hitting it right for what you are looking for is wider with a gravel tire than it is with a fatter, plus sized tire, or even a fat bike tire, where going 1psi either way is noticeable in terms of ride performance in snow or mud. 

Okay, so tire construction will help you choose tire pressures, and making changes in air pressures experimentally will help me dial in a "right" pressure for me and my riding style. But when you arrive at :The Pressure", you're done, right? 

Wrong!

 Conditions also will dictate what pressures you should be running. Are the roads you are going to be riding fairly clear of loose gravel and hard, or are these roads littered with fresh gravel? You need to adjust pressures accordingly. I mean, obviously, if you don't care, you can ride whatever pressures you want. This advice is for anyone wanting to arrive at the best performing tire and best ride feel that they can get. 

So, think about all that and see if it makes sense to you to try different air pressures or not. The bottom line? Just ride. You are better off riding your bike, no matter what the air pressures are, than not riding and over-thinking the minutiae of tire pressures. 

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Tire Religion: Part 3

There aren't many "klunkers" out there when it comes to tires.

Back again with some more opinions on how we as riders obsess and get far too passionate about our tires. If you missed my last post (Part 2) , click that link. There is also a link back to the first post in this series there. 

This should wrap things up in this series. In this post, I wanted to take a look at why there are so many different tires and if any of the differences really matter. 

First of all, let me just get this out of the way up front: There are a LOT of really, really good tires out there to choose from. Most you cannot really go wrong with, as long as you do not abuse them, or ride like a heathen goblin warrior with no skill set. Some of what I see and read about regarding tire failures, or "bad tires" is user error. 

That said, there are bad tires. Most are not what I would consider dangerous, but I've seen that as well. Usually though, it is just a design quirk, or a funky compound that makes a tire ride weirdly or behave in a certain manner that is not desirable.

Quite possibly one of the worst tires I ever tested.

An example of this would be an Intense Tire Systems tire I tried in the 2000's. It was a 29'er tire with what was supposedly a sticky rubber compound for better traction. What it ended up being was a tire that was far too heavy for its width, ponderous in terms of handling, and felt as though you may have thrown a cinder block behind you with a chain attached to your bike when it came to rolling resistance. 

It was truly awful! 

Another example was a tire I was sent to try out. This was a gravel tire from a company hoping to make a big splash in the gravel scene. The tread pattern was absolutely perfect, that is if your goal was to have a shower of gravel stones the size of peas or smaller thrown up in a hailstorm as you rode along. 

This was the tire I referred to as the "Gravel Flinger" in a few "Riding Gravel Radio Ranch" podcasts. What happened next was that I sent off an email to the brand saying that they could not release this tire as it was. I made some suggestions, and in about three months, a revised version of the tire showed up that actually worked. 

Interestingly enough, after all of that, the brand stayed pretty much as they had been- a manufacturer behind the scenes branding others names on their tires, and this tire I was helping out with came out in the guise of a distributor's house brand tire. 

But those sorts of things are rarities. Most of the time tires are barely different, one from another, when it comes right down to it. Compare tires at a certain price point, size, genre' and you'll find little tiny differences, but really? We're splitting hairs 80-90% of the time. The remainder are examples of tires that actually have something of benefit going on, or are exceptional in some way. 

In the case of Vittoria, there is something different going on here.

Take for instance Vittoria's usage of Graphene. This is a substance that is revolutionizing many facets of manufacturing and technology, but in the case of bicycle tires, and gravel tires in particular, Graphene infused tread does make a notable difference that can be felt. No other tires (yet) have this advantage. 

Then you have those tires that are driven by a desire to do one thing really well. Specialist tires, you might say. The designer takes one attribute and hyper-focuses on that to bring a tire to market that stands out in particular settings. Rene Herse tires would be a perfect example of a tire like this. Those tires are focused on ride feel, and sometimes that can be at the expense of other desirable attributes. 

Again- most tires are pretty darn good out there. Sure, there are a few models I wouldn't consider using for myself. But even those tires have their fans and people ride on them and those tires make them happy. It's really a personal preference thing, and a fashion thing. Fashion? In terms of tires? 

Yes.

I remember speaking with a tire company's lead designer at Interbike one year and he told me that tire tread patterns don't make a lick of difference in most cases. The only reason tread patterns have different shaped knobs and grooves is to conjure up a certain image in the mind of the rider to help fortify the claims that the marketing people come up with for how the tire is supposed to be of benefit. In other words, its all about how the tire looks in the rider's eyes. Fashion. 

If we were all about what was the ultimate tire for gravel? Well, there would be a refinement process that would lead us to a design that looked pretty much one way, and that would be how all brand's tires looked. And that would be a marketing nightmare. We cannot have that now, can we? 

Nope! Just remember: Most tires are good tires. And no tire is good at all unless you ride it- a lot- and you will hopefully wear it out. Don't be afraid to make a "wrong choice", but "test the spirits" (marketers), think things through, and above all- ride your bicycles and quit thinking about tires so much!

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Tire Religion: Part 3

There aren't many "klunkers" out there when it comes to tires.

Back again with some more opinions on how we as riders obsess and get far too passionate about our tires. If you missed my last post (Part 2) , click that link. There is also a link back to the first post in this series there. 

This should wrap things up in this series. In this post, I wanted to take a look at why there are so many different tires and if any of the differences really matter. 

First of all, let me just get this out of the way up front: There are a LOT of really, really good tires out there to choose from. Most you cannot really go wrong with, as long as you do not abuse them, or ride like a heathen goblin warrior with no skill set. Some of what I see and read about regarding tire failures, or "bad tires" is user error. 

That said, there are bad tires. Most are not what I would consider dangerous, but I've seen that as well. Usually though, it is just a design quirk, or a funky compound that makes a tire ride weirdly or behave in a certain manner that is not desirable.

Quite possibly one of the worst tires I ever tested.

An example of this would be an Intense Tire Systems tire I tried in the 2000's. It was a 29'er tire with what was supposedly a sticky rubber compound for better traction. What it ended up being was a tire that was far too heavy for its width, ponderous in terms of handling, and felt as though you may have thrown a cinder block behind you with a chain attached to your bike when it came to rolling resistance. 

It was truly awful! 

Another example was a tire I was sent to try out. This was a gravel tire from a company hoping to make a big splash in the gravel scene. The tread pattern was absolutely perfect, that is if your goal was to have a shower of gravel stones the size of peas or smaller thrown up in a hailstorm as you rode along. 

This was the tire I referred to as the "Gravel Flinger" in a few "Riding Gravel Radio Ranch" podcasts. What happened next was that I sent off an email to the brand saying that they could not release this tire as it was. I made some suggestions, and in about three months, a revised version of the tire showed up that actually worked. 

Interestingly enough, after all of that, the brand stayed pretty much as they had been- a manufacturer behind the scenes branding others names on their tires, and this tire I was helping out with came out in the guise of a distributor's house brand tire. 

But those sorts of things are rarities. Most of the time tires are barely different, one from another, when it comes right down to it. Compare tires at a certain price point, size, genre' and you'll find little tiny differences, but really? We're splitting hairs 80-90% of the time. The remainder are examples of tires that actually have something of benefit going on, or are exceptional in some way. 

In the case of Vittoria, there is something different going on here.

Take for instance Vittoria's usage of Graphene. This is a substance that is revolutionizing many facets of manufacturing and technology, but in the case of bicycle tires, and gravel tires in particular, Graphene infused tread does make a notable difference that can be felt. No other tires (yet) have this advantage. 

Then you have those tires that are driven by a desire to do one thing really well. Specialist tires, you might say. The designer takes one attribute and hyper-focuses on that to bring a tire to market that stands out in particular settings. Rene Herse tires would be a perfect example of a tire like this. Those tires are focused on ride feel, and sometimes that can be at the expense of other desirable attributes. 

Again- most tires are pretty darn good out there. Sure, there are a few models I wouldn't consider using for myself. But even those tires have their fans and people ride on them and those tires make them happy. It's really a personal preference thing, and a fashion thing. Fashion? In terms of tires? 

Yes.

I remember speaking with a tire company's lead designer at Interbike one year and he told me that tire tread patterns don't make a lick of difference in most cases. The only reason tread patterns have different shaped knobs and grooves is to conjure up a certain image in the mind of the rider to help fortify the claims that the marketing people come up with for how the tire is supposed to be of benefit. In other words, its all about how the tire looks in the rider's eyes. Fashion. 

If we were all about what was the ultimate tire for gravel? Well, there would be a refinement process that would lead us to a design that looked pretty much one way, and that would be how all brand's tires looked. And that would be a marketing nightmare. We cannot have that now, can we? 

Nope! Just remember: Most tires are good tires. And no tire is good at all unless you ride it- a lot- and you will hopefully wear it out. Don't be afraid to make a "wrong choice", but "test the spirits" (marketers), think things through, and above all- ride your bicycles and quit thinking about tires so much!

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Tire Religion: Part Two

Sometimes it doesn't matter what tire you chose. The "Mud Year" at the DK200

 Yesterday I wrote about my experiences in testing tires and why certain factors exist that make giving or getting tire advice online less than a good thing. Today I will continue on the subject of how you should not ask for, and totally base your decisions on, merely tire advice, but rather, you should do your own testing and research. Again, this is harder than just having someone tell you that "such-and-such" is the only way to go and just accepting that, (religion) but if you invest in doing your own thinking and testing, the rewards will mean more and be more precise for you and the way you ride. 

Not that getting "advice" is bad all the time, it is only "bad" if you buy into someone else's version of "best" without thinking things through for yourself. Gathering information is not only good, but a wise thing. It is what you do to react to all that input that makes the difference between success for you and failure to some degree. 

I'm going to take a certain event that engenders probably the most gab and has more readily available information out there than any other. That event being the DK200/Unbound. You can apply the same lines of thinking for any gravel event, but for the sake of this post, the DK200/Unbound will be the focus here.

The flint around Emporia has a bad reputation for damaging tires

As Sherlock Would Say: "Do Your Research!" For something like Unbound, you have reams of race reports to draw knowledge from, and if reading isn't your thing, YouTube is rife with reports on Unbound which you can watch and learn from. I suggest that you read and watch as much of that as you can. Try to disregard "market driven" advice, such as you might get from a brand that posts a blog or video and try to get racer input or older blog posts from when this event was still a bit under the radar. Those will be less "influencer" driven. But if you are able to employ a good "BS Detector", these newer reports have great tidbits of truth sprinkled throughout them. 

Be Real About Who You Are And Adjust Expectations Accordingly: A LOT of advice you see out there now has its genesis in what Pro racers or sponsored "fast guys and gals" are doing. Most of the field in Unbound are not those people. Why do what they do? In many cases, these bits of advice are not necessary, or even good to follow. 

I'd wager that most riders (a) want to finish, (b) have a time goal in mind, and (c) want to have as few issues while riding as possible. Comfort is also probably pretty high on this list also. Most Pro riders are going to do some things you don't need to, and most Pro/Sponsored racers will ride completely differently than you. Be real about your expectations for yourself and realize what they do isn't necessarily a good thing for yourself. Especially in regard to tires. 

Sometimes choosing comfort and durability over lightweight and speed will win the day.

To the end that a person might think about what would work best for themselves, and not in terms of the "pointy-end" of the field, I would suggest that comfort and durability, in the case of Unbound, at any rate, is something that maybe makes more sense for most people. Tougher tires, repair parts like a tire boot, sealant, a good pump or Co2 carts, and a stout set of tire levers are all things I would suggest make more sense than lighter weight, narrower, less voluminous tires and trying to rely on support stops to make repairs or using the minimalist approach to your kit. 

Using things like suspension stems, seat posts, cushy grip tape, and a saddle you can tolerate for 10 hours, (if you are doing the 200), or more are paramount to success for most folks. Sure, those things add weight, but you won't want to quit as soon as you might if you didn't have that stuff. And that stuff actually helps your tires. You'll ride better, more controlled, and be less likely to cause your own tire troubles. Also, if you have other means to rely on for comfort, you can use an armored tire, like the Teravail Sparwoods you see here on my Fargo (above). Those tires are bomb proof in the Flint Hills, but their ride quality ......well, it sucks, to be honest. So, you should consider things like that as well. 

One Example: Sometimes "new" things come along that, for whatever reasons, people think would be "better" than what was done in the past. One of the latest "new" things to come down the pike are tire inserts. These devices are slipped inside tubeless tires to help mountain bikers with rocky terrain that can cause pinch flats, but also allow for the same tire to be run at a lowered pressure which provides more traction. 

Now some Pro fast people are swearing by these things as they provide another barrier to having to stop to deal with flat tires, pinch flats, and allow those lowered pressures for comfort across 200 miles of flint stone roads. But here's why the pros and Sponsored riders actually use these things. There are all the reasons above, but they apply because of the way that they ride. That is, they ride in tightly spaced packs in two lines. 

Many of the Flint Hills roads don't allow for anything but two lanes for bicycles.

This is due to the lead pack wanting to (a) draft, (b) not lose contact with the leaders, and (c) they have to run in two lines due to the nature of the roads there.. There can be a few of these big packs of riders but typically, these are the minority of the riders overall. They cannot see where they are going in these packs. So if a rider in the lead deftly flicks around or jumps a pothole, as an example, the following riders will have zero reaction time to respond and will all plow right into said pothole. IF they don't crash, (and sometimes they do), they may see a rider or three pinch flat. (Yes- even tubeless tires can pinch flat) This doesn't have to be caused by a pothole. It could merely be a big, sharp flint stone as well. To help prevent that, you get something like tire inserts which help the fast guys to not have to stop to repair a tire. 

So, let's use our powers of thinking concerning this. Are you a Pro or Sponsored rider that expects to be in a big, tightly packed group in a draft train? No? Okay... Do the regular Joes and Janes need that tire insert then? Most definitely not. Especially since these things can soak up a LOT of sealant, making judging your sealant set up hard, they add more weight, and if you have to do anything that requires peeling back the tire for any reason, they make your task a level of difficulty higher than had you not run inserts. And think about this: Literally thousands of riders have completed the 200 and 100 mile distances without needing tire inserts. So, yeah.....totally unnecessary for the average rider.

Okay, so let's tie this up. I said at the beginning that getting advice and tips, and any information you can about an event and what people do to tackle that event is good. But if you were to just take what you see now out there about Unbound, as in our example today, and just accept that it is the best way because some Pro or Sponsored Rider thinks it is best for them, well, you are short-circuiting the process that probably will lead you to a better way for you. You may use much of what fast riders use, but then again- you may not. 

And this is true for anyone giving advice. Especially in regard to tires. There are a LOT of great tires out there capable of conquering Unbound. All of those tires can and will fail also. You can act upon every contingency you can dream up, use tire inserts, carry a spare tire, whatever...and still find yourself sitting on the side of a gravel road, out of the event. Sometimes that's the way it goes despite all the work, advice, and thoughtful choices. 

It is like what my old friend Jeff Kerkove used to say: "Everything has to come together and work: The bike, the nutrition, the weather, and the body to finish these things." You don't always get everything you want.

Tire Religion: Part Two

Sometimes it doesn't matter what tire you chose. The "Mud Year" at the DK200

 Yesterday I wrote about my experiences in testing tires and why certain factors exist that make giving or getting tire advice online less than a good thing. Today I will continue on the subject of how you should not ask for, and totally base your decisions on, merely tire advice, but rather, you should do your own testing and research. Again, this is harder than just having someone tell you that "such-and-such" is the only way to go and just accepting that, (religion) but if you invest in doing your own thinking and testing, the rewards will mean more and be more precise for you and the way you ride. 

Not that getting "advice" is bad all the time, it is only "bad" if you buy into someone else's version of "best" without thinking things through for yourself. Gathering information is not only good, but a wise thing. It is what you do to react to all that input that makes the difference between success for you and failure to some degree. 

I'm going to take a certain event that engenders probably the most gab and has more readily available information out there than any other. That event being the DK200/Unbound. You can apply the same lines of thinking for any gravel event, but for the sake of this post, the DK200/Unbound will be the focus here.

The flint around Emporia has a bad reputation for damaging tires

As Sherlock Would Say: "Do Your Research!" For something like Unbound, you have reams of race reports to draw knowledge from, and if reading isn't your thing, YouTube is rife with reports on Unbound which you can watch and learn from. I suggest that you read and watch as much of that as you can. Try to disregard "market driven" advice, such as you might get from a brand that posts a blog or video and try to get racer input or older blog posts from when this event was still a bit under the radar. Those will be less "influencer" driven. But if you are able to employ a good "BS Detector", these newer reports have great tidbits of truth sprinkled throughout them. 

Be Real About Who You Are And Adjust Expectations Accordingly: A LOT of advice you see out there now has its genesis in what Pro racers or sponsored "fast guys and gals" are doing. Most of the field in Unbound are not those people. Why do what they do? In many cases, these bits of advice are not necessary, or even good to follow. 

I'd wager that most riders (a) want to finish, (b) have a time goal in mind, and (c) want to have as few issues while riding as possible. Comfort is also probably pretty high on this list also. Most Pro riders are going to do some things you don't need to, and most Pro/Sponsored racers will ride completely differently than you. Be real about your expectations for yourself and realize what they do isn't necessarily a good thing for yourself. Especially in regard to tires. 

Sometimes choosing comfort and durability over lightweight and speed will win the day.

To the end that a person might think about what would work best for themselves, and not in terms of the "pointy-end" of the field, I would suggest that comfort and durability, in the case of Unbound, at any rate, is something that maybe makes more sense for most people. Tougher tires, repair parts like a tire boot, sealant, a good pump or Co2 carts, and a stout set of tire levers are all things I would suggest make more sense than lighter weight, narrower, less voluminous tires and trying to rely on support stops to make repairs or using the minimalist approach to your kit. 

Using things like suspension stems, seat posts, cushy grip tape, and a saddle you can tolerate for 10 hours, (if you are doing the 200), or more are paramount to success for most folks. Sure, those things add weight, but you won't want to quit as soon as you might if you didn't have that stuff. And that stuff actually helps your tires. You'll ride better, more controlled, and be less likely to cause your own tire troubles. Also, if you have other means to rely on for comfort, you can use an armored tire, like the Teravail Sparwoods you see here on my Fargo (above). Those tires are bomb proof in the Flint Hills, but their ride quality ......well, it sucks, to be honest. So, you should consider things like that as well. 

One Example: Sometimes "new" things come along that, for whatever reasons, people think would be "better" than what was done in the past. One of the latest "new" things to come down the pike are tire inserts. These devices are slipped inside tubeless tires to help mountain bikers with rocky terrain that can cause pinch flats, but also allow for the same tire to be run at a lowered pressure which provides more traction. 

Now some Pro fast people are swearing by these things as they provide another barrier to having to stop to deal with flat tires, pinch flats, and allow those lowered pressures for comfort across 200 miles of flint stone roads. But here's why the pros and Sponsored riders actually use these things. There are all the reasons above, but they apply because of the way that they ride. That is, they ride in tightly spaced packs in two lines. 

Many of the Flint Hills roads don't allow for anything but two lanes for bicycles.

This is due to the lead pack wanting to (a) draft, (b) not lose contact with the leaders, and (c) they have to run in two lines due to the nature of the roads there.. There can be a few of these big packs of riders but typically, these are the minority of the riders overall. They cannot see where they are going in these packs. So if a rider in the lead deftly flicks around or jumps a pothole, as an example, the following riders will have zero reaction time to respond and will all plow right into said pothole. IF they don't crash, (and sometimes they do), they may see a rider or three pinch flat. (Yes- even tubeless tires can pinch flat) This doesn't have to be caused by a pothole. It could merely be a big, sharp flint stone as well. To help prevent that, you get something like tire inserts which help the fast guys to not have to stop to repair a tire. 

So, let's use our powers of thinking concerning this. Are you a Pro or Sponsored rider that expects to be in a big, tightly packed group in a draft train? No? Okay... Do the regular Joes and Janes need that tire insert then? Most definitely not. Especially since these things can soak up a LOT of sealant, making judging your sealant set up hard, they add more weight, and if you have to do anything that requires peeling back the tire for any reason, they make your task a level of difficulty higher than had you not run inserts. And think about this: Literally thousands of riders have completed the 200 and 100 mile distances without needing tire inserts. So, yeah.....totally unnecessary for the average rider.

Okay, so let's tie this up. I said at the beginning that getting advice and tips, and any information you can about an event and what people do to tackle that event is good. But if you were to just take what you see now out there about Unbound, as in our example today, and just accept that it is the best way because some Pro or Sponsored Rider thinks it is best for them, well, you are short-circuiting the process that probably will lead you to a better way for you. You may use much of what fast riders use, but then again- you may not. 

And this is true for anyone giving advice. Especially in regard to tires. There are a LOT of great tires out there capable of conquering Unbound. All of those tires can and will fail also. You can act upon every contingency you can dream up, use tire inserts, carry a spare tire, whatever...and still find yourself sitting on the side of a gravel road, out of the event. Sometimes that's the way it goes despite all the work, advice, and thoughtful choices. 

It is like what my old friend Jeff Kerkove used to say: "Everything has to come together and work: The bike, the nutrition, the weather, and the body to finish these things." You don't always get everything you want.

Tire Religion: Part 1

Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC (Image courtesy of Pirelli Tires)

Tires: In my time on the internet dabbling in bicycle stuff, in writing reviews, doing product testing, and with years of riding on all sorts of gravel, it is very apparent to me that tires are THE hot button subject in cycling. 

I mean, how many times have you seen the following type of question? 

"Hey! I am signed up for the Super-Duper Gravel X Race and was wondering what is the best tire for this event. What if it is muddy? What pressures do you run?"

I bet you've seen something like that before on a Facebook group, gravel oriented forum, or the like. I almost always avoid getting into those threads like the plague, because people lose the capacity for all rational thought when it comes to tire choices. Additionally, purchasing bias and lack of experience doesn't seem to deter someone from becoming an "expert" on answering tire questions. 

I mean, I get it. You love your tires, but for a multitude of reasons, what one person may think is "best" may not be that for another. Basically, tire beliefs are religion for many. Isn't that one of the two things you're not supposed to talk about with family and friends? Maybe. Perhaps, but here I go anyway....

Maxxis Ignitor tire test from 2005

So, what do I know about tires? If I think many people are 'not as expert in experience with tires as they think they are' what makes me think I know anything? This is a fair and necessary question at this point.

I'll give you my background, and afterward, if you care, you can decide what, if any expertise on tires I might have, is worthy of consideration here.

Of course, like many of you here reading this, I've ridden bicycles most of my life, which means I have thousands of miles on tires. But so what? 

Well, starting in 2005 I was asked to review bicycle components and my very first review was for a WTB Weirwolf 29"er tire. Since 2005 I have reviewed literally hundreds of different 29 inch and 700c gravel tires, with a smattering of 650B, 26 inch, and fat bike tires thrown in for good measure. 

I've helped design a tire, I have been asked to give feedback on tires in development, and I have been consulted on tire designs in the past. 

I've mounted thousands of tires, fixed tubes, mounted hundreds of tubeless tires using many kinds of sealants. I've ridden thousands of miles on various set ups on gravel, dirt, mud, snow, and pavement. 

So, maybe I don't know what I am talking about, but maybe I do...

Okay, enough of that. I don't really like to write about myself in that tone of voice, but with how some folks get in regards to their passions for their tires, I feel it is a necessary element to have down up front regarding where I am coming from with my opinions. And as always, I welcome reasoned alternative and opposing opinions and I always am willing to change my opinion if what I am reading makes sense. 

Tire testing: December 2022

 Now about those 'forum questions' and why I feel trying to answer them is a big waste of time, generally speaking. First of all, there is the human element, or 'How The Rider Rides'. I've seen people destroy tires I have had no issues with whatsoever. Why is that? Well, is the tire junk? Maybe I didn't ride it as much, or maybe I wasn't riding the tire where the other person did? Or.......maybe it is in how one person rides a bike versus another. 

Cycling is a skill set. Not everyone possesses the same attributes in terms of skills and knowledge as others do.  This can be true within a discipline, but for example, in an extreme sense, I can illustrate this point thusly: Fixed gear riders do things differently than geared riders do. You might think, "Oh! Well that is a 'Captain Obvious' point right there. No-duh, Ted!" But this goes just as much for two gravel riders as it can for a fixie and a geared rider. Some folks know how to ride over terrain with grace, some do it brutally. Some folks are in between somewhere on that continuum. Your gear will suffer different consequences based upon how you ride. Tires will react and perform completely differently depending upon the rider.

So, there is such a thing as a 'skill set', and that is one variable. Another is weight and tire pressure. This should require no explanation, but if you carry more weight, (gear + rider), than another, the tires being the same, there will be definitive and qualitative differences in outcomes concerning tires. 

Tire pressures are another easy to understand difference here. But these settings should always change with weight, terrain concerns, and with regard to the weather conditions. Tire pressures are "set and forget' for many riders, but this is an oversimplification and those folks are cheating themselves of the best results that they could have. But then again, if you don't care......

So, to say to anyone that 'this tire is best' is a bad piece of advice. Even saying "Well, this is what works for me." That's awesome, but it may be the worst thing for another person to follow that advice. Tires are expensive, and making a lot of wrong choices can be a hard pill to swallow, leading to poor outcomes in many ways. I get it. Asking for advice to short-cut your pursuit of tire nirvana is only understandable. But unfortunately, it isn't as easy as asking a question on a forum. 

Next time: I will discuss what one can do to 'thinker their way through' to a better result with regard to tire choices for a gravel event.

Tire Religion: Part 1

Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC (Image courtesy of Pirelli Tires)

Tires: In my time on the internet dabbling in bicycle stuff, in writing reviews, doing product testing, and with years of riding on all sorts of gravel, it is very apparent to me that tires are THE hot button subject in cycling. 

I mean, how many times have you seen the following type of question? 

"Hey! I am signed up for the Super-Duper Gravel X Race and was wondering what is the best tire for this event. What if it is muddy? What pressures do you run?"

I bet you've seen something like that before on a Facebook group, gravel oriented forum, or the like. I almost always avoid getting into those threads like the plague, because people lose the capacity for all rational thought when it comes to tire choices. Additionally, purchasing bias and lack of experience doesn't seem to deter someone from becoming an "expert" on answering tire questions. 

I mean, I get it. You love your tires, but for a multitude of reasons, what one person may think is "best" may not be that for another. Basically, tire beliefs are religion for many. Isn't that one of the two things you're not supposed to talk about with family and friends? Maybe. Perhaps, but here I go anyway....

Maxxis Ignitor tire test from 2005

So, what do I know about tires? If I think many people are 'not as expert in experience with tires as they think they are' what makes me think I know anything? This is a fair and necessary question at this point.

I'll give you my background, and afterward, if you care, you can decide what, if any expertise on tires I might have, is worthy of consideration here.

Of course, like many of you here reading this, I've ridden bicycles most of my life, which means I have thousands of miles on tires. But so what? 

Well, starting in 2005 I was asked to review bicycle components and my very first review was for a WTB Weirwolf 29"er tire. Since 2005 I have reviewed literally hundreds of different 29 inch and 700c gravel tires, with a smattering of 650B, 26 inch, and fat bike tires thrown in for good measure. 

I've helped design a tire, I have been asked to give feedback on tires in development, and I have been consulted on tire designs in the past. 

I've mounted thousands of tires, fixed tubes, mounted hundreds of tubeless tires using many kinds of sealants. I've ridden thousands of miles on various set ups on gravel, dirt, mud, snow, and pavement. 

So, maybe I don't know what I am talking about, but maybe I do...

Okay, enough of that. I don't really like to write about myself in that tone of voice, but with how some folks get in regards to their passions for their tires, I feel it is a necessary element to have down up front regarding where I am coming from with my opinions. And as always, I welcome reasoned alternative and opposing opinions and I always am willing to change my opinion if what I am reading makes sense. 

Tire testing: December 2022

 Now about those 'forum questions' and why I feel trying to answer them is a big waste of time, generally speaking. First of all, there is the human element, or 'How The Rider Rides'. I've seen people destroy tires I have had no issues with whatsoever. Why is that? Well, is the tire junk? Maybe I didn't ride it as much, or maybe I wasn't riding the tire where the other person did? Or.......maybe it is in how one person rides a bike versus another. 

Cycling is a skill set. Not everyone possesses the same attributes in terms of skills and knowledge as others do.  This can be true within a discipline, but for example, in an extreme sense, I can illustrate this point thusly: Fixed gear riders do things differently than geared riders do. You might think, "Oh! Well that is a 'Captain Obvious' point right there. No-duh, Ted!" But this goes just as much for two gravel riders as it can for a fixie and a geared rider. Some folks know how to ride over terrain with grace, some do it brutally. Some folks are in between somewhere on that continuum. Your gear will suffer different consequences based upon how you ride. Tires will react and perform completely differently depending upon the rider.

So, there is such a thing as a 'skill set', and that is one variable. Another is weight and tire pressure. This should require no explanation, but if you carry more weight, (gear + rider), than another, the tires being the same, there will be definitive and qualitative differences in outcomes concerning tires. 

Tire pressures are another easy to understand difference here. But these settings should always change with weight, terrain concerns, and with regard to the weather conditions. Tire pressures are "set and forget' for many riders, but this is an oversimplification and those folks are cheating themselves of the best results that they could have. But then again, if you don't care......

So, to say to anyone that 'this tire is best' is a bad piece of advice. Even saying "Well, this is what works for me." That's awesome, but it may be the worst thing for another person to follow that advice. Tires are expensive, and making a lot of wrong choices can be a hard pill to swallow, leading to poor outcomes in many ways. I get it. Asking for advice to short-cut your pursuit of tire nirvana is only understandable. But unfortunately, it isn't as easy as asking a question on a forum. 

Next time: I will discuss what one can do to 'thinker their way through' to a better result with regard to tire choices for a gravel event.