Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Panaracer

 Panaracer Announces New ZX Gravel King Tires:

Panaracer's Gravel King range of tires has an addition now with the latest racing focused Gravel King ZX.  

The ZX features a slick center section for speed. The shoulders have elongated tread blocks for cornering and braking traction. The Gravel King ZX also has a rounded casing which should promote riding on the center section for straight line speed and then as the rider leans into corners those side lugs come into play for stability in corners. 

The ZX version of the Gravel King will have Panaracer's proprietary ZSG Gravel compound developed specifically for gravel. This single compound will lend great ride characteristics and promote long-term durability. The Gravel King ZX tires also will have other Panaracer technologies utilized such as BeadLock and TufTex. 

Coming soon in sizes from 700 x 35mm,  700 x 40mm, 700 x 45mm, 700 x 50mm, and 700 x 55mm with the 45mm tire weighing a claimed 510 grams and the 50mm weighing 600 grams each. Price for each Gravel King ZX tire is set at $84.99 USD. Availability on the 45mm and 50mm tires is May 2026 with the 40mm scheduled for July, the 50mm scheduled for August, and the 35mm tire slated to be available in October 2026. 

Comments: The profile of this tire, with a flattened top section where the slicker part of the tread is, reminds me a lot of the old, original WTB Vulpine. The air pressure settings you used on that old Vulpine really were critical to the performance of the tire. Too much and the tire felt odd when leaned over in a turn. Too little and you started dragging those shoulder knobs into contact with the ground on straight sections, which kind of defeats the intentions of the design, I would be wary of the Gravel King ZX being similar in this vein.  

Confluence CUES 11 (Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles)

Salsa Cycles Announces Confluence CUES 11

Salsa Cycles has released a new version of the Confluence e-gravel bike. This Sea Foam Green bike features Shimano CUES 11 speed and a Mahle hub motor for an extra boost which Salsa claims can last up to 45 miles. 

Check out this bike at Salsa Cycles site HERE.  

A Viral Post:

I know most of you have heard the term "it's gone viral" or some form of this term. One thing I never thought I'd see is one of my social media posts going viral. I mean, most of what I post is either very cycling specific or just downright goofy. The latter was what my April 1st Instagram post could be defined as being. 

Here's the text I posted with the accompanying image. "When a steel bicycle frame reaches maturity it splits open and releases its reproductive spores into the atmosphere. These spores the settle in frame building shops where they bond with other frame spores to become new bicycles again."

I misspelled "then" by omitting the "n", but I did not care at the time because I figured hardly anyone would see this off the cuff April Fools post. But I was wrong.

So wrong!  

24,260 views and counting! It's kind of crazy. I cannot say why this took off, but "The Algorithm" must have thought it was funny, I guess.  

From Shimano social media

Shimano Offers Larger GRX 1X Chainrings, Shorter GRX Cranks, & New CUES 11's Rear Mech:

Shimano offered a few tweaks to GRX, its gravel going component group, recently. The trend toward shorter cranks and larger drive rings were addressed with the addition of a 44T and 46T 1X GRX rings coupled with a couple of shorter crank arm choices in GRX. 

Nothing crazy there, but a nice option for those who have a desire to follow this trend with their gravel set ups. 

The CUES thing is a bit more interesting, in my opinion. CUES has been out for a while now and while it was ballyhooed as a versatile, lifestyle group for the average cyclist, enthusiasts have largely ignored it. This is because CUES was designed in its own ecosystem which rendered it incompatible with other Shimano products past and present. 

CUES RD U6030 (Image courtesy of Shimano

Recently Shimano upgraded its lower tier Tiagra group from ten speed to eleven speed and in this upgrade they introduced an 11-36T cassette. Interestingly, CUES, which previous to this new CUES derailleur was designed for LinkGlide technology, has this new derailleur working with HyperGlide, which is what the Tiagra cassette technology is based upon. 

This raises some questions. Is CUES switching over to HypeGlide? What is the hierarchy placement for this new CUES versus Tiagra? Reports say the new CUES rear mech is actually lighter than other CUES derailleurs and the new Tiagra 11 speed rear mech. 

According to reporting online, Shimano has said this new CUES introduction is more about gravel bikes and Tiagra is for sport road riding, citing slight differences in chain line and Q factor between the two groups. 

So, this then leaves us with a question about CUES and Shimano's GRX groups. Shimano, at GRX's introduction, made the top tier GRX 800 an eleven speed group and the lower tiered GRX 400 was ten speed. Is this new CUES derailleur a precursor to a lower tiered GRX eleven or twelve speed group because GRX is going to 13 speeds at the top of the range?  

Maxxis 32" range. (Image poached off social media)

The 32" Watch: Maxxis Delivers On Rumors:

Yesterday at Sea Otter Maxxis showed a full range of MTB tires in 32" size. This was a rumor for months and now it has become a reality. 

This points to OEM acceptance of 32" wheels as a viable retail product. I will be very surprised if most top-tier brands do not have 32"ers in their ranges by 2027, (this Fall). 

In other 32"er news, there was the Fargo and Teravail tire intros yesterday. (See yesterday's post on these things for more details) Velo Orange showed a 32" rim in silver. Also, a couple of prototype bicycles were shown. One was from Esker Cycles and was based on the Lorax. The other was from Revel Bikes and was a 32"er titanium hardtail. Revel also had a "mullet 29"/32" bike in titanium as well.  

In perhaps the biggest news and sign that 32"ers are here to stay, at least for a while, was the spotting of a prototype 32" Fox fork on an Ari Bikes 32"er FS model. You know what this means? It means Fox has an OEM on the hook for production, or thinks it will soon. My bet is XC MTB bikes from one of the bigger brands will be the model type this shows up on.  

Image courtesy of Open Cycles

Open WI.DE 2.0 Announced:

Open Cycles sent a press release showing off its upcoming OPEN WI.DE 2.0 carbon adventure drop bar frame and fork.  

Claiming an amazing tire clearance of  29" x 2.6" (700 x 66mm)! To get this to work OPEN had to use a double-dropped chain stay design. OPEN claims that going from a 50mm to the 66mm tire doubles air volume. This will allow the rider to tackle even rougher terrain. 

To get this all to work, OPEN had quite a challenge on their hands. The result was still lighter, by only a little bit, than the outgoing model. Additionally only 1X drive trains are supported while retaining gravel group set compatibility.  

The OPEN WI.DE frame and fork is going into production now with a promised late Summer 2026 delivery.  

That's a wrap for this week. Get out there and ride a bicycle this weekend! 

Gravel Grinder News: Continental Announces New Terra Competition Tires

Continental Terra Competition (Image courtesy of Continental Tires)

Continental Tires has just announced an addition to the Terra line of tires for pavement to off-road riding. The newest tire in this range is the Terra Competition tire. 

Designed for riders wanting to go from pavement to gravel and light off-road rides, the Terra Competition features a new tread design which enhances performance in terms of speed and aerodynamic efficiency. 

The Terra Competition will be offered in Race or Trail casings with the highly regarded Black Chili rubber compound. 

Engineers at Continental have worked to make the Terra Competition Continental's fastest tire in the gravel category. The tread design is optimized for rough tarmac, compressed road surfaces, smooth dirt, and works best in dry to moist conditions. 

Image courtesy of Continental Tires

From the press release:

Alexander Haenke, MTB and Gravel Product Manager, Continental Tires, said: “We set out to create the Terra Competition for riders who don’t want to choose between road speed and off-road capability. As more riders mix surfaces and push performance, the demand for a fast, yet versatile tire continues to grow. Terra Competition delivers that balance, combining efficiency on tarmac with the confidence needed when the route turns to gravel.” 

The Terra Competition specs:

Race Casing: Rapid Compound, textile breaker layer for puncture protection, Black Chili compound, tubeless ready, safe for hookless rims.  

Trail Casing: Grip Compound, Robust, one-ply construction, textile breaker layer for puncture protection, Black Chili Compound, tubeless ready, safe for hookless rims. 

The first gravel tire optimized for aerodynamic efficiency. The Terra Competition in its 700c X 35mm size in the Race casing can save up to 68gms with the 35mm tire weighing a claimed 345 grams each. The 700 X 35mm Race version also shows a 17% reduction in rolling resistance over the same size Terra Speed tire, according to Continental. 

• Optimized tread design for reduced drag and increased efficiency across all-road applications
• Weight: 345g (35mm width, 28"), 420g (40mm width, 28"), 470g (45mm width, 28")
• Available in 700 x 35mm, 40mm, and 45mm and in Race and Trail casings
• Pricing:  68.95€ / £59.30 / $76.26

Available now through authorized Continental Tire dealers.  

 Thanks to Continental Tire for the information and images provided for this report.

Two Things

The Peregrine Mk4 with Schwalbe G-One Overlands.

Ride Quality vs Speed:

If I am not using my gravel bike for racing, then what am I using it for? This may sound like a ridiculous question, but the answer you give matters. 

Why? Well, the answer will tell you what is likely going to be a bigger influence on the success of your riding. If the answer is that you only really race, or are training to race, on the gravel bike, then your focus will be on speed and aero. If you don't really care about racing, then maybe you might want to think about comfort and ride quality. 

I like fun. Being beaten and made numb or sore because my bicycle rides like a hay rack is not fun. I will give you an example. The recently reviewed Schwalbe G-One Overland tires I tried were fast. They were some of the best I've tested in this category. However; they did not feel very good. 

I was a bit disappointed and fearful this may have been an issue with the Peregrine itself. Maybe the frame is just too stiff? Well, after the review was over, I swapped wheel sets and tires. The tires I used were older SOMA Cazadero 700 X 50mm tires and these were fitted with Rene Herse TPU tubes. I used the bike on the Veteran's Day ride with N.Y. Roll. 

Image by N.Y. Roll

The ride quality was better. No more harshness when hitting things like expansion cracks, potholes, or the like. Plus the Cazadero/TPU tube combo rolled nearly as fast as the Schwalbe tires did. 

Now had I run these tires tubeless I would imagine the ride quality would have been even a little bit better, at the least. So, this fit my purposes better than a tire which has speed but lacks in ride quality. 

My results were that I had more fun. Fun is good. 

Now had I been going racing? Had I been doing work in training for a race? Maybe I'd throw the Schwalbe tires back on. But I am not racing, and so I don't place speed above all else when it comes to riding gravel. 

I'm not saying racing is bad, or you should not ride for those purposes. However; many folks get caught up in the racing stuff due to those racing things seemingly being "the goal you should strive for". I think this is wrong thinking. I believe most riders want to have fun riding their bicycles and speed gains, power outputs, and GPS data - while cool - is not what the focus should be for most riders. It is not why most people ride. They typically ride for pleasure and fitness. So, maybe choose tires which fit why you are really riding. Just a thought.....

Big Wheels For Gravel:

Maybe 15 years ago, maybe a little more than that, you would have been fairly acquainted with the arguments for and against 29" wheels for mountain biking. 

29"ers were really the first wheel size which came along to break all the traditional thoughts and technical design behind mountain biking. Change is never easy, and a lot of people don't cotton to change. Resistance was high. However; eventually the results of using 29"ers convinced most people this was actually a better way to go.

Manufacturers made a few mistakes along the way. Technologies came along, which enhanced the positives of 29"ers to the point where 26" wheels, once the mainstay of MTB, were now deemed not all that great to use anymore. 

Now there is a new wheel size which is here to challenge 29"ers. It is 32" in diameter, and it sure looks as though the MTB world is going to be in line to see what shakes out from the trial usage of 32" wheels in XC racing. Technically manufacturers and designers all know what to expect, in theoretical terms, due to the previous experiments with 29"er wheels. Mistakes and failures should be mitigated to a great degree. If 32" wheels "work", it won't be because of luck. 

So, in the latest podcast we discuss this, 32"ers rumors and speculations which are afoot, and whether or not 32" is a good idea for gravel bikes. Give the show a listen. Let me know what you think in the comments. 

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions

Schwalbe G-One Overland Tires 700 x 50mm: Final Verdict

 Note: Guitar Ted was gifted these tires by a friend for his Singular Peregrine Mk4 bicycle build. Guitar Ted is not being paid, nor bribed for this review. Schwalbe is unaware of this review and have no input in the content here. All opinions are Guitar Ted's. The introductory post can be seen by clicking HERE. A follow-up to the introductory post can be read HERE. 

I've been riding these Schwalbe G-One Overland tires on tons of shorter rides on all sorts of surfaces. Most of my previous impressions still stand. I will take this final look at the G-One Overland as an opportunity to add just a couple of notes to my impressions previous to this post.

First. the G-One Overland tires have not stretched one little bit since I measured them after mounting. These tires stubbornly have stuck at just a hair under the claimed 50mm width. I'm not saying this is a negative, but I am saying this is surprising. Most tires stretch a bit for a week or two before settling into what they will be for width. Not so with the G-One Overlands.

 The noted stiff casings of the G-One Overland tires worked better at lowered air pressures for me, but they never "broke in". I was a bit disappointed in the ride quality toward the end of this review because of this. The Hutchinson Touaregs did break in after several rides, a tire very similar to the G-One Overland. 

This was most notable when sharper hits from chunkier gravel were encountered. Also when cracks or broken pavement was encountered. The damping just was too harsh. It hasn't improved, and lowering the air pressure didn't help with this either. So, I went back up a few psi for speed, so at least there was this benefit. 

The wet weather I was hoping to test in? It never materialized at an opportune time, and now this area where I live is headed back to a moderate drought status. So, it is dry. The G-One Overland really does well when it is dry, so this was good. 

Final Verdict: This is a "good" tire overall. It is a great tire if all you care about is going very fast in the dry. I'm not crazy about the ride quality overall, and having all this volume and weight seems a waste if the tire doesn't damp out everything well. The G-One damps out some of the higher frequency stuff, but those sharper hits? No. 

I do appreciate the ability the G-One Overland tires have for air retention, their toughness, and their grip on dry dirt and gravel. These tires are remarkable on pavement as well.  

In the end, I don't think the value is there in the G-One Overland. Sure, it's a fast tire, but in most every other sense it is merely average on gravel. The 50mm WTB Resolutes ride better than these tires do, and the WTB tires have SG2 puncture protection belts in there, so it is more apples to apples than not.  

I'll probably swap my SOMA Cazadero 700 x 50mm tires with TPU tubes into this bike and park the Schwalbe G-One tires for now. If this says anything to you, you might understand what my final verdict on the G-One Overlands means to me. 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Onza Tires

 Onza Tires Brings Full Range Of Gravel Tires To Market:

Onza Tires, better known for mountain bike fare, has just announced a new range of gravel tires called "Alegra X". In an effort to guide riders to a "best tire" choice, these tires are arrayed in a ranking to categorize them from least grippy, best rolling resistance to most grippy, higher rolling resistance. With "1" having the fastest tread all the way to "6", with the most off-road ready" tread, Onza expects riders will better be able to dial in an Alegra X model which best suits their needs. 

All models seem to have 120TPI casings, single compound rubber, and a choice of tan or black wall sidewalls. Most are $59.99 USD. Sizes range from 40mm to 50mm, but not all models are available in all sizes or sidewall styles. 

See Onza's website for more details HERE.  

Comments: The ranking system is similar to how Vittoria Tires is doing things now within their range of gravel tires. Onza is not a big name in the States, so it remains to be seen how this range will be accepted. However; in my opinion this looks like a more budget friendly, high-value, low in features range. Tread designs are right in the current fashion trends for gravel, and you might be reminded of several better known brands and models while perusing the Onza range. 

Everything in the Alegra X range looks "safe" as far as how it will work on gravel, and I suspect these will all be okay for most people. However; I don't see much in the way of innovative design or anything overly inspiring here. Most of these tread designs are derivative, and look to be based off designs known to work just fine. Maybe Onza makes a dent here, but there are a LOT of choices in gravel tires in 2025/26, so the competition for space on rider's wheels is intense. 

Image courtesy of Madrone Cycles

Madrone Cycles Offers "Jab" Rebuildable Rear Mech:

Last year I featured the Madrone Cycles rear mech prototype in an FN&V segment. Now the rear derailleur for 1X systems from Shimano or SRAM is available to purchase. 

With a configurable, rebuildable design, the Jab rear mech promises versatility, longevity, and customization based upon the choice of different anodized colors. The Jab has received decent reviews so far, so the product looks promising. 

Prices will range depending upon configuration, but a standard gravel Jab runs about $298.00 USD. A Jab configured with a purple body and for Shimano 11 speed gravel usage, (shown) would run $327.00 USD. 

You can learn more on the page for the Jab HERE. 

Comments: Rebuildable? Okay......when was the last time you thought, "Hey! Why can't I rebuild my rear mech?" Maybe you've destroyed one in a wreck, or in poor conditions. Okay, maybe then. However, most rear derailleurs I have replaced over the past 30 years of repair work were 50% - 100% destroyed. You'd likely have to purchase a new rear mech anyway, unless Madrone sells all the individual parts for the Jab aftermarket. Sure, they sell most of the parts now, but what if you tweak the linkage parallelogram bits?

Then there is the price of admission. Again, as I stated in 2024, you can buy a brand new Shimano GRX rear mech for quite a bit less money. SRAM as well. Obviously, the Madrone offering looks completely cool and rad, but is it worth that much more? This is really what the piece boils down to. The way you answer this question will determine the part's value to you. There is no "wrong" answer here for a consumer, assuming it does its job. It's just that I'm not seeing what question this piece answers from a technical standpoint.  

Courtesy of Salsa Cycles social media

Salsa Reveals Another New Drop Bar Model:

The Mega Mid-South happened last weekend and both the men's and women's events were won on a new Salsa Cycles model which has not been released yet. 

The bike was feted in a Salsa Cycles social media post this week and the name of the model was revealed. The new model is going to be known as the "Flyway". 

This bike will, according to Salsa Cycles, be released this coming February. Details are said to become known about the Flyway in January, most likely because this is when dealers will be informed of those details.  

You may recall another teased new model from Salsa Cycles earlier in the Fall. I reported on this in an FN&V HERE. You may note that bike being a full suspension model with drop bars. This is not the same as the Flyway, which obviously is a hard tail, rigid front fork bike in the image shown here. 

Comments: Salsa Cycles has not redesigned, or tweaked the Warbird gravel racing bike for several years. It is long overdue for a refresh. Could the Flyway be a Warbird replacement? My guess is it will be replacing the Warbird, as Salsa's parent company has been sanitizing model names for several years. The Warbird refresh is a perfect time to axe the "militaristic" nomenclature and christen the refresh with a new, unoffensive name. Besides this, Salsa posted on their Facebook page that this bike is their "..... fifth generation gravel racing bike." Note: This is purely speculation on my part, but we've already seen a few re-namings in Salsa's line, so this would track if it is true.  

We can deduce from the images the  Flyway has a suspension corrected fork, larger tire clearances, and accessory fork mounts. The sloping top tube can be seen in this escape collective post, (paywalled if you want to read the entire post), which indicates dropper post compatibility. I'd also assume there is in-frame storage, full-internal routing, and possibly no support for mechanical group-sets, as is the fashion these days.  

We'll be keeping our eyes open for more on this "new" model after the turn of the New Year.  

The 32 Inch Wheel Watch:

More and more it seems apparent the 32 inch MTB wheel is going to be a thing in 2026. Rumors are being passed around saying more choices in tires are on the way, and more people are starting to move in a direction which points to small production runs of frames and forks for the wheel size. 

While I have ridden a 36"er, I haven't ridden one off-road, so I cannot say what a 32"er would be like. Furthermore, I'm not really interested in spending a bunch of money on an off-road bike I'd barely ever use. 

If I were to get into this wheel size, it would be for gravel, and for my sort of riding, a 32"er wheel makes a ton of sense. So, I am interested in what becomes of this sort of idea, and if it ever became possible, and the tires were there which made sense, I'd probably get one of these newer, bigger wagon wheelers for my stable. 

I think the rolling momentum of such a wheel would be primo for the rolling hills of Iowa. The vibration reducing possibilities are tantalizing for a man of my age who is not getting any younger. A drop bar, single speed 32"er makes a lot of sense to me, and if I would have to use 2"-plus wide tires, I'm good with it as long as the geometry is correct. 

So, while I do not need another gravel bike, I might need  a 32"er, especially if it was something which would extend my years as a gravel cyclist. 

 

Gore To Cease Marketing Cycling Wear:

In a surprise announcement via Gorewear's parent company, WL Gore & Associates GmbH, it has been learned the Gore cycling business will cease operations and remaining inventory will be sold out with no further replacements. 

Citing economic hardships in the business, Gore stated in a letter to retailers obtained by a German bicycle industry publication that they saw no good future prospects for success for the brand. You can read more about the closing of Gorewear in this Bike Radar article HERE. 

Comments: Gore was very aggressive in terms of marketing throughout the last 15 years. They were not shy about sending kit to several outlets, including some I have been associated with in the past. However; it never seemed as though Gore could gain a foothold against the Raphas, MAAP's, and other trendy companies. 

Gore did find itself with a hit when they developed the Shake Dry rain jacket, (shown) which had immediate effect in the marketplace, being heralded as a major technology breakthrough in wet weather cycling gear. However; it had to pull the technology off the market due to PFAS concerns and Gore's own commitments to environmentally friendly products. This was something that was a blow to the company as they never really had any answer to the Shake Dry jacket. 

This news comes on the heels of YT Bikes closure in North America, and with a slew of deep-discount sales for "Pre-Black Friday" within the industry. All of this is not very encouraging heading into Winter. 
 

That's a wrap on this week! Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Now get out and ride a bicycle! 

Your Bicycle Tires May Not Be Black In The Future

Vittoria's "green" tan colored tire. (Image by Ari Andonopoulos)

 Last February I was honored to present a report from CABDA (Chicago Area Bicycle Dealers Association) which was sent to me by my good friend Ari Andonopoulos. In the report, Ari had an image of one of Vittoria's new "green initiatives". A tire made from 95% recycled materials. Because Vittoria is trying to reach a "carbon neutral" state in manufacturing, no material was added to make the rubber black. (Which, somewhat ironically, is called carbon black.)

Now it appears these tires with a "natural tan" color, are actually outperforming Vittoria's typical gravel tires. Several Pro athletes sponsored by Vittoria were using the tan colored tires at the recent UCI Gravel World Championships, according to an online report recently. 

With claims coming from the athletes making it sound as though these tires are faster rolling and have excellent traction qualities, will we see more of these tires in the future? 

As of now, Vittoria does not offer these gravel tires for sale, but one would have to think this will change soon. Especially if racers are sharing glowing comments about them. The amateurs will be clamoring for similar benefits, no doubt! 

From a social media sale post

Now, if you are old enough to remember, Tioga, (and a few other brands) were doing weirdly colored tires for mountain bikes in the 1990s. There were the Onza Porcupines with those round knobs in a white hue. There were Specialized "Umma Gumma" tires in a gray colored rubber. Ritchey had a reddish colored Z-Max tire. The Tiogas were a "butterscotch" and I have no idea if they would have been anything like today's Vittoria tires, but they did have a reputation for being fast wearing and fragile. So, there is that historical reference. 

You may be thinking there would be "no way" you'd ever run these "ugly" Vittorias, but let me tell you, don't be surprised if these get popular. Tioga "Butterscotch" Psychos were very trendy in the 1990's. Lots of brands stuck them on their mountain bikes back then, and they were a hot item there for a "hot minute". 

Plus, Panaracer has proven there is a market for colored rubber on your gravel tires. How many years have they offered weirdly colored tires now? So, yeah, I think there is a market for this.  

Psychos went out of favor due to their shortcomings in terms of performance and durability. However; if Vittoria has cracked the code on this, and the tires are faster than black ones, I think they will catch on. The fact the tires Vittoria are developing have a 95% recycled content makes this technology appealing to younger riders who have a deep sense of environmental preservation. Judging from what I have heard from young people, this is not a small number. So, the performance factor and the "green" factor matter here. 

I'd rock a set too. I always kind of liked those odd-colored tires back in the 90's! 

Gravel Tire Tread Patterns Are Not Very Important

Pirelli Cinturato H gravel tires

How Much Tread Does A Gravel Tire Really Need?

I'm pretty sure this story has been shared here before, but several years ago I had an audience with one of the more famous bicycle tire designers in the industry. He was telling me how the latest offering from the company he worked for was developed. I asked him how he came up with new tread patterns and how important were the new designs. His answer was a bit eye-opening. He said flatly, "Tire tread design is a fashion business."

He went on to explain the idea was to engender a feeling about how a tire might perform based upon how it looked. What the tread actually does is secondary. Important, but not the 'main thing'. His example was from the motorcycle world. He said if you look at most MX tires, they all look pretty much the same from a tread design standpoint because what actually works well in their world has been figured out. There is not much room for anything radically different looking than big, square tread blocks. MX tires are function over fashion. 

However, if bicycles are a fashion business, to any degree, then perhaps this is most exemplified in tire design. It seems that anything which has been proven in design is boring, and what people 'see with their eyes' is more important than what actually works on the road, trail, in in this case, out on gravel.

(L-R) Conti Terra Adventure, Ritchey WCS Speedmax

Take for example the lowly road file tread pattern. It was a design which was used on all roads - Gravel, paved, and on dirt. It was the tire no one questioned for decades.

Advancements were made in construction, rubber compound, and materials, but that file tread pattern was the rule of the day for a long, long time. Why? It worked. Boring......but it worked.

Some of the most iconic MTB patterns were simple blocks. Specialized's Ground Control - the one you've likely never seen if you are under 30 years of age, was pretty much just blocks. But it was lauded for its ability to do almost anything off-road on a mountain bike. Then fashion came along and, well.... 

I've always had the feeling that we don't need a lot of tread on our gravel tires. However; looking at many tread patterns for gravel, you'd think the opposite was true. Certainly there are examples of minimalist tread patterns out there, and those are almost always thought of as tread patterns for mostly paved surfaces, or for racing. 

However; at least where I live, where we have crushed rock roads coming out of the woodwork all around us, I feel tread blocks and weird patterns are a waste of time. They don't really do much of anything. Now, are there tires I like, maybe even love, which have big, aggressive tread blocks? Yes, but the tread is superfluous to the reasons why I like the tires, A "good gravel tire" is defined by other, much more important things than what you see molded into the casing.

Image courtesy of Maxxis Tires

 Things like casing construction, and rubber compound play a much larger role in how a tire performs, feels, and survives the miles than does tread pattern. Casing construction, and the materials used in the casing, make a tire ride well, or grip better. The casing has a big influence on the tire's profile as it sits on a rim. This matters when the rubber hits the road, be it gravel, dirt, or pavement.

Tire compound plays a role in tire durability, grip, and rolling resistance. Tread patterns influence these things as well, but you'd be surprised how little this matters, especially in the gravel tire market.

The best gravel tires I've ever ridden, and I've ridden a LOT of different tires, all have wildly differing tread patterns, but they all have similar ride feel and performance on gravel. The tread patterns just do not seem to matter all that much. 

I'm sure there are many people who will disagree, but for me, the proof is in the riding. Tread patterns do influence the way a tire rides and performs, but in the end, this is not what really matters. Unless the pattern is seriously flawed, I really don't feel tread pattern is of all that much importance for the kind of riding I do most.  

Continental Terra Adventure 700 x 45mm Tires Review: Update 2

 Note: Continental Tires sent Guitar Ted Productions two Terra Adventure 700 X 45mm tires for test and review at no charge. Guitar Ted was not paid, nor bribed, for this review. All opinions are Guitar Ted's.

Not quite a month ago I posted the first update to this review. I wanted to do two things after the update. One - I wanted to switch wheel sets to one with a wider internal rim width. Second - I wanted to do some more dirt and single track testing with these tires. Their aggressive tread and intended use seem to call out for this sort of a test, in my opinion.

I have had the chance to do both since the last update, so in this update I will give my opinons on how the Terra Adventure responded to a different wheel set and how I found their performance to be on dirt and single track.

The Wheel Change: If I had to choose a "standard" for gravel cycling wheel sets, I'd likely look at 24mm - 25mm inner rim width as that "standard". I'd have liked to have put the Terra Adventures on a wheel with 25mm inner rim width, but all I had available to me at this time was a Irwin Carbon Aon 35 wheel set with 24mm inner rim width rims.

So, a one millimeter wider inner rim width. Whatever.... But you know, it did make a difference. Using 30psi, I now measure one tire at juuusst over 45mm and the other a bit under. So, I am confident in saying the Terra Adventure tires would end up being 45mm+, eventually, on 24mm - 25mm inner rim width rims. Plus, I think you could afford to go to something wider, say in the 27mm - 28mm inner rim width range, because the Terra Adventure has a pretty significant 'crown' to them, which a wider inner rim width would flatten out a bit.

The Terra Adventure has a very damped quality which is great on chunky, loose gravel. 

Gravel and Single Track Performance: The Terra Adventure was put to the test on gravel, naturally, and while the damped quality of the casing was very much appreciated, the high-crowned casing caused a bit of a nervous, looser feeling on loose, chunky crushed rock road. Again, putting this tire on a rim with a wider inner rim width might help smooth things out in this area.

 I thought the tread pattern was nothing which held me back. I suppose a smoother tire with a more supple casing might prove to be faster, but if I was looking for a tire which could go off-road, on dirt, and even single track? I'm okay with how the Terra Adventure handles gravel roads.

And speaking of single track, if you have the will to go fast on your drop bar bike in the woods, I think you'll find the Terra Adventure is up to the task. Keeping in mind this is a 45mm tire, and the knobs are not huge. Obviously there are limitations, but on smooth, buff single track? I think you might find yourself faster on the gravel bike fitted with Terra Adventure tires than you are on a mountain bike.

The grip these tires have on dirt is really quite good, but I wouldn't probably go with quite the same speed and gusto on loose over hard pack or chunky, rock infested single track, so choose wisely here. Most of the time you'd be better off with an actual mountain bike, but the Terra Adventure is capable on dirt in the right situations. Fortunately, our river bottom single track is perfect for this tire, so I enjoyed using them on our dirt trails.

So Far... I like this tire a lot. It has one of the best feeling casings I've been on in a while. On our typical gravel roads, it does a good job. It would likely be great on wider rims than I am using, so this is something to consider with the Terra Adventure.

I really was impressed by the dirt/single track performance. If I had one bike, and I had to use it on both gravel and dirt, I would opt for a drop-bar gravel bike that could fit the 50mm Terra Adventure and ride everywhere. The grip is pretty good, and while it is not a single tracking all-around tire, it can hold its own on dirt.

I'm using Orange Seal for sealant in these tires and I am noting the tires do not hold air pressure as well as some of my other set-ups do. Just something to note. Otherwise living with the Terra Adventure tires is pretty easy.

I'll have a final verdict in my last update on this review in a month or so. 
 

Continental Terra Adventure 700 X 45mm Tires: Review

Note: Continental Tires sent Guitar Ted Productions two Terra Adventure 700 X 45mm tires for test and review at no charge. Guitar Ted was not paid, nor bribed, for this review. All opinions are Guitar Ted's. 

A little over a week ago Continental Tires announced their most aggressive gravel tire in the Terra line - The Terra Adventure. Arrangements were made for a set to come here and be reviewed. Since the narrowest size was a 45mm, and the others were 50mm and 55mm, I opted to have the 45's sent, since most of my current gravel bikes don't take really big tires. Once they arrived direct from Continental's tire factory in Koblenz, Germany, I got busy and have the following introduction for your reading pleasure.

What It Is: The Terra Adventure is meant for the toughest gravel tracks, rough dirt roads, steep, loose climbs, and rowdy descents, (within reason). Inspiration for this tire was drawn from Continental's XC MTB line, and it shows.

The central tread area is a pattern Conti calls "3-3-4 Center Stud", while the shoulder tread design is angled for better cornering grip. The compound is "balanced" for the best all-around characteristics shining on loose terrain to hard pack. The casing is a single-ply design constructed for the best characteristics of rolling resistance and toughness.

Of course, the Terra Adventure is tubeless ready and it is also hookless rim compatible. Once again, it comes in 700c X 45mm (tested), 700 X 50mm, and 700 X 55mm in black side wall or Conti's "tan" side wall. Prices are 61.95€ and $69.95 USD.

First Impressions:

These tires came in nice, recyclable cardboard boxes. I appreciated this and I did recycle them after I removed the tires. The tires have copious mold  "whiskers" which sometimes can make a tire like this perform poorly out of the box on pavement and harder surfaces. So, I will not be reporting on this aspect of the tires until those burn off the casings which should take a few longer rides.

The many knobs and their depth are very unusual for a gravel tire. I can think of a few with similarly deep knobs, but they all had bigger blocks (Pirelli Cinturato M) or wildly different tread patterns (WTB Nano 40 and Maxxis Ravager) WTB's 650B Sendero was also a pretty knobby gravel tire, but a completely different diameter.

So these tires from Conti are not necessarily a new thing, but they are a niche of gravel tires which is not common. With Continental offering these larger sizes though, it points to use on bikes like the Salsa Fargo, Cutthroat, and bikes like the Mason In Search Of, or that new Ridley bike, the Ignite GTX.  A slew of newer gravel bike designs which will take up to a 50mm wide tire would also be a choice for use with this Terra Adventure tire.

The casings and rubber compound both felt like high-quality materials were used, which one would expect from Continental. Another thing that I expect from Continental is an overall width after mounting which is not matching what the hot patch on the sidewall says. Would the Terra Adventure be an outlier, or would it follow in a similar vein to most of my Continental tire experiences? 

Measurements & Mounting:

I decided to put this pair of tires on the WTB CZR i23 wheels which are carbon and have, as the name suggests, a 23mm inner rim width. This narrower rim width would have  a slight effect of making the Terra Adventure tires a bit more rounded in profile and probably a bit narrower than they would be on 25mm inner rim width rims or slightly wider rims than that.

The tires fit fairly tightly, but I was able to mount them by hand without tools. The Terra Adventure tires also aired up without removing the valve cores with my SILCA Terra pump. Before I mounted the tires I weighed them, and immediately after mounting at 40psi I measured them for width. I also rode them for about a half an hour then remeasured after 24hrs of being mounted. Here is what I found:

Weight: 530/526 grams

Width of Casing After Mounting: (40psi) 42.69mm / 42.56mm.

After 24hrs and Test Riding: (40psi) 43.6mm/43.7mm

Comments: The weight is fine. I mean, there are a lot of knobs there, so you should not expect a really light tire due to this. On the other hand, the width is less than I would have guessed. I was prepared for this tire to not be quite 45mm wide, but just under 44mm after 24hrs? And at 40 psi, which is higher than I'll actually be using them at? (Lower pressures will yield narrower measurements) That was a surprise. 

As stated earlier, it has been my experience over the course of 30+ years working as a mechanic and reviewer to find Conti tires to be less wide than stated. Sometimes they stretch and get there, sometimes not. We will have to wait and see after these tires break in to re-measure and find out what these end up being for width. 

So Far... The Continental Terra Adventure promises XC MTB-like performance for your gravel bike. Meant for hard pack dirt, looser terrain, and gravel for the most part, I do not expect to find these tires to be stellar pavement goers. I have test ridden them and I can find no glaring traits, either negative or positive, to report as of yet.

I plan on doing the normal gravel and dirt road testing, but with regard to this tire's intentions, I also will be riding some single track to see if any kind of MTB-ish performance can be squeezed out of these Conti tires.

The Terra Adventure tires mounted very easily, in my opinion, on the WTB CZR rims, and aired up with a floor pump using no out of the ordinary tricks. This was impressive and welcomed.They look great, and the weight seems okay for such a knobby tire. While Continental says the tire has a durable casing, and it did feel pretty beefy, you have to wonder about sidewall cuts on a tire with a MTB bent to them like the Terra Adventure.

I'll be back in a month or so with another update on these aggressively treaded gravel tires. 

Gravel Grinder News: Continental Terra Adventure Tires

 Note: All information and all images courtesy of Continental Tires.  

Continental's most aggressive gravel tire, the new Terra Adventure

Continental has released news today regarding an addition to its Terra range of gravel tires. The newest tire also is Continental's most aggressive gravel tread suitable for rough roads and even of-road trails.

Dubbed the Terra Adventure, this tire will come in a 700 X 45mm width with 50mm and 55mm widths as well, making this tire suitable for adventure riding and long-distance gravel events where comfort and control are desired over speed and aerodynamics.

The Terra Adventure features a tread pattern inspired by Continental's XC MTB line. All options provide sidewall and center reinforcement for puncture protection and feature state-of-the-art tubeless-ready technology. The Terra Adventure is hookless bead compatible. Prices for the Terra Adventure are set at 61.95€ and $69.95 USD. Available currently from many online and brick and mortar retailers. 

Comments: This introduction is interesting from the standpoint of a few other developments in adventure riding, one of which will appear in a couple of days from a European based brand. Another development being the new Fox 34 Step cast 130mm travel XC fork. 

While drop bar MTB is nothing new, and "adventure" style bicycles and accessories have been around for nearly two decades already, European brands are starting to trend toward this as being something new. You'll see a new term coined soon which reflects this shift from "trekking", which was the traditional Euro style of "adventure biking", to this swing toward MTB-ish styling and marketing. 

Again, here in the USA this all may seem a bit 'ho-hum', and old news. However; it appears that marketing for some companies, like Conti and other Euro brands, are trying to tap into the ultra-distance and "adventure" side of the gravel craze. This makes sense because "gravel", or more correctly, crushed rock roads, do not feature heavily in the European network of roads and pathways. Not like it does here and especially in the Mid-West.

Gravel Grinder News: Teravail Updraft Tire, Carbon Rims, Valves

The new Teravail Updraft tires are aimed at gravel racers.

Note: All images and information in this post was provided to Guitar Ted Productions by Teravail. 

New Updraft Tires, Tubeless Valve Stems, and Carbon Wheels:

Today at the Mid-South expo Teravail is
unveiling its new products for gravel racers. Three new products are included in this debut with the new Updraft semi-slick gravel racing tires being the product you may have guessed Teravail would introduce. However; I doubt many saw a carbon fiber rim - offered in both a complete wheel and individually for custom wheel builds - as being one of those three products. 

Updraft Tires: The new Updraft is a racy tread design with minimal central tread and a row of alternating sized knobs out on the shoulders of the casing. Designed for speedy racing over hardpacked roads and dirt, this tire should find favor with anyone looking for a tire for race day.

Teravail will offer the Updraft in its Light\Supple and Durable casings with its "Fast" compound. Four widths will be available starting with a 35mm tire and then 40mm, 45mm, and 50mm round out the selections. The 120TPI casing is tubeless compatible and sidewalls will be available in tan or black. 

 Pricing on the Light/Supple casing tires is set at $75.00 USD/ $110.00CAN and for the Durable casing $80.00 USD/$115.00 CAN. This is for all sizes, black or tan sidewalls.

Circos Carbon Rims/Complete Wheels:

The new carbon fiber Circos rims are Teravail's first foray into rims. These 370 gram, hookless bead rims will feature a 25mm wide internal rim width.  

Rims will be available in 700c with 24 or 28 hole drillings only. The Circos rims will come with a Lifetime Warranty. Rims can be purchased separately or Teravail can send out complete wheels featuring DT Swiss 350 hubs. 

 Pricing on the Circos rims only is $495.00 USD/ $720.00 CAN each and complete wheels are Front 28H only, $590.00 USD/ $850.00 CAN each and Rear 28h only in XD driver or HG freehub at $795.00 USD/ $1,200.00 CAN each.

Teravail's Tubeless Valve Stems:

Lastly we have Teravail's own tubeless valve stems which will initially come in 48mm lengths with different lengths to come later on. These matte metallic colored stems feature a 4mm hex key slot for installation and removal. The stems also have an integrated core removal tool. Teravail Tubeless Valve Stems are also tire insert compatible. 

No pricing or availability information at this time for the valve stems. Please contact your Teravail dealer or see www.teravail.com for more information. 

Comments: The Updraft looks good and is no surprise as racing gravel tires are taking more tread off and are focusing on speed more and more. Ironically enough, this is exactly the sort of tire I used to advocate for 11 - 12 years ago or more. (See Challenge Gravel Grinder design)

The offering of a 50mm wide Updraft is also on point for today's gravel racer as the trend is to go as wide as you can on the bike you have. Many newer gravel racing designs are now able to accept tires this wide. 

The Circos carbon rims seem a bit odd in their hookless design which has mixed acceptance in the gravel cycling circles. Personally, it is not a choice I would make, but this may be racer-driven and I can see why this may have been a factor in Teravail's choice. Valve stems are an obvious product choice for Teravail to offer, so nothing really stands out for me in this offering. 

I've been offered a set of Updraft tires to try out.. Look for a review if they hit the GTP Headquarters soon.

Big Tires, Drop Bars, and Racing On Gravel

Tires like this WTB Resolute 50mm are becoming more common in gravel racing

"Ahh! It's just a mountain bike with drop bars now!", is what I read online recently when the subject of big 700c tires for gravel racing came up. That's a typical knee-jerk reaction to a trend that has been settling in with gravel racing at the top levels for about a year or so now. 

This bigger tire trend is setting in because of how the bicycle industry works. There are two things at play here. One: Racers, sponsors, and media want "more exciting" racing and bicycles. Bicycles  capable of handling courses with elements that make for that "excitement". Generally speaking, this trends towards more "mountain bike-like" courses. While there is an element of road racing in gravel racing these days, aero being a trend from that, it is mountain biking that is drawing gravel to its sphere of influence more and more, thus the bigger tires.

Secondly, most areas of the world do not have gravel to ride on. They have unpaved roads, and those roads are not covered with a carpet of three inch deep crushed limestone rocks in most cases. To find this, you must come to the Mid-West of the United States, where gravel racing and riding was born. 

Add those two things together and it becomes easier to see why mountain biking is more relevant and adjacent to gravel cycling world-wide than what we in the Mid-West think of as "gravel" cycling. Here gravel cycling was borne out of a necessity of road riders who were trying to get some resistance training for the road racing season. "Gravel grinders" were training rides in the Mid-West that were done on road bikes. This led to a search for some more capable components and bicycles to tackle roads here, and that is why the original gravel machines in the early twenty-teens were more road bike oriented.

A Salsa Cycles Warbird prototype as raced at Trans Iowa in April of 2012.

Back then, bigger tires were heavy, not very aerodynamic, and collected more mud in wet races. Tire sizes most gravel racers were gravitating to back then were in the 40mm - 43mm size range. 

That seemed to hold serve until something happened to gravel racing that has radically changed the top end of the sport. This change can be summed up in one word.

Money.

When prize money got the attention of retiring roadies and those athletes who weren't getting into the top tiers of road racing at the World Tour level, event promoters of the more popular gravel events started to cater their races more towards this attention-getting, tiny subset of gravel riders. This is also when most high-end gravel bicycles and components started looking like what this small subset of people wanted to see. 

Courses started popping up all over the world that were not "gravel", as in crushed rock roads, but were what are unpaved roads and trails wherever these events unfolded. Many times being the same tracks where early mountain bike events were held. This mixing of MTB type terrain and "gravel bikes" is epitomized in Life Time Events "Grand Prix" which is a mix of MTB courses and gravel events with the same field of Pro riders. While the athletes in the Grand Prix switch between MTB bikes and gravel bikes depending upon the course, one could easily see how a fatter tired, drop bar bike might end up being cross-purposed for at least two of the Grand Prix events. Both the Chequamegon 40 and Leadville 100 events might be an opportunity for this sort of "underbiking" to be an advantage, and in fact, both events saw drop bars being used. 

There is a LOT going on here that could be discussed even in more detail which would illuminate my hypothesis, but in short, I feel gravel cycling, at least as far as how traditional media, brands, and top racers will want to see things, will be more MTB influenced going forward. We are already seeing this with telescopic front forks, MTB influenced geometry, big tires, and more. 

Is this what most gravel riders need or want? Probably not in terms of the bicycles, and this will be seen very soon. I just got an embargoed press release for a new top-tier gravel racer bike that fits big tires but has a lot of things going on that won't be good, or all that great, for most gravel riders. 

Keep in mind that this flashy, top end stuff is really being driven by a very small percentage of very talented and fit athletes. It is not for most people, although the marketing people will do what marketing people do to get you to believe that it is for you. 

What I see as a benefit from all of this is a wider range of fatter gravel tires in the 45mm - 50mm, and maybe bigger, ranges. We all love tires, and so that part will be embraced. But beware of the weird, super-short wheel base, oddly front position biased, "aero" gravel racing bikes which you are going to see coming soon. They are for very fit, fast, racing folks who are getting paid and put in hours and hours of training to do what they do. That is not most gravel riders. This should not be the gravel equivalent of the "Lance Effect" for gravel bikes, because if that is where this big tire thing takes us, we're in for the demise of gravel riding as we know it. 

One more thing: Many people are not down with bigger tires. They claim that they are slower, heavier, and "feel dead". It is that last bit that bears looking at. 

Trek Checkmate. *Image courtesy of Trek Bicycles)

There is an old adage that goes, "If it feels fast, it IS fast." This is how many people discern speed and why more smooth, comfortable, and often times faster bikes and components are panned as being "slow", dead feeling, and not what fast riders want. 

We went through this when suspended forks for MTB came about. Many riders hated them because they "felt slow" and obviously they were heavier than traditional unicrown steel forks of the day. But when stopwatches kept showing faster times, minds began to change. Nowadays power meters tell the tale, but it has been proven that wider tires have lower rolling resistance and in the case of gravel racers, the tires can lend more comfort, control, and less vibrations to the rider over a long course like Unbound's 200 miles of flinty gravel roads. 

Now mountain bikes still had a lot to figure out when suspension came about, and one of those things was that more travel was necessary. But it could be argued that the finer points of mountain bike suspension are still being refined a full 35 years afterward. Gravel is just getting started down that path. Bigger tires are a part of this. More will happen in the future in this realm. 

We will have to wait and see what that might look like.

Review: 700 X 45mm Vulpine - Final Word

 Note: WTB sent over one set each of the Vulpine S, Vulpine, and Resolute tires for testing and review to Guitar Ted Productions at no cost. I was not paid nor bribed for this review and I will always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

This will now be the final review on the trio of WTB tires I received back in late May of this year. The previous Vulpine update can be seen HERE.

This review will tie in with the final on the Vulpine S review, which you can refer to HERE if you would like to. The reason for the tie-in is due to the wheel set I ran with the Vulpine S to start out with. The wheel set I refer to is the BERD spoked, Industry 9 hubbed, carbon rimmed wheel set, which you can learn more about at the link .

Okay, I apologize for this confusion of wheels and tires, but the wheel set did color my impressions and I wanted to be very clear on that point. Now, on with the review of the Vulpine!

The Vulpine is great on fast, dry dirt tracks like this.

To be fair, I swapped the Vulpine tires over to the wheels with the BERD spokes and yes.....it felt the same as when I had the Vulpine S tires on those wheels. So, it wasn't that the Vulpine S tires were better riding tires, it was the wheels. 

What was different was that I had more grip, which stands to reason as the Vulpine is a fully treaded tire. The grip came into play on corners and in a few spots on my test track that had looser dirt. The tires tracked better with less slippage. 

However; it is important to note that the Vulpine is definitely a dry weather tire. Soft dirt and mud are not its friend and deeper, loose chunky gravel is still going to be a chore with the Vulpine tires. I would not use these for those conditions. That would be where I would run the Resolute. But if it is dry, on firmer roads and dirt? Absolutely I would run the Vulpines. They are decent on pavement, although not as fast as the smoother tread on the Vulpine S, and again, this is no big surprise. Choose accordingly. 

Final Word:

Ever since WTB redesigned the Vulpine and introduced it as a 70 X 38mm tire I have longed for the day when it would be offered in a wider, more voluminous size. That day is here, and hopefully with these new "wider is better" trends in racing we will see an even wider 50mm Vulpine. But at 45+mm, even if a 50mm Vulpine never happens, this size for the Vulpine makes the most sense to me. 

The Vulpine is fast, grips enough in drier conditions to be fun on buff dirt, and it handles gravel well enough that it could be a really good alternative as an all-around gravel tire for many people. I still would go with a Resolute as my go-to all-around gravel tire because it does get wet here at times and the Resolute will handle wet grounds in a better way than a Vulpine. However; if you live in a dry climate, or if you just want a good, fast gravel tire that isn't missing tread, the Vulpine in the 45mm size could be just right for you.