The Radavist

When it comes to my mountain bike, I’m pretty loyal to Maxxis’ tire offerings but on my ‘cross bike, I’ve been loyal to the WTB Nano for so long that I forget to look at other options out there. This year at Interbike, Maxxis unveiled a few 40mm tires, marketed at the “gravel” crowd: the Rambler, with a minimal, tightly-packed, fast-rolling tread (pictured) and the Re-fuse, a slick. Both tires are tubeless-ready and seem to be solid options for those wanting a little more cushion for dirty rides.

Yesterday I installed the Rambler on my Firefly and while they took a bit to get seated on my tubeless rims, I like what I see so far. While they are called a 40mm tire, mine measured 38mm on the ENVE M50 rims, which are actually quite wide. Side by side to the Nano, which measure 41mm on the same rims, they’re not nearly as plump, but the light tread pattern looks like it’ll roll fast on pavement while offering a good amount of traction on dusty corners. Maxxis calls the Rambler a racing tire.

Time will tell which I’ll prefer (the Nano or the Rambler) for this bike in particular but after a few quick rides, I’m enjoying what the Rambler has to offer. You can order these tires from your local Rambler dealer, or through Maxxis direct if your local shop doesn’t carry them.

SOMA always does a great job at addressing tire demands from its customers. Their new Shikoro tire offers the ultimate protection with reinforced sidewalls and tough tread, while the Supple Vitesse offer a smoother ride with tubular casing and two tread thicknesses.

Like options? These tires are available in 23, 28, 33, 38, 42mm widths. That’s literally something for everyone. Check out more info at Soma’s Blog and swoop up a pair at your local dealer.

26″ isn’t dead, it just took a back seat on an interstellar space trip for a bit. The newest tire from Surly, the Extraterrestrial proves that there’s a lot of fun to have on your 26″ bike. These 2.5″, 60TPI tires have been designed for multi-surfaces and will still enjoy a commute that’s mostly pavement.

Speaking of commuting, there are two racks coming in from Surly: the 8 Pack and the 24 Pack Racks. Surely you get the reference… See more at Surly.

The brands within the umbrella of QBP have something for everyone and now, with the introduction of Teravail, their newly-launched, in-house tire brand, they deliver something for just about everyone in terms of tires for varying terrain.

The initial Teravail product line includes tires for three categories: all-road, gravel, and off-road, ranging in size from 28mm up to 2.2″. Check out the models below.

QBP’s new tire company, Teravail is launching this week, beginning with this video featuring their Galena 32mm tire on the Almanzo route.

With sizes ranging from 650b x 48mm, 26″ x 32mm, and 700c x 35mm, Compass has a whole lotta new rubber to keep your wheels rolling down whatever terrain you want to take on. Head over to the Compass Blog for more information or just check stock at the Compass Webshop. Personally, I think those Switchback Hill tires look sick!

… thanks for the reminder, Richard.

My favorite all ’rounder tire is now available in 650b. Bruce Gordon’s Rock ‘n Road multi-surface tire is finally here for both 700c and 650b bikes. Available in a gumwall and blackwall now at Bruce Gordon.

In the world of true gumwall tires, the higher the TPI, the better. Maybe not for puncture resistance, but surely for the ride. Performance road tires, by definition should perform and the new Turbo Cotton tires from specialized sound like they’ll do the trick. Hell, they sure look like they’re willing to fill that role (roll). I can’t wait to try out a pair!

Casing: 320 TPI Polycotton
Bead: foldable
Compound: GRIPTON
Flat Protection: BlackBelt
700 x 24; psi 115-125; approximate weight 210g

Look, I don’t buy into the whole gravel grinding marketing behind bigger tires, but I do like a big, fat tire on a cross bike for trail shredability. So far I’ve ridden the Nano, the Knard and now, I’ve got my sights on the Clement X’Plor MSO, a tire that officially launched last year, but this is the first I’m seeing it.

See more at Clement, or at your local shop. Anyone ride these tires yet?

It takes a bit of convincing for most people, but after you go with a fatter tire on your cross bike, you rarely will want to go back. Since riding the Nano for around 6 months, I’ve fallen in love with the extra cushion provided by a 40c tire and while I love the Nano, I really wanted to give the Surly Knard 41c a go. If, for any other reason than the allure of a smidge in additional width.

Trails, sure! But racing? For some reason, people are apprehensive about racing a 40+c tire – USAC allows it, so why not? My guess is, that age old myth that a “bigger tire is slower”… Oh but the contrary, with the right PSI, you’ll have the upper hand on just about any course.

I spent the weekend racing on my new Knards and have some thoughts below…

The Fairweather tires are incredible. Why? Because they’re made by Panaracer in Japan, in a selection of colors and we all know Panaracer is legit. Up until now, you couldn’t buy them Stateside, so head over to Velo Orange to see their new stock!

The 38c Cruising tire is very nice…

Fairweather has built their brand around designing new products with Japanese companies such as Nitto, Sugino and Panaracer. Their latest offerings include a whole array of tires in various colors and sizes, for any bike you might own. 28c road, 32c CX, 29’r, tourer, you name it, they’ve got it in both “algae” and “rust” colors. The 700c x 38c touring tires look really nice.

Right now these tires, their bags, components and frames are all in stock at Fairweather’s webshop and yes, they ship worldwide on everything.

The Panaracer CX Fire is indeed a great tire, but with a 45c measurement, it’ll be a bit too big for a traditional cross frame. That’s why SOMA responded to the demand with a 40c mixed terrain tire called the Cazadero, made by Panaracer in Japan. Head over to SOMA for the scoop. These look damn good and yes, gumwalls…

I don’t usually gloat about birthdays, but I felt like this year is a special one. 33c tires are a coincidental size but it was worth making a note. Today I’m 33 years young and I look forward to moving up in tire size each year…

… continuing with the Fuji X-T1 test shots, I wanted to sing praises of these tires. Made in Japan by Panaracer, the Jack Brown “Blue” label 33.3 tires have been very good to me. I’ve yet to flat on them and even examining the tread as I was shooting this photo, I found a number of thorns and copper wire pieces stuck in its hardy casing.

If I had to guess how many miles I’ve put on them, it’d be over 1000. Most of which are from around town trips.

Sure, the rolling resistance is higher than other comparable offerings – including the Jack Brown “Green” – but for an around town / touring machine, I’d rather have a reliable tire than one that flats on thorns or road debris.

Pick up the Jack Brown Blue tires at Rivendell for $63 /each or $126 for a pair.

For those wondering about the camera and lens, this is my Zeiss 28mm f2.8 on the X-T1 shot wide open.

Photo by Walton Brush

I’ve done this before. Your front tire gets shredded and all you have laying around is a red-backed Vittoria Randonneur. The difference is, I never took a second to document it. Nice one Walton! See more of the Walt’s world at his Tumblr.