#tires

tag

SOMA: Shikoro and Supple Vitesse Tires

Radar

SOMA: Shikoro and Supple Vitesse Tires

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.

Surly: New Extraterrestrial 26″ Tires and 8 or 24 Pack Racks

Radar

Surly: New Extraterrestrial 26″ Tires and 8 or 24 Pack Racks

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.

Introducing Teravail Tires: All-Road, Gravel and Off-Road

Radar

Introducing Teravail Tires: All-Road, Gravel and Off-Road

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.

Coming Soon: The Specialized Turbo Cotton

Radar

Coming Soon: The Specialized Turbo Cotton

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

I Like the Look of the Clement X’Plor MSO

Radar

I Like the Look of the Clement X’Plor MSO

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?

Just a Little Bigger: Surly’s Knard 41c Cross Tire

Radar

Just a Little Bigger: Surly’s Knard 41c Cross Tire

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…

Fairweather Tires Have Landed at Velo Orange

Radar

Fairweather Tires Have Landed at Velo Orange

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: New Tires in Stock

Radar

Fairweather: New Tires in Stock

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.

SOMA Responds – Cazadero Mixed Terrain Tires

Radar

SOMA Responds – Cazadero Mixed Terrain Tires

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…

Monster Cross It: WTB’s Nano 40c Tire

Reportage

Monster Cross It: WTB’s Nano 40c Tire

Anyone who hangs their cross bike on the wall when season ends is missing the point. A cyclocross bike is one of the most well-rounded rides you can own. I’ve said countless times before that my Geekhouse Mudville is my favorite bike I own. If only because I’ve made so many fond memories while riding it, in pain, covered in sweat, hating life, on a ride, not racing it.

For some reason, I never once thought to beef up my bike post-season. Well, I did, but I couldn’t fit my Bruce Gordon Rock and Road tires on it – the derailleur hanger clamp gets in the way. That was well over a year ago however.

Ok, the real reason why I never monster cross’d my cross bike is because there aren’t a whole lot of 40c cross tires on the market. In fact, just the other day I was planning on buying some of Surly’s 41c Knard tires when these 40c WTB Nano tires showed up in the mail.

700×33

Radar

700×33

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…

I’ve Got the Jack Brown Blues

Radar

I’ve Got the Jack Brown Blues

… 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.

Run What You Brung

Radar

Run What You Brung

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.

WTB’s New Nano 40c Tire Looks Cushy

Radar

WTB’s New Nano 40c Tire Looks Cushy

It’s kinda funny how such a simple thing can bring such joy to people. Yeah, a 40c tire. It’s bigger than a 35c but not as big as a 45c. It’ll fit just about any production cross frame. WTB calls it a gravel tire, but that tread looks like it’ll rip up some 1-track just fine.

Here’s the scoop:

“WTB Nano 40c tires will be available in Race and Comp versions starting April of 2014. Nano 40c Race tires will feature a folding Aramid bead, Lightweight Casing, DNA Rubber, weigh in at 470g, and retail for $49.95. Nano 40c Comp tires will feature a wire bead, Durable Casing, DNA Rubber, weigh 550g, and retail for $31.95.”

Yes! Gumwalls!