these tires have small knobbys and tread. they are THIN...i mean everything on them are thin. the top included. i have had warning about this being a racing tire prone to flat easily.
one was 338g the other 342g.
i ran these with some ultra light tubes as i expected to flat them on the first day. i mean by flatting, ripping them to shreds.
i threw the tires on my edge carbon fiber wheels. they are a good match for ultra light weight parts.
notice the titainium cassette from nino with plastic spacers...oooohhh very light weight.
anyways i took these up rattle snake gulch to pipeline in millcreek.
the first part of the climb is covered in loose rocks ranging from 1" to 3" and its steep. there are three 5 minute steep parts and then it levels out to flat with hardpack and occasional loose sharp shale.
the shale is where i thought i was going to lose these tires.at 32 psi they handled the first loose climb without any problems. grip was at an all time low here. it was like trying to climb a trail on a road bike. the combo of "2.0" width, too small knobs and higher psi was the culprits.
although the tires where fast. surprizingly they had good rolling resistance on this rocky section.
the flat hardpack inbetween the rocky part where a different story. all of a sudden the tires had grip. no they had super glue like grip. but again surprizingly they lost thier speed. they felt slower than their cousins racing ralphs.
i stumbled along untill i reached the sharp shale. this is where these tires where to meet thier doom. but alas no.
although the tires where fast. surprizingly they had good rolling resistance on this rocky section.
the flat hardpack inbetween the rocky part where a different story. all of a sudden the tires had grip. no they had super glue like grip. but again surprizingly they lost thier speed. they felt slower than their cousins racing ralphs.i stumbled along untill i reached the sharp shale. this is where these tires where to meet thier doom. but alas no.
they survived all the closely packed sharp rock parts and carried me up to the next part of this trail. flat hardpack.
again, good traction, but not the speed you would expect. i lowered the psi to 27. here the tires picked up some speed on the hard pack, but they lost it in the rougher rockier stuff.
what where these tires designed for? a thin fast rolling resistance tire on gravel roads. backroads, fireroads, but not street. they were even slower on the street at any psi.
later testing found that they excelled on grass. yes sod. any type of grass, rough or smooth. they took off and held speed really well.
perhaps this is a snow or mud tire. snow, they are too thin, maybe mud, but i hate mud.
i will keep these in the quiver and try them out at slickrock type of trails or something else. they are interesting none the less. i like them, i just like the racing ralphs more.
