chas58

Are all the flats in the rear? Would it be worth it to put the tougher tire on the rear?

chas58

They used inner tubes for everything. Kinda explains that...
They did test all the major brands though. Tons of good info in there.

shoota 

And that takes care of the snakebite issue of the Terra Speed.

I might have to order a pair. Not gonna lie, just by looking at them I wouldn't have guessed they were fast. Knobs != speed in my brain.

chas58

Me too. Interestingly, the G-one All around is faster than the Speed, and The aggressive Terra bite is faster than the bite. Certainly, if you can hear the knobs, its slowing you down though.

Rides4Beer

What tires was he running? I also have the Terra Trails, which are also good, more aggressive and only a touch slower than the Speeds, and still have the 43mm SK+, but I really don't like those. lol I'm going to be talking with some local folks who have done DK to get their tips too. My biggest goal is to keep mechanicals to a minimum, mental game is strong and training should support a good effort out there.

Rides4Beer

Makes sense with a more supple casing. I run them tubeless, so no worries there. Haven't had any issues and I've smashed some rocks pretty hard at 37/38psi.


I'm trying to make sense of that, since they weren't in the test, but the graphic shows 25w with a tube, since the Speed was tested with a tube, then it would still be faster. Which I guess would put the Speed around 18-19w tubeless.

srode1

I didn't really see what he was running, just tossed him a tube and a C02 cartridge and rode on. I used WTB Nano's the first 3 times on DK200, only one puncture on the rear one time, which the sealant fixed and I didn't even notice till 2 weeks later when I got around to cleaning the bike. Those 3 times were on the course heading South which is not as brutal as the North course IMHO. Last year headed North I used SK+ and no flats.

jfranci3

go look at the specs of the Speed 40c v the AA 40c the 40c AA is a lighter duty tire. The smaller 30c Speeds would look closer for the One v-guard at the same pressure.

if you start digging in with these results and BRRs numbers, it looks like the casing makes a 2-3w difference (road perf v the next step more durable) and the knobs add 2w per “step”.

jfranci3

Heads up, these are 38c tires marked as 40c. They measure 38mm across on my Stans Grail 20mm int rim. Unless you are a 25mm interior wheel, you're not getting 40mm.

Gk SK 43c measure 43mm on these tires, so the sizes was quite visibly different than what I was expecting.

srode1

He didn't say where they all were. the only puncture I have had (which sealed right away) was on the rear.

jfranci3

Just got a ride in on these -
They ride really nicely, roll a step better than my GK SKs, and you won't instantly flip over if you touch mud or snow like you do with the GK SKs. I'm give them 4-stars out of 5 so far, the ****ty sizing (marking vs actual & avb sizes) is the only downer.

shoota 

Good pic. I'm guessing some of the speed comes from the shape of the tire. It's not flat across like a lot of gravel tires, it stands more proud in the center.

chas58

Good feedback, and good to know on sizing.
FYI, I have seen tires stretch over time (i.e. a couple of days vs new) and some are noticably bigger at max PSI. Personally, I can not fit a 40mm tire that measures over 40mm, so this would work for me. Looks very interesting. Wonder if they will come out with a variety of sizes like Schwalbe (don't see how they can not do that given the growth in this area).

Rides4Beer

FYI on durability, no punctures at all, but doesn't look like they're going to last very long, guess that's the tradeoff for a fast tire. I have prob 5-600 miles on them and the rear is showing significant wear (not that the tread is very tall to start with). A lot of that is pavement tho, I was waiting on my new road bike to get built so I was using the gravel bike with the Terra Speeds for all of my normal riding.

Cyclist0114

Thanks for many information! I'm interested in these tires, but not sure what size should choose.
My bike is CX and real max width is about 37/38 mm - so probably 35c is the best option but... you wrote, that 40c is real 38c.
I use DT R460b 18 mm inner width rims

shoota 

35s, no doubt.

jfranci3

That extra 3mm is a big deal off road basically everywhere. The tire will float better of soft stuff, you can run lower tire pressures for faster speeds on rough stuff, and they can deflect more on irregularities.

I'd say get the 40c and mount them dry on your wheels. They mount easily with just a floor pump box they come in isn't that hard to open, keep everything in new condition , and return in perfect condition if the fit isn't great. Won't be a big deal to the retailer if you need an exchange. Mount the rear. Make sure there's +2mm of clearance to the side of the seat stay.


Another idea would be to buy one 40c, try it on the rear, and if it doesn't work run 35c rear / 40c front. Most CX forks can take the 38mm tire no problem - the restriction is trying to allow road gearing, a road Q-factor/chainline crank, a seatstay, and a wide tire in the same space.

chas58

That is what I did on my old CX bike. Rather a no risk solution. I found the wider tire tended to rub against the frame under high torque, so put a smaller one on the rear.

GravelGurty

Received a set of 40mm terra speeds today. They mounted/sealed very easily to my new GRX wheelset with my floor pump. They've been holding air for a few hours with no sealant so far. They measure out at 38 currently, pretty excited to get cassette/rotors swapped and try out.

shoota 

Same. I hope mine stretch out just a touch over time. (And don't flat)

srode1

Terra Speeds mounted in Enve G23 (23mm internal width) measure 39.1mm. By comparison my 40mm WTB Nano TCS tires measure 41.5 on those wheels. As I remember the Gravelking SK+ 38mm tires measured 39mm on these rims too.

Looking at the two tires unmounted, it's clear the bead to bead width with the tires spread out flat is narrower on the Terra Speeds, by 4 to 5mm. I doubt they will stretch out over time (if they did they would be weaker I would think). They should probably not be called 40mm tires dimensionally from what I can see but they may well ride as well or better than 40mm tires.

tFUnK

Yup... Fast, grippy, supple, but narrow.

shoota 

Man, so far so good. Quick Review:

Specs: Did a nice mixed route 50 mile ride yesterday so I got a good feel for them. Each weighed 405g. That's 75-100g/each lighter than my other tires (Terreno Dry 40mm and GKSK 40mm). They measured 38.7mm on my 23mm ID wheels. They set up tubeless very easily, big bonus there.

Experience: They roll with almost no hint of knobs on pavement. This was the one place I was really curious of how they roll, and they felt really fast. And of course they were fast on hard pack dirt roads. They gripped decently on looser gravel climbs, but not as great as I would have guessed (I had HIGH hopes here so take that with a grain of salt, they were just as good as any other tire I've tried). The back tire was a touch loose on fast descents while applying power. Nothing crazy but I found that a little strange. Cornering was great. I purposely went into a few turns hot enough to make my butt pucker but neither tire even so much as skidded a centimeter. That was awesome. I ran them at 38psi and I had to double check a few times to see if the rear was going flat. It wasn't, they're just that supple. Really nice ride feel, ESPECIALLY for a 38mm tire. If these prove to be durable, which only time will tell, then they have a good shot at being the holy grail gravel tire we've all been seeking.

Rides4Beer

I noticed the same thing, they squish more at the same pressure, I thought the same thing at first and had to double check my pressure. Did 50 miles on the Terra Trails on Sat and they were great at 38psi, even on the pavement (saving my Speeds for some upcoming races, since they're wearing fast, then I'll get a new set for DK).

srode1

Not sure if it really matters but there is a direction of rotation arrow on the sidewalls even though the tread is not directional. Thought I would mention it for anyone who hadn't noticed. (ignore if someone else already posted, I didn't see it posted).