UnfilteredDregs

Well,

I'm adding a new set of wheels to the quiver and what I'd like to do is dedicate my older Ardennes+ as a purely off road set.

I'm pretty aware of what all the good offerings are as far as road tubeless goes, I'm running Hutchinson Sectors at the moment and will be going with Schwalbe ONEs this Spring but...

I'm a bit perplexed about picking the right off-road tubeless tire.

I'd like to take the bike just about anywhere, other than say, ridiculous technical singletrack or ankle+ deep mud. So, Hardpack, trails, looser gravel, etc...

What do I need in a tread? How wide? What makes and models of tires should I be considering?

Thanks in advance!

justin1138

it seems like the sweet spot for what you're after in a tire is between 35-40mm, with a non-aggressive tread (by off-road standards). what's going to make your search a little more challenging is the lack of tubeless ready options.

a quick google search for "tubeless gravel tire" only really picked up a couple options: the specialized trigger 2bliss, the WTB Nano 40c, i think kenda has some tubeless options. there could be more, this is really uncharted territory for me (the tubeless side of things). there's more options if you search for "cyclocross tubeless tires", but these tend to turn up choices with a more aggressive tread than you probably need, and would also be a little narrower.

if you're willing to go tubed, your options open up quite a bit more.

personally, i have a set of wtb nano's that i use when the conditions allow and they work great for what you're basically describing. on my short list for a new rear tire to match the nano up front (it's a tight squeeze out back) include the ritchey wcs shield, clement ush or mso, and wtb cross boss.

good luck.

justin1138

CX Tubeless setup thread- Mtbr.com

there's also this long running thread over on the MTBR site which may be helpful to you.

Kopsis

Bruce Gordon Rock & Roads (43mm) aren't officially tubeless ready, but I've run them that way (on Pacenti SL23s) with no issues whatsoever. The retro tread pattern is quite versatile -- rolls fast on hard stuff and has good bite on trails and gravel.

Jiggle

I juuuuuust answered this question for myself. WTB Nano 700x40 was what I purchased. At first, I got the Kenda Slant Six 700x32 and Happy Medium 700x32, but the UCI limit width 32mm is a little small for comfortable off road trail use. The 40mm is perfect.

I only considered "SCT" type tires, the ones made specifically for tubeless. There are non-tubeless versions of each of the above tires.

The Nano tread pattern is pretty fast on dry hardpack and gives good grip in the loose stuff.

I run them at 25-30 psi @ 70kg with no problems. I could go lower, but I hate bottoming out my rims on rocks.

Tubeless sealant I'm using is 40% latex, 30% propylene glycol, 30% water.

The Nanos are 100mm bead to bead. 35mm width on 15mm id rim, probably 41mm on the Ardennes +.

UnfilteredDregs

Thanks for the first hand experience....how supple would you describe the tire? I can't find the tpi rating on it anywhere...

You like the Nano's? I'm interested in the Ritchey as well, haven't read much rider experience about it... 35mm so it will fit, Warbird is rated to 38mm but lots of folks get 40 on it, usually the Clement. I'm surprised Clement hasn't come out with a tubeless version of their 40mm... people are asking for them.

40mm sounds like, the do it all size...

I need to read up on what folks say about the Specialized tires.

From what I can tell cx tires in general aren't a good gravel grinding tire.

justin1138

yeah, the nano's are a nice tire. i got mine last summer to use for a few early season dry cross races. i wanted a higher volume tire to soak up the bumpy stuff, and these definitely did the trick. i did a back to back test with these against my vittoria xg's and the difference was huge. the xg's were very harsh by comparison.

there's also plenty of bite with the nano for looser stuff and the tread design allows a nice smooth roll. even on pavement i never really felt like i was slowed down by these guys. the only thing they didn't perform well in was wet mud, they just didn't clear well and lost traction. i ended up getting a pair of clement pdx's for this, which is a great tire for mud, but that's a whole different thread.

my nano's (i have the "race" version, btw) measured out to 38mm on a 14mm IRD rim. i never got the chance to mount them up to my archetype's to see what they'd do on a wider profile rim. there's a good chance that they wouldn't have cleared the chain stays on these rims. as it is, the paint on the inner stay's got "sanded" off from the one muddy race the nano's were used in.

right now my cross bike is still stripped down (i'm going through my own bottom bracket issues right now too), but i'm itching to get it back together and hit some logging roads i've been searching out. the nano's are going back on for this. later this spring or summer i'll probably get a different rear tire. again, my first choice is the ritchey shield, mainly because I like the brand.

i'm a bit surprised that clement hasn't stepped up to tubeless yet either. there tires are popular enough with the cross and gravel crowd.

Jiggle

@UnfilteredDregs

I can't tell you about the ride quality. They ride fine.

UnfilteredDregs

Looks like the Nano would be a solid first choice, regarding the Ritchey, any other reason besides brand reputation that you're considering trying them?

UnfilteredDregs

Thanks Jiggle.

justin1138

i like the tread design. it looks slightly more aggressive than the nano, which i think would pair up well with the nano up front. it's also a good deal lighter, on paper at least.

nocluejimbo

I have been rocking the Nanos on my Nature Boy since January. Rolls great on pavement, but handles snow, dirt, and gravel really well.

UnfilteredDregs

You know... It's a significant weight savings on paper, and they blow out to 38mm on an IRD 19mm rim according to a review. My IRD on the Ardennes+ is 20.5mm. My Warbird is conservatively rated at 38mm max width, but I sure 40mm won't be an issue...I would definitely go with the Nanos based on others endorsements here but...I'm seriously considering taking a shot with the Ritchey's out of curiosity, 120tpi versus 60 as well. I'm just wondering how much of a difference 35mm versus the Nano's 40mm will make...


Edit: I just called Ritchey, the WCS 35mm is not tubeless although the 29'r is. They're planning on releasing a tubeless version next year.

justin1138

if you had both tires mounted and ready to go, and there was an actual 5mm difference in width, i'd say you'd probably notice some difference in a back to back comparison. i also think you'd adjust pretty quickly to it too.

i was going to say, i don't think the ritchey version is tubeless... i'm guessing that sways the decision for you.

UnfilteredDregs

Yup...really isn't much out there for tubeless 35mm and up. It's either the Nano 40c or the Spesh 2Bliss Pro Trigger... Being that they're both 60tpi, I'll just go with the Nanos.

That was easy, lol

justin1138

could do a lot worse.