Terrene Releases Newest Fat and Plus Tire Model

Bozeman, MT—August 30, 2017 ­­— Terrene Tires announces newest model, Cake Eater, to their growing lineup of bicycle tires.

Our amigos at Terrene Tires are releasing their sixth tire model. Cake Eater is a versatile, fast-rolling, studdable fat tire. Continuing with its goal of bringing to market a complete line of bike tires, Terrene is expanding on its current lineup of mountain, gravel, and fat bike tires with the addition of a design that is lighter and faster than its aggressive predecessor, Wazia, yet still offers riders plenty of cornering power.

The Cake Eater tread design is intended to depart from the more aggressive “Wazia” model that Terrene currently has available in 26×4.0 and 26×4.6. In comparison, the fully studdable Cake Eater will feature a quicker rolling tread while still offering aggressive side knobs for plenty of cornering power.

“Inspired by studless winter vehicle snow tires, Cake Eater was designed to have lower center tread height with deep siping for lower rolling resistance and high traction with plenty of biting edges,” said Terrene tire designer Anders Broste. “Stud pockets were added in the transition areas for optional added cornering confidence in icy conditions and side lugs remain tall and edgy for biting into corners.”

Throughout its entire line, Terrene aims to simplify the tire buying process by eliminating confusion and guesswork and delivering quality tires in two effective but simplified builds available in each model. Light tires are a supple 120tpi casing, and Tough tires are a 60tpi casing with reinforcements specific to the needs of each model and the intended use case of that tire model. In addition, every single one of our tires is designed to be tubeless ready from the start.

In addition to the refined and excellent new tread and stud designs, Terrene is proud to announce that Cake Eater will also be available in a more budget-friendly studded tire option. “We always listen to our dealers, and last year we were constantly praised in helping reduce the MSRP of studded fat bike tires,” said Tim Krueger, General Manager. “They said, thank you for bringing the price down 20% on high-end studded fat bikes tires, but if we can get to $150 for a studded tire, we can reach a new segment of riders that could benefit from studded tires.” This brought about the creation of the standard Cake Eater, using a cost-effective casing, paired with aluminum/tungsten carbide studs with a flat tip that will retail for $150. As with all Terrene tires, it still retains a folding bead and is tubeless ready.

“The addition of Cake Eater has allowed us to offer fat tire riders a faster and lighter tread option that we feel is one of the best tires available on the market for winter riding,” said Tim Krueger. “And being able to bring a new price point to the world of studded fat bike tires will allow us to get more riders out in the winter with the aided traction and control of studs.”

Cake Eater will be available in a wide variety of options this fall. Slated for October, Cake Eater Light will be available with or without studs in 26×4.0 and 26×4.6 size, priced at $120 without studs and $200 with the Low Resistance Crown Stud, a version of our top performing triple point tungsten carbide stud that has reduced height for less rolling resistance. Cake Eater will also be offered in a lower-priced model using a flat-tip stud and cost-effective casing at $150 in 26×4.0 and 26×4.6. Following in early November, the Cake Eater Light will be available in 27.5×4.0 for $120 without studs and $200 with studs and 27.5×2.8 for $80 without studs and $160 with studs, all paired with our Low Resistance Crown Studs.

For more information about Terrene Tires visit – terrenetires.com

Saddledrive

We reported from Saddledrive that the new Heller Bloodhound was rock’n the Trek-Fat wheel format and would come with a brand new tire from Vee called the Crown Gem. It’s a tread pattern that I’ve ridden as both 27.5+ and 29+ previously and now Vee has made a Crown Gem that’s 27.5 x 3.8. If you follow our instagram, you know that I’ve been testing the 2018 Heller Bloodhound for a week or so, so I’ve got a half a dozen good off road rides in on the tires. Before we get into the ride, let’s share some spec’s.

Our two tires that came on the Heller weighed in at 1410 g and 1405 g. When laid flat the bead to bead, measures 220 mm and the tread width is 115 mm. Mounted to the 27.5 x 80 mm Mulefut rims, the tire is 94mm wide. The tires have a 120 tpi casing and come in the black Silica Compound, are tubeless ready and have folding beads. The tires came set up with tubes and all but my latest ride, were ridden that way. I recently set them up tubeless and after a little fiddling with the rear, wheel, they’re holding air. Out of all of the measurements, I found the height of this tire, wheel combination to be the most interesting. The Crown Gems mounted on the 27.5″ Mulefuts is only 5 mm taller than a 45NRTH Husker Du mounted on a 26″ Reynolds Elite Carbon Rims, so a person that owns a 26″ Fatty could easily fit this wheel, tire combination, with no change to geometry or stand-over to their machine.

Some of the information that Salsa shared with us at Saddledrive pertained to their thoughts on Trek-Fat, since they’re moving that direction (with a Maxxis 27.5 tire) on the 2018 Beargrease. They told us that because of the shorter and stiffer sidewall of the 27.5 fat set up allowed them to roll with lower tire pressures in soft conditions. But we’re testing the CG’s on dirt, so I checked with Heller about air pressures for singletrack on the Bloodhound and they suggested that I started at 10-12 psi and lower as needed.

I know that Vee has had some issues in the past with self steering, especially at lower psi’s. Knowing that…..I monitored my tire pressure each time I set out on the bike. I’ve been  setting the bike up 9.5 in the front and 10.5 in the rear for the last few rides. I’ve experienced zero self steer at those pressures on everything from gravel, dirt singletrack and asphalt. The last couple of tires that Vee has sent us test have been that way. Maybe they figured out the problem. The Crown Gems roll pretty smoothly as one would expect a moderately knobbed tire to roll. I love moderately knobby tires and so far the Crown Gems are meeting or exceeding my expectations in all of the important categories. Today, I pushed them into a soft muddy corner and both tires broke loose and then grabbed in a nice predictable drift, that delivered me successfully out of the turn with a big grin and an involuntary ‘war whoop’. The fact that I had the confidence to push it in that loose corner speaks to the way the Heller has me riding these tires. (More about the Heller, coming soon) The 27.5 Fat format shrinks the pneumatic envelope in each tire, so the bounciness of a normal fat-bike wheel is mitigated, with no sacrifice to stability or traction. The Crown Gems have delivered, what I’ve been looking for from the Plus Bike category. I’m riding sections of singletrack faster and with more control than I can ride them on a standard fatty. F’realz. Bluto and a dropper post have a lot to do with it, but the Crown Gems are a big part of that performance as well.

I’ve only experienced a half a dozen rides and I’ve just recently converted them to tubeless. so I think that I’ll prescribe myself another 24 rides to collect more data. I’ll continue to test them, along with a few other tires in the category and report back with a full review in about a month.

For more information visit – https://www.veetireco.com/

The one and only, Pistil Pete asked about this tire and after our editorial staff took a look at them on the interwebz, we decided to pull the trigger and bought a set for $49 each. We wanted to see if we might shed some light on how these babies, would do on the beach, along with some asphalt and gravel loaded touring….commuting, joy rides, and the like. The Supercells are wire bead and have (eek!) 30 tpi casings. They both weighed in at an identical 1760 grams each. That’s kind’a porky, but they’re smooth. They came shipped in plastic bags that were taped together. I carefully cut the tape, but I must have let my guard down, because when I tore open, the plastic bag, the folded wire bead tire uncoiled and whapped me right in the face in a classic bit of slapstick comedy. We like tires with spunk, so we mounted them up on a set of Fatback Umma 90mm rims. The tire mounted is 101 mm wide and as you can see in the picture (below) is about the same size as a Surly Larry mounted on the same rim.

(L) Origin8 Supercell – (R)  Surly Larry

On beach rides, I tend to run a Larry up front and an old worn Endomorph in the rear on these wheels for a few simple reasons. For one, it’s old school; and two, they provide enough float coupled with very low rolling resistance and that works really well for riding the third coast….and three self steer is meaningless on the beach and four – all three kinds of traction have a smaller role while beach riding. And finally five, I have a pile of them. Over the last few years, I’ve also had some experience with fat slicks. I’ve ridden the (4.9″ wide) Vee Apache Fat Slicks on the beach and I’ve also spent some time on (3,5″ wide) Vee Speedsters way back in the day. (Never spent any time on Black Floyds, but I’m a big fan of the Pink variety) The ride experience with those types of tires, is the reason that we’re somewhat hopeful that the (4′ wide) Supercell might be a good option for both the beach and the boulevard.

My first test of the Supercells was a night ride out on the local gravel trail. I’ve got a bit of asphalt road between home and the gravel, so I went out with the bike lit up like a christmas tree and a reflective vest over my jean jacket on a nice cool summer night with a half moon rising in the southern sky. I hadn’t paid too much attention to how much air that I had in the tires. I just gassed them up nice and hard, to get the beads set. When I measured them the next day, I had 13.5 psi in the front and 16.5 in the rear. Out on the ride – The first thing I noticed was how fast these tires rolled on pavement. The next thing I felt was self steer. Even on the gravel, I was getting a bit of auto steer.

On my next ride, I was racing some storm clouds, trying to get a local loop in on the Supercells. I decided to try 12.5 psi front and rear, because I just had time to hit up my local bandito loop, which consists of a mixed bag of gravel, dirt, asphalt and chip & seal. I live on top of hill on a freshly paved chip & seal road. Chip & Seal is sort of a cross between gravel and asphalt. At the bottom of the hill, there’s always a swath of extra gravel. The hill makes it easy to cruise into the right hand turn, at the bottom, with some speed. Right where the extra loose gravel collects. Somewhere around the apex of the turn, the self steer gave me a little swerve thrill, but we made it on down the road to where there’s an even bigger gravel two track downhill, where I regularly hit warp factor two. It was a hoot and the Supercells behaved themselves in the straight line decent. The lower tire pressure handled the chunky railroad bed gravel better than expected. Conditions were bone dry. I make mention of that, because I don’t think these things would handle wet or muddy conditions very well. After riding the loop at dirt psi, I decided to take another crack at the Supercells all pumped up to 20 psi to see if I could rid them of auto swerve. I’d say the higher tire pressure removed 95% of the self steering problem. Riding the railroad grade gravel at 20 psi was pretty harsh in spots.

Otis wearing the Origin8 Supercell Sneakers

The Beach Test

I decided to head up to Port Washington to see how the Supercells like the sand on the shores of Lake Michigan. The lake levels are higher than I’ve ever seen them before and there were some pretty tough sand conditions right out of the gate. I stopped and dropped air out of both the front and the rear a couple times in the first half a mile. There were some seriously soft sand conditions and because of the high water levels, I was riding out in the lake a fair amount. The lake was really calm, so I kept voting for wading in the water vs. bushwhacking the shore. There were some really nice sections, but there were also super soft spots and plenty of wading. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Supercells handled the sand, once I bled out enough air. I didn’t bring a gauge with me out on the beach (I did have a pump – just in case I bled too much air). When I got back to the car, I took a reading on both tires. (photo below)

(L) Rear Tire 6 psi – (R) Front Tire 7 psi

It looks like I could have gone a couple of psi lower on the front, but I was having no issues keeping the bike going, even in a foot (or more) of water. It’s really nice when the waves aren’t crashing into the shore. I could float the bike along without having to worry about a wave bashing it into me or the many obstacles along the way. I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to score a set of Supercells to ride the beach, but I also wouldn’t shy away from heading out for a beach cruise, if that was what was on my fatty. I don’t see any improvement from the beach riding performance that I get from a double endomorph or Larry Endo combination.

Seaweed Wrap?

I guess if I was looking for a fat gravel-asphalt fat tire, I might consider a pair of the Supercells, but for the beach, I’d vote for an ‘old school’ Larry/Endo combo before I’d mount up a set of the Supercells. Aside from all of the actual riding performance…..Who picks the names for these tires? Supercell? So like a powerful thunderstorm? I’m going to be really, really generous a give the Origin8 Supercells 3 out of 5 flaming gnomes. I think I’ll send these out to one of our beach riding experts and see what they think about the supercells. Hell, maybe we’ll send them out to Pistil Pete. He’s the one that started this little adventure!

Felices Caminos Amigos!

Our amigos at Vee Tire Co sent us a set of their Rail Tracker 26 x 4.0, 120 TPI – Tubeless tires and we’ve mounted them on a set of 65 mm wide Marge Lite Rims. The guys from Vee Vee told us  this was their favorite summer dirt trail fat-bike tire. The tread pattern reminds me of previous Vee OE tires like – Missions and the Mission Controls, coupled along with a center three rows of smaller knobs that remind me of their Snow Avalanche tire that KBS reviewed pretty positively last winter. So half rail trail and half singletrack, kind of vibe. Take a look for yourself (below).

We put the rail trackers on the Park Tools digital scale and they came in at a svelte (for tubeless ready) 1222g and 1201g.

We laid the tire out flat and the bead to bead measured 232 mm and the tread to tread outside dimension was 112 mm. Mounted to the 65 mm wide Surly Large Marge rims the tire fluffed up to 93 mm wide at the casing and 95 wide on the outside dimension of the diamond shaped, shoulder knobs.

Mounted and Ready to Roll

We’ll be testing these bad boys out through the fall and let you know how they work out, somewhere down the trail – Amigos!!!

For more info about the Vee Tire Rail Tracker visit – https://www.veetireco.com/listings/fat-tire-rail-tracker/

We’re checking out a pair of Maxxis 27.5 x 3.8 Minion FBF & FBR tires. These are the tires that are coming on the new Salsa Beargrease complete bikes for 2018, so we thought it would be a good idea to shine our product spotlight and share some basic numbers with our readers. This is the second day in a row, where we’re presenting products that represent the 27.5 x 3.8 low fat tire/wheel revolution. I’ve been searching for a catchy name for (twenty-seven point five by three point eight inch fat) and I’ve landed on low-fat, because the sidewalls are shorter on this year’s crop of twenty-seven point five by three point eight inch fat tires. So original fat with shorter sidewalls make them low-fat….or semi-fat or plus-fat or plat? For now…..I’m just going with low fat….and I like low fat. Check out yesterday’s review of the Heller Bloodhound Trail and you’ll see that I’m a fan. One of the things that I didn’t mention in that article is the fact that the low fat tire/wheel revolution is the closest tire/wheel standard to traditional 26×4.0 fat tires, when it comes to the actual height of the rolling wheel. So that means that low fat wheels (with these tires) will probably fit in your legacy fat-bike. Let’s get to some measurements, shall we?

We weighed the FBR on our park digital scale and it came in at 1280 g. When we laid the tire out flat, the bead to bead measured 214 mm and the tread to tread was 106 mm. Mounted to 80 mm rims the width is 100 mm.

The FBF weighed in at 1282 g and the tread to tread measured 105 mm and the bead to bead was 210 mm. When mounted to an 80 mm rim the tire was 98 mm wide. The Maxxis Low fat in 9 mm taller than a 26″ Husker Du mounted to an 80mm rim and 4 mm taller than the Vee Crown Gem low fat tires that we wrote about here. So the Vee’s are about an eighth of an inch taller than traditional fat-bike wheels and these Maxxis tires are just shy of a quarter of an inch taller than the 26″ Husker mounted on an 80mm wide rim. The one exception to low fat being the same diameter of traditional fat is the Bontrager Gnarwhal 27.5 x 4.5 tire. The Gnarwhal does’nt have a shorter sidewall. That tire is 80 mm taller than traditional 26″ fat-bike tires.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Minion, I shot a photo of the tread pattern, with the direction of travel coming right at you. The FBF is on the left and the FBR is on the right. I started out running these tires at 10 psi and ended up bleeding a little air out. My last ride, I set the rear at 8.5 and the front at 8 and that seemed pretty baller. They don’t roll quite as easily as the Vee Crown Gems, but they have a more aggressive tread pattern and weigh a bit more than the Vee’s, so that makes sense.

Joe Meiser, Salsa Brand Manager, shared with us, that during extensive testing, he noticed that he could run lower tire pressures (with low fat) than he could run with traditional 26″ fat-bike tires. The lower and stiffer sidewalls on these Maxxis Minion tires allowed him to run lower tire pressures for added traction in soft conditions. So I don’t think we’ve gone as low these tires can go, at 8 psi. (Another good reason to call them – ‘low fat’) The Maxxis Minion is a well tested and respected tread pattern. We’ll be riding these for as long as we can and get back to you with more…somewhere down the trail amigos!

For more information about Maxxis visit – http://www.maxxis.com/

Editor’s Note  :  We shot the video above at interbike back in September of 2014. In a strange twist of fate, Eric Sovern (from the planet Surly) shows us both a Dirt Wizard and Surly’s five inch Knard in the video. The Knards are in stores now, and Dirt Wizards just went live on QBP.com so folks can start ordering them at their local shops. We’re sharing Pat Scharfe’s ride impressions of a set of test tires that he’s been waiting to ride all winter. Pat works at Missoula Bicycle Works and get’s to be one of the first cat’s outside of the Surly inner circle, to test ride the much anticipated – Dirt Wizard 29+. And guess what? – He LOVES them!

I’ve had the luxury of having a set of Surly Dirt Wizard 29’s for several months now. Unfortunately, I received them just before the snow started to fall last winter, so I was only able to log a handful of rides with them early on. Now that spring has sprung and the trails are already July dry, I’ve gotten out a fair bit with them. I’m not one to geek out on rubber compounds or durometers, I just know what I like and the feel I’m looking for. I had a first run Krampus with the standard Knards like everyone else for quite awhile. I liked the Knard in most conditions, fairly fast and held well on tacky trail but I was always hoping for a more aggressive front tire option. Last June I received a pair of the Maxxis Chronicle’s before their release and found them to be a pretty awesome tire. More aggressive than the Knard, and obviously a bit slower. I was really hoping for something more like an Ardent, but the Chronicle proved to be pretty good and definitely better than the Knard for the front tire option I was seeking. So, now I’ve built up a new Krampus MDS with front and back thru axles (which I can’t say enough good things about). When I built this one up I became the lucky recipient of DW #10 and DW #12. I’ve been running them on the front and back and all I can say for the early season riding is – Wow! Cornering is a whole new world, confidence inspiring to say the least. I’ve been running around 14lbs… I think. I’m one to go by feel verses getting a tire gauge out after every ride, (sorry geeks). I finally got my Ardentesque tread pattern, or possibly a little more like a Minion. You can definitely feel the drag of the rear Wizard on long climbs. I’ll be throwing the Knard on the back later today, and I think that will be my set up for the rest of the season. Those of you waiting for the DW…… it’s going to be worth it.

Pat

So there you have it. First hand experience from someone that has actually ridden the fabled Dirt Wizard!

(click any photo to enlarge)

For more information about Surly Bikes visit www.surlybikes.com

Our amigos at Surly recently added a new fat-bike tire to a legendary list of names like Bud & Lou – Nate – Larry and now……Edna! I’m a fan of the name, because of my bat-shit crazy, Great Aunt Edna. One of the Darting Sisters, on my mother’s side of the family….each one crazier than the next. We learned from sources within the Surly organization, that factions within the hive, wanted to name the tire Barb; but then Barbegazi came out and ruined that. Our source(s) went on to say “Barb is a big, loud, belligerent lady, always sitting at the bar, that doesn’t take shit from anyone.  She’s the first person to threaten a dude and always takes the first swing.  She’s a bonafide bad ass!.”  Much like my crazy Aunt Edna.

*The first set of tires that were sent to us were a set of sample proofs that were sent to us in error. We’ve had this happen before with other tires, when we get pre-production samples upstream of the actual production tires, which take time to come over in a large shipping container from the far east. When Surly read our previously published weights of eighteen hundred grams, they contacted us and immediately sent us a set of production tires in the retail packaging, that is in the photo (below).

When we learned that we had weighed an unrepresentative set of sample tires, we took our post down and waited for the replacement production tires to arrive. We remeasured everything and those corrected numbers are below. We apologise for posting misleading information, based on measuring those sample tires. We always try to get things right and give our readers honest accurate information and that’s why we’ve updated the data collected from the production tires. It looks like Edna went to weight watchers between the time that the sample tires were made and the production tires came out.

We weighed the production version of our Edna tires on our Park Tools Digital Scale and the 2 tires came in at 1383 & 1376 grams. When we laid the tire out flat the bead to bead measured 245 mm and the tread to tread was 125 mm. When we mounted them to a set of 80mm wide rims the casing was 109 mm wide and the tread was 110 mm wide. We also mounted them on a set of 90 mm wide rims (photo above) and the casing was 113 mm wide with the tread coming in at 111.5 mm.

We posted a photo of Edna on our Instagram the day that the tires arrived to the shop and there were dozens of people that were calling Edna a big fat Nate. I mounted up a Nate and an Edna, on the same 90 mm rims, so you all could see them side by side. (photo below)

Edna comes with a folding (tubeless ready) bead and a 60 tpi casing. Surly designed Edna to be an all around, do anything and everything, aggressively knobbed tire, right in the sweet spot between 4.8 and 4.0 tires. Perfect for a Wednesday or any day of the week. We’re going to have one of our local legends, Ron Stawicki, test this set of Edna’s on his Surly Wednesday from now until the snow flies and twice on Sundays. Ron’s a fast dude that makes it all look smooth and easy, so we look forward to seeing what kind of trouble ‘the Ronsta’ can get into with this new set of sneakers

This last photo (above) shows Edna (middle) mounted to an 80 mm rim, along with a new Husker Du (the dirty tire on the right) mounted to an 80 mm rim, and a Barbegazi (far left) mounted to a 100mm rim. So this one’s like Barb and Edna sit’n at the bar, next to some punk rock dude, on quarter shot night, at Liquor Lyle’s. Edna’s getting ready to pick a fight with Barb and the dirty punker, all at the same time. We’ll have a full report coming up  – soon after the snow flies!

Learn more about Edna at – http://surlybikes.com/parts/all/edna_26_x_4.3

Our amigos at Terrene Tires sent us the follow up to their rugged 4 season Wazia fat-bike tire, the Cake Eater. Tim from Terrene shared with us, “Riders asked for a tire a bit less aggressive and lighter than the Wazia and that’s what we’ve developed with the Cake Eater. The new tire is a bit more winter-specific with snow siping and comparatively more aggressive side knobs (compared to center knob height)”. The Cake Eaters come in either 26 x 4.0 – 26 x 4.6 – 27.5 x 4.0 – 27.5 x 2.8. Our test tires (photo above) are both 120 TPI Light casing versions in 26 x 4.0 and 26 x 4.6.

The other key aspect to both the Wazia and the Cake Eater is the ability to accept studs. The Cat Eaters have 180 stud receptacles on each tire. Studded tires can make the difference between being able to ride and not being able to get out of the driveway without crashing. We think it’s pretty smart of Terrene to incorporate a studded option in both of their fat-bike tread patterns. The boys sent along 320 of their triple traction tungsten carbide steel studs and an installation tool, that looks destined to give somebody (probably me) a mean blister this winter, when we stud these puppies up for skating season.

The Measurements

Cake Eater 26 x 4.0 – Weight 1280 grams – Flat Bead to Bead = 223 mm – Flat Tread To Tread = 120 mm – Mounted (80mm Rim), Casing = 101.90mm, Tread = 99,77 mm

Cake Eater 26 x 4.6 – Weight 1482 grams – Flat Bead to Bead = 240 mm – Flat Tread To Tread = 140 mm – Mounted (100mm Rim), Casing = 118,25 mm, Tread = 115.73 mm

(L) 4.6 mounted to HED Carbon 100mm (R) 4.0 mounted to Reynolds Elite Carbon 80mm

Right off the bat, we’ll be testing the 26×4.0 Cake Eaters on my new bike. That’s right, I bought a new bike. No, not another test bike. A bike to replace Otis. Can you guess what I bought? The Cake Eater falls into the category of fat-bike tires that we’ve referred to as moderately knobbed. Tires that bring balance to the relationship between rolling resistance and traction. Add in the fact that the Cake Eater’s side knobs are more aggressive and the fact that you can stud the Cake Eater, put this tread pattern into a category all it’s own. We can’t wait to take these tires out and see how they roll! You can look forward to a full review after the snow starts to fly!

For More information about Terrene Tires visit – http://terrenetires.com/

By :  Chris Zito

Knards

When Surly first came out with the Pugsley I found myself one Christmas Eve riding the shores of Lake Michigan wondering, “Could cycling get any more fun?”. Well, it has. It’s called the Knard 26×4.8.

Knards come in lots of different sizes.

Obviously, there has been a ton of evolution in the “fad” that is referred to today as “Fat-biking”. It seems that every time you turn around somebody is coming out with a new bigger better product. Well the reprobates at Surly have certainly iced the cake on this one. The Knard 4.8 tires could very well have sold me on what a fat bike tire should be. From the moment I hit the road on these bad boys I knew that they were special. They hold all of the same characterisitics as their predecessors the Knard 29×3. They perform phenomenally wherever, whenever you ride, grass, sand, single-track, or gravel. On the beach, or in the streets, the Knards will please you beyond your expectations.

Let’s start with the dirt. Riding trails is a dream. The grip and tack they provide is incomparable. There is the obvious cushion you get from having the bigger tires, but the handling is superb at even lower psi’s. The control I experienced reminded me of the no-slip, hang on to your hat, just point where you want to go performance of the Kenda Small Block Eights. However, you don’t have to concern yourself with the silly little things like slipping on rocks or roots because the Knards just eat em up and spit em out.

Dillinger 5 (top) – Big Fat Knard (bottom) photo by ~gomez~

My favorite fat bike “medium” (for lack of a better term) has got to be riding the beach, and the Knard has just made that heaps more fun. In the deep sand it’s the same as any tire, straight lines, low gear. But when you hit the hard pack sand on the shoreline they roll like a hot knife through butter. The grip is spectacular. The wide tread hooks up beyond the point where other tires in the past have washed out. Tight circles are no issue. On my maiden beach voyage the Knards carried me to 2 derby victories against some formidable opposition. In the deeper water where you get to the point that your tires want to begin to float, they grip the rocks below and keep you well grounded. Logs and boulders and babyhead rock gardens are no factor for the agility of the Knards.

Now, whoever would think of a 5” tired fat-bike as a city bike? Well, YOU should! The performance of the Knards in the city has absolutely blown me away. Lets talk pavement. At a higher pressure (don’t ask me for numbers, cuz you ain’t getting any. I’m the type that applies pressure by what feels like it’ll work.) the Knards roll through the streets and alleys handily and resistance free. Like any fat bike tire you have to stay at a higher cadence and the Knards are quick to respond and accelerate to a maintainable momentum, rolling through and over uneven pavement, potholes, train tracks, and road debris like a champ. I was amazed at the way they hooked up on the gravel while turning, beginning a slight slip, only to re-hook and grab hold all the way through the turn. And trust me, cemetery gravel is greezy at speed!!

On the grass, as with any fat-bike, across field or through the park, they are a blast. On the side of a grassy hill they hold securely, biting into the turf and carrying you beyond a point where other tires will give out and dump the rider on their hip. In the light to moderate rain the tread design puts up minimal spray and minimal to no slip while cornering. You just have to mind the paint and manhole covers.

I’ve seen the evolution of the fat-bike and fat-bike accessories since the birth of the Pugsley and ridden a good number of tires in a wide variety of conditions over the years. From the original gum-walled Endomorphs to studded “winter” tires, Nates, Larrys, Big Fat Larrys, and Buds, but I find the Knards to be champ of all tires thus far. They give you everything you can ask for in a fatbike tire with their agility and grip and all round excellent performance. I rode these tires on gravel, cinders, sand, pavement, stairs, grass, through a few taverns, on the single-track, and in the water, and at no point was I disappointed in their ability to conform, adapt, and harmonize with the conditions dealt. A very well thought out and superbly engineered product. I would rate these tires at 9 Braaaps out of 10. The only reason they don’t get a 10, is because I have met the derelicts at Surly and know there has to be some fault in the product, I just couldn’t find it. And no, I did not mount them tubeless. I am not a gram shaver, don’t care about weight*, prefer my races with a beer in hand rule, and am already having a blast riding a 30lb.+ steel fat bike.

*We know that tubeless is not really about the weight savings, but when Zito gets on a roll, it’s best to just let him go. I like ‘old school’ crustiness, but I also like to run tubeless, especially on bigger tires…not that there’s anything wrong with riding with tubes either.  ~gomez~

Over the last couple months I’ve taken the Terrene “McFly” 29 x 2.8 tire on a variety of overnighter trips, singletrack rides and dirt roads. I’ve even commuted on it, which in my rural part of Idaho is a little different than the typical urban commute, and encouraged me to take a lot of detours through dirt lots and such on the way to and from the office. The McFlys were mounted on Surly Rabbit Hole rims on a Surly ECR the entire time.

The Terrene McFly is an excellent choice for multi-day adventures off the beaten path.

The McFly was introduced into the Terrene line-up as a lower-tread, faster rolling alternative to the aptly-named Terrene “Chunk,” which is firmly in the aggressive, knobby category. At the same time, I’d still say that the McFly offers plenty of large, widely-spaced knobs for most trail riding short of full-on technical shredding. Its open design clears mud reasonably, and while the center knobs are moderate in height,  the side knobs are substantial, creating a tire that corners very well. Combining a Chunk up front with a McFly in the rear would be a good combo to consider for more aggressive trail riding.

As a low-tread, faster-rolling option, the McFly offers a good alternative to the Terrene Chunk.

I weigh 170lbs, and I ran the McFlys at about 14psi front and 16psi rear (higher with an overnight load), and that felt like a pretty ideal pressure to take advantage of the plushness of the large tire without being so soft that sidewalls felt compromised. Actual casing width for the McFly, after being mounted on i45 rims for two months, is still 2.68” – basically the same as it was shortly after mounting, so they haven’t really stretched out at all in that time. A bit shy of a true 2.8” tire, but honestly, I’m more concerned about tire performance than splitting hairs over 1/10 of an inch. It’s also worth mentioning that the 120 tpi version has a noticeably supple feeling to it, all the more so when set up tubeless. This “suppleness” is a comment I often seem to hear about the compound that Terrene uses (a top-secret formula), particularly on their “Light” versions.

My ECR got along well with the McFlys – in fact, it’s pretty much the ideal tire for this rig.

Our test pair of McFlys were the “Light” 120tpi version. As I mentioned in my initial overview of the McFly, these tires are impressively light – lighter even than the weight stated on the Terrene website. With that in mind, the McFlys held up to everything I threw at them, though I admittedly was using them more in an exploratory and bikepacking mode than for aggressive, chunky trail riding. I think that if I was going to run these tires on a 29+ trail shredding machine, or if I was planning a remote, multi-day trip and needed durability/dependability over a little weight savings, I’d opt for the “Tough” version, just to be on the safe side.

The McFly has great cornering abilities and would be a fine choice for most trail riding as well.

Terrene continues to expand its already excellent lineup of adventure-oriented tires with the new McFly. If you’re looking for a lightweight, fast-rolling 29+ tire for a variety of off-road adventures, from multi-day dirt road treks to trail riding, the McFly should be on your short list to check out. The McFly is also available in a 27.5 x 2.8 version, and all versions list for $80.00 (US).

You can learn more at www.http://terrenetires.com/

My amigo Thad Carson (taddyhogg) tipped me off that he’s been running the Maxxis 27.5 x 3.8 tires mounted to a set of HED 27.5 x 45mm Raptor rims on his Oddity Cycle Lime Greenis Maximus. He also shared some encouraging reports about how his set-up handled the rocky trails near KC. (KC has super legit singletrack) So when we got our hands on a set of Borealis Carbondale 27.5 x 50mm carbon wheels, we mounted up a set of Maxxis Minion FBR/FBF 27.5 x 3.8 tires, to check it all out. The result is a tire that sits squarely in the middle of where plus left off, and where fat begins. You’re going to hear a lot about the comparison of 27.5 vs 26 this winter as we begin to see which format wins the big races. I feel 27.5 x 80mm (Low Fat) has an advantage over 26 x 80mm on dirt singletrack, but this winter, we’ll learn if that advantage extends to groomed and ungroomed snow. Currently, in my neck of the woods…..we’re waiting for snow, so it’s a perfect time to test Taddyhogg’s plus-fat setup on my black ribbon special edition Fatback Corvus FLT (photo above).

The Same Tires on different width rims – Maxxis Minion 27.5 x 3.8 x 50mm (2 on the left) compared to 27.5 x 3.8 x 80mm (far right) (L-R) Widths – FBR 89mm – FBF 91mm – FBF 96mm

We also have a set of the Low Fat Maxxis tires mounted to 80 mm Mule Fut Rims so you can make a comparison between plus-fat – low-fat and fat(fat).

Fat  26 x 80 mm rims (left) compared to 27.5 x 50mm rims Plus/Fat (right) (L-R) Widths – Cake Eater 103mm – New Husker Du 101mm – FBR 89mm – FBF 91mm

The weight difference between the two sets of wheels was a mere 160 grams and surprisingly, the 26″ traditional fat wheels were lighter than the  narrower 27.5″ set of wheels. The tires spokes hubs and cassette are variables that could easily explain the weight difference and I bet that Thad’s set of HED Raptors are even lighter yet. In my head, I called it a wash, so I wouldn’t let that tiny weight difference influence my test ride. When I look at the Plus/Fat set up on my Corvus, it reminds me of the setup that Sven always ran on his singletrack optimized Schlick Northpaw. He ran a 50mm wide 26″ rim with a narrow fat-bike tire like a Panaracer Fat-B-Nimble and liked the way that the narrow rim rounded out the silhouette of the tire and spread the shoulder knobs out wider than the tire casing. That’s the exact effect that the 50mm wide 27.5″ rims have on the Minions.

I mounted the tires, tubeless and they held air overnight. I aired the tires down to 11.5 psi front and back and took it out to the John Muir Trails at the Southern Kettles. I expected it to be fairly saucy out there, but most or the trail was frozen dirt. There were spots where the sun had melted the top layer of soil, and those spots were pretty greasy. Maybe about a third away around the Green Loop, I stopped and bled a little air from the front tire. This setup reminded me of riding the Heller Bloodhound Trail (which comes with a 27.5 x 80 mm wheelset). I started thinking about how I could probably fit this set-up in a Fox Suspension fork and add a dropper post for summer singletrack riding. These are the thoughts of a happy brain, because I loved the way the bike rode with this setup. It felt more like riding a 29r mountain bike, but with the stability of wider tires. I’ll need more time riding in looser conditions, but my initial impressions are pretty positive. I’ll be riding these wheels until the snow flies and conditions require more flotation. I suspect we’ll have much more to say about wheels sizes, during segments of our podcasts over the winter, so stay tuned for the ever popular – more – somewhere down the trail.

Our friends at Vittoria Tire found us a set of Bomboloni 26 x 4’s’ah, to put through our tire testing regiment. Sven and I saw these bad boys, back at Sea Otter and we’ve been waiting to get our hands on them, ever since! Our test tire’s casing measured 96mm wide, when mounted to 65mm Marge Lites, with the outer knobs extending 3mm’s beyond the casing. (102mm tread to tread). Those edge knobs are gonna be $ in the corners.

The tread is super-siped and the center knobs stepped, with low center knobs and aggressive taller knobs at the shoulders. Before we mounted up our set of tires, we noticed that the inside of each tire is meticulously finished in a stippled pattern. (photo below). This is the nicest tire lining of any of the fat-bike tires that we’ve ever tested!

We weighed both tires and they came in at 1420 and 1424g each. When we laid the tire out flat, the tread measures 113mm wide and the bead to bead measurement was 220 mm.

Bomboloni (L) and Vee H-Billy (R) mounted on 65mm Marge Lite Rims

Our set of Bomboloni are going to get tested on one of my favorite singletrack trail systems in Wisconsin (Levis Trow) by our gnome-fest cousin, Steve. Stay tuned to fat dash bike dot com for his thoughts about this brand new set of sneakers! Primo Steve’s report should be available in about a month or so…..plus or minus seven to ten days, dependent on weather and if the crick don’t rise and wash out the internets. Till then….ride and smile amigos!   ~gomez~

For more information about all of Vittoria’s tires visit – www.vittoria.com

Ed ~ We ran a story about the Origin8 Supercell tires earlier this year, primarily, due to Pistil Pete bringing them to our attention. After our story published, we sent the tires down to Pete for some desert riding and a beach trip down in Mexico! Our story today comes as a two-part report from Pistil Pete. The first part is just after he received the tires and rode them in Arizona and the second report comes from Sinaloa Mexico.

Part One

Well dang! Thanks man for those tires. I rolled in from out in the far desert valleys where I’d been hiding out from the major effects of the 21st century and there they were. And stickers! Dang! I mounted’em up and immediately and noticed the quiet smooth rolling characteristics, (but also the weight). I’ve been riding the Maxxis Mammoth 120 tubeless and these, set up all quick like with tubes, is a noticeable difference. That said…the grip is seriously more effective than I was expecting. I’ve only ridden smoothish dirt paths and the river trail, with a quick blast through the river bottom so far, but they seem to have seriously more traction than the Maxxis tire. Maxxis makes a tough, light and durable casing and the Mammoth tread wears like iron but man…..it’s handling characteristics leave much to be desired, with a lack of steering, braking, and climbing traction.  So far these Sandstorms are an unexpected improvement in handling. Being the 30tpi carcass they’re bound to be tough as hell. I’m heading down to southern Sinaloa next week where these guys will get run through their paces on canyons, thorn-scrub forest, loose palm grove access roads, packed beach and the Mazatlan malecón… They sure look bitchin, like the tread on those Avon tires I ran on my Triumph Tiger back in the early 80s…

Part Two

So, a’ways back our brother Gomez, (one of the good ones) over there at Fatbike.com, offered to let me try out a pair of those Origin8 Sandstorm tires, that I’d been strain’ at on the interwebs. There was something about those tires that talked to me, like a memory of the old days rollin’ the west winds bike lane in HB and Newport, back before. Before what? Never mind that, those days are long gone…(fast forward back to the present) I was planning a trip down Sinaloa way, to a beach I know and love, where they don’t care about a bunch modern boosheet. As long as you keep your clothes on in town and don’t involve their children, you can do almost anything your heart desires. Yeah, Sinaloa is like that. A philosophy that covers a lotta ground. I just wanted to ride my fatty, enjoy Pacifico beer in a Ballena sized bottle with oysters and a huachinango plate a couple times a week. A simple mission, easily accomplished.

Cutting to the chase, we got there, set up camp in my bud’s coconut grove and I set about riding every day. The Sandstorm looks like a 1950s newsboy street tire, straight up. Diamond reverse tread with two circumferential rain sipes. It’s built on the same technology as well, this being the 27tpi version…..and Cripes! 1750 grams each! Yeah, it’s a heavy ol’ bruiser, though I read the 120tpi version is a pound less. The upside is there’s lots of rubber down the middle of the tread, that should wear like iron. A good choice for a long long ride, like if you were going to follow the beach from Louisiana to Cancun.

I threw a leg over, while still in Tucson and for all its weight it was a fast tire. Fast and sure-footed. I’ve only ridden a half dozen different fat tires and I’ll be honest, apart from the Nate which grips like Velcro every other tire I’ve tried was kind of disappointing in the corners. The Sandstorm left me smiling and charging the (sand over pavement) corners. When I got to the beach I left some air in the tire for the hardpack roads in the village even though we were camped about 10km out in the palms.I don’t bring a gauge, so all my pressure setups are by squeeze. Even with a fairly firm pressure, I was able to run the dry sands inland with zero problems.When hitting the main road, of course, the things rolled almost like any other mountain bike. Where I really thought the tires were at their best was at low tide. They flew with almost zero spray, allowing me to ride from our hard packed camp across the loose beach to the firm packed inter-surf zone. Even farther down the beach, all the way out there by the river mouth where cars fear to tread and even the little Asian style motorbikes never go, these tires allowed me to run the soft sand up on the bank. Was it easy? Of course not, but I rode miles through the loose with only the occasional stop for a poached coconut to refill the fluids lost through sweat.

Yeah, I’m kinda stoked on these tires. So much so that I’d REALLY like to try the folding version, maybe set up tubeless,’cuz no doubt, these things are kinda heavy. Still, I’ll run’em til uncle Gomez says he wants’em back cuz they are the rad shit (for the beach). In fact, as soon as Christmas/New Years is over, I’m headed back because a few beaches down in Jalisco are calling my name…

The king of fat-ness

Vee Tire has quietly made a new fat bike tire available to the public and it is going to raise a lot of eyebrows in the fatty world. It is called the Snowshoe 2XL and the listed size is 26 x 5.05 inches. The crazy part is, it is even bigger than the listed size on 100mm rims! I snagged a pair of the 120 tpi version as soon as I saw that they were available but from the packaging it looks like they will offer a 72 tpi version as well.

For those interested in the numbers:

• Bead-to-bead: 298mm
• 5.1-5.2″ wide on Clownshoe rims (100mm)
• Diameter: 31 1/4″
• Weights for my two tires: 1,823 and 1,779g (published weight of 1,740g)
• Knob height: 7-8mm

It is important to note that these tires are MASSIVE! Below is a picture of a Surly Lou mounted on a Clownshoe compared to the Snowshoe 2XL on the same rim:

Surly Lou on 100mm rim compared to the Snowshoe 2XL on a 100mm rim

Big Fat Knard on a Clownshoe compared to the 2XL on the same rim

The Lou that is shown has been in service for about a year and a half now and has been set up tubeless the whole time so it is as big and stretched out as it is going to get and it still looks tiny compared to the 2XLs which were freshly mounted and at the same pressure (all measurements were taken at approximately 10psi). When I measured the width of each, the 2XL was around a half an inch wider than the Big Fat Knard, Bud and Lou. To give a perspective on the size of the casing, here is a pic of the Bud and 2XL unmounted:

The tread design looks very promising with a similar knob height to the Bud/Lou, a nice open tread design to shed snow and lots of sipping and edges to bite in and provide great traction. The tread is also a really nice width compared to the casing with well supported side knobs. They even provided a lot of serrated edges on the knobs to create more biting edges.

The overall shape of the tire is nice and round but looks like it will flatten out nicely in soft conditions and low pressures to provide some great traction.

For now I have them mounted up with tubes on my tandem for some beach riding. I plan to test out how they go tubeless in the near future and will also try to fit test them in other bikes. It is going to be tough to find frames and forks that fit this tire. The width is substantial but I think the height of the tire will be even more limiting in a lot of frames. It just fits in the rear of my tandem and once the tire stretches some I doubt it will have enough clearance. Good thing I made sure Scotty Q at Quiring Cycles got a pair of these tires also! There is going to be a new single fat bike in my near future built around these bad boy tires!

Getting Dirty With Edna

Few bike parts can affect a bikes fun factor like tires. You can roll with a generic stem or hubs and I doubt it’ll ruin your day but mount up some cheap, heavy tires to your favorite bike and you’ll probably want to trade it in before you can finish a loop at your local trails. I like to nerd out about tires; design, casing, knob height and spacing, and sizing to rim width as most of you reading this probably do too.

When Surly announced their Edna 4.3″ tire was coming out it piqued my interest. I like to run their 3.8 Nate and Knard tires in the non-snowy months then switch to some 4.6’s once the white stuff decides to settle in. I’ve honestly never really been a fan of how most 3.8″ tires work on 80mm rims for trail riding. The casings usually seem too flattened out and the sidewalls too rigid and stretched.  Could these be the perfect year-round tires for my Wednesday? I ran into Gomez at our local trails and he offered to let me try a set out for a while.

As soon as I received the tires I began ogling them. Hmm, 60tpi casing, 5mm ramped center knobs, 6mm reinforced shoulder knobs, tighter spacing than Nate but still open on the edges. Additional tire geekery can be found covered in our initial post here. I quickly set them up tubeless on My Other Brother Darryl rims. I’m happy to note they set up easily with a hand pump and held pressure consistently after a couple rides. I can’t say that about all tubeless ready tires, so we were off to a good start.

Mounted in the Wednesday at 10 psi, with the rear axle all the way forward I barely have the 6mm of “legal” clearance at the chainstays. Even if the casing stretches a little with use I’m comfortable with it. Clearance in the front with a Bluto or a stock rigid fork was no problemo.

The first two things I noticed on the trail were the height and GRIP of the tires! The rolling diameter is considerably taller. The height allows it to rival a 27.5 X 3.8 that some of the fat bike racers are getting all excited about, but with a full .5 inch of extra girth to go with. Mind you, it doesn’t feel heavier, just taller to the point that I pull about a gear lower to go just as fast.

Once you get rolling and start hitting corners, hang on! The amount of grip on hand is scary compared to some of Surly’s previous offerings. The lean angles I could push on the Wednesday would make a superbike rider jealous and had me considering mounting plastic pucks on my knees to find the limits. Those additional biting edges work together and the tires just would not give up.

Rolling resistance isn’t bad either. The center knobs are ramped and the spacing is a little tighter which limits the tread squirming as it interacts with the ground, keeping you rolling smoother. Our conditions this fall have ranged from damp and slick to buff hardpack. I’ve run the tires between 7-15 psi but have found the happy pressure on dirt to be in the 8-10 psi range.

On to Winter!

Our first lick of snow came a couple days before the Hugh Jass Fat Bike race in Lake Geneva, WI. About an inch of fluff would give me a chance to try the tires on new conditions in anger. Well, as angry as you can get playing Hammerschlagen between laps and taking beer shortcuts. Set up at 4 & 6 psi (F&R) the Edna’s took to the course as if the snow wasn’t even there. Packing and gripping the light crunch allowed me to make up time in the singletrack. As the sun came out, some of the corners began to glaze over into an icy surprise that threw most riders off. Fortunately, this is where the supple casing helped out and kept the side knobs from breaking away, allowing me to stay on the gas. I was thoroughly impressed and happy with a near podium result!

Over the holidays, I got the chance to head north and finally put the Edna’s through some actual powder. The mecca of Wisconsin mountain biking, Levis Mounds, offered everything from grippy, packed single track to 6″ inches of undisturbed fluff. Aired down to the 4 psi range, I never had a problem hooking up even on the steepest, powder-covered granny gear climbs. Likewise, the tread never felt squirmy on the hard pack or steep descents. Definitely, confidence inspiring when you’re shredding the backcountry in single digit temperatures.

I admit, the fat-bike snob in me wasn’t sure if a $95 MSRP tire would be all that fun but I’m glad Edna proved me wrong. Is she for you? I’d say if you have a modern fat bike that accepts 4″+ tires (sorry Pugsley) and you want a great year-round tread with a little more cush, or a lighter weight set for your 5″ bike without giving up grip, Edna would be worth a look. Surly prides themselves on making durable, versatile products that are a great value and they definitely seemed to accomplish that with the Edna.

For more information about the Surly Edna visit – surlybikes.com/crazyauntedna

Terrene is the new kid on the block for tire companies but already have a second studded fat tire tread available in their line up. Last year they introduced the Wazia which falls in the all-round to aggressive range of “knobbiness.” This year Terrene is offering the Cake Eater as a faster rolling fat tire option. Both tread designs come in 4 and 4.6 inch listed sizes, a variety of casing options and studded or unstudded (but with stud pockets you can fill with studs if you want). For whatever it is worth, I have tested a lot of studded tires and the 4.6” Light studded Wazia is my go-to tire for most winter riding right now. Because of that, the bar is set pretty high for Terrene and I am stoked to be trying another design from them.

I received a pair of the 26×4 Light studded Cake Eaters which will be a nice contrast to the 4.6 studded Wazias that I ride all the time. Here are the stats on the tires I got:

• Casing width: 99mm (3.9″) on 80 mm rims @ 8 psi
• Knob width: 98mm (3.9″) on 80 mm rims @ 8 psi
• Center knobs are approximately 4 mm tall and side knobs are 6 mm
• The overall diameter: 725 mm (28.5”) @ 8 psi
• The bead-to-bead measurement: 232 mm (9.1)  mm
• Stud count: 180
• 62a durometer
• 120tpi casing
• My pair weighted 1,389g & 1,326g (published 1,395g)
• Labeled tubeless ready
• $200/tire

The knob design is similar looking in ways to the Wazia but with some notable differences. The center knobs are lower at only 4mm tall (Wazia’s are 5mm) but the side lugs are the same height at 6mm. The center knobs on the Cake Eaters have smaller knobs all over the tire and far different siping on in the center region compared to the Wazia. The sipes are smaller and have a zig zag pattern at a variety of angles. The center knobs are fairly closely spaced and then the intermediate region of the tire is much more open before getting to a sharp row of closely spaced and well-reinforced side knobs. The tread design is definitely directional with only one recommended direction listed on the sidewall. Based on looks alone it should be fast in a straight line and should hook up well once it starts to get leaned over in corners. Finding out how that all pans out on snow will be interesting.

Terrene is making the best tire studs of any tire manufacturer that I know of. They have a triple point, carbide tipped, aluminum-based stud that starts sharp and stays sharp after hundreds of miles of use. With the Wazia you get notably more traction on ice per stud compared to any other stock studded tires. The Cake Eaters use 180 studs which is more than the Wazia but Terrene is using a shorter stud on the Cake Eater. My guess is that this will make it the Cake Eater a bit quicker rolling on ice but I will be interested to see how the traction compares on different types of ice.

My pair mounted up tubeless very easily with a goldilocks bead fit; not too tight, nor to loose. They haven’t done anything weird like seep or have pinprick holes in the sidewalls. They are just how tubeless tires should be.

Right now Mother Nature has been serving up a great big helping of powder in my area so I have only fondled the Cake Eaters and have not yet ridden them. I am a big boy at almost 200 lbs geared up so I can’t use a lighter knobbed, 4” tire for everyday riding when we have over 7’ of snow so far this year. However, our beach ice riding is just coming on and I am looking forward to getting on some lakes to play around. I am also stoked for our next thaw/freeze cycle. Based on the density of our groomed base I think we are going to get some white cement forming on our groomed trails and these tires could be a great choice. Look for my full review in a month or so.

For more information about Terrene Tires visit – terrenetires.com

By : Steve Meurett

It’s said first impressions are often correct, but not always correct.  Mounting a new pair of tires on a fatbike and making a snap judgement on one or two rides isn’t fair – it requires rolling out on different soil conditions and with pressure adjustments to offer a well rounded opinion. The good folks at Vittoria sent a sweet set of Bomboloni tires to check out this summer and after reading Mr. Julio’s review of the 29+ versions, I was excited to slip them on. As Julio pointed out on the 29ers, the Bomboloni 26” x 4” tire have smallish-squarish knobs similar to a Knard or Chubracabra, but with some key differences.  The tread pattern is directional with more (shorter) knobs near  the center and taller ones 3mm outside the edge of the casing.  They’re ramped and siped, as well, differentiating them from other brands out there. – These are not your momma’s waffle pattern.

The dry technical details include a weight in the 1420gr range and a casing width of 94mm when mounted on my Marge Lites and a 101-102mm knob to knob spread. Vittoria describes the Bombo as having  “automotive inspired snow-tire tech” which they do remind me of-but these are at home on dirt as well.  They feature a “dual-compound” tread and premium 120 TPI casing. As mentioned in the spotlight teaser, I’ve never seen such a beautifully made stippled pattern on the lining of a tire.  These are also tubeless ready featuring  the companies TNT (Tube-No Tube) technology.

Testing these tires at Levis Mound does give one a good mix (sand to rock with some hardpack) and my first impression was not at all favorable.  My mistake. What at first felt like a severe case of self steer on the firmer portions of the trail, was in fact, due to a lack of air pressure.  In the softer sands (or on snow I believe) they can be run low, but in dry mid summer baked conditions, I needed a few pounds more.  It seemed 8-12# worked well for my summer riding, to insure accurate steering.  Be it tread design, or the manufacturers construction, some tires are just a bit pickier about inflation.  Once dialed in, they rode well…everywhere.

With Gnomefest 12 looming on the horizon down in Plattville Wisconsin, I really wanted to put the Bombolonis to another test –  on the tacky clay of SE Wisconsin’s driftless region.  An all day rain on Gnomefest eve insured I’d have plenty of tire testing options at the Hirsch Farm singletrack. Racers returning from the trail system earlier in the day had plenty of muck-cake strangling their tires-really making me wonder how the Vittoria’s would do, with it’s shallow small knobs.  A large group ride would soon answer that question.

The trail begins with a long rocky, clay based descent into the deep valley below.  Sharp corners, roots and limestone rocks challenge anyone at high speed.  The more I trusted the Bombis, the faster I could let the bike go.  Of everything I like about this tire it’s the claw-like grip of the taller side knobs, which kept the bike glued to the corners.  Surprisingly, after being dumped out into the bottom of the valley, the tires were very clean, with little to no mud clinging to the tread. The shallow ramped and siped knobs I think are the key to this design – the tread seems to be self cleaning in clay and mud.  Those aggressive (but not obnoxiously so) edge knobs really do grip as well as we thought they may.  Even on the serious climbs-some singletrack, with remnants of old logging roads strewn with rock, shale,  grass and the ever present clay,  they stayed hooked up well and never spun out.

As Julio pointed out on the 29+ version, these are ready and willing to run tubeless-the sidewalls are cut and abrasion resistant and tire beads the best I’ve seen.  With Vittoria’s long history in the tire business, they know how to build them, and it shows.

I’m satisfied that I was able to conduct a Summer-Dirt test on a broad variety of dirt base-loose sand to rock to loamy clay and have really got a feel for this quality tread pattern.  The more I rode them, the more I loved ’em.  If one pays attention (which you should) to tire pressure, you’ll be very pleased with the  Bombolonis.  Stay tuned, because we’ll be sharing how these Bomboloni’s handle the snow this winter once the season changes over, somewhere down the snowy trail.

For more info, visit Vittoria’s website at www.vittoria.com

Heller Bloodhound Trail rock’n the Maxxis Minion FBF/FBR Low Fat Sneakers

We’ve been riding a couple of sets of the Maxxis Minion FBR/FBF 27.5 x 3.8 tires for the last ninety days on a variety of bikes and rims.

We published a product spotlight about the new low-fat sneakers from Maxxis Here and we also posted an article about a plus/fat wheel configuration that we tested using these tires Here. This article is going to focus on a review of the tires and how they performed on a variety of rims, bikes, and conditions.

Kettle Moraine State Forest – Southern Unit – John Muir Trailhead

The first set-up that we tested the Minions was on a Mule Fut 80 mm wide rim on a Heller Bloodhound Trail last fall. We had a really nice dry autumn here, so our trails were to the point of being dusty. The Minions handle dirt with ease. I found them to be just slightly more aggressive than our buff singletrack requires, but their aggressive tread pattern makes plowing through sand sections or up and over logs, roots, and rocks a breeze.

Low Fat & Farm Fat

Along a similar timeline (last October) we started testing a Salsa Blackborow that came with Mule Fut 80mm rims and the OE version of the Maxxis Minion FRF/FBR 27.5 x 3.8. (that means that they have white Maxxis Logos on them). The white logos look better than the Hi-Viz Yellow ones. I’m not a fan of the NASCAR style yellow sidewall markings on the aftermarket version, but if it really bothers you, there’s a way to black them out.

Bikes, a Boat & maybe a Goat

We took that rig on a weekend of bikepacking over in Michigan that included paved road and bike path, gravel, singletrack, sand, deep sand, quick-sand, and gravel. The Minions performed admirably on everything except some deep soft sand, where the 3.8 width couldn’t provide enough float for the fully loaded bike. Other than that, the tire proved to be a great all-around performer. The thing that surprised me the most was how well they rolled on gravel roads. For such a knobby tire, they roll nice and easy.

Bikepacking at Kettle

We tested the Blackborow on a variety of local singletrack trails and camped out at Kettle Moraine. The thing with a mid or long tail is that it places the tire further back from the rider’s weight, so it’s more difficult to get traction, especially when riding the bike unloaded. The FBR did a great job providing traction on the Blackborow on dirt gravel and pavement. (Snow is another story).

The Blackborow then went to BBR Test Pilot Dos Renchos aka Jamie. He’s been utilizing the Blackborrow to embrace a semi-reformed carless lifestyle, where literally, the rubber meets the road in the form of Maxxis Minions. This is what he had to say about the Minions.

photo by Dos Renchos

“I can’t not say it but, on the road…they are major pigs, as are pretty much all other fat tires so not too surprising. The high tread blocks really seem to toss out the ole’anchor. Once off the firm stuff, of course, you notice them smooth out and become way easier to pedal. Being a slightly narrower tire on a 27.5 rim, they are quicker to get moving than the big boys but still have a decent amount of floatation when things get soft. I also found that thanks to those meaty tread blocks, both ends climbed out of ruts and handled off camber really well, even with heavily loaded bags on the bike. Since I was riding the Blackborrow, I wasn’t really railing any turns but the Minions held turns well, were predictable and there was good traction for braking. Also, I appreciated the little pinstripe of snow that formed down the centerline of the front tire when riding the soft stuff.”

Ten Beers with the Maxxis Minions in full Low Fat Plus mode

While Jamie was testing the Blackborow, I mounted our aftermarket (Hi-Viz Yellow MAXXIS sidewalls) to a set of Borealis Carbondale 50 mm wide rims bolted onto the newest bike on the block here at the Colonel Steve Austin Decal Sanctuary. A Fatback Corvus FLT that I recently named ten beers (long story). Here’s where low-fat meets plus-bike half way and the result is what I personally feel is the sweet spot for our particular blend of buff black dirt trail that’s, punctuated with soft sandy pine sections. The narrower rim, rounds out the casing, to the point where the shoulder knobs protrude outboard of the casing by a few millimeters and that (ladies and gentlemen) translates directly into ‘traction sweet chewiness’. These Minions are a solid set of mountain bike tires that work really well on a set of “summer” wheels.

Both of our sets of test tires were run tubeless with remarkably easy set-up. We’ve been using Stan’s Sealant exclusively for the last few months with great results. We incurred no flats and no weeping has happened during our ninety-day test. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how 27.5 x 3.8 performs over the 2018 winter race scene. Last year’s Arrowhead was won on low-fat wheels and I predict that won’t be the last big race that’s won aboard a bike with a set of low-fat wheels. Most of our testing took place before the snow flew, so If you’re riding a set of these tires, please let us know how they handle deeper snow. We’ve gotten snow, but we keep melting back to where this is one of those winters where we’re not piling it up very deep. I think that this set of tires would totally rip on the groomed track at the fat-bike birkie and I’m curious to see how much flotation they can provide in different snow depths and conditions.

Maxxis has done a really nice job with these bad mamma-jammas. I’m giving them 4.75 gnomes out of 5 – (two-tenths deduction for the huge yellow logos).

Cake Eaters come in 26 x 4.5 (L), 26 x 4.0 (R), 27.5 x 4.0 and 27.5 x 2.8

Terrene Tires and the Krueger Brothers (Tim & Ryan) sent us an assortment of their newest fat-bike sneakers that they call Cake Eaters. I’ve been spending a fair amount of time riding the un-studded 26 x 4.0 Light construction version mounted tubeless to a set of 80mm wide Reynolds Elite Carbon rims bolted to my murdered out Fatback Corvus FLT, Ten Beers.

Pat Benatar

Are you familiar with rocker Pat Benatar? She had a hit song back in the 1980’s “Heart Breaker”.  If you just change a few words around you get a rock’n soundtrack to run through your head while you read the rest of our review of these fat knobbies.

You’re a Cake Eater
skid maker, a berm shaker
Don’t you mess around with me
You’re a Cake Eater
climb maker, a stud taker
Don’t you mess around, no no no

The fact that I’m riding the Cake Eaters (Un-Studded) means that there’s a studded version! Ken Blakey-Shell is testing the studded version of the same tire over in the upper thumb part of the Mitten (Michigan) and we’ve both written spotlights that have all of the weights, measurements and biorhythms of our respective test variant. So now there’s only one thing left to do…and that’s review the way they ride! In this case, by ‘they’, I mean the 26 x 4.0 Light construction Cake Eater.

Cake Eater in the front at Nicolet Roche

We only had one of these 4.0’s so I spent the month of November with the Cake Eater up front and the Month of December with the Cake Eater out back. We usually review tires as a pair, but I think the manner upon which I tested the Cake Eater 4.0 forced me to focus a little bit closer to how the tire performed in the front vs the rear. It does, however, introduce the variable of another brand/model tire into the overall ride performance.

Up Front

November started out with an early season snowstorm that laid down 3 inches of the light fluffy variety of snow, just a few hours drive north of us, so I packed up the bike and got all of my winter riding gear out to go up to the Nicolet Roche National Forest for the weekend. The paramount reason for the trip was the arrival of the Fatback Corvus FLT that I mentioned above. I built the new ride up with the Cake Eater up front and a gnew HuskerDu in the back. They set up tubeless very easily. I had a great weekend of riding in the snow and extended my trip to get down to Big Eau Pleine to ride before all of that snow melted. That was the only snow riding that I did with the Cake Eater up front. I was happy with the way that the tire performed in the snow, but I did crash a couple of times when the shoulder knobs of the cake eaters broke loose in corners. I chalk that up to first snow of the year, new bike, not having my tire pressure dialed more than any deficiency in the Cake Eaters design. Not to mention, my pilot skill (or lack thereof).

Big Eau Pleine Reservoir

The rest of the time during November, we had killer mountain bike weather. It was the 3rd warmest and driest November in the books, so the Cake Eater spent plenty of time riding singletrack up front on my Corvus. The Cake Eater passes the dirt test with flying colors, but it should be said that I prefer a moderately knobbed tire. If your favorite singletrack tire is a Wazia or a Nate, then you might not agree with my assessment. I’m willing to give up a little traction to marginally reduce rolling resistance and the Cake Eaters are in that moderately knobbed category.

Out Back

Bonus Bivvy Pre-Ride at Kettle

December teased us with repeated dustings of snow along with periodic melt backs that felt like the extended dance mix of the movie Ground Hog Day. We kept on getting an inch or two of perfect ‘first snow of the season’ conditions followed by total melt-back to dry trail. These were the kind of snows that are semi bonded to the trail surface and provide really great riding conditions. When I moved the Cake Eater to the rear of the bike, I mounted a Vittoria Bomboloni up front. I love the Bombo as a front tire because of the nice aggressive shoulder knobs on that tread pattern.

Goat Dance Romance at Levis

The Cake Eater in the rear checks all of the boxes. I ran it for awhile in the reverse direction and in the recommended direction with great success. The Cake Eater exhibits excellent climbing traction as well as braking and cornering under braking loads. I’m telling you straight-up…this tire is a baller  – or maybe a Berm Shaker!

The Verdict

The Cake Eater has worked very well for our particular conditions, but we never got to test them in any deep snow and we really never got to test them on really buff groomed snow. About the deepest snow conditions that we did experience with the Cake Eaters (so far) was a fresh couple of inches over the top of melt-degraded groomed singletrack at Levis and the tires were great. I got to ride quite a few stretches of the trail and get first tracks on the fresh top layer of snow. When we take all of that data and add the versatility of being able to add studs and the Cake Eaters start to look like the tire that could knock the old 45N Husker Du out of the best moderately knobbed 26 x 4.0 tire category and maybe give studded 45N Dillingers a run for the crown for best studded moderately knobbed 26×4.0 tire, but time will tell. We need to get these tires into some deep ungroomed and onto some sick grooming to make those kinds of bold predictions, but the potential is there IMHO. I’m giving the Cake Eater a 4.5 in the front and a 4.98 in the rear for an aggregate score of 4.74 gnomes out of a possible 5 gnomes!

For more information about Terrene Tires visit – terrenetires.com

Preston from VeeTire Co gives us a look at the Snowshoe 2XL which is currently the largest fat-bike tire at 5.05″. For more info check out http://veetireco.com.