I picked up a Breed 20 on the weekend. I wanted bento mounts, fender mounts, a threaded 30mm BB (so T47), and my preference was to start out with 650b tires to see what I thought. Ticked all the boxes, and I liked that it was a close geo to what I ride a lot of the time.
So far really happy with it. I had asked my bike shop about fenders and they threw on a pair of Bluemels which are doing a good job in the weather.
Nice ! Congrats! Looks like you went with the power2max too. Sweet! I have the same bento box too. Matches perfectly! I ended up with blackburn side mounting bottle cages. I found the bolts to be in awkward locations. I couldnāt get my tall bottle out of a normal cage on the seattube. And I felt the lower downtube bolts had me reaching too far down low. I now use the upper bolts, with the lower bolts saved for perhaps storage, or a third bottle I donāt need to access while riding.
Thanks! Yeah, went with Power2Max, and have white accents to put on it. I also have some Supacaz neon purple bottle cages coming and Iām excited to try those out.
I can reach the lower bolts fine while riding, so Iāll be curious to know how bottles fit (I usually ride small bottles, and a Camelbak if itās long and far away from gas stations). I also have a small 2.5l Apidura race frame bag that goes in the front of the triangle which should be useful for more miscellany when on longer fast rides (jacket, more food, battery for lights if weāre talking real endurance stuff)
The other thing I have coming to try out are the new Time Cyclo gravel pedals. Have the MTB ATAC mechanism I like but with a bit of a road platform.
All in all, should be a fun whip for hooning around when all is said and done.
Nice ā I too am interested in the cyclo pedals. Unfortunately they continue to be pushed back. I was waiting for February but now they are pushed back to āmid-to-late springā according to Time last week.
Tom added the Conti Terra Speed on the link above . +10w on the best of the best road tire, but -10w on the Vittora Dry.
I have the Apidura mini frame bag too. I like it a lot. 2.5l is the smallest id go on a bag like this. I replaced the straps with silicone button ones off amazon and tried to secure the side flaps down (fail). Be sure to get side exit bottle cages like the Elite Cannabal/Rocko
Honestly, the fact that youāre looking at āonlyā +20 watts for a big gravel tire over best-in-class tires like the GP5s and Spesh Turbo Cotton at 30km/h is pretty amazing. Tack on a bit for aerodynamics, and I find that a pretty reasonable cost.
( especially given that I am a /lot/ further away from any theoretical max FTP for myself, and itās so fun and jammy right now to zip around on the new whip! )
From a tread perspective, I think that would be a great fast tire for DK. Minimal middle tread, ample knobs on the sides for cornering.
That said, I have heard some claim that for DK a fully-treaded w/ tightly spaced knobs is a better choiceā¦simply because the knobs give you extra cut protection from the flint.
Very little knobs in the middle of the Challenge tire means a sharp edge goes directly into the casing, as opposed to between or into knobs.
Nys started the Dirty Kanza on a set of Challenge 700c x 38mm TLR Gravel Grinder tires. Unfortunately, the Kanza gravel gods had nefarious plans in store for the ācross legend that not even his bike wizardry could protect him from. Nys flatted on the first big climb when the side of his tread received a 5mm gash from the sharp Flint Hills gravel. Nicol said a number of other riders in the lead group suffered a similar fate, so Nys was not alone in his misfortune. Flats (and worse) are nothing new at the Dirty Kanza, after all.
Looks like a good strategy, besides loading the tires up with goo and running the tire at a low psi so theres nothing for sharp things to push against, it is to have dense texture in the tire and sideway. to fend of sharp objects.
This isnāt a āride this tireā answer, but this may help with the meta question. Hereās advice from coaches & prior-year winners at the camp in Emporia last year, plus my own observations after a few years at DK.
Ride tubeless with sidewall protection. Period. Still carry at least 2 tubes.
Whatever you ride, run the lowest pressure possible to avoid pinch flats and slices in the rocky washes at the bottom of the rollers. Pick your lines carefully.
Run at least 38s. Take 40s, 42s, or greater if you expect a long day and want to prioritize comfort.
Default to small file tread. Evaluate your skills, and go for larger or smaller side knobs based as needed.
I still need someone to tell me what tire, . Thatās good advice though.
The tires that Iāve picked out in that category have apparently been bad ones because of past people with flats!
Does anyone know if Colin Strickland haD good luck with his pathfinder pros? Iām guessing he did because he went so fast.
Iām assuming those are some fast tires because of the tread pattern. That middle smooth strip looks extra thick and the other tread on the outside of that strip looks deep.
There is no ābestāā¦there is āgoodā and ābetterā. Too many variables to determine a ābestā.
Pick a proven tire that has been shown to work for a large number of people - Ramblers, GravelKkngs, etc. Get at least a 40c, make sure it is 60 TPI (cut protection), slam some sealant in them and roll the dice!!!
Itās looking more likely every day that we wonāt be riding DK this year, but Iāll post the bike I built up for it anyway. I just got it together, and Iām loving it. It seems as comfortable as the 853 steel it replaced, accelerates much better, and has clearance for 50mm tires. I think Iāll be escaping corona lockdown with solo forest rides often.
Niner RLT 9 RDO. DT Swiss 240 w/Nox Citico rims. Easton EC90 SL crankset & power meter. Di2 hydraulic GRX levers. 160mm rotors. 1x with a RaceFace chainring up front, XT derailleur and XG-1180 10-42 cassette in the back. Vittoria Terreno Dry 700x38c tires. Including pedals, cages, & bolt-on top tube bag itās about 19.75 lbs.