[Closed] Anyone used Compass Barlow Pass tyres?

Compass are highly regarded.
Jan Heine is a genius.

I'm sure the tyres are excellent.

Compass are highly regarded.

So I've noticed

Jan Heine is a genius.

😀

Cheers Brant, I'm sure I can't go far wrong with them but just wondering if anyone here has any first hand experience of the Barlows before I order some!

I'm waiting on something a little similar (if that helps at all!).

Challenge Strada Bianca.
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Had looked at Compass, but, like you, wasn't able to either find any, or to find anyone who'd used them. Which is annoying!

Will post an update once my Challenges get on the bike.

They are available in the UK, there's a shop in Brighton that stocks them, but yes, finding first hand info is a bit tricky, especially over here.

do the Strada Biancas come as a clincher? I thought they were tubs?

EDIT - apparently they do according to google!

would be interested to see how you get on with them

Not used them (yet) but i have a pair of the Barlow Pass Extralights to fit to my Tripster - by all accounts they are the absolute mutts nuts, and yeah…..as brant says above - Jan's a genius.

Have you checked out [url= https://janheine.wordpress.com ]Bicycle Quarterly blog/website/etc?[/url] , loads of very enlightening info on there about the tyres in question along with detailed tests on tyre widths/casing/pressure etc.

[url= http://www.velovitality.co.uk ]Velo Vitality for all things [i]compass[/i] in the UK[/url]

ta Somafunk, yes, regular reader of BQ and Jans musings 😉

Velo Vitality are the place I was thinking of.

Please please please come back to update thread once you've had some time on the Barlows!

I think Sam had some on the Singular FB page.

All very interesting 🙂

Looking at the Barlow Pass 38c Extra Light 327g
-v-
Stampede Pass 32c Extra Light 256g

for long ride road use, should I just go as wide as the frame will allow?

Why not. Consider toe clearance, mudguard clearance and mud clearance if you're going to be roughing it.

Thank you. Should be back in stock next week.

As it was a fine [i]almost[/i] summers day i finished work early and fitted the Barlow Pass tyres to my tripster, i removed the Clement Xplor USH that i've used for a while and talc'd the inside of the Barlow Pass tyres to stop the tubes sticking to them and managed to fit them on my Velocity Aileron rims without the use of tyre levers but they were a really tight fit - I'll run them for a week or so with a tube then i'll give them a try tubeless.

54 psi front and 62 psi rear so off i rolled away from the house and within a few pedal strokes i was aware of just how easily they rolled along, on up the hill out of the town and i was able to pedal a higher gear than normal and the rough surface of the road was not as apparent- they feel really smooth over what is usually a very poor surface to ride over being as it's a very minor B-class road that sees more tractors than just about anything else.

Out along my usual 10 mile single lane road loop (galloway) there is a mixture of surfaces from smooth tarmac (a few hundred yards only) to the sort of surface that rattles you like the braking bumps you encounter at trail centres, the tyres just felt so supple and the increase in speed was obvious as they managed to knock a decent amount off my previous times without me being aware of trying - easily the best tyres i've used for the tripster on the road so far and so worth the cost. My leg power is a fraction of what it once was due to old spinal cord damage coming back to haunt me so any help i can get to increase my speed is very welcome.

I'll try them out over some hardpack trails/forest roads over the weekend but i've just found my ideal tyre for the summer 😀 , very-very pleased with them.

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Bang on 38mm for width and height on Velocity Aileron rims

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I've run them (standard weight, tan sidewalls) on my Salsa Fargo for a few hundred miles (would be less than 500). Mainly on country lanes, some hard pack rough ground, all in winter. I use them as clinchers on H Plus Son Archetype rims. Anything rougher and I've switched tyres/wheels.
The set up runs well enough that the Fargo has become my winter road bike in that guise. No punctures and very comfortable, appear pretty fast and certainly no trouble keeping up on the country lane rides.
As a result I've now put the 28 Grand Bois tyres on my Synapse. After <100 miles the sidewall separated from the rim on one so was replaced instantly by Velo Vitality. Otherwise perfect and no punctures. Around 500 miles so far.
I've not doe roll down tests on either but subjectively fast and comfortable.
No idea re durability, but unless awful I would intend to stick with them in the future.

Lovely. Somafunk may I ask how you chose those pressures? I would have expected to hear lower, 40s perhaps.

There's absolutely no reasoning as to why I choose those pressures other than I was in a rush to get them fitted and get out for a wee run before I had to head off to farm/house sit for mates, when I get back home I'll play about with the pressures but from the very first pedal strokes I was sold on them.
I've previously fitted/still got my clement xplor ush & xplor mso which are great tyres for mixed/off road use and my strada lgg 28mm so I may fit these to my bro's bike as he's got cheapie tyres at the moment.

It's not often you get a product that lives up to/exceeds the hype, I just hope they are suitably robust enough for some of my off-road hardpack type routes, i guess I'll find out in time.

You've probably seen it but there's a handy pressure to weight chart buried somewhere in the BQ archives, based on his optimum 15% tyre sag research.

Tubeless would be fantastic, let us know how you get on with that!

Thanks for the update Somafunk, sounds like they're living up to the other online reviews then.

I shall get a set ordered for my AWOL and give them a go 🙂

Fwiw I have some Pananracer-made tyres that I expect are the same casing as the std compass tyres. Very supple and feel quick but they flat very easily, no suprise though, you can't have it both ways. The usual hawthorn hedges and flint-chip flats. Perhaps less than they should given how light and wide they are, lower pressure perhaps helps reduce flats, but still many more than an average tyre. Tried them tubeless but the thin sidewalls leaked even after ~500 miles of sealant-sloshing and topping up the air. I do like riding them, they do show how good a light casing can be but they're a bit too lightweight for my liking. I'd like something similar with a bit more casing thickness that can be used as a proper TLR, I think that could feel just as good as the thin-casing panaracers used with tubes.
The other aspect of the panaracers that's not great is the compound - it's fast and hard wearing (no significant centre-tread wear after almost 2000 miles) but there's little wet-road grip. The contact patch and low pressure should help but the rear breaks away under braking suprisingly easily compared to any other road tyre I've used. Having said that there are plenty of big-miles all-weather riders in the States using these panaracer-made tyres so I'd be interested to know if the comapss tyres use different compounds.

amedias, best to pre-order through Velo, they are due early next week.

jameso, all the info is here, a lot of it in the answers to comments: https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/introducing-the-full-line-of-compass-tires/

Just placed order with VV so fingers crossed will get some soonish, but even if it is a few weeks I've got plenty of other tyres to wear through in the mean time 😉

Which Panaracers are they Jameso? have used Paselas before without the TG strip and found them to be pretty much as you described, but I think even they are a bit thicker casing wise than the compass tyres?

Amedias, they're 650x38 Pari-Motos, which from what I can see are very similar although perhaps not exactly the same tread thickness or casing layup. They are very thin/light, described as an event tyre rather than for every-day use.

Richard, I saw the blog post and comments on BQ but I don't think it mentioned the compound/grip point beyond the 'quality' or thickness and I don't know if they're the same rubber as thw Pari-Moto anyway. Compound aside, the impression of great ride feel balanced with flat regularity isn't something I'd expect to be any different with the Compass tyres. tbh the Pari-Motos ride well so it's worth the drawbacks at times.

Mine arrived this morning, quick spin on the London Road, lovely.

Will be sublime if they'll go up tubeless, will give it a go soon. Did you have any luck Somafunk?

Just set them up tubeless with 40ml of stans, they needed a compressor to pop the tyres into the bead but they seem to be holding pressure with no leaks through the sidewalls at 50psi - gonna head out for a quick run about and i'll check the pressure when i return to see if they are holding air.

A thumbs up for tubeless compatibility so far 😀

They held pressure fine, felt very smooth and supple over mixed surfaces such as gravel and a quick blast through the dusty single track in my woods, handled the dry tree roots with a surprising amount of grip so i'm rather chuffed.

good to know!

hopefully mine should be arriving in a few days if I'm lucky, will get them fitted and see how they roll...

Got mine up tubeless painless with Airshot inflator, gorilla tape on some nowt special OE type rims, 38 & 45psi. 40ml of Stans as above.

Fantastic. Comfortable, grippy, fast, everywhere. Switchback road descent, wow!

Surely the answer to our pot hole and debris strewn roads, the tyres just soak anything up. Quick divert on to the south downs to miss some horrible traffic, amazing.

Mine turned up yesterday, fitted last night, so far they've only done the ride in to work of a few miles, seem grippy, and fast enough, need a proper ride before I make any real comments though.

Think I may have mine pumped a up a bit too hard at present so will play with pressures over the week and experiment.

Have had a few rides on them now, definitely feeling good, comfy and fast 🙂

Going to do my normal thing now of let them slowly lose a bit of air over a week or two until they feel 'right' then check the pressure at that point, rather than trying to do back to back tests.

Very tempted by a pair of these. I'm a bit over-tyred at the moment, though.

Not sure whether they'd replace the cx speeds on one wheelset or the GP4Ss on the other. Possibly both, then I can stick the Thunder Burts on the other set. Shift everything a notch bigger.

DrP's B-L-B could be an excellent excuse for them!

I'm getting tempted by some of their smaller versions now for other bikes with closer clearance after having a few days on these Barlows 🙂

They list the Cayuse Pass at 26mm, I've currently got 25mm Michelins *just* fitting in my proper road bike so not sure if they would fit, the Michelins do come up big though so possibly... 😕

Put about 300 miles on them now, settled on 40PSI front and 45PSI rear (with tubes) and I am now totally convinced 🙂

Smoother, faster, grippier, and I can stomach the cost (just) for how good they feel, definite recommendation from me!

Will be back with longevity report whenever they have worn out...

good stuff. Think you'll try tubeless?

I might do *if* I get a puncture 😉

Fair enough! I've taken my cx speeds on lots of short rides and a couple of big ones. Got punctures on the big ones, thorns and pinch flat. Plus I've just bought myself a compressor.

To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail...

TBH, the only reason they are not currently tubeless is that I am lazy, will probably tubeless them eventually (most of the MTBs in the house are) but I'll wait until I have a good reason to take a tyre off before I do 🙂

Absolutely fair enough! Wife's ardents are next on the list. Really good seal on the gorilla tape, even with no sealant - let the air out of the tube and the tyre crumples in on itself. But:

MATISSE.NET "http://www.matisse.net/files/Engineersflowchart.pdf"

(contains swears)

Everyone still happy? Lovin' mine still, doing some road rides in Scotland at the mo, just soaking everything up a treat.
Talking of soaking, SKS Touring 45s fit and work well over the Barlow Passes.

This is on my London Road. I'm probably using this for RideLondon too, the narrow tyred road bike is indeed redundant.

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so how are people getting on with them now?

I'm just shy of 1000 miles on mine now, very happy with comfort and grip, and have not had any p*******s yet.

Slightly disappointed with wear though, the front still looks brand new, but the rear is starting to show some wear in the centre of the tread, not massive amounts and I guess it's probably my own fault as I've been loading the back of the bike a fair bit recently and towing the trailer around a lot so probably having a harder time than it should.

Going to rotate them at the weekend and see how it goes.

I knew it, I knew I was tempting fate with the no punctures remark!

Got my first one last night, but to be fair I did ride into a big rock on a quarry descent, with about 25PSI in the front tyre, and had the panniers on so hardly the tyres fault!

Mine are still in their packaging in my spare room. I'm not planning on using them until I do a bit of NCN type overnighters in late Oct..

Still love 'em. I did RideLondon on them too, kept up with my whippet mate on his narrow tyred boneshaker.

I'm on Extralight, tubeless. Obv sidewalls are a risk, so I tore down a flinty SDW descent (the one into Alfriston from Firle) and got a sidewall cut. Tube in then back home and fixed with superglue and a patch on the inside, up again tubeless no bother.

Mudguards back on (SKS 45) but not ridden this bike for a bit, but looking forward to winter on it.

In case anyone is interested in an update....

1 more puncture but I think it's a failed older patch as no visible leak and takes 24 hours to deflate so I'm not blaming the tyres for.

I didn't get around to rotating them (super lazy), but have now.
The rear is about 1/3-1/2 worn* after 1500 miles, now on the front.
The front show no signs of visible wear after 1500 miles, now on the back.

So with any luck if the wear rate remains the same I should be looking at another 1000-1500 miles to get to 1/2 wear on both tyres.

With any luck that means 3000 miles per set is easily doable, with theoretical longevity anywhere between 3000-6000 miles depending on conditions and load.

Not bad for such a thin and light tyre, but not great if you're using them for commuting and or utility duties as you'll burn through them pretty quickly.

*the rear has worn significantly more, I put this down to not just because its a rear, but because it's hard a hard life with regular trailer towing, and for the first few months I was always carrying panniers on the rear, I've now moved to front loading 90% of the time so will see what happens there but trailer use will continue.

Interested to know what people are comparing these to when they say 'fast'? Fast compared to another wide tyre or a 23mm road tyre etc etc.
Cheers

Mine are still in their packaging..

Personally, as fast as I'd been on 23-25s but I'm not a super fast rider. Increased weight (not much tho) and drag, but much, much more comfortable.
Noticeable on a long climb, but then the whole bike's much heavier than my previous carbon road bike. Amazing descending!

A converted mate is suffering a weeping sidewall on his tubeless rear, something I haven't heard about anywhere else. Mine remain really dependable tubeless and that's a godsend whilst using them in these conditions. He's going to do some investigating on this issue.

We do know that Compass are adamant that these are not tubeless ready tyres though.

Interested to know what people are comparing these to when they say 'fast'? Fast compared to another wide tyre or a 23mm road tyre etc etc.

Fast compared to any other tyre of similar size, and faster* than a lot of smaller ones.

* The asterisk is because its a tricky thing to compare, as most people don't have clearance for >30mm tyres on their nice light 'fast' bike so they invariably get put on heavier gravel bikes/allroad/tourers etc, where the previous choices of big tyres were invariably stiff, overly built or armoured touring tyres, so the expectation is lower anyway, so it's no surprise these are quicker.

The interesting bit is that in a lot of cases they are also faster and more comfy that a 23/25/28 tyre that you might run on a lighter bike, but it is dependant on conditions, there's no getting away from the fact that a 350-400g 38mm tyre is always going to be heavier than a 200g 23/25mm tyre, but on rough roads the bigger tyre at lower pressure can be faster overall, certainly more comfy, and certainly grippier, and definitely no slower than an equivalent 28 or 30mm tyre.

On perfect roads, over shorter distances, and for big long climbs I'd say there's an advantage to lighter and smaller racier tyres, but if the road is a typical UK road, and over longer distances the bigger tyres win for me as they are no slower, but give you an edge on fatigue so end up fast for longer with less battering.

I guess from my POV it comes down to this: if I have the clearance I would fit them to any bike except a full on race bike, and for bikes with less clearance I've started using the 28mm compass tyres as they are excellent and on a par with other flexible tubular-like casing clinchers.

As it is they live on my do everything bike as it's the only one with enough room to fit them, my faster lighter bikes have smaller versions of tyres with similar build. The extra 200g on each wheel, and aero drag of a slightly bigger tyres is irrelevant when you bike weighs 30lbs nude, > 40lbs loaded and has two whopping great panniers at the front acting as a wind break.

If you want some numbers to chew on, I'm by no means fast but this might give you an idea of the baselines of my comparisons:

My commuting and pootling round town rides normally end up in the 14-15mph average area regardless of tyres, a little over if it's a clear run, a bit under if I've got 15-20lbs of panniers on or towing the trailer, this is more to do routes and load than anything else as there's little variation between bikes.

A Sunday club run could be anywhere from 16-19mph average over 50-80 miles and I'd have no qualms about running these tyres IF my bike had clearance, the weight is offset but the comfort and there's basically no extra rolling resistance to worry about.

Longer and hillier Audaxes averaging 15-16mph on rides over 100miles is where they really shine, they're just as quick as 23s or 25s but a lot more comfy, you'd get less fatigued and any tiny disadvantage on climbs is negated anyway as you're not sprinting up them and it evens out over time.

Great indepth overview amedias - that's just what I hoped to hear and sounds very promising.
Putting a pair on my shopping list then!
Cheers