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I swapped the tyres on my 29er from Smart Sam Plus's a while ago to Vittoria Voyager Hypers as was doing quite a long charity ride on the road and really like the faster rolling / quieter tyre but as we go into winter there are a couple of spots we cycle .... they're only short sections of about 200 / 500 yds but you can't avoid some mud and don't think they'll be grippy enough as the winter sets in and it gets wetter.
I don't really want to go back to full MTB tyres as we're doing more and more distance on the road and was thinking the G-Ones or Gravel Kings may be a good half way house but would be better in "some mud" than the Hypers.
I'm not looking for a tyre to race the mud sections simply something that will get me through them without the wheel slipping out from underneath me and if I pedal will give some traction to actually move me forward until I get back to the firmer stuff the other side
To give a better idea of the terrain in the summer they're hard compact earth footpaths at the side of a field in flat non technical terrain but in the winter the top turns to a layer of thin ish (not deep) but slippery mud ..... If anyone's used them in similar conditions and can shed any light in what they're like and if they might suit my purpose and if one might be better than the other would be much appreciated?
Land cruisers 👍
Gravel Kings are just a slightly heavier treaded road tyre. SKs may offer a little more grip but mud is mud and you may just have to walk that bit.
I put a pair of Gravel Kings (not SK) on at the start of the summer.
Puncture resistant they were not!
Never had so many punctures.
Went back to Conti.
There are routes like that around here. I don't think there's a good allround answer to the problem.
For that sort of mud you either need to cut right through to the base, so a narrow cyclocross type tyre, or you need decent lugs on a wider tyre, ie an mtb mud tyre. Neither of which is much fun on the road.
I settle for just being careful and having tyres that benefit the longest part of the ride.
I've been riding some WTB Riddlers most of this year on one of my bikes - tubeless they roll as fast as a road tyre, but the side knobs give me grip in sand, gravel and mud better than the G-Ones on my other bike.
I settle for just being careful and having tyres that benefit the longest part of the ride.
Yep, exactly what I do. A few sections of mud on my rides and I get through fine on 25c road tyres, just keep moving with no sudden steering movements and it is fine.
Certainly I'd want them to be better on road and am only looking for something that can "just cope" with the mud rather than excel in it.
I'll have a look at the Land Cruisers as well ... the WTB Riddlers I've heard really good things about, the only that's put me off of them I don't think the puncture protection's great and we do suffer with thorns around here big time ... had 6 punctures in 6 rides before I switch to the Smart Sam Plus's and a friend's had 2 within 10 mins of each other.
Given your username, are you talking about the Saltern Way from the West Wittering to Chichester by any chance?
If so, I ride it on a Cannondale Slate Gravel Bike with the 650b version of the Schwalbe G-Ones. It's fine for me where it is muddy on that route. They do struggle on the more slippery chalky type bridleways near Kingley Vale though.
Given your username, are you talking about the Saltern Way from the West Wittering to Chichester by any chance?
If so, I ride it on a Cannondale Slate Gravel Bike with the 650b version of the Schwalbe G-Ones. It’s fine for me where it is muddy on that route. They do struggle on the more slippery chalky type bridleways near Kingley Vale though.
Whoo hoo ... someone who knows where I'm taking about 🙂 ... Salterns way isn't that slippery though, do you ever follow route 88 via Sidlesham and where you cut across the field up the road from The Crab and Lobster ... that's one of the slippery bits and if you go down the canal paths that run between Chichester Marina and Mundham as they get pretty clogged up in the winter as well??
If ever you fancy meeting for a ride let us know, did a 32mile round robin today from here, up to Chi, up the Centurian way and then back down Salterns earlier today ... just in time to be in The Shore in East Wittering for about 5.30pm 🙂
For that sort of mud you either need to cut right through to the base, so a narrow cyclocross type tyre, or you need decent lugs on a wider tyre, ie an mtb mud tyre. Neither of which is much fun on the road.
Depends what sort of cycling you need to do too I guess?
I often go from point A to B along a part of the TPT which is dead straight but ultra muddy in the winter.
I don't need cornering ability so as you say a cyclocross tyre works fine. Traction isn't an issue and I don't need to take any hard corners.
In fact in some ways a bigger tyre is worse because it throws up more mud and rain.
wtb resolute, first tyre that the manufacturer claims to be good on everything that I've agreed with. set up tubeless easily too
I’ll have a look at the Land Cruisers as well … the WTB Riddlers
My Riddlers are terrible for punctures.