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Teravail tires? Experience?

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gregnash

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Teravail seems to be a fairly new company to the mtb tire world but from what I have read, they have been making tires for quite some time. Saw yesterday that they are releasing two new mtb tires; the Honcho and Ehline. Honcho is more of an aggressive trail tire while the Ehline is an XC, fast rolling flow type tire.

Wondering if anyone has experience with their tires as I am looking for something new. Not into spending gobs of money on Maxxis, Schwalbe, Conti, etc. and have been rocking Vittoria tires for years now without complaint. For 2019 Vittoria got rid of one of the best tires in their lineup, the Goma, like got rid of it all together. So I am now looking for a replacement. Have been eyeing the Bontrager SE4/XR4 and WTB Trailboss/Vigilante. But when I saw the new Honcho pop up it peaked my interest.
 
#3 ·
No experience, but just looking at their spec sheets, I see 60 tpi casings with nothing special rubber and no durometers listed. I expect them to have an average ride quality, good grip, and average durability.
 
#4 ·
They are solid tires. One of the house brands owned by QBP (huge bicycle products distributor). They have not been around that long, as far as I know. Seem to be popular in the gravel crowd.

I have the Coronado 27.5x3.0 on my hardtail and I love them. Good traction and durability. They do not have the fancy super soft rubber compounds of other brands. I bought them because the price is lower than Maxxis and they actually measure true to size! Imagine that!

I would buy them again
 
#5 ·
Teravail is a QBP brand. Their tires are fine, nothing special. I tried the 700x28 ramparts. They felt ok, kind of heavy, on the slow side but not too bad. I got one flat that went flat, then I pumped it back up and sealant plugged it and I couldn.t even find the hole. I was pretty surprised though that a 700x28 "road" tire only measured 27.5mm on a 20mm ID rim when new though. They did grow a mm over a month.

Based off my super unscientific comparison of stamps inside the tire it appears that maybe some of them are made by the same factory that makes Donnelly tires.
 
#10 ·
I really like their 27.5+ tire options.
Been running a "Durable" Kennebec and Cumberland combo for a while.
Whatever the durable recipe is for Teravail, it results in supportive and fairly long lasting sidewalls for 27.5+ tires. At least as supportive and maybe more durable than Maxxis 60TPI DHF/DHR/HR2 and way more durable than Schwalbe Magic Mary's and Hans Dampfs.
Cumberland is a great semi slick option for the rear. Does what a semi slick is supposed to do. Hooks up great in corners when leaned over, pedals and rolls well and brakes/climbs well in straight line. Does well in loose to hardpack conditions, but braking traction will vary considerably depending on soil.
Kennebec has a lot of handling characteristics that are similar to 27.5+ 2.8 HR2s. Super grippy and great cornering plus tire if you corner at speed confidently and lean the bike over quickly. Great tire for loose, dry and drifty terrain. Noticeably less bounce/squirm/vagueness when hitting multiple rocks at speed compared to the other plus tires mentioned above.
As far as lug durability, Teravail seems on par with Maxxis and ahead of Schwalbe.
The tires have a very "Maxxis" look/feel to them. I wouldn't be surprised if QBP is utilizing a Cheng Shin/CST/Maxxis production facility.
 
#12 ·
From your description, op, you might also want to check out specialized tires. I run the butcher, it's a minion clone like the goma. All of specs tires in all sizes are $60 and there are frequent 10% off sales.
 
#13 ·
[QUOTE For 2019 Vittoria got rid of one of the best tires in their lineup, the Goma, like got rid of it all together. So I am now looking for a .[/QUOTE]

yeah the Gomas are awesome, they still have a lot in stock , the Martello 2.6 will be a really good tire as well.

Vee tires crown gems and flow snaps have been good to me and at a great price
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Porch said:
From your description, op, you might also want to check out specialized tires. I run the butcher, it's a minion clone like the goma. All of specs tires in all sizes are $60 and there are frequent 10% off sales.
Click to expand...
Thanks but no... had bad experiences in the past with their customer service, their shops, and genuinely just undewhelming tire performance that I won't give them my money. Actually had an old Purgatory Control 2Bliss that had a defect in the tread, went to the shop and they told me to go to spesh customer service, they told me to go to the shop, shop finally replaced after I complained about not wanting to bounce between "mom" and "dad" with the whole "Go ask your XYZ parent". Replacement ended up having another defect from the shop cutting open the box with a razor and damaging the tire (notice it as I was driving home). Shop bitched about replacing it and at that point I figured screw it and just had them refund.

Had a catastrophic tire failure while on a trip and only shop around was a Spesh shop. They were awesome, but same things again. Running tire that they recommend and ripped two knobs off a brand new tire. The shop replaced and called Spesh to report they had "ANOTHER" tire that had done that (overheard while I was browsing around the store). From what I remember, it sounded like Spesh told them "tough *(&^, failures happen." Just can't do it after stuff like that, would rather give my money to smaller brands who produce decent/good/better products at similar or less cost but actually act like their customers matter. Hence why I tend to stay away from Maxxis tires as well.
 
#15 ·
gregnash said:
Thanks but no... had bad experiences in the past with their customer service, their shops, and genuinely just undewhelming tire performance that I won't give them my money. Actually had an old Purgatory Control 2Bliss that had a defect in the tread, went to the shop and they told me to go to spesh customer service, they told me to go to the shop, shop finally replaced after I complained about not wanting to bounce between "mom" and "dad" with the whole "Go ask your XYZ parent". Replacement ended up having another defect from the shop cutting open the box with a razor and damaging the tire (notice it as I was driving home). Shop bitched about replacing it and at that point I figured screw it and just had them refund.

Had a catastrophic tire failure while on a trip and only shop around was a Spesh shop. They were awesome, but same things again. Running tire that they recommend and ripped two knobs off a brand new tire. The shop replaced and called Spesh to report they had "ANOTHER" tire that had done that (overheard while I was browsing around the store). From what I remember, it sounded like Spesh told them "tough *(&^, failures happen." Just can't do it after stuff like that, would rather give my money to smaller brands who produce decent/good/better products at similar or less cost but actually act like their customers matter. Hence why I tend to stay away from Maxxis tires as well.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you had 1). a bad shop (can happen with any brand) and 2). a bad tire backed up by a bad shop. Rest assured that it's not common for the knobs to come off on these tires, plenty of people run them.

Either way, I'd love to hear of "smaller companies" that care about their customers and produce great tires at lower costs. The only good/small tire company i'm aware of is Terrene and they aren't cheap...
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
Porch said:
It sounds like you had 1). a bad shop (can happen with any brand) and 2). a bad tire backed up by a bad shop. Rest assured that it's not common for the knobs to come off on these tires, plenty of people run them.

Either way, I'd love to hear of "smaller companies" that care about their customers and produce great tires at lower costs. The only good/small tire company i'm aware of is Terrene and they aren't cheap...
Click to expand...
Yeah I guess you are right... Just one of those things that taints a view/image of a certain brand. Couple that with the "bully" image that Spesh has in much of the industry.

As for smaller companies, I guess that is true. My version of "smaller" I guess really means less well-known. I have been a Vittoria fan since I started riding almost 10yrs ago. Their customer service has always been great for me whenever I had questions or issues. Last year I decided to try out the most recent version of the Mezcall III tire and when I got it I found that their 2.35" actually measured closer to 2.2" at widest. When I contacted them, they told me they had a run of tires that the batch was smaller than anticipated. Ended up that they offered me to replace the tire, at no charge, with another Mezcall (but could not guarantee it would not be from a similar batch) or with another one of their tires of my choosing. I asked for another 2.4 Goma and had it within a few days.

And you can normally find their tires through places like BikeTiresDirect, Backcountry, etc. for between $50-$60 for their top line TNT 4C/G+. The Gomas that I get normally last me about two seasons before the knobs are starting to get torn up (in the rear). Front, well, I am still rocking one I purchased in 2016 and it is just starting to show signs of needing replacement. So to say they wear like iron, that is an understatement for the terrain I ride.
 
#18 ·
Just bought some 29x2.8 Coronados to try as an alternative to the Maxxis Chronicles I had been riding. They seem a well made tire and look nice with the tan/brown sidewall. They mounted up with no fuss to my WTB Asym and Scraper rims.
 
#19 ·
29x2.6" Kennebec and Honcho combo

I've been loving the pair of Teravails I tossed on my hardtail Krampus last spring (2019). Opted for a 2.6" Kennebec (F) and 2.6" Honcho (R) in the Durable casing and couldn't be happier. They are durable as all get out and have endured riding (and bikepacking) a whole bunch of sharp chunky backcountry rock in Montana. I have yet to flat or even burp despite many a rim-hit and being set up ghetto-tubeless with only gorilla tape on Surly Rabbit Hole rims. The profile on the extra wide (45id) RH rims is great up front - predictably rounded - and a little squared off in the rear. They measure nearly 2.8" on the wide rims... and still have lugs overhanging the sidewalls (especially the Kennebec).

The Kennebec hooks up really consistently despite trail conditions and encourages fast-leaned over cornering. The Honcho rolls quick and grips on the climbs like a champ, only really suffering in sticky mud. On the down, the Honcho can be a little loose in straight-line hard-braking, but once you let off it digs right back in and encourages pedaling hard out of corners. I'm running them at ~13 psi (F) and ~15 psi (R) with a 120 Fox 34 and am pretty sold on the setup.

The knobs seem to be holding up well, although I suspect I'll need new rubber by the end of the season this year. I had considered the Terrene McFly's but it seems everyone mentions fast wearing tread and thin sidewalls... so I'll probably stick with these beasts. I might try the lighter versions to speed up the bike a bit and see how they compare... and wouldn't mind trying them (or reading about someone else trying them) on a slightly narrower rim too (35 id)?
 
#20 ·
11053 said:
I really like their 27.5+ tire options.
Been running a "Durable" Kennebec and Cumberland combo for a while.
Whatever the durable recipe is for Teravail, it results in supportive and fairly long lasting sidewalls for 27.5+ tires. At least as supportive and maybe more durable than Maxxis 60TPI DHF/DHR/HR2 and way more durable than Schwalbe Magic Mary's and Hans Dampfs.
Cumberland is a great semi slick option for the rear. Does what a semi slick is supposed to do. Hooks up great in corners when leaned over, pedals and rolls well and brakes/climbs well in straight line. Does well in loose to hardpack conditions, but braking traction will vary considerably depending on soil.
Kennebec has a lot of handling characteristics that are similar to 27.5+ 2.8 HR2s. Super grippy and great cornering plus tire if you corner at speed confidently and lean the bike over quickly. Great tire for loose, dry and drifty terrain. Noticeably less bounce/squirm/vagueness when hitting multiple rocks at speed compared to the other plus tires mentioned above.
As far as lug durability, Teravail seems on par with Maxxis and ahead of Schwalbe.
The tires have a very "Maxxis" look/feel to them. I wouldn't be surprised if QBP is utilizing a Cheng Shin/CST/Maxxis production facility.
Click to expand...
How does the Cumberland & Kennebec ride on the road? How would you rate the Kennebec if I was thinking about running it as my front tire & the current one isn't true to size & not well rated, but on road it's solid.
 
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