[Jil]

Hi,

My girlfriend is going to travel in Chile/Argentina for the next 4 months.
She plans roughly 60% road, 40% offroad, 4-5000 km.
Her bike will be the Riverside Touring 520.
In order to replace the OEM tires (too small and rigid), she is looking for comfortable, fast-rolling and puncture-resistant tyres.

I see several options :

• Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.25
• Schwalbe G-One Allround 2.25
• Schwalbe Marathon Allmotion 2.15

Not below 2” and not above 2.25” (the rims are 19mm inner width).

What do you think of riding tubeless for this kind of trip ?
Which tire among this list do you see as the most suitable ? Do you have other models to propose ?

Thanks !

 

[Bikesbikesbikes]

Is this loaded touring?

I wouldn’t even think about taking the Burt or g-one down there. The almotion is a great tire and does ok on dry, packed dirt roads. It’s way more durable and puncture resistant. I have them on my commuter bike. I’ve road the Burt and g-one as well.

Mondial if for the win is she doesn’t want flats but they are slower than the almotion.

donelly has some good tires. The xplor is a good option. I rode those in the Himalayas without issue.

tubeless is best, but be prepared to deal with it if it fails. Bacon strips, spare sealant, spare valves and tape. Can she re-seat the tire bead with what ever pump she has???

Check out this link. This guy is great: https://www.cyclingabout.com/tag/tyres/

 

[rmcrow2]

I just want to second bikesbikesbikes suggestion about going to cyclingabout. Year before last he rode the length of Chile with no Flats.



我宁愿在山上。

 

[Jil]

@Bikesbikesbikes, yes, it will be a loaded bike.
Thanks for your feedback.
But why not the G-One Allround with double defense (29x2.25) ? It seems resistant.

https://www.schwalbe.com/en/gravel-reader/schwalbe-g-one-allround

 

[Jil]

And thanks to both for the link https://www.cyclingabout.com/tag/tyres/

 

[Bikesbikesbikes]

In my experience with them, g-one will wear out WAY before 5000km. Especially loaded.

I think the durability graphs on the Schwalbe site are a bit deceiving. The almotion will last far longer than any of the g-one tires. One is a “touring” tire and the other is for gravel. It’s an apples to oranges comparison.

if it was me I’d run the widest almotion I could, tubeless, and pay very close attention to tire pressure. I’d also take a spare tire

 

[Simplydown]

Thunder Burt and G-One Allround are not durable, long lasting tires. I wouldn't expect either of them to last the entire trip. Marathon Almotion is a great touring tire and good on easy dirt/gravel, but grip is seriously lacking on more difficult offroad terrain. Your most versatile option is gonna be a fast rolling, durable casing, MTB tire. Best choices imho are the Vittoria Mezcal TNT casing in 29x2.1 or Maxxis Ikon in 29x2.0. Mezcal is a littler faster and little more plush, Ikon is slower but has better grip overall. I don't think i19 rims provide enough support for 2.25 width tires offroad, so I would stick with 2.0-2.1 tires at the widest. Whatever you choose, definitely go tubeless.

 

[tangerineowl]

Fleecer Ridge.

Endurance or EndurancePlus casing.

 

[Jil]

Thank you for your comments, it helps

She is not going to do any rough offroad, especially with a loaded touring bike. The offroad part will be limited to easy dirt/gravel roads.
@Simplydown and @tangerineowl the Mezcal or the Flecer Ridge seems a great tire, but in the same ligue than the Thunder Burt, i.e. light MTB/gravel tires, so not necessarily resistant enough.

As for tubeless, do you think that without a compressor or a big pump it’s possible to reinstall a tire in case of problem ? After thinking about it I guess that tubetype tires (with a spare tube and repair kit) will be a better option for her in the middle of nowhere.

I was seriously considering the G-One before posting here, but durability is a serious matter, and I agree that i19 rims could be a bit tight for 2.25 tires. Then the Marathon Almotion in 2.15 seems the way to go.
@Bikesbikesbikes, do you confirm that the Almotion rolls good ?

 

[Bikesbikesbikes]

do you think that without a compressor or a big pump it’s possible to reinstall a tire in case of problem ?

It depends. All tire/rim combos are different. There are tricks to getting the bead to seat without a compressor. Carry a plug kit for big holes and spare tubes.
The almotion rolls very well for a touring tire. For best results, check the pressures regularly

 

[chrisx]

Thunder Burt and G-One Allround are not durable, long lasting tires. I wouldn't expect either of them to last the entire trip. Marathon Almotion is a great touring tire and good on easy dirt/gravel, but grip is seriously lacking on more difficult offroad terrain. Your most versatile option is gonna be a fast rolling, durable casing, MTB tire. Best choices imho are the Vittoria Mezcal TNT casing in 29x2.1 or Maxxis Ikon in 29x2.0. Mezcal is a littler faster and little more plush, Ikon is slower but has better grip overall. I don't think i19 rims provide enough support for 2.25 width tires offroad, so I would stick with 2.0-2.1 tires at the widest. Whatever you choose, definitely go tubeless.

Mezcal is a good tire. I don't think it will last 5,000 k with 3k on the road. I pute a mezcal on in Wyoming, it was bald, and I do mean bald before I got to San Diego. Well, I may have taken the scenic route. Maybe on the front, no hope for two k miles on the pavement and another k on the gravel.

 

[Jil]

I have the feeling that the Marathon Almotion is the way to go, even if the ability to handle dirt roads under the rain will be limited. But apart from that, it seems very efficient on road, durable and relatively puncture-proof.

 

[Simplydown]

Mezcal is a good tire. I don't think it will last 5,000 k with 3k on the road. I pute a mezcal on in Wyoming, it was bald, and I do mean bald before I got to San Diego. Well, I may have taken the scenic route. Maybe on the front, no hope for two k miles on the pavement and another k on the gravel.

I got way better mileage then you. I ran a pair of 29x2.25 Mezcals (60/40 gravel/road) for about 4000 miles over the course of a year, rotating the tires about a third of the way through. Never had a flat the whole time and replaced them when winter came around with a tiny bit of tread still left on both tires.

 

[milehi]

I rode north to south across Iceland solo. I went as spartan as possible. Heavy Conti freeride tubes, single speed and cable brakes. I realized this was the correct decision beacuse bike shops in Reykjavik didn't carry 26" tubes and didn't have the means to bleed brakes. I brought the same tires I ride here in the Socal mountains where we have everything from hardpack to rocks to loam. I was traveling light and fast and not loaded down. I had a large pack but no frame bag. I stayed in outposts, farms and a hut.

 

[Jil]

Following several advices, I will probably, finally, choose the Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge.
Question about the casing : is Endurance Plus useful, or the Endurance version is enough ?

 

[Jil]

Finally, Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge with Endurance+ casing ordered

 

[oren_hershco]

I did two trips in there, on on the Carretera Austral in Chile, and one in the Lakes region (close to the Argentina/Chile border)

All touring, 50-50% tires SUCK on this area. Yes, on the paved roads they'll roll nicely. But off-road, on the loose, and usually corrugated surface, they have very little grip and very little cushion.

I would go with real, wide off-road tires. When on pavement, inflate them to the maximum allowed (today the limit is usually due to the rim)

 

[Jil]

Noted, thanks.
From the reviews I have read, the Fleecer Ridge do the offroad job well !

 

[Dawgprimo]

Looks like you figured out the tire but if you go tubeless or not.
(I have had good luck with the Marathon's.)
You have to take the worst case scenario and see if you are comfortable seating the tire with a hand pump, in the middle of no where.
If you are comfortable with that, then go tubeless.
Lots of practice makes it a lot easier!
It is one of those things we don't do a lot of to be honest.....including myself!
(which means you have to have a small bottle of Stan's or whatever you use with you.)
Just my 2 cents.